William Noble wrote:
you have to look around locally - a few years ago I picked up a crafstman
monotube lathe for $5, it needed a motor but was otherwise complete and it
came with some tools - you don't need a lot of swing and you don't need a
lot of horsepower to make a bat - 4 inch swing will do, and 1/4 hp will do.
If you can't find a lathe, just make one - you need a something for the
headstock - an old saw arbor will do, you can use a nail in a 2X4 for the
tail stock, and notch the other end of the 2X4 to fit over a 2X4 you use for
the ways - and you are set to go - another scrap 2X4 sitting on the floor
can make your tool rest. I'd guess you could make a lathe like I am
describing for a maximum of $10, probably less if you dig around and get the
motor and pulleys for free from a broken washing machine rather than paying
for them.


Bill Noble has a made a good point: except for the length, you have
described a need for a truly minimal lathe. Use your imagination. You
need to safely spin a fairly skinny piece of wood at a few hundred rpms.
You need a way to support a cutting tool while it is engaged in the
wood. And you will need both a tool and a way to sharpen it. Scrounge,
adapt, modify and re-purpose well enough and you should be able to hang
on to nearly ALL of your nestegg.

Consider the project an engineering challenge. If you are near Detroit,
I might have a small electric motor to donate. In fact, if you are near
Detroit, contact me at billat googledot com. I may be able to help you a
LOT further along than that.

Oh ... and congratulations on getting started so young. Many of us were
already wheezers and geezers before we got our start and any chance of
us attaining serious stature as turners is limited by the number of
hours remaining in our lives ... far too few, for the most part, for
that goal.

But you - you are starting young enough to actually take the craft of
woodturning forward a notch or two. I hope you make not just a bat or
two ... but history!

Bill


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