Making a New Pole Lathe Part 2

Have finally had chance to do a write up of building my new pole lathe. After Christmas and the recent weather I have been tinkering with my oak bed to make it fit for purpose.

Step 1 fitting the legs to the bed

Axe the legs to fit the holes in the bed. The legs didn't sit flush initially but I just trimmed them until they were fairly level and just above my hips.

Once level, test the bed to make sure it handle any extra weight. I tested it by sitting on bed to support my whole body weight. This is done because the lathe will take many forces when uneven bowl blanks spin.

Step 2 Mark up the legs

These markings make it easier to line up the legs to get the same fit and height. Numbering the legs to the holes also works very well.

Step 3 Create the poppets

Select a suitable piece of wood. preferably straight grained.

Saw the piece to length. Remember to leave a little extra length just incase.

"you can take more off, but you can't put it back on"

Next mark up and cut the tenon to fit through the slot.

And repeat to create the second poppet

Next couple of stages will be sourcing the metal centres for the poppets though these may require an entire post focused on them alone. Then the tool rest set up will follow afterwards.

Hopefully my next posts will become more regular showing more update as I go.

Again any questions please feel free to ask.