DIY Lathe - What Headstock?

**Boyan Silyavski** · 04-07-2017

Bicycle disc brakes, some aluminum, 700w servo motor , you machine the pulleys and so, some belts. So basically the extra controller may be or you figure another way to do it.

I find that really an useful thing to have

**Chaz** · 04-07-2017

Originally Posted by Boyan Silyavski

Bicycle disc brakes, some aluminum, 700w servo motor , you machine the pulleys and so, some belts. So basically the extra controller may be or you figure another way to do it.

I find that really an useful thing to have

Explain more please ..... I should be able to machine most of this - not sure about design and bearing selection, not an area I understand.

**Boyan Silyavski** · 04-07-2017

As far as i remember 7:1 ratio of a 700w servo motor. Hydraulic bicycle brake brakes and fixes at certain position when indexing. Bearings are fairly simple. They are so cheap now. Something like the rotating ball nut. A pair of oposing angular contact bearings with sufficient size. Thats it

**Boyan Silyavski** · 04-07-2017

Check his channel on you tube. There are 10 or so videos where he explains everything in detail https://www.youtube.com/user/Simpsons36/videos

**m_c** · 04-07-2017

The InTurn development thread can be found on the mach forums - http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...c,11422.0.html

IIRC lots of the design aspects were discussed, but it's been a while since I've read through the thread. It's certainly worth having a read if you've got a couple spare hours.

It's a good solution, but the downsides are lathe tool mounting, having to swap the belt to change speeds, and having to continually install/uninstall it.
I can see the appeal if you're limited for space, but I'd opt for a decent lathe.

Lathe spindles are not complicated. Spindle, housing, couple bearings. Job done. The problem is the spindle itself, as you either need to start with a big lump of metal and remove most of it, make it out of two parts and weld/screw it together, or get it forged. And if you want to use a Camlock chuck, you need to find the correct specification document with all the dimensions (Chuck specs are easy to find, but the spindle specs not so).
Off course, you could buy a spindle - http://www.posa-spindle.com/en/index or http://www.royal-spindles.com.tw/
There is the possibility of a headstock from a more hobby type lathe, but I'm not sure who would supply something like that in the UK.

**Chaz** · 05-07-2017

Originally Posted by m_c

The InTurn development thread can be found on the mach forums - http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...c,11422.0.html

IIRC lots of the design aspects were discussed, but it's been a while since I've read through the thread. It's certainly worth having a read if you've got a couple spare hours.

It's a good solution, but the downsides are lathe tool mounting, having to swap the belt to change speeds, and having to continually install/uninstall it.
I can see the appeal if you're limited for space, but I'd opt for a decent lathe.

Lathe spindles are not complicated. Spindle, housing, couple bearings. Job done. The problem is the spindle itself, as you either need to start with a big lump of metal and remove most of it, make it out of two parts and weld/screw it together, or get it forged. And if you want to use a Camlock chuck, you need to find the correct specification document with all the dimensions (Chuck specs are easy to find, but the spindle specs not so).
Off course, you could buy a spindle - http://www.posa-spindle.com/en/index or http://www.royal-spindles.com.tw/
There is the possibility of a headstock from a more hobby type lathe, but I'm not sure who would supply something like that in the UK.

Thanks. Good info.

I sometimes see Boxford lathe headstocks (or similar) being sold for around £250 on fleabay. Is that not worth looking at?

**Boyan Silyavski** · 05-07-2017

I see the appeal of Inturn like 4rth axis if you are doing stuff like gears, pulleys, small intricate parts. Basically what i believe is worth having at home for a CNC lathe. Now if you want a CNC lathe for bigger parts that do not need indexing, i agree its not the best choice.

i am waiting for the day to come, but basically what i am going to do is fit to my mini lathe 700w servo motor, additional hydraulic disc brake from bycicle and thats it. Fit it in my machine. maybe change to bigger chuck.

**m_c** · 05-07-2017

Something like a boxford headstock would work. Ultimately suitable headstocks depend on how big a bit of metal you want to be able to fit through them. The bigger you'd like, the fewer and more expensive the options.

However, if you design it with a bolt on headstock (which you'll really want anyway for alignment purposes), then swapping at a later date won't be as big of a challenge.

**Chaz** · 07-07-2017

I'm tempted to buy this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smart-Brow...QAAOSwyltZWUgD

It's tatty, might work as a manual lathe, I Can then break it down and take / keep the headstock. Not sure if its worth trying to convert it, just use as is until I am ready to take the headstock.

**Boyan Silyavski** · 07-07-2017

Originally Posted by Chaz

I'm tempted to buy this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smart-Brow...QAAOSwyltZWUgD

It's tatty, might work as a manual lathe, I Can then break it down and take / keep the headstock. Not sure if its worth trying to convert it, just use as is until I am ready to take the headstock.

Thats what i was saying, Mini lathe + servo motor and brake and fit inside the machine.

Cause once you restore it , it will be beautiful and difficult to salvage it for parts