treadle lathe

The one point of agreement in the many plans I’ve collected is having a flywheel of 24 inch diameter.

Construction varies with the different plans, some with interesting spokes and rims, some solid. I chose solid: easy. I like easy. It wants to be a substantial wheel, the heavier the better. Two layers of 2-by lumber would do it. However, that would leave a seam in the middle of the wheel. What if I decide to drive it with a cord rather than a flat belt. Wouldn’t that seam invite trouble as a gutter is routed for the cord? To avoid that eventuality, I used 2-by material for a middle layer, and then attached 1-by material on either side. Yellow carpenter’s glue and a bunch of countersunk screws bring the layers together, each offset by 60 degrees.

Now, let’s make it round. I really really really like doing as much as possible with hand tools. I have a great turning saw that uses Gramercy blades. However, this wheel presents 3 problems. First, the coarsest Gramercy blade is 10 TPI and 1/8 inch wide. That seems a bit skimpy for this cut. I would prefer 6-8 TPI and 1/4 inch wide, a size not available. Second, a wheel really needs to be round with a nicely perpendicular edge, something I imagined hard to achieve by hand. Third, I don’t have enough Snickers bars on hand to power that much sawing.

So, it’s time to dust off the band saw … and extend its table. It didn’t take much to knock together a one-time use table extension that has a pivot hole 12 inches from the blade. It took longer to find the screws than to make the extension. The table on this Rigid saw has holes tapped for 6mm by 16 screws. How many of you can find 4 of those in your loose parts collection? I did. 🙂

There it is, a simple wheel. It weighs 24 pounds. I don’t know if that is heavy enough.

Oh, before I quit, let me show you one very sweet hand drill bit. I learned from my fellow galoots over at the Saw Mill Creek forums that it might be a Cook (US patent) or Gedge (UK patent) pattern. Most of the hand drill bits we see these days are either Russel Jennings or Irwins, with spurs pointing toward the tip. This bit has the spurs turned back toward the shank. It makes a very easy entry, and better yet makes a very clean exit. There’s no tearout at the exit; no need to stop before exiting and drill back from the other side. It seems that Ransom Cook patented this pattern a few weeks before Jennings, but maybe didn’t have as good a marketing department. The Jennings bits prevailed.

Chasing another of the patent references made by Jeff in the forums, I see a patent by James Swan, some 20 years after Cook’s. Swan’s improvment was to extend the cutting edge from out at the curl all the way into the screw. My bit is indeed a Swan. This one came to me as one of a handful of odd bits that Patrick Leach threw in the box when I bought the Stanley brace. It’s the only one of that pattern I have. After using it, I’m wanting more.

A lathe, my dearest, an ole time treadle lathe.

We looked at some pictures a while. She said “Sure, get to it … but, if you show up in one of those costumes…”

These top two photos are thanks to Jerry who preserves history by working with the Institute for Historic and Educational Arts in Kansas City. THANKS Jerry! (As always, click a small picture to see a larger version.)

Why a human powered lathe?

1. Because I like human powered things, hand-tool woodworking and paddle powered boats, for example. Treadle powered tools have always caught my attention, and now I have time for them. In short, I see a treadle lathe as a neat machine.
2. There’s no shortage of turned things I find interesting: mallets, tool handles, more tool handles, lidded boxes, chairs (not Windsors), and exquisite wooden bowls. I’m not interested in pens or bottle stoppers.
3. The lathe will also be the power base for a scroll saw. I have some very interesting scroll projects in mind.

To which design or plan? Choices, choices, lots of choices on the internet. I collected several comprehensive plans (Roy Underhill’s, Steve Schmeck’s, Mike Adams’ and Howard Ruttan’s), and plenty of pictures. All have great merit, and I will build not to one specific plan, but will take bits from here and there. From Roy’s, I will take the concept of the scroll saw. His lathe has one aspect I didn’t care for, an inboard flywheel. It was also skimpier that the lathe he uses on his TV Programs. Mike’s and Steve’s are more robust and have flywheels held between two uprights, not cantilevered like Roy’s. I like the full width treadle of Mike’s, and actually a sturdier one like in the Ft. Osage picture at the top. Guidance for bearings, various shafts, and centers come in bits and pieces from all of the plans and from an email exchange with Jerry.

The attractive feature (to me) is that any of the above designs can be made from readily available “Nbr 2” construction grade SPF (SprucePineFir) lumber. The big orange store up the road has some fairly good Doug Fir that I’ll use for most of it. Some Ash or Oak will fill certain roles.

Oh, for those who like the idea of a treadle lathe but would rather not build one, Chris Yonker makes beautiful lathes and sells them through his CME Handworks eBay store.

OK. It’s time to get to it.

UPDATE: Mike Adams seems to have disappeared from the Internet.

UPDATE 2: Update (Oct, 2022): Stephen Shepherd’s website has disappeared from the interwebs. A couple of years ago, I heard he was having health problems. I certainly wish him well and will leave his link here in case he gets back on the air.

Stephen Shepard suggested (in the comments) another set of plans that I had overlooked. Stephen’s plans are available from his own online store. Thanks Stephen.