So... I fractured my pelvis a couple of months ago and needed something to do. I bought a Taig lathe.

[Tim9]

So, as the title says. I was riding my electric scooter and I ran into my dog and went flying. Fractured my "Pubic Ramus" . That's the medical name for a part of the human pelvis. ( I never herd of it either,) Anyway, on the bright side it was just a mild fracture so no surgery and it heals on its own with bed rest. And I healed pretty well so all is good on that end.
But, with the prospect of no shop time for 6 to 8 weeks and of laying on a sofa... I knew I just couldn't do that without losing my mind . So when I saw a used Taig on Bay,,, I figured a small lathe was just what the doctor ordered. And... It was an awesome project for me that I could work on inside while watching TV. Kept me sane. Or at least my OCD sanity.
Here's a picture of the Ebay buy. It didn't come with a motor. But I had a DC motor that I was planning on using for a tool grinder I was going to build. It's a 300 watt DC electric scooter motor. 3700 RPM

My belt pulleys I made are for the 5mm urethane that you buy by the foot and melt the ends together. I have about a 2" to a 1.75" ratio. So that gives me about a 4275-RPM final speed. It feels pretty smooth to me. Ive only made on cut so far. I made a Delrin pin which is about a which was around the same size as a #19 drill bit. It was to repair a pivot of an indoor shutter.
Anyway... Im psyched. I really like this little lathe.

 

[woodchucker]

So, as the title says. I was riding my electric scooter and I ran into my dog and went flying. Fractured my "Pubic Ramus" . That's the medical name for a part of the human pelvis. ( I never herd of it either,) Anyway, on the bright side it was just a mild fracture so no surgery and it heals on its own with bed rest. And I healed pretty well so all is good on that end.
But, with the prospect of no shop time for 6 to 8 weeks and of laying on a sofa... I knew I just couldn't do that without losing my mind . So when I saw a used Taig on Bay,,, I figured a small lathe was just what the doctor ordered. And... It was an awesome project for me that I could work on inside while watching TV. Kept me sane. Or at least my OCD sanity.
Here's a picture of the Ebay buy. It didn't come with a motor. But I had a DC motor that I was planning on using for a tool grinder I was going to build. It's a 300 watt DC electric scooter motor. 3700 RPM

My belt pulleys I made are for the 5mm urethane that you buy by the foot and melt the ends together. I have about a 2" to a 1.75" ratio. So that gives me about a 4275-RPM final speed. It feels pretty smooth to me. Ive only made on cut so far. I made a Delrin pin which is about a which was around the same size as a #19 drill bit. It was to repair a pivot of an indoor shutter.
Anyway... Im psyched. I really like this little lathe.

that pic was too small for my old eyes.

But glad you found something to pass the time with.
I am sure if you ever need to do some real small fine stuff that will come in handy later too.

 

[Tim9]

So.... After a few months of very little work, like when I was able to use just one walking cane instead of two walking canes... I ended up with the final product. In all honesty, I have a bunch of pictures which as they say.... A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[Tim9]

Yeah Woodchucker. I apologize for that pic. what happened is that I wasn't really that organized on this project when it comes to taking photos. That picture was the only thumbnail pic I could copy from my "Ebay Purchases" category and I copied it from there. The listing has basically expired. I just di a real cruddy job of documenting this projects progress. Anyway, on top that; I'm also having trouble with my computer because its been locking up. Man, when it rains it pours.

Once again, hopefully... The rest of the pics should be better if I can upload them.

 

[Winegrower]

It’s good that you like your little lathe, Tim9, because you’re gonna love your next bigger one.

 

[Aaron_W]

The Taig lathes are nice. I bought one specifically with the idea of building it into a travel lathe. I want to build it into a box with storage for tooling and a small amount of raw stock. Something similar to the old fashioned portable sewing machines (well new ones too I guess but they have plastic cases and a lot less charm).

 

[Tim9]

Here they are. I had to use my iPad. Desktop has been nothing but trouble since I got it. My Apple IMac 2007 is more reliable than this 2017 model IMac.

the cover for the electronics was salvaged from the Bar-B-Q pit top.

 

[Tim9]

And here’s the finished product. I really like this little lathe.
I really didn’t like the tiny carriage dial which was only 1-3/4 inches in diameter. I found it made it kind of awkward to traverse the carriage so I raised the bed about 1/2” off the board so I could then use a 2-1/2” hand wheel. It makes it so much easier in my opinion.
I kind of got anal bedding the lathe to the aluminum using JB Weld so it won’t wobble or move later on. Third &4th pictures are the 3/4” aluminum piece that i milled to accept the Taig bed base.

 

[Tim9]

FWIW, the motor is a 24 volt dc 300 watt motor and I’m driving it with a 16 amp LED power supply mated with a PWM variable speed control.
( my friend just had to be in that picture)

 

[Tim9]

Winegrower, I actually already have a Clausing 5903 and a SB 9”

like I said, half of this was I wanted a small lathe I can use inside plus I also am planning on building another headstock which will be an ER25 collet chuck. I’ve got all the parts for that. Swapping headstocks on these things is a snap. Really easy to do.
But, if I had not have injured myself, I probably would have just had this on my project list.