A vertical woodworking lathe ??

Kev

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Joined
Nov 7, 2011
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Is this a really stupid idea?

I'm not thinking of the sort you'd turn bowls and pens on - I'm thinking of things like table and chair legs, banisters, etc. I'm visualising something with a door and contained DC, one that follows a pattern, not thinking of stooping with a chisel.

My pondering started down the path of "I'd like to get a pedestal drill" as I miss having one ... then I was thinking how cool a pedestal drill would be if it could spin on it's centre 90 degrees and become a lathe ... then I though why spin it, just add some technology.

Am I crazy? Should I have stopped at a pedestal drill you can convert into a lathe?

Thoughts please.
 
Well, eBay sells this for it, so you're not the first to think like that.

I have never tried something like this for a drill press, but I have tried vertical solutions for turning a normal drill into a lathe, and they were all disastrous, so I kind of lost faith in using any drill as a lathe. I'd prefer the real deal. And basic lathes aren't expensive, you can get one for less than the cheapest Festool.
 
I must tell you first that I was never cut out to be a wood turner as I could not produce work to the standard that I would accept from others. However...

It is natural to work from left to right when turning as the eye can track vertical alignment across a horizontal line better that it can track the opposite. Also, your hands would have to cross over more awkwardly than with the standard setup.

Peter
 
Kev said:
Am I crazy? Should I have stopped at a pedestal drill you can convert into a lathe?

You are describing a doner kebab rotisserie, AND you are making me hungry.
 
Wuffles said:
Kev said:
Am I crazy? Should I have stopped at a pedestal drill you can convert into a lathe?

You are describing a doner kebab rotisserie, AND you are making me hungry.

Funny, I was thinking the EXACT same thing
 
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