Working on a pole lathe

I'm putting together a pole lathe so I can try turning some things like horn caps and knife handles. I'm not sure if it will actually be pole-powered, as you can also use springs, bungee cords and other energy-storing devices to power the return stroke. Will post when I get her done.

Cool, looking forward too seeing it develope. :thumbsup:

back action lathes prety neet invention, i heard with some patients they can produce some very nice work. look forward to some pics :thumbsup:

We built one here several years ago... using various methods for the spring/pole. used a good bit of leg power lol. Good luck, like to see the pics when you have it finished. :thumbsup:

Ingenuity at it's best. Go for it!
Longshot

Here's the rig. The dang thing works!
[url] http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b356/BillOregon/IMG_0019.jpg[/url]

Looks good :thumbsup: turn anything yet?

Hey that's lookin good! :thumbsup:
How about a closer view, like to see more about the workins of the lathe!

Here's a closer view of the "poppets" that hold the work.[url] http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b356/BillOregon/IMG_0021.jpg[/url]

bill, that is awesome. i'm gonna try makin on of these. i love it. i have always loved muscle powered tools! :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :bow:

I appreciate the pic! How does the rope work from the pedal to the pole? I understand the principle, but having never seen one in person I can't quite get it through my head how the rope is wrapped to create the turning motion.
So have you turned anything on so far, any pics?

Looks great, i`ve built a couple over the years and treadles, they all take a lot of work to run very long but hey it`s free power. :thumbsup:

50cal.cliff said:

I appreciate the pic! How does the rope work from the pedal to the pole? I understand the principle, but having never seen one in person I can't quite get it through my head how the rope is wrapped to create the turning motion.
So have you turned anything on so far, any pics?

Click to expand...

The rope is attached one end at the pedal. It comes up and makes one wrap around the work piece and then extends to the "pole".

When you press down it spins the work piece clockwise, when you let off the pedal the pole spins it back counter clock wise. So the piece spins back and forth as you press the pedal.

I hope that answered the question.

Guys, so far I have turned a couple of small widgets from green yew branch, and have been assured they will probably check as the branch dries. But hey, I'm just starting the learning curve. For an outstanding look at an English pole-lathe user turning a bowl, check out this YouTube video:[url] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz7PJ2WuLWA[/url]

I`m puffing just watching :haha: , very cool looks like fun. :thumbsup:

G R E A T post Sir. I thank you.

Ogre

Notice that he is using a 3/8-1/2" wide strap of leather, and not a rope to transfer energy to his spindle from his pole. And, Also notice that he is wrapping the strap around the spindle 2 times , rather than just one.

Finally, notice the diameter of the spindle. This is how you get both leverage and powder , because the leather strap has a wide surface to contact, while spinning the work on a smaller " point ". This is the same as using gears to increase the power of a machine.

Good film if dark in parts. He's obviously made hundreds of similar bowls, to know what angles and shapes to use inside and out so he can free-hand cut the inside without worrying about cutting through the wall of the bowl. You don't see that bent cut off chisel very often. I suspect that he may have had that made, or bent the shank of a straight chisel to curve it for his purposes.

Really infromative, now I can say I have seen one in operation! :thumbsup:

Need to correct myself. I just looked at the email catalogue from WoodCraft, and found they sell a cut-off wood chisel for bowl making, and that the set includes several different sized arcs for the shanks of the chisels, to deal with different sized bowls. Expensive, but worth the money if you intend to make a lot of bowls.