Homemade tailstock of a lathe for metal. We assemble a homemade metal lathe with our own hands. What does a lathe consist of: device details

The article is a step-by-step instruction for making a metal lathe with your own hands. How to make a homemade unit at home?

The use of a lathe is necessary in car workshops, in the engineering industry, in repair shops and training workshops.

The cost of the machine is high and not every workshop or workshop can afford to purchase it. Knowing what parts are needed and how to connect all the nodes into a single mechanism, you can make it yourself.

The main structure of the lathe

The lathe is created on the basis of a bed, stable and durable, withstanding impressive and serious loads. The main system of mechanisms and assemblies is mounted on it.

The first lathes appeared in the 18th century, after the manufacture of the caliper. Russian inventor Andrei Nartov came up with a mechanism that was spun with a flywheel, and on the machine itself, all parts were made of metal, including screws, rails, pulleys.

With the development of technology, the manual drive was replaced by a mechanical one.

There are several types of machine tools for metal, which differ depending on the power, size and productive force:

The desktop type metal lathe has a maximum weight of up to 100 kg and a power of up to 400 watts. Its use is relevant in small workshops and private workshops in which metal parts are processed and repaired, and not produced in large quantities.
A semi-professional type lathe is most often a symbiosis of turning, milling and drilling equipment, on which small batches of products are made. Power up to 1000 W allows you to work in production mode.
A professional metal lathe is usually equipped with automatic program control, has a high mass and high power. Machine tools of this type are used in industries and large enterprises for processing parts up to 3000 mm from materials of various compositions.

Their high cost, large scale and high power are unacceptable for use at home or in small businesses. An alternative option may be their self-assembly, which will allow you to quickly and efficiently produce parts and produce blanks.

How to assemble a lathe yourself?

To make a homemade lathe you will need:

hydraulic cylinder, shock absorber shaft;
metal shafts, angles, channels and beams;
cylindrical guides;
beams, pipe, fasteners;
welding machine;
electric motor, two pulleys with belt drive.

First of all, we manufacture the main frame structure with longitudinal guides. For this, two channels and two metal rods with a thickness of at least 30 mm are used with a working area of the machine from 50 mm. Two longitudinal shafts are attached to two channels using guides with petals. Each petal is attached to the channel by bolting and welding.

The headstock is made from a hydraulic cylinder. In this case, with a wall thickness of 6mm. On the inner diameter, two 203 bearings are pressed in on each side. Inside the bearings there is a hole with a diameter of 17mm, in which the shaft is placed. Lubricant is poured into the hole of the hydraulic cylinder. Under the pulley is a large diameter nut that prevents the bearings from being squeezed out.

The pulley comes from a washing machine. The diameter of the pulley shaft must match the shaft on the motor. Then by rearranging the pulleys of different diameters, you can change the speed of rotation. The headstock is mounted on a metal beam.

The cross support is made of a metal plate to which cylindrical guides are welded. Two guides are driven into them, a shaft from shock absorbers is used as guides. To move in the transverse plane, tightly fitted bushings are put on each guide.

The tool holder is made of two thick metal plates. It is fixed on a stand made of brake shoes through a metal nut. Between themselves, the plates of the tool holder are connected by bolts.

The cartridge for fixing the part is made of a metal pipe. Fastening is done with four bolts. Which are screwed into pre-welded nuts.

For the drive, the engine from the washing machine is used. In this case, 180W. The engine is connected to the headstock via a belt drive. The machine is equipped with a self-tensioning mechanism. The belt is tensioned by the weight of the engine. The design of the corners is attached with canopies.

All parts are assembled into a single design. The lathe is ready for operation.

Video: making a metal lathe at home (several parts).

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The lathe has always been the most sought after type of sophisticated equipment. Many craftsmen dream of using it for turning homemade products. Stops their need for cash investments. And ready-made models, despite their obvious advantages, often simply do not fit in a home workshop. A homemade lathe is capable of resolving these contradictions. It is built to unique requirements using simple materials. Of course, such a design will not surpass industrial products, but the very first successful home-made on a lathe will justify all the time and effort.

Design features

The task of making a lathe is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Important structural elements are simply copied from industrial designs. At the same time, the scheme of a home-made lathe does not require the implementation of all the assembly units present in the factory models. You will need to make a bed, a caliper and a spindle. Other nodes will be needed only for solving specific problems.

Bed design

The basis of the working part of most machines is the bed. The massive base is designed to install all mechanisms, and also performs the function of damping vibrations that inevitably occur during machining. Many characteristics of the finished product will depend on the correct choice of the bed. Classic cast iron designs are not used in home-made machine tool building due to the high complexity of the technology. Practical application was found by the beds of a monolithic or welded type. The monolithic version provides high rigidity and vibration damping characteristics. Its main disadvantage is its heavy weight. As such a base, a metal plate with a thickness of 10-20 mm is perfect. Depending on the purpose of the machine, other materials can also be used. Monolithic bases can also be obtained using other technologies, for example, polymer concrete casting.

The welded bed is made in the form of a frame of rectangular section. For its manufacture, various metal profiles are most often used. The welded frame of the lathe is easy to manufacture and light in weight. But the apparent simplicity of such a solution turns into the need for additional processing of seats for the installation of equipment. A compromise can be reached by choosing a conventional channel. The necessary elements are installed on the horizontal edge of the channel, the side elements are used as a stand and a place for attaching auxiliary devices.

Machine support

To make a homemade lathe caliper with your own hands, you will need guides along which longitudinal and transverse movements will be performed. Sliding guides of the dovetail type are traditionally used in industrial equipment. At home, it is impossible to make such a knot with high quality. Therefore, when choosing, preference is given to finished cylindrical or profile rails with linear bearings. The best option for building a movement system is to install rails with rolling bearings. They allow you to get high accuracy, no backlash, reliability and long service life. No wonder such rails have become very popular with machine tool manufacturers around the world. Their only disadvantage is their high cost.

There is also a cheap solution. It involves the use of polished rollers from old printers or other equipment.

Movement in the longitudinal and transverse directions is created using running pairs of the screw-nut type. In mechanical engineering, mechanisms are used that are based on threaded studs, trapezoidal screws or ball screws (ball screws). The choice of standard studs is justified only for very simple machines, as it does not provide proper accuracy and durability. The trapezoidal screw is more reliable, resistant to heavy loads. The best, but expensive, option involves the use of ball screws. They are installed in precision industrial equipment. The fastening of lead screws requires the use of bearing blocks that provide free rotational movement and the impossibility of reciprocating. Such a block can be made independently, but it is better to use mass-produced models.

To connect the components of the caliper to each other, steel plates with a thickness of 8-10 mm are suitable. It is enough to process them according to the dimensions of the guides and drill the required holes.

Assembling the caliper will resemble working with a children's designer, and the result will be no worse than that of factory models.

Spindle and feed box

The headstock is used to mount the spindle axis, install the gearbox and the gear shift box (gearbox). The working part of the device of any box requires a large number of gears and is difficult to implement at home. A simple solution to the spindle problem would be to use a variable speed drive based on an asynchronous motor with a frequency inverter. This kit completely replaces the classic gearbox.

A homemade gearbox for a miniature lathe is unlikely to be needed. The small dimensions of the workpieces will not require great physical effort from the turner, and it is much more productive to cut fine threads with a lerk. If you still need a homemade lathe with a feed box, then it is not necessary to look for a set of gears. Automatic feeding can be performed on the basis of low-power electric motors, which will even allow the use of a CNC device in the future.

Tools, materials and drawings

The manufacture of a desktop lathe and its assembly is best done using serious equipment. Access to milling and drilling equipment avoids some problems. If there is no such access, then it remains to use what is at hand. Not only lathes, but also other complex homemade products, are made using a limited set of bench tools and an electric drill. Of course, “direct” hands should be attached to all this.
Materials for future construction are chosen from what is at hand, trying to limit financial costs. In demand will be a metal profile for the bed, sheet metal parts, attachment points for spindle bearings and lead screws, and fasteners. You will need to purchase rail guides, drive screws, a frequency converter. Fortunately, today there are many companies offering their delivery.

There are many possible options for how to make a mini lathe. To select a specific solution, it is necessary to clearly define what the machine will be used for, what workpieces will be sharpened on it. Steel processing requires a different design approach than for soft feedstocks. The terms of reference include the dimensions of the final product, the maximum parameters of the workpieces to be processed, the available resources, the methods of transporting the machine and other necessary wishes. After analyzing all the wishes, they carry out drawings of a home-made lathe.

The necessary detailing is developed for the available components and capabilities. If this stage seems difficult, ready-made drawings for lathes are freely available.

Assembly instructions

To build a homemade lathe for metal, it is best to start from the bed. On the upper edge of the base, seats are prepared for the longitudinal guides of the caliper, spindle, engine and other necessary elements. The leading requirement for these surfaces is to provide the base plane of all equipment. The best approach would be milling sites on industrial equipment. It is also desirable to immediately drill mounting holes on it. Otherwise, it will take significantly longer to install and align the guides.

The longitudinal guides of the caliper are attached directly to the base of the machine with screws. The bearing blocks of the lead screw are also installed there. During installation, the alignment of all elements is achieved. After the final fixing of the guides, bearing modules are put on them. From above, on the mounting surface, the base of the transverse axis is attached. As the latter, a metal plate with mounting holes is used. The same plate is mounted on the bearings of the transverse movement and serves to fasten the tool post. The homemade turning caliper will complete the fastening of miniature indicator limbs and handwheels to the ends of the drive screws.

At the last stage, the installation of the electrical equipment of the machine is carried out. It consists in a complete set of a power cabinet, in which a frequency converter, an introductory circuit breaker and buttons for starting and stopping the spindle are installed. The motor and electrical network are also connected. On this, the assembly of the machine can be considered completed.

Despite the large range of factory-made equipment, its use in everyday life is usually inconvenient or impractical. Impressive dimensions (and weight), a variety of functions (some of them are unlikely to be in demand by a “home craftsman”) and a number of other points - all this suggests whether it makes sense to spend money on purchasing a metal lathe? Moreover, the price of the cheapest desktop model is about 46,800 rubles.

With how to make a lathe from scratch, with our own hands, we will figure it out in detail, then - recommendations on the choice of materials and the procedure for assembling the machine. It is useful tips and examples of drawings, since making something with your own hands is a creative process; therefore, there simply cannot be "hard" standards. The above configuration diagram is just a reminder of.

It is advisable to simplify the design of a lathe for home use. Some components can be modernized (modified), and something can be abandoned altogether. For example, complex automation, feed boxes with its gears and EMF. And the movable element of the tailstock - the quill - is hardly of great importance for a homemade lathe.

Material selection

There are various tips, including that for the manufacture of individual elements of the machine, you can use wood in the form of a board and a bar. Argumentation - such an assembly does not present big problems and is relatively fast.

I would like to note that they will arise, but then, and very tangible. A "wooden" machine will not last long. Simply put, it will work, but you will have to forget about the accuracy of the operations. A turning model of equipment, even factory-made, requires not only careful tuning, but also systematic monitoring of the condition. The slightest change in the geometry of the same sled will lead to the fact that the processing of the part will turn into a “mockery” of the sample. Wood constantly swells and shrinks. What kind of smooth movement of the carriage, the coincidence of the axes of the centers, and the like can we talk about? The same applies to the bed. Dynamic loads will quickly lead to loosening of the base (frame, table or other component).

According to whatever drawing a household lathe is assembled, for the manufacture of all structural elements, metal products (pipes, a channel or a corner) should definitely be used. More difficult - yes, more reliable and durable - no doubt. All other options are a waste of time and effort.

Machine assembly procedure

Making any mechanism (installation, unit) with your own hands is a creative matter. Each master focuses on the range of tasks that he will have to solve with the help of home-made equipment, the availability of free space in the garage (shed, outbuilding), and so on. But if you understand the algorithm of actions, then it will not be difficult to assemble a domestic lathe. Here are some homemade samples.

If the reader is quite satisfied with the simplest model, and there is no desire to spend time on designing, the author suggests paying attention to the machine, which is based on an electric drill. No further explanation is required here.

It is clear that the functionality of such an installation is limited. First of all, due to the fact that only a drill or a drill can be clamped in the chuck. In fact, such a homemade product can be called a lathe conditionally.

But with the manufacture of more "serious" equipment, it is worth understanding in more detail.

table frame

It is necessary to determine whether the existing workbench (for example, in the garage) can withstand the additional load. If you intend to make a low-power lathe, for processing small parts, then the desktop is enough. When assembling the frame, two points must be taken into account.

The first is that nickels must be welded on the legs of the table. If the mobility of the machine is not required, that is, it is not expected to be regularly transferred, it makes sense to gouge holes in the concrete floor, install a frame and pour concrete again. The goal is to ensure maximum structural stability during the metalworking process.

Secondly, you should not unnecessarily make the installation heavier by using a thick steel plate as a countertop, especially since we are not talking about powerful equipment. It is enough to weld the lathe bed to the frame. Durability will be guaranteed.

It is necessary to check the conformity of the upper cut of the support frame with the horizontal plane. And only after bringing the structure back to normal, this working stage can be considered completed.

bed

Everything is simple here - the support frame of the lathe (channel or corner) is welded in size.

Drive unit

Here you have to choose one of two options:

If it is decided to fix the spindle (clamp, chuck) on the motor shaft, then how to change the number of its revolutions? And this will have to be done, depending on the hardness of the processed sample. You can, for example, install an engine from a second-hand sewing machine (speed control is provided). Only now the power of such a lathe will be minimal, therefore, the possibilities are limited.

Any electric / motor is characterized by the frequency of rotation of the shaft (rotor). It is clear that regular replacement of the engine with another one during operation is impossible. Therefore, you will have to think about how to change the gear ratio of the drive. The simplest solution is to reinstall the pulley belts mounted on the intermediate shaft, that is, use this type of transmission.

"Craftsmen", focusing on this technique, make machines with 10 - 12 speeds with their own hands. Convenience in working with dissimilar materials is ensured, and you don’t have to search for components, draw up an automation diagram and assemble it.

There is another argument in favor of such an engineering solution. The main force present in do-it-yourself machine tools is along the axis of the shaft. But electric motors of any model are calculated for the “perpendicular” load.

If the machine does not provide for a belt drive, you need to be prepared for frequent repairs. The reason is the destruction of the supporting parts of the engine. It is possible to avoid this, but such an upgrade requires separate consideration (there are several options) and will greatly complicate the design process.

What to consider when assembling

For such regulation, it is advisable to install an engine with a power of 0.75 - 1.5 kW on a lathe.

It is better not to use collector-type products. The peculiarity of such engines is that when the load is reduced (for example, at the time of retraction of the cutter), the rotor speed increases significantly. It is not difficult to predict the possible result - the departure of the workpiece and injury to the master.

As a rule, do-it-yourself lathes are assembled to work with small "blanks" - up to half a meter long and no more than 12 - 14 cm in diameter. For such models, asynchronous motors are considered the best (recommended power is indicated). The stability of the number of revolutions will be ensured, and sharp drops in the magnitude of the rotational speed are excluded.

Features of the manufacture of other structural elements

It is better (if possible) to take individual components from decommissioned equipment. Even if you need to remake it, it's easier than making it from scratch. Here are some of the options we will consider.

Sled

Turning from a bar is both difficult and impractical. Strength will not meet the requirements. It's easier to use ready-made elements. For example, shock absorbers.

pinole

Often in homemade lathes, the back gauge is fixed. You can use a regular bolt, having previously sharpened the end of its legs.

Toolholder

The author used 2 metal plates 4 mm. In order for the tool to be securely fixed and quickly reinstalled, an axle with a thread is welded in the center of the lower one, and a hole of the appropriate diameter in the upper one. To clamp the cutter - a nut with a "handle". The skew of the upper plate during tightening is excluded, since more holes are drilled at its corners, and vertical racks (bar segments) are welded to the lower (under them). As a result, the "clamping" plate moves strictly up/down.

When assembling a lathe, it is more correct to focus on the future. In everyday life, it is necessary to process not only metal blanks, but also from other materials - plastics, plexiglass, wood. The conclusion is unequivocal - if you already make turning equipment for home use with your own hands, then you need to strive for its versatility. In particular, to the possibility of changing the spindle speed in a wide range.

wood - 700 - 2,400;
metal - 85 - 940.

When determining the dimensions of the lathe, one should focus on the dimensions of the workpieces that are supposed to be processed. Specific recommendations on this item are meaningless, but it’s worth recalling the main parameters of low-power industrial equipment (in mm).

Length - 1 150.
Width - 600 - 620.
The height of the spindle axis is about 180. This will allow processing workpieces with a cross section of up to 175 mm.

In order for the lathe to be truly “working”, before drawing up its drawing, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the main characteristics of amateur models of industrial production. Linear parameters are not the main thing. There are also indicators such as the size of the caliper and the limits of its movement, the distance between the centers, the feed rate, and so on. This will greatly facilitate the choice of the optimal version of the machine for DIY assembly.

Particular attention should be paid to the coincidence of the centers of the spindle (chuck) and the quill. They should be connected by a horizontal line. Failure to comply with this condition leads to the appearance of backlash, beats of the workpiece in the process of metalworking. The result is damage. Bad, but not critical. If you have a lot of "iron" at hand, you can replace it. But the prospect of constantly acquiring new cutters (and they will “fly” without fail and quite often in such a home-made machine) is unlikely to suit anyone.

During the assembly process, questions will inevitably arise, how best to do “this or that” with your own hands. The author advises, in case of difficulty, to look at the photographs of lathes available on the Internet - both factory and home-made. An acceptable solution must be found.

Good luck in designing and metalworking!

A lathe is needed for the manufacture and processing of metal parts. Professional equipment is quite expensive, so in order to save money, you can make a home-made metal lathe with your own hands. This can be done in several ways, and drawings of such a product are easily found on the Internet. You can use improvised materials for manufacturing, but the size of the machine can be any.

Any homemade lathe consists of the following elements:

drive - the main part of the mechanism, which is responsible for its power. Choosing a drive with the required power is one of the most difficult tasks. In small lathes for metal with your own hands, you can use a drive from a conventional washing machine or drill. Usually, the power of this element starts from 200 W, and the number of revolutions per minute - from 1500;
bed - the supporting frame of the structure, which can be made of wooden bars or a steel corner. The bed must be characterized by high strength, otherwise the whole structure may fall apart from vibrations during operation;

tailstock - made of a steel plate and a steel corner welded to it. The plate rests against the guide beds, and the main purpose of the tailstock of the lathe with your own hands is to fix the metal part during processing;
headstock - a part similar to the tailstock, but mounted on a movable frame;
leading and slave centers;
caliper - a thrust mechanism for the working part.

Torque from the engine to the working part of the machine can be transmitted in several ways. Someone prefers to directly install the working part on the motor shaft - this saves space and allows you to save on spare parts. If this option is not possible, the torque can be transmitted using a friction, belt or chain drive. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages.

A belt drive for an electric motor is the cheapest and is characterized by a fairly high level of reliability. For its manufacture, you can use a belt for an electric motor, removed from any other mechanism. The disadvantage of a belt drive is that over time the belt can wear out and will have to be changed more often the more intensively you work with the machine.

A chain drive is more expensive and takes up more space, but will also last much longer than a belt drive. Friction transmission has intermediate characteristics between belt and chain.

Useful advice! When assembling a lathe, choose the type of gear that best suits the tasks. For example, for a do-it-yourself mini-lathe, it is better to install the working part directly on the shaft.

Do-it-yourself lathe caliper: drawings, how to make from improvised materials

The caliper is one of the most important parts of a homemade lathe - the quality of the future part depends on it, as well as the amount of time and effort that you spend on its manufacture. This part is located on a special sled that moves along the guides located on the bed. The caliper can move in three directions:

longitudinal - the working part of the machine moves along the workpiece. Longitudinal motion is used to turn a thread into a part or to remove a layer of material from the surface of a metal workpiece;

transverse - movement perpendicular to the axis of the workpiece. Used for turning recesses and holes;
oblique - movement at different angles for turning recesses on the surface of the workpiece.

When making a lathe caliper with your own hands, it is worth considering the fact that this part is subject to wear as a result of vibrations that occur during operation. Because of them, the fasteners are loosened, there is a backlash, all this affects the quality of the manufactured part. In order to avoid such problems, the caliper must be regularly adjusted and adjusted.

Do-it-yourself adjustment of a home-made caliper for a lathe is carried out according to gaps, backlash and oil seals. Clearance adjustment is needed when the screw responsible for moving the part in the longitudinal and transverse planes has worn out. As a result of friction, the caliper begins to loosen under loads, which significantly reduces the accuracy of manufacturing the part. You can eliminate the gaps by inserting wedges between the guides and the carriage. The backlash of the part is eliminated with a fixing screw.

If the oil seals are worn out in your machine, they should be thoroughly washed and soaked with fresh machine oil. In case of critical wear, it is better to completely replace the seals with new ones.

Caliper device: 1 - caliper carriage; 2 - lead screw; 3 - cross slide of the caliper; 4 - the rotary part of the caliper; 5 - guides of the rotary part; 6 - tool holder; 7 - screw for fixing the tool holder; 8 - screws for fastening; 9 - handle for turning the tool holder; 10 - nuts; 11 - the upper part of the caliper; 12 - transverse guide carriages; 13 - handle for moving the upper part of the caliper; 14 - handle for moving the cross slide; 15 - handle for turning on the supply of the caliper from the lead screw; 16 - handwheel for longitudinal movement of the caliper; 17 - apron

Do-it-yourself homemade lathe for metal with your own hands: assembly procedure

The mechanism is assembled in the following order:

The machine frame is assembled from metal beams and channels. If you are going to work with large parts, then the materials for assembling the frame must be used with the expectation of a large load. For example, if you plan to work with metal blanks over 50 mm long, the thickness of the materials for the frame should start from 3 mm for corners and from 30 mm for rods.
Longitudinal shafts with guides are installed on the channels. Shafts can be welded or bolted.
The headstock is being made. To make the headstock of a lathe with your own hands, a hydraulic cylinder with a wall thickness of 6 mm or more is used. Two bearings must be pressed into the cylinder.
The shaft is laid. For this, bearings with a large inner diameter are used.
Lubricant is poured into the hydraulic cylinder.
A pulley and a caliper with guides are installed.
The electric drive is mounted.

In addition, according to the do-it-yourself drawings of a metal lathe, it can be seen that a handpiece is made to increase the stability of the cutting mechanism, and a thin strip of metal is fixed on the lower part of the structure. The latter serves to protect the working part of the machine from deformation during operation.

Useful advice! A do-it-yourself metal lathe can be used not only for its intended purpose, but also for grinding and polishing metal parts. To do this, a grinding wheel is attached to the electric shaft.

Choosing an electric motor for a machine

The most important part of a homemade metal lathe, the video of which can be easily found on the Internet, is the electric motor. It is with its help that the movement of the working part of the machine is carried out. Accordingly, the power of the entire structure depends on the power of this mechanism. It is selected depending on the size of the metal blanks with which you plan to work.

If you plan to work on a machine with small parts, a motor with a power of up to 1 kW is quite suitable for this. It can be removed from an old sewing machine or any other similar electrical appliance. To work with large parts, you will need an engine with a power of 1.5-2 kW.

When assembling a homemade metal lathe according to ready-made drawings, keep in mind that all electrical parts of the structure must be securely insulated. If you do not have the necessary experience with electrical equipment, it is better to seek help from a specialist in connection. So you will be sure of the safety of work and the reliability of the design.

Making a lathe from a drill with your own hands

If you want to save on spare parts and greatly simplify the task of assembling a homemade lathe, you can use a conventional electric drill as a drive. This design solution has a number of advantages:

The ability to quickly assemble and disassemble the structure - the drill is easily detached from the bed and can be used for its intended purpose.
The ease of carrying and transporting the machine is a good option if you have to work with metal blanks in the garage and on the street.
Savings - the drill acts not only as an electric motor, but also eliminates the need to use a gear, and also allows you to use interchangeable nozzles as a working tool.

Of course, there are also negative sides to a lathe from a drill. How to make processing large parts possible with this tool? This is practically impossible, since the drill has a relatively small torque and a large number of revolutions. Of course, you can increase these parameters if you still install a belt drive and use it to transmit torque from the drill to the spindle, but this will greatly complicate the design, the main advantage of which is simplicity and compactness.

Diagram of a homemade lathe based on a drill: 1 - fastening to a table or; 2 - front support; 3 - support for the workpiece; 4 - rear support

Making a homemade desktop metal lathe based on a drill makes sense in cases where you do not need to carry out large-scale work, and only small details need to be turned.

To make a metal lathe based on an electric drill, you will need the same parts as for a conventional design, with the exception of an electric motor and a headstock. The role of the latter is also performed by a drill. Given the compactness of the design, an ordinary table or workbench can be used as a bed, on which all components of the machine will be fixed. The drill itself is fixed in the structure with a clamp and a clamp.

Useful advice! The functionality of a lathe based on an electric drill can be significantly expanded by adding various nozzles and additional devices to its design.

Using a homemade lathe, you can not only grind parts, but also apply paint to a rotating workpiece, wind wire on a transformer, make spiral notches on the surface of a part, and perform many other actions. In addition, if you assemble a copier attachment for the machine, then with its help you can quickly and effortlessly produce small identical parts.

Features of the work of lathes for metal with their own hands, video instructions as a way to avoid mistakes

Like any other equipment, homemade lathes have their own characteristics that must be considered during assembly and operation. For example, when working with large parts or when using a powerful electric motor, strong vibrations occur, which can lead to serious errors in the processing of the part. To get rid of vibrations, the leading and driven centers of the machine must be installed on the same axis. And if you plan to install only the leading center, a cam mechanism should be attached to it.

In do-it-yourself desktop lathes for metal, it is not recommended to install a commutator motor. It is prone to a spontaneous increase in the number of revolutions, which can lead to the departure of the part. This, in turn, can lead to work injury or property damage. If, however, it is impossible to do without installing a collector motor, it is imperative to install a gearbox with it to lower the speed.

The ideal motor option for a homemade lathe is asynchronous. It does not increase the speed during operation, is resistant to heavy loads and allows you to work with metal blanks with a width of up to 100 mm.

The rules for installing and operating any type of electric motor for a lathe can be viewed in numerous video instructions on the Internet. With their help, you will not only avoid common assembly errors, but also save time and effort due to the visibility of the material.

Safety precautions when working with a homemade lathe

When working with the structure, certain safety precautions must be observed. So, after assembling the machine, you need to check its performance. The spindle should rotate easily and without delay, the front and rear centers must be aligned on a common axis. The center of symmetry of a rotating part must coincide with its axis of rotation.

On any video of the lathe with your own hands, you can see that after mounting the electric motor, it is covered with a special casing. The latter serves not only to protect the operator of the machine, but also to protect the motor itself from dust, metal particles and dirt. For a machine made on the basis of an electric drill, such a casing is not needed.

Useful advice! If you are planning to install a structure based on a powerful electric motor, be sure to make sure that your electrical network has enough power to work with it. At home, it is better to get by with a motor from household appliances, which will definitely work from the voltage in your outlet.

You should also adhere to the following safety rules:

The working tool must be parallel to the surface of the workpiece. Otherwise, it may come off, resulting in damage to the machine.
If you are machining end planes, the part should rest against the tailstock. It is very important to maintain alignment, otherwise you risk getting a defective part.
To protect your eyes from metal chips and particles, you can build a special shield or just use goggles.
After work, the structure must be cleaned, removing metal filings and other production waste. Be careful not to let small parts get into the motor.

Options for upgrading a homemade lathe

If you need a mechanism that can not only perform turning work, but also grind and paint the workpiece, the basic machine can be easily modified. It is best to do this for a design based on an electric drill, since it is easiest to replace the working part in it.

There are several popular modifications of the lathe for metal. How to make a conical hole? To do this, two files must be attached to the base so that they form a trapezoid. After that, a spring mechanism is mounted, which ensures that the files are fed forward and at an angle, which allows drilling cone-shaped holes into the part.

In addition, to work with metal parts of different lengths, you can make a machine with a collapsible base. With the help of several boards or metal corners, you can bring the working tool closer or further to the fasteners that hold the part, as well as change the size of the gap between the fasteners. It is most convenient to make such a design on the basis of a conventional table or workbench.

If you attach a grinding wheel to the electric motor as a working tool, using the machine, you can not only polish the surface of the part, but also sharpen knives, scissors and other household tools. Thus, the lathe turns into a convenient multifunctional mechanism.

Assembling a lathe at home is a fairly simple task, which is further simplified by numerous video instructions and drawings from the Internet. At the same time, you can assemble the structure literally from improvised parts, using old household appliances and waste from assembly and construction production for this.

The main advantage of self-assembly is cost savings. In addition, it is worth noting the ability to independently adjust the dimensions and power of the device in order to adapt it to your needs. can be not only large, but also quite miniature, designed for processing small parts.

In order to make a lathe with your own hands, a home craftsman will need to figure out the mechanism of its action, prepare some materials and have the patience necessary to assemble a home-made structure that will allow you to process a variety of metal products.

1 Why do I need a homemade lathe?

No man will refuse to have a small lathe in his house or apartment. Indeed, with its help, you can perform many operations related to the processing of metal parts, ranging from knurling a corrugated surface and boring holes, and ending with threading and giving the outer surfaces of parts of given shapes.

Of course, you can try to purchase a factory turning unit. But such a purchase is not affordable for everyone, and it is almost impossible to place a production machine in an ordinary home due to the fact that metal turning equipment takes up a lot of space. An excellent alternative to acquiring a bulky and inconvenient factory machine is to make a simple and yet functional lathe with your own hands.

A home-made metal lathe, assembled in accordance with all the rules, will have simple controls, take up a minimum of space, and be easy to operate. At the same time, you can easily process various metal and steel products of small geometric dimensions on it, becoming a real home craftsman.

2 The device and mechanism of action of a homemade machine

Before you start creating a turning unit for domestic use, it would be useful to learn about its main components and the mechanism of operation of such equipment. The elementary machine consists of the following parts:

two grandmas;
frame;
two centers: one of them is the slave, the other is the leader;
stop for working cutting tool;
electric drive.

The mechanisms of the machine are installed on the frame (in a home-made unit, its role is played by the frame). The tailstock moves along this base of the unit. The headstock is necessary to accommodate the basic rotation unit of the equipment; it is fixed. A transmission device is also mounted in the frame, connecting the leading center with the electric motor. Through this center, the required rotation is transmitted to the workpiece.

The bed of the "home" machine is usually made of wooden beams; you can also use corners or profiles made of steel (metal). It doesn't matter what kind of frame material you choose, as long as it firmly fixes the installation centers.

It is allowed to install almost any electric motor on a home-made turning unit, even a very small one in power, but it should be understood that its technical characteristics may not be enough for high-quality processing of parts, especially when it comes to a metalworking machine. The low power of the electric motor will not allow working with metal, but even a motor with a power of about two hundred watts can handle wooden blanks.

Rotation in homemade machines can be communicated by means of a chain, friction or belt drive. The last of these is used most often, since it is characterized by maximum reliability. In addition, there are also such designs of units made independently, in which a transmission device is not provided at all. In them, the leading center or chuck for attaching a working tool is placed directly on the motor shaft. A video of the operation of such a unit can be easily found on the Internet.

3 Some design features of "home" lathes

To prevent vibration of the workpieces, the driving and driven center should be mounted on the same axis. If you plan to manufacture a machine with only one center (with a leading one), the design of such equipment will need to provide for the possibility of fastening the product with a cam chuck or faceplate.

Experts do not advise installing collector-type electric motors on home-made turning units. Their revolutions in the absence of working loads can increase without the operator's command, which leads to the departure of the part from the fastening elements. It is clear that such a "flying" blank can do a lot of trouble in a limited space - in an apartment or in a private garage.

If you still plan to install a collector motor, take care to equip it with a special gearbox. This mechanism eliminates the risk of uncontrolled acceleration of parts processed on the machine.

The optimal type of drive for a homemade unit is a conventional asynchronous motor. It is characterized by high stability under loads (constant speed) and provides high-quality processing of parts up to 70 wide and up to 10 centimeters in cross section. In general, the type and power of the electric motor must be selected so that the product subjected to turning receives sufficient rotational force.

The driven center, which, as noted, is located on the tailstock, can be stationary or rotating. It is made from a standard bolt - you just need to sharpen the end of its threaded section under the cone. The bolt is treated with machine oil and inserted into the thread (internal) cut in the tailstock. Its course should be approximately 2.5-3 centimeters. The rotation of the bolt makes it possible to press the workpiece between the two centers of the unit.

4 The process of self-manufacturing a unit for turning

Next, we will talk about how to make a homemade bow-type lathe, and also provide a video of this simple process. With the help of such an installation, you can grind metal products and other materials, sharpen knives and other cutting devices. The unit, among other things, will become your best assistant in cases where you yourself are repairing your car.

To begin with, we need to cut out two strong wood racks and attach bolts to them with nuts. The bed of a home-made machine will be attached to them, which can also be made of wood (if possible, it is better to use some sort of high-quality metal for the frame - a steel corner or a channel).

Be sure to make a special handpiece, which increases the level of stability of the cutter for turning metal parts. A similar handguard is a construction of two boards glued at right angles (or connected with small screws). Moreover, a strip of thin metal is attached to the bottom board, which is necessary to protect the working tool from changing its shape during rotation. A slot is cut out in a plank standing horizontally, which makes it possible to control the movements of the handpiece.

You shouldn’t have any problems with the manufacture of the tailstock and headstock - the essence is clear, and if there are any difficulties, you can watch a video on the Internet, where this process is shown and described in great detail. Headstock cartridges, as a rule, are made from finished cylinders, suitable in cross section to the general design of the machine, or by welding sheet iron.

It is advisable to install the frame of a home-made installation on a duralumin base, securely fasten the frame to it, mount all the components of the machine (there are not so many of them). After that, we take up the power unit of our equipment. First of all, we choose a suitable electric motor. For processing metal products, it must be powerful enough:

if you plan to work with small parts - from 500 to 1000 watts;
to work with more "large-scale" blanks - from 1500 to 2000 watts.

For "handicraft" turning equipment, motors from old sewing and washing machines, as well as engines from other equipment, are suitable. Here, decide for yourself which drive you can mount on a homemade unit. A hollow steel shaft (spindle head) is connected to the electric motor using a belt or other transmission. This shaft is connected to a pulley, which is mounted on a key. A pulley is needed to attach a working tool.

You can connect power mechanisms yourself, but it is better to involve a specialist electrician in this operation. In this case, you will be sure that your lathe will provide complete electrical safety for turning operations. After assembly, the machine is ready for use. If you later need to expand its operational capabilities, it is easy to do.

So, for example, abrasives can be mounted on the protruding end of the motor shaft, or, and with their help, it can be polished, as well as high-quality sharpening of household tools. If desired, it is not difficult to make or purchase a special type of adapter equipped with a chuck for drilling metals. It can be attached to the above shaft and perform slot milling in various parts and drilling holes.

Enjoy working on your own homemade mini turning center!