Drill Press Lathes?

[julvr]

Hi there. I was wondering how good drill press lathes are. I was thinking of turning a couple of egg holders as part of a Christmas gift. I don't have the money for a full lathe, so I was wondering if a drill press lathe might be up to the task.

Thanks

John

[Charlie Self]

They can work for small items, but you need to remember that the bearings in a drill press are not made for side thrust forces, so will wear out more quickly.

[Stuart]

I've just got myself one of these as I want to have a try at woodturning without wasting a lot of money if I don't make a go of it.

(Nor do I have much space either so something that can be easily dismantled and put away on a shelf somewhere is ideal)

I would have thought that for a couple of egg-cups and other light work they would have been fine.

[Bob in NC]

I tried a drill press "lathe" once and didn't like it at all. I found that the drill press seemed to be able to turn the wood OK, but the tool rest was much too flimsy to hold the cutting tool firmly enough to make a good cut. A gouge, etc would vibrate too much. With a lot of care, you might be able to turn a rough shape, but I think fine work would be difficult or impossible. The tool wasn't worth the $20 that I paid for it. Also, I found that attempting to turn something that was rotating on a vertical axis was ungainly at best.

Instead of investing time and money in this inadequate and awkward imitation lathe, I would borrow time on a friend's lathe or rent time on a lathe in a craft center. Or maybe take a mini course in a woodworking store, if that is handy for you. You could learn something new and meet a number of other woodturners, too.

Bob

[Stuart]

Ah, sorry, I think I must have misunderstood. The device I have is horizontal and you fix an ordinary electric drill to it as the power source.

I was not aware you could obtain a device to turn a vertical drill into a lathe. I agree it would be very strange trying to use it.

[darkon]

I've done it when I needed to make some pins from a 3/8" dowel. I put the dowel in the chuck, and for a tool rest I put a piece of scrap wood in a vice to hold it parallel to the dowel. It wasn't fun, but it did work. I bought a small lathe shortly after that.

[Australopithecus scobis]

I built a toolrest from scrap 3/4" pine and made a dead center from 1/4" soft iron rod. Both parts clamp to the DP table. The dead center helps a lot. This rig works ok for making tool handles. Yes, the vertical orientation is a pain. For occasional small jobs it's adequate.