Making a Wood-Turning Lathe 



BLOCK 



f I sHomnFR BLOCK 



The Illustration Tells the Story of the Metamorphosis of an Old Discarded Kitchen 

 Table Into a Piece of Machinery for Practical Mechanics 



IN the corner was an old kitchen taljlc. 

 That was th? onh- thine; handy to be 

 used as the framework in making a 

 wood-turning lathe. A block of spruce 

 2 ins. thick, 3 ins. wide, and 15 ins. long 

 was first prepared. This had one end 

 thinned down for a distance of 6 ins., 

 and the other end treated in like manner 

 4 ins. to a shoulder, thus leaving a part 

 2 ins. thick in the middle portion, 

 through which was bored a cross hole 

 with a three-eighth bit, 3 ins. from the 

 shoulder. A slot i in. wide was then 

 cut through the block, extending in 

 7 inches. 



Another block 2 ins. thick, I'j ins. 

 wide, and 11 ins. long, had one end 

 thinned down to correspond with the 

 thinned portion of the first block, and 

 a hole bored through to register with 

 the hole in the lirst block. 



These two blocks are scri'Wed to the 

 table top at its corner, and tlie holes arc 

 in line with each other to receive the 

 mandrel. Obtain 2 pes. of round three- 



eighth steel, one 12 ins. and the other 

 4 ins. long. Also obtain a couple of 

 V-grooAcd pulleys. A bicycle repairer 

 can fasten them to the mandrel and 

 spindle. One of them was secured to 

 the mandrel 5J2 ins. from the end, and 

 the other was fi.xed to the spintlle mid- 

 way between its ends. 



One end of the mandrel thus made was 

 filed sciuarc, and the otiier end of the 

 mandrel carried the bic\cle wiieel which 

 was easily attached. Two blocks were 

 then made, each of 2 by 2-in. material, 

 10 ins. long. The lower side of each was 

 then thinned back a distance of 6 ins. 

 from one end to the shoulder and a 

 cross hole with a three-eighth bit bored 

 through the thick part of each block, so 

 they registered. These blocks thus 

 served as bearings for the spindle, so the 

 wheel was located at the rear edge of the 

 table, directly in lini' with the wheel on 

 the s|iindleat the front I'llgi-of the table. 



To impart motion to the m.indrel, a 

 hardwood block was cut out, 2 ins. long, 



4GG 



