Second Hand Lathe

[Trekrider]

Hi, I love to spend time making things from wood. However I have never had/used a lathe before. Someone gave me a second hand lathe and I would appreciate your advice as to whether it's complete or not. I cannot find a makers mark and I think the switch has been modified at some stage. The motor works and is quiet too. I have attached photos.
Thanks

[julcle]

Hi Trekrider and welcome to the forum. I'm not sure of your name or location perhaps you could add this to your profile should you wish. I am not sure what to make of the lathe, I am sure there are those on here that will comment if this is a commercial one but it looks a bit home made to me and as a direct drive faceplate from the motor; and I can't see any method of speed control other than on/off it means that it will be running at full speed from the start which in my opinion would be extremely dangerous, I would be inclined not to use it before it has been examined by someone with a bit of experience of these things, if you have a look on the main AWGB website you will see a club finder, I would pop along with a few photos and ask some questions you will get plenty of advice there. Anyway best of luck --  Julian

[fuzzyturns]

Judging by the pictures my advice would be to minimise your losses by handing this over to a scrap dealer. At best, you'd struggle to find anything that could be fitted onto this lathe (chucks, etc.) and in it's current state it is near useless. At worst, something will come apart and you'll get hurt.
Sorry to be so blunt, but IMHO these cheap devices should not be touched, with or without barge pole.

[Lazurus]

Use the motor and adapt it to a bench mounted disk sander, handy for all wood work. I made one 20 years ago out of a washing machine motor, still going strong

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Trekrider from a health and safety aspect :-
1.It appears to be a lathe that someone has built or has modified.
2. Although there are lathes on the market that have direct drive off of the motor this one looks not to be very substantial where the spindle is.
3. I expect the motor to run at about 1420-1450 rpm which would be too fast for bowl turning on such a small machine.
4. There does not appear to be any way of controlling the speed.
5. I think you will struggle to find a chuck to fit and also a drive centre.(although there are ways around that).
This may well be the only machine that you can afford, in which case I would consult with an experienced turner near you, the person would have to see the machine in real life. But to be honest the best thing you could do is save up and buy a lathe that is 100% safe. There are always lathes for sale on auction sites that are probably better than this but are also safer than this. I would not at this stage throw it away though, if you are anything like me I would salvage everything off of it just in case. But please think safety first.

[Wood spinner]

A nice gesture by the person who gave it to you , however I would not use this , Buy a basic lathe instead , lots for sale on various web sites

[BrianH]

from what I see it is only the headstock which is homemade. Not knowing Trecky's skillset I can only say that I built a perfectly safe complete lathe some years ago so starting again on a new headstock..... with speed change arrangement ….. is 'doable' and not actually rocket science.
Brian

[APH]

What you've been given is a modified Black and Decker D994 lathe attachment for one of their power drills from about 1970(ish). The drill fixing has been swapped for a fixed motor.

Someone with a decent level of experience could possibly use it for some spindle turning, but it's not really suitable for a total beginner for the reasons explained above. Although an experienced turner probably won't want to use such a basic and awkward to use machine.

You can pick up very decent lathes for very little cash secondhand, but you'll also need specialised tools, sharpening kit and PPE. A local woodturning club would be the place to get a cheap introduction to the craft.

[burywoodturners]

I agree with the advice regarding the local club, you will be welcome to join us if you are any where near Bury |St edmunds, and I am sure you will get a welcome from any club near you
Ron

[Trekrider]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm disappointed with some of your observations but you are far better placed than me to comment. I may revert it back to lathe "stand" that takes a variable speed drill as per it's original use.
Something to think about in the new year. All the best!

[Frankie]

The Black & Decker lathe used their D980 horizontal drill stand with a bolt and large nut to attach it to the bed (similar to the tailstock fitting) to hold the drill, you can pick these up pretty cheap on Ebay but they don't hold new drills so you'd need an old drill as well.