Turning Tool

1 October 2015

Lathe? It appeals and would boost my ego. But a good lathe is bulky and expensive, it is definitely not worth the investment if I am only using it occassionally. What objects would I create if I have such a tool? Wheels and spinners would be the objects that I would create if I have a lathe. Should it be motorised? I have a motorised screw driver, dremel mototool and various brushless motors and esc, but why would I need to motorise it when the objects I shall create are small and the material used are generally very weak? Hand-turn? Yes, that seems a safe option. If later I find a need for motorisation, maybe I can simply modify the hand-turning tool. And if it is motorised, then I can sand the objects smooth.

With these thoughts, my turning tool would comprise of a fixed headstock, an adjustable tailstock on a flat bed and maybe a tool stand.
The headstock would house a pair of bearings (or a continuous sleeve), through the bearings would be the shaft, the shaft may be turned by a motor or fixed to a hand wheel, the chuck shall be a small disc (I could glue the workpiece to the disc) or I can have the shaft sharpened to pierce the foam workpiece or insert into the tubing workpiece. The tailstock shall be similar to the headstock but with its shaft spring loaded so that different lengths of workpiece can be engaged. A tool stand shall be a simple angle block to guide the work tool.

Thoughts filed for future use.

HA! Just did a search and found useful turning tools as described: