CD,

Thanks for your note and suggestions. I've been turning for a while on my
craft guild's lathe. Now that the guild has a newer, variable speed lathe,
I'm considering picking up the old lathe at a bargain price, upgrading it
with a variable speed motor (I like that feature and am using it on my
current projects) and putting it in my garage shop -- a little closer to
home than the guild.

I first started thinking about a variable speed when I noticed that Craft
Supplies sold several such motors. The lightbulb went off -- I could have
my own variable speed lathe for less than the cost of a new one, and it's
bed, headstock and tailstock would be heavier than the newer guild lathe.
I'll look around for information on Chuck Woodruff -- the price you mention
is lower than Craft Supplies.

I spent some time with Google yesterday, and came up with some suggestions
for building a lathe stand with a motor mount. Lots of suggestions, and I
think I can pull it together. Since I still have a lathe to work with at
the guild, I think I can deal with the fiddle factor, particularly since I
have a kayak and other projects already underway in my garage. The old
lathe is available now, so I might pick it up and add it to my list of
projects. Oh yes, there's also the tool collecting factor. This will be
the last power tool I buy, honest!

Jim

From: (cindy drozda)
Organization: Nyx net, The Spirit of the Night
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.woodturning
Date: 16 Nov 2003 13:07:07 -0700
Subject: Old Delta Lathe Worth New motor?


Jim, Chuck Woodruff sells variable speed DC motors and controllers, and I
was very happy with the one I got from him. It needed no fiddling and has
performed well. Price was about $400. Craft Supplies (and probably others)
sell DC motor/controller packages too. I have the one from Craft Supplies
currently powering my Vicmarc, and have been very happy with it too.
Chuck may have a website, but I don't know it. His email is in the AAW
member directory under Washington State.

One (of many) source for treadmill motors is American Science and Surplus.
(www.sciplus.com) You can get a 3/4 hp motor for about $40, but the
fiddle-around factor might be really high. The archives on this group will
yield lots of advice on how to do that. I believe the archives are
somewhere on Google, and maybe deja.com? Anyone else know?

It's true what another poster said about how variable speed won't make you
a better turner....but if you have to install a motor anyway, you will be
happier in the long run with a modern variable speed machine because it
will allow you to do things that are more difficult with the standard cone
pulley fixed speed arrangement. The key is to balance the time spent
fiddling with your lathe against the time you could spend turning on it!

Have fun!

-CD-
boulder, co