Can a portable, foot-powered lathe make a believer out of you?
Wood turning on a spring pole lathe is all about reciprocation, all about back and forth. Take this example:
Q: Dont you get tired of standing on one leg?
A: Sure, but if you try to work the treadle with both legs you fall over.
or:
Q: I bet you can’t wait to get electricity!
A: Well, this is an alcohol-powered lathe! (Said while sipping from your large colonial mug.
or:
Q: Thats a lot safer than a power lathe.
A: Unless you lean forward too far! (Said while tilting your head into the path of the descending spring pole.)
But snappy comebacks wont win anyone over to your side of the spring pole lathe. The response that does win a true believer is this: Here, give it a try! (Said while passing the turning gouge into the questioners hands.)
This lathe, adapted from an old German technical dictionary, is precise, portable and powerful. It can also be adjusted, modified, and adaptable. The two dead centers permit no play in the workpiece, and the direct drive of the cord wrapped around the wood loses no power in transmission, friction or vibration. The great virtue of this particular lathe is that it uses two wooden springs, linked by a sliding collar, to make the tension instantly adjustable. The overhead rocker arm lengthens the throw of the springs and puts the drive cord right where you need it.
Equally important in this design, however, aside from how rewarding the lathe is to make and use, is how accessible the materials are. The entire design was based on readily available pine construction lumber. You can almost build the whole lathe using a 12-long 212, resized to the required 10 and 18 cm widths.
For The Frame
It’s almost there! A single 12 plank of nominal 212 will give you most of the wood you need.
Begin with the horizontal rails. Choose the best-matched pair for the top pair (the lathe’s ways). Mark the parts with triangles to keep them in order.
Matched marks. As with any frame construction, start by ganging up all the horizontal (or vertical) members and setting out the lines across them while they are clamped together.
Set the top pair together on the benchtop, narrow edges up, and pencil a triangle, pointing to the front (to you) overlapping the two top rails. The bottom rail gets a single triangle on its upper edge, again pointing to the front of the lathe.
The length of these 4-long rails may vary slightly in length. However, it is important to have an equal distance between the tenon shoulders. Strike your shoulder lines across the three rails at least 10 cm from the ends to leave enough strength in the protruding tenons for the wedges that draw them tight.
It should be rubbed well. I rip the long-grain cheeks of the tenons before crosscutting the shoulders. This cuts down on the trimming needed to clean up a split caused by a wobble of the mighty rip saw.
Now scribe the thickness of the tenons on the top rails (3 cm) with the marking gauge held against what will become the inner faces. These are single-shouldered top rail tenons with the shoulders facing outward towards the front and back. Single-shouldered tenons are less stable than a two-shouldered version, but, because they are set in opposing pairs on the two rails, they cancel out each others tendency to twist the mortised post. Without a mate to counter it, the lonely lower rail is best cut with a standard, two-shouldered tenon.
Boredom & More. The boring and chiseling ahead will be easier if you can see the mortises from both sides.
As before, mark the height of the mortises at the posts and the shoulders of the tenons for their feet in the same way. Again, mark their front edges with the overlapping triangle. With the gauge working consistently from the triangle-marked edges, scribe the 3 cm widths of the mortises through the posts. Before you adjust the gauge, mark each setting on both sides of the posts.
These mortises are simply rectangular tunnels quickly excavated after making careful, clean entrances on the opposite faces. Chop these tunnel entrances with repeated cross-grain chisel cuts, leaving -deep trenches to register the positions of the auger and chisel work that follow. Fit the lips of the auger into this trench and bore halfway through from both sides, meeting in the middle. Use the firmer chisel to clean up.
You now have your first chance to stand up the frame of the lathe and to see what fun it is fitting six mortise-and-tenon joints together at the same time. When you’re done, call me.
Spring Pole Lathe Cutting List
No.ItemDimensions (inches)MaterialComments
tw l
1 Short post 1 7 45 Pine 3 double tenons
1 Long post 1 7 66 Pine 3 double tenons
2 Feet 1424Pine
1 Bottom rail 1 – 48 Pine 3 cm thick TBE*
2 Top rails 1 4 48 Pine 3 cm-thick TBE*
1 Rocker arm 248Pine
1 Treadle 2 48 Pine Taper at end
6 Frame wedges 1 9 Pine Taper One End
1 Short spring pole 1 343 Hickory Plane from octagonal
1 Long spring pole 1 1 49 Hickory Plane to octagonal
1 Tool rest 1 6 12 Pine chamfer, front
1 Tool rest support 1413Pine
1 Tool rest bottom 4 6 Pine
1 Tail stock 3 5 17Pine
1 Tail stock wedge 1 12 Pin Tapered one end*TBE=Tenon on both ends
Elevation
LONG post & foot Profiles
Tool Rest support plan
Tool Rest Elevation
Tail Stock Elevation & Profile
Tail Stock Elevation and Profile
short post & foot Profiles
Wedged Tusk Tenons
Wedge issue. Trace the wedges on the cheeks of the protruding tenons. Bore and chisel the mortises to make it easy to fit the sides and add extra space to your back.
The wedges through the tusk tenons on the ends of the rails look great and lock the frame together firmly. To work at all, however, the wedges do need that extra clearance on their backsides so they can push ever harder against the posts as they are tapped down rather than locking up in a too-precise mortise.
From stout wood, rip out six,-thick wedges, 23 cm long, 3 cm broad at one end and tapering to at the other.
Drill for coves. Attach the foot blocks together, and then bore through their intersections to create nice cove cuts that will be used as the ends of the relief cuts.
Once the frame is assembled, and the rails are flush to the shoulders, place one wedge against the cheek of the protruding Tenon so that it can rest when being driven home. Trace the wedges sloping edge onto the tenon cheek then trace a second line on the cheek running flush against the post.
Take the rail off the post and trace the lines from the wedge around edges of the Tenon. On the back line, the one that was flush against the post, add in that extra clearance or so. Set a mortising gauge to run a centered -wide pair of tracks to guide your auger and chisel, then chop the mortises.
On Your Feet
Split em. Split em. In this case you might saw the shoulders first then split your way back to the line.
You get to enjoy a nice trick before you begin cutting the joints to connect the feet to the posts. To give them more of a pedestal shape, the tops and the undersides of the feet are relieved by or so. These cut-aways terminate in cove cuts, readily made, two at a time, by the same auger you used to make the mortises in the frame.
Attach the foot blocks (base to bottom) together and then bore through them both. Set the lead screw exactly where they meet. Bore the pieces together until the lead screw pokes through the other side. Then flip the pieces that are already in place and turn the auger to the poke-through position. Continue the boring to connect with the other side.
Reset the feet with the other edges clamped together and bore the second pair of holes. This process leaves four semi-cylindrical cuts in each foot that will make smooth, coved shoulders at the ends of your saw cuts.
Ogee! Set the compass for half the length of the baseline. Strike short arcs from the midpoint and from one end of the baseline. Set the compass at this intersection and strike an arc forming half of the ogee. Repeat on the opposite side. Cut.
For stability and strength, the joint that connects the foot to a post must have a broad base. However, it must not weaken either component. The post’s double, haunched tenon leaves a small section of wood unbroken in the middle of its mortise.
Start with a broad, centered, – thick tenon, then cut out the intervening wood with a turning saw. Instead of ripping-sawing the cheeks of large tenons, you might prefer to first saw the shoulders and then split the wood to get to the final thickness.
To get the run of the grain, make an exploratory cut about halfway into the waste. Once you have finished the tenon, place it on the foot and trace around it so that the mortises can be found.
This design features 14 ogee shoulders that make the lathe look great. The ogee is the ancient, wave-shaped recurve (laid out with a compass), as you can see in the foot illustration.
On the feet, the ogee curves are large enough in proportion to the thickness of the stock that they readily take shape with a turning saw. You can use a chisel and gouge to cut the smaller ogees, especially those on the thicker tailstock. As you lay out the ogees, you might reflect on the mechanical kinship of the rotary tools the compass and the augers, and the lathe (the machine that you are building with them).
Spring Poles, Rocker Arms & A Magic Ring
Keep on rockin! To prevent the light pine rocker arm from slipping, a metal bushing is needed.
Now, add the moving parts to your sturdy frame. We wanted to use heavy wood for strength, stability and durability for the frame. Now we need a stiff but light rocker arm that will not dampen the action by excessive inertia.
The rocker arm pivots on a iron rod with a sleeve bearing inserted to protect the soft wood. The rod and the sleeve are usually hiding somewhere in the lots-of-little-drawers-write-the-number-on-the-bag section of your hardware store. These will need to be cut with your hacksaw.
The rocker arm pivots within a U-shaped slot at the top of the tall post. Locate the top of the tall post, and trace a straight line from there to the middle of the space between rail tenons. This becomes the centerline of this -wide slot.
Use the rocker arm itself as the layout guide for the lines across the top, end grain of the post, keeping it in line with the rails below as you trace along the sides. Bore the holes for the shaft through the post as accurately as you can, using a square and an assistant to check the work.
Oooo shiny! Drill through the overlap with a copper strap. You can repair your harness by purchasing the rivet and washer from a farm shop.
Ash, oak and hickory do well for the spring poles, but whatever stiff wood you can find will get you started cut off mop handles if you have to. Oak and hickory that have been fast-grown are more stiff than oak or hickory with many tight growth rings. To form an octagonal cross section, bring the poles to 3 cm in size. Next, drawknife the corners and plane them off with a pannel. The lower pole should fit completely within the frame, but the longer one has to reach out about 15 cm through the slot in the tall post.
The magic in this lathe centers on the movable ring linking the two spring rods.
Sliding the ring from left to right changes the combined spring strength from weak to wow, allowing you to match the inertial resistance of the workpiece with a spring strength that keeps the turning action lively and fast.
A simple knotted cord would do for the ring, but a copper band gives a bit of flash. Saw a scrap length of copper pipe in half down its length and flatten out one half into a stout strip. Bend it to fit easily around the two rods, drill through the overlap and rivet it shut.
One more step and you can test the spring action. I connect the spring to the rocker arm with a heavy wire rod (but I still seek a light wooden, or a better-looking metal, connecting rod). Avoid any material that could be stretched or dampen the spring poles’ energy.
Tail Stock, Tool Rest & Centers
Make it thick. The tail stock can be attached from two layers plank. The small, deep ogee shoulders are best pared in with chisel and gouge rather than cut with a turning saw.
It is great if you can find thick material for the tailstock. But in keeping with the mandate for the readily available material, I use two good 46 cm lengths of glued-up plank.
The wedge should be made for the tailstock in the same manner as the tusk-tenons on rails. It should be thick enough to allow you to hit it with a mallet. This wedge gets a lot of use as you adjust the pinch of the two centers.
You depend on the tool rest for proper turning, so dont neglect it. A wobbly tool rest makes good work impossible and the blame may fall on the whole concept of spring-pole lathe turning.
The tool rest should be easily loosened to allow for adjustment, but also quickly locked in place. It has to be wide enough to not require frequent shifting left and right, but not so wide as to be unstable. The T-shaped under-piece keeps the 18 cm-long, carriage bolt (secured with a fender washer and wing nut) centered between the rails, and the slotted L-shaped upper half allows you to position the rest properly distant from the turning wood. A 1 inch wide metal strip is screwed to the top edge. This provides a smooth, narrow fulcrum that can be used for turning tools.
Smooth movements A metal strip makes smooth bearing for the turning tools on the rest. Build the tool rest stoutly!
The height adjustment is not available on this tool rest. However, shims could be used to adjust the height. I find it acceptable if the top edge meets the centers. Make the tool rest first, check it for level, then use it to find the locations of the centers on the head and tail stocks.
The centers must be perfect, polished cones or they will constantly enlarge their seat in the end grain of the turning piece and allow it to wobble.
My students have me buy #1 Morse taper dead center centers for their lathes. However, if they are more inclined to metal-working, you can turn the remaining rod from the rocker arm into the centers of your lathe.
Fret not about the lack of screw adjustments on the centers. You can adjust the pinch of this lathe just like a wooden plane with taps of your mallet or more frequently with the handle of the turn tool.
What a bore. The brace should be aligned with lathes axis. The tapered centers seat well in a 1110 cm-deep 741 cm hole followed by a concentric 320 cm hole.
The drive cord, like the center, is a very demanding part of the lathe. A natural fiber cord frays very quickly from rubbing against itself but it will get you started. The best cord is the to round leather belting used for treadle sewing machines. Pass the top of the cord through a hole bored in the tip end of the rocker arm and stop it with an overhand knot. Attach the 6-foot length to the tip of your foot treadle.
I have never made a foot treadle any more elaborate than a plain four-foot stick for this lathe, probably because I was so eager to try it out that I went for the quickest solution. Spring pole lathes often have proper treadles. These are usually triangular sets of sticks that have one side hinged to a floor. No matter what treadle you choose, ensure that it is light enough to not fight its inertia but strong enough to keep the turning action exciting and decisive.
Attachments
What is a lathe without attachments! Clockwise from left: Mandrel and head stock for turning wood too slender to work directly with the drive cord. The square socket is the end of the slender piece of wood, while the other ends turn on the dead center in tail stock. A spike mandrel for bowl turning. A thread chase for making bench screws. For boring flutes and other purposes, a hollow center tailstock is made from a polished brass plumbing fixture. For slender stock, a steady-rest that maintains constant pressure. A socket scraper resting on an example of the ball and socket joints it helps to make (It mounts in the tail stock.)
RU
Turning
Find the sweet spot. A proper skew cut with the gouge leaves a spiraling shaving as the bevel rubs on the wood. The drive cord runs around the work sideways to the turner.
You could turn kiln-dried wood, just as you could eat only crackers, but the full flavor of woodturning is only found in fresher stuff. With wedges, hatchet and drawknife, rough out some fresh turning stock to perhaps a 8 cm-diameter cylinder (a pretty nice cylinder for this first time out) about 46 cm long. Find the approximate centers on both ends and dig out a small hole with the point of a skew turning chisel.
Rub some wax in the holes, wrap the lathe cord around the stock so it passes on the front side and pinch up the stock between the centers. Tighten the centers by tapping in the tail stock and driving in the wedge. You will need to tighten the pinch several times during turning as the centers find their final seat.
Set your toe on the treadle about a foot from the anchored end and push down. The stock should be spinning towards you at the top. If it is turning away from you during the downstroke, the cord is not passing on the correct side.
To adjust the spring tension, slide the ring left/right to give the upstroke a lively spin. You can make additional adjustments by moving the connecting rods positions on the protruding pole and the rocker arm. The wood will spin faster if the cord is smaller than the area where it wraps around the workpiece. Large diameter equals slower speed, more torque. Small diameter equals high speed, lower torque just what you want.
Now for the turning, and the question: Do you have to pull the tool back on the return stroke?
You don’t, but you can strive to be the best at turning. It is not enough to just insert a saw into the spinning stock and then scrape your way through it. When your leg muscles and not the power plant are doing the work, you have a constant incentive to find that most perfect shearing cut.
Your left hand should be used to anchor the gouge. Slide the skimming blades left to right for a length of 5 cm, until you reach a clean cylinder at the stock’s right end.
Now try some proper turning, making sure that the bevel of the gouge or chisel rubs the wood as the cutting edge makes a shearing cut across the grain, leaving a spiraling shaving. Always work from the larger diameter down to the smaller.
The only concerns specific to the spring pole lathe are:
Dont cut the cord with your gouge!
To get multiple rotations of stock, lift your foot enough.
Keep the centers pinching the wood (a rattling sound means you are loose).
Show kindness to those who are interested!
This is crucial. You might find the muscle-power machines challenging for your world view. To answer the question:
Hey! Wheres the switch?
It is tempting to say: Right here! (Said while picking up an hickorystick and taking a swipe at the legs of the questioner.
That would be a shame.
Model: Download a free SketchUp model of the pole lathe.
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