Now this is a lathe

Well, I really have to admire the tenacity to build it in the first place. It probably worked too! Is it worth paying for as a “fixer upper” — hell no, but I bet it did the job!

Edit:
By comparison his looks downright fancy! Here’s my first “lathe” if you can call it that. Two blocks of wood with dowels as centres and lubricated with paraffin candle wax. Motive power was supplied via a clothesline pulley attached to the ceiling and a cord wrapped twice around the extra-length turning blank. Notice how I carefully split the “toolrest” as well at the ends… but you know, I turned three mahogany finials on the thing and got the corner cabinet repaired for the guy. I was 15.
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francist said:
Well, I really have to admire the tenacity to build it in the first place. It probably worked too! Is it worth paying for as a “fixer upper” — hell no, but I bet it did the job!

Edit:
By comparison his looks downright fancy! Here’s my first “lathe” if you can call it that. Two blocks of wood with dowels as centres and lubricated with paraffin candle wax. Motive power was supplied via a clothesline pulley attached to the ceiling and a cord wrapped twice around the extra-length turning blank. Notice how I carefully split the “toolrest” as well at the ends… but you know, I turned three mahogany finials on the thing and got the corner cabinet repaired for the guy. I was 15.
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Nice work. You don’t happen to have it still do you?


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
twhite said:
You don’t happen to have it still do you?
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Haha — stupidly enough I do! :D
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And I have no idea why. I have no children to tell stories of …this is how we did things in the olden days… to, and none of my great-great nieces or nephews will give two hoots about whatever I did. Maybe it marks something for me, a stage or a passage that I conquered, I don’t know. I tried to throw it away once but ended up putting back up on the rack again to “think about later”. I know my mom sure was impressed with it though, and I swear until her dying day she would still mimic the motions of me pulling on the cord with one hand and holding the chisel with the other.

I don’t know, maybe it just keeps me a bit humble and reminds me that with all the fancy bits and bobs I’ve collected there is still much that can be done with very little.

-frank
 
francist said:
Haha — stupidly enough I do! :D
View attachment 445434

And I have no idea why. I have no children to tell stories of …this is how we did things in the olden days… to, and none of my great-great nieces or nephews will give two hoots about whatever I did. Maybe it marks something for me, a stage or a passage that I conquered, I don’t know. I tried to throw it away once but ended up putting back up on the rack again to “think about later”. I know my mom sure was impressed with it though, and I swear until her dying day she would still mimic the motions of me pulling on the cord with one hand and holding the chisel with the other.

I don’t know, maybe it just keeps me a bit humble and reminds me that with all the fancy bits and bobs I’ve collected there is still much that can be done with very little.

-frank
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That is actually a really cool story @francist
 
francist said:
Haha — stupidly enough I do! :D
View attachment 445434

And I have no idea why. I have no children to tell stories of …this is how we did things in the olden days… to, and none of my great-great nieces or nephews will give two hoots about whatever I did. Maybe it marks something for me, a stage or a passage that I conquered, I don’t know. I tried to throw it away once but ended up putting back up on the rack again to “think about later”. I know my mom sure was impressed with it though, and I swear until her dying day she would still mimic the motions of me pulling on the cord with one hand and holding the chisel with the other.

I don’t know, maybe it just keeps me a bit humble and reminds me that with all the fancy bits and bobs I’ve collected there is still much that can be done with very little.

-frank
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That is awesome you still have it. The memories alone is all the reason to keep it.


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
The lathe is unusual but...but I had to click on "more ads by user".
If I was closer I would grab the fixer upper craftsman box.
Didn't I see him at the flea market?
 
sdelivery said:
The lathe is unusual but...but I had to click on "more ads by user".
If I was closer I would grab the fixer upper craftsman box.
Didn't I see him at the flea market?
Click to expand...

I just went back and looked at his other sales. I have met him at an estate sale last year. He scored a nice 6” craftsmen lathe for cheap. He always has interesting things.


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
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