Waterworks
Plastic
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2018
Been looking at some YouTube efforts at building a lathe which range from junk to not so much junk. I'm pondering if there is any way to really build a serious small lathe that would equal a shop bought one ?
Some of the basics you can't do without ?
1. a high mass of stable cast iron to dampen vibration
2. Excellent bearings
3. Hardened and ground ( scraped ) bedways.
I'm a welder and even if I fabricated a lathe from heavy sections and plates the distortion and stress in the finished product would be huge. I'd probably go find a scrap cast iron lathe bed and get it re ground , then start from a stable base.
Some of the basics you can't do without ?
1. a high mass of stable cast iron to dampen vibration
2. Excellent bearings
3. Hardened and ground ( scraped ) bedways.
I'm a welder and even if I fabricated a lathe from heavy sections and plates the distortion and stress in the finished product would be huge. I'd probably go find a scrap cast iron lathe bed and get it re ground , then start from a stable base.