A couple of weeks ago, a guy on Facebook posted a FREE treadle lathe on Facebook. A friend of mine spotted it and sent me the link. Within a couple of days, said lathe was packed into our minivan and safely transported home. Apparently it was built by a woodworker, for another woodworker who passed away. It was then passed along to the young guy who gave it to me. His only stipulation was that if I should ever decide to get rid of it, that I give it away freely as well.
It's very sturdily built, with a 40 pound weight as the center of the flywheel. Headstock, tailstock, centers, bearings, and all were included. The only thing missing is a link between the treadle and the wheel.
The original builder had added a set of bicycle gears to the wheel axle to act as a clutch gear. This allows the wheel to turn forward, then coast if the gear should turn backwards. I think the theory is that it would eliminate some treadling to save some energy.
At this point, I have everything working, but still no link between the treadle and the gear. Any suggestions on the best approach to create this link?
It's very sturdily built, with a 40 pound weight as the center of the flywheel. Headstock, tailstock, centers, bearings, and all were included. The only thing missing is a link between the treadle and the wheel.
The original builder had added a set of bicycle gears to the wheel axle to act as a clutch gear. This allows the wheel to turn forward, then coast if the gear should turn backwards. I think the theory is that it would eliminate some treadling to save some energy.
At this point, I have everything working, but still no link between the treadle and the gear. Any suggestions on the best approach to create this link?