Overhead thought

[nikc]

Hello all.
Just a thought, but has anyone DIY inclined, ever made an overhead out of a wood lathe? or something similar?
They obviously have similarities, but they might not be compatible. I've not looked at a wood lathe up close.
when you search for record lathe it often comes up with a company called "record" that makes lathes.

Best

Nik

[markrob]

Hi,

I thought about using a low cost Chinese metal lathe for that purpose some time ago. I still think it would be a great idea. I don't think a wood lathe would be as good a base as I don't believe they have feed screw and half nut to move the carriage like metal lathes do (but I could be wrong here). You don't need all of the parts of the "off the shelf" lathe to serve as the basis and I looked into buying the bed, feed screw and other parts to see if it saved any money. Here in the states, Little Machine Shop used to sell the parts, but I'm not sure if they still do.

Mark

[nikc]

Hi Mark. That's great to know, thanks. Ill look up metal lathes and also the parts. See if there is a UK equivalent to Little Machine shop. I love my MSS lathe , but keep thinking of building one.
Nik