Drill Lathe Mk 1 Mod 0

[Johnny Farnen]

Well, it ain't pretty yet, but it only took about 14 hours to get this far.

Total cost at this point is $0.00.
Everything is stuff I have had laying around the house.


So the main motor is an old DeWalt DW235G 7.8A 120V heavy duty corded drill. It works well, but the chuck is on its last legs. I managed to get the infamous chuck screw out. It had backed out in true DeWalt key-less chuck fashion. As soon as I figure out how to get it off the drill, it will be replaced, I assure you.
I hacked the hand grip off, but preserved the reversible, locking trigger assembly for now. I have a 1000W, 16A, 120 volt dimmer switch that is being re-purposed as a basic speed controller.


The Headstock obviously needs more work, but for now it is functional. I will likely redo it in 3/4 inch oak I have laying around, but lacking a table saw and drill press...baby steps... I also have some angle braces to install, but frankly my hands are pretty torn up right now so I plan to take a break for a few days.

The current tail stock is some scrap oak and a 1/2 tap handle with the point out of a spring loaded center punch, for now. The slide rails are door restrictors I got from my office, after maintenance removed them and was going to trash them! They work great.


It took a while to get things level and center headstock to tail stock, but finally I got it squared up. Right now it has a max of 12 inches, but I haven't built a chuck or a spur yet. I plan to make the chuck body using the lathe...

There are prints and instructions for the build, but they are not quite right as I did some serious engineering on the fly. I'll edit those and get them up here shortly.

I did some initial testing, but I haven't any turning tools. Since I don't own a bench grinder, that may take a bit of time to get moving

It isn't much, but I only plan on using it to turn fly fishing rod handles, and perhaps even pen bodies. I have to put together a tool rest, which I have a skateboard truck set aside for. I also have an M12 SS threaded rod here, so once I get some nuts for it, I have a pipe clamp that is going to get modded into a crank for the tailstock and tool holder.

I also have plans in the works to add a tool rest for my dremel, just because I can.

More to follow soon1

[Johnny Farnen]

Hello All.

Took a little more time off on this project than I had intended. I also had to "cheat" and buy 20 bucks worth of hardware. I haven't finished the electrical yet and am currently using a velcro strip as my controller!

Since my primary mission with this drill lathe is to turn blanks for custom fly rod handles, I haven't bothered to build the real tool rest or chucks. The hardware I purchased was for the fly rod grim mandrel:



Here it is in action turning a custom pine cone scale and resin grip:

Notice my "adjustable tool rest. The metal bar is one of the arms off of the office door restrictors I used a slide rails for the tail stock. Still needs some refinement, but for now it is doing what I need it to do!

Here are some stills of the same grip turned on this lathe:


So far so good, a quick clear coat and that one is done. Going to spend the weekend hand gluing pine scales to a cork core and coating them with resin. Will hopefully get the power, saftey and speed controller hooked up too!

[Johnny Farnen]

Well I built the Mod 2 version. Reinforced the headstock and added a speed controller. Turned a few pieces of bass wood for practice. Was going along just fine when I let the smoke out. Turns out the rheostat was not actually rated at 20 amps, it was mislabeled and rated at 5 amps. Given the peak draw on the drill motor, I let the smoke out of the controller. Back to the drawing board!

[DIYer]

Thanks Johnny! We've added your Drill Lathe to our Wood Lathes category, as well as to your builder page: Johnny Farnen's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Drill Lathe by Johnny Farnen

tags: lathe, drill

[wadeamca]

Well I built the Mod 2 version. Reinforced the headstock and added a speed controller. Turned a few pieces of bass wood for practice. Was going along just fine when I let the smoke out. Turns out the rheostat was not actually rated at 20 amps, it was mislabeled and rated at 5 amps. Given the peak draw on the drill motor, I let the smoke out of the controller. Back to the drawing board!

Johnny, LBCs (aka, Little British Cars) have the same problem with the smoke escaping from the wiring and other components. Some LBC owners have made smoke injectors to replace the escaped smoke. Additionally, there have been reports of Liquid Smoke being readily available in many locations, primarily grocery stores in the BBC Sauce area. You might try that before replacing the smokeless rheostat. Just a thought. Wayne.