SpudFiles

Found a wood lathe at a thrift store. $40. I would like to get it, partially because I can use it for making money by making small items and selling them. Here's a picture of it, does it look like its in decent condition from the picture?



The faster I get input the better, I would like to get it before its gone.

Im not familiar with wood lathes, but what i would do is go on craigslist or ebay, and search for something of similar make or model, and specifically look for used ones. See what they're going for online, and make your decision off of that.

warhead052 wrote:does it look like its in decent condition from the picture?

For $40 I guess it's not a big deal, but what do you intend to do with it?

JSR, I intend to use it to learn how to use it, and possibly use it as a high school elective. Plus I can sell off the wood shavings to local farmers and sell little jewelry boxes and what not if I can make them.

It's a home made lathe and the way things look problematic at best. You'd be better off saving up or spending $200 or so on a middle of the road Harbor Freight version and tooling/chisel set.

looks like a nice finger eater

You could make that yourself out of a washing machine motor and some parts.

Looks like an altenator with a broomstick on it to me.....

It looks like an older starter motor for a fairly large engine. Not exactly the best thing to make a lathe from. I wouldn't dare use it.

I would save up and get one you dont have to worry about. You could make a jig for a hand drill and it would work better than that thing...

that motor looks like it was intended for something else... it doesnt have a chuck for a lathe on it. you'll want that. also you may have an issue with this thing loosening while its running, thats not gonna end nicely.

jrrdw wrote:It's a home made lathe and the way things look problematic at best. You'd be better off saving up or spending $200 or so on a middle of the road Harbor Freight version and tooling/chisel set.

Wise words. If you want to buy an old lathe, something like this is a much better option: http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-EMCO-UN ... 1e70f41a3e

looks like a DIY lathe... i shouldnt trust it

I'll contradict everyone here, I would buy it, I've got another motor around, I'm accredited to do electrical work, I've got all the materials I'd need, and I wouldn't mind a wood lathe. If you've got all that, then you could make your own from scratch.

It's also way overpriced.

And what did you mean by "sell the turnings to farmers"? I consider myself a hick, and I've used sawdust a dozen times, all just for muddy walkways. I'm honestly curious.

He wants to sell the wooden chips that come of when you are machining wood :p

Well I decided not to get it, I went back for a second look, and it looked like someone had bumped into it and part of it had fallen off... So this was a no go. Thanks for the input though.