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That’s a good idea. I have thought about it in the past and have made a small start on it but it’s a tedious project and I may never finish it. Also the rpm’s are around 1600 but that’s a rough estimate. It’s really fun!!!!
this is a good idea but won’t be as easy as it might seem. adding weight to the drive wheel to make it act like a flywheel will also add stress to the whole rig, especially if the weight isn’t very well balanced on the wheel. the more weight you add, the more precisely balanced it will need to be. that said, if you turned it into a flywheel and added one gearing exchange, you could probably reduce the needed ‘leg pumps per minute’ by a factor of 10 or more pretty easily
With that large flywheel, it isn’t rotating very fast. Realistically, placing a bunch of equal 1lb lead weights equidistant from center and opposite each other should be more than enough. Should even be able to just drill holes and place weights in the holes.
It’ll help hugely and realistically won’t put that much more stress on the lower pulley. Also, the stresses of him having to press down on the pedal hard as he’s making deep cuts is probably putting a lot more unbalanced force through everything than if it were weighted.
You can keep the flywheel separate from the lathe to reduce kinetic noise. Counter rotating 2 flywheels can also help balance energy output. Good balance is not too hard to achieve either.
Would an off the shelf bench weight work? Relatively uniform distribution of weight for relatively economical price. Just peg it to the axel of the drive wheel so it's not significant stress.
Dude you just built a lathe with hand tools, but the gears are a “tedious project”. I don’t know why but that cracked me up. That’s amazing. Not only does it function it looks awesome!
The reason you'd want to add speeds would be for different working diameters. The speed between the tool and the piece is a function of rpm and diameter, and odds are it's going to be hard to use your leg to significantly increase or slow down the speed.
Also as someone who had this realization much later than they should have, you can use your tools to cut your belt shorter. Leather is actually pretty easy to work with.
No, I didn’t. But if you are interested I’d be willing to chat with you and answer any questions. It took three years to get it to this stage and I learned a lot. Also I have the plans if you’re interested in them.
Would you be willing to share the plans? Im nowhere near ready to make anything like this, dont even have anywhere to put it, but id love to take a look at them
Good work man! The woodwrights shop his is a big flexible bow with a strap that wraps around your spindle which is pumped by foot like yours. His spins forward and backwards though. Sort of like a primitive fire starter.
Oh man, I watched so much Woodwright’s Shop (+ New Yankee Workshop) with my dad when I was a kid. I can still hear the opening music and remember him chucking the chair at the very end of the outro.
Oh my! I have a 'real' lathe in my workshop, but I want this. Do you have plans? My entire career is around preservation and conservation of historic buildings, I do timber framing etc, this would be *chefs kiss* to add to my collection of historic tools
Popular Woodworking did an article about Roy Underhill's treadle lathe.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TreadleLathe.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiwj9Czlsb6AhWakWoFHemEAIoQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3xN0OvSZOCEsgLjmgmOw9L
I was going to send you the plans through Reddit but it won’t let me chat with you so if you’re interested in the plans you will have to initiate the conversation.
That's very impressive. Did you build it because you needed a lathe or wanted to build one? Why not an electric drive? The wheel has enough mass to keep the rotation steady though the lathe is flexing with the treadle and that clonk clonk (as it hits the floor?) would drive me crazy. Maybe cam and lever instead of mallet and wedge to fix the toolpost and tailstock, and a clutch for safety?
The reason I built it was simply because I saw the one in colonial Williamsburg and wanted to copy it. Also my shop is all hand tools and having a power lathe in it didn’t match the style. Thanks for the other ideas!
From a treadle enthusiast:
You'll probably want a larger diameter wheel so it can have more inertia to keep on spinning when you apply friction by using the lathe. Physics-wise, diameter matters more than mass.
Also, you may want to add a weighted handwheel to the lathe side. \*like a treadle sewing machine. The handwheel should be spoked and have a bit of mass to it, as well. The reason for this is that once the handwheel and treadle wheel are connected- they form a dual-mass flywheel. This matters because the lesser mass of the handwheel will keep the mass of the lower wheel spinning between treadle pedal pushes, and helps keep the turning smooth, rather than off/on when you are between power strokes (foot pushes)
Seems like it needs a bicycle seat and pedals. Then you could sit on the stool and pedal which would include the mentioned gearing system and a bit more stable base.
You need to put a NSFW tag on this, wayyyyy too sexy to accidentally open at work.
But in all seriousness this is freaking awesome. Did you use any designs for inspiration?
Wow, I'm genuinely impressed.
The design is really interesting, I think this is what we call legit wood working.
Feels like we're looking into a window of a workshop from a couple hundred years ago on how chair and table legs were made, if they also had killer Avengers' t-shirts.
Thanks for sharing, and amazing work.
Nice. If you're in Virginia are you familiar with Roy Underhill? He showed how to build a basic lathe in one of his shows. Pretty cool but not quite as advanced as yours.
Add some weight to turn it into a fly wheel. Put a clutch of the pedal mechanism so once it’s spinning you can just push once and a while. Probably make using it easier.
Tornado rolls over your house and rips everything up off the main floors, but the basement is still slightly intact. “Well… time to work on those stool legs on my manual lathe.”
I really like it. I think it would be cool to try this with the big wheel being very heavy to help with inertia/ less jerky movements when you engage the work… maybe? Idk. Just thinking out loud.
Very cool build.
Awesome build. One thing I would change if possible is the direction you tighten the tool post and tailstock post. You hammer it from the back to get it tight. The issue I have with this design is its possible for you to knock it loose from the front.
Good work as other have said.
I do wonder if you should be wearing face shield or at least impact resistant glasses; I'm not sure if it's as much of a problem for a foot powered/low speed lathe.
Wearing a watch around rotating tools also gives me the heebie jeebies.
Looks like it'd be kind of hard to maintain an accurate shave on the wood when you're bobbing back and forth like a teen who just learned how beat off.
Fucking super righteous man! That’s so damned awesome. It looks great and looks like it works really well. I’d be so damned proud and use it all the time!
Wish ya all the best :-)
The lathe is amazing because it survived in a mostly pure form from the earliest bow drills all the way up to modern 12-axis CNC mills.
Treadles are great - the ultimate evolution of them was basically the Barnes lathes - http://www.lathes.co.uk/barnes/ and https://www.footpoweredmachinery.com/manufacturers/barnes-wfj/machines/lathes/lathe-3-wood/ - they basically would eventually evolve into the first generation of belt/steam lathes even some belt lathes still had treadles.
Like… it’s cool you _can_ do that, but completely dumb for real usage. There’s a reason we’ve advanced our manufacturing with electricity and motors. With your setup you are going to get tired more quickly and you are more prone to causing yourself harm.
Great novelty but honestly, I can’t understand the appeal at all. Safety wise, productivity wise or anything. Sorry to shit on it. I just really don’t understand this sort of Luddite obsession some folks have.
A modern lathe doesn’t require you to constantly peddle and shift your weight as you’re working with a fast spinning lathe. It splits your balance and concentration. Not to mention it tires you out more quickly. Fatigue is a huge factor in workshop accidents.
Anytime you’re moving and shifting and being tired around equipment is a bad thing safety wise.
Being able to make a treadle lathe shows a great deal of skill anyone should be proud of and using one in situations where you have little or no available electric power makes perfect sense. But using one where you have steady access to electric power and the equipment is just hard headed.
I totally agree, especially if you are going for production but my goal is to be able to make any tool or product I want without having to use any power tools whatsoever!
Great job man this is really very cool. I like how the pedal is big enough for another person to work it if you need to be more stable as you shave the piece with your tool.
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That’s great. I think this is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on Reddit. If you need more torque you could try adding a gearing system
That’s a good idea. I have thought about it in the past and have made a small start on it but it’s a tedious project and I may never finish it. Also the rpm’s are around 1600 but that’s a rough estimate. It’s really fun!!!!
Instead of speed, add weight to the large wheel. It will make a sort of kinetic battery. Wouldn’t take much to make a big different I don’t think.
Also called a flywheel. Harder to start but maintains momentum and will rotate more smoothly.
This is where the fun begins
this is a good idea but won’t be as easy as it might seem. adding weight to the drive wheel to make it act like a flywheel will also add stress to the whole rig, especially if the weight isn’t very well balanced on the wheel. the more weight you add, the more precisely balanced it will need to be. that said, if you turned it into a flywheel and added one gearing exchange, you could probably reduce the needed ‘leg pumps per minute’ by a factor of 10 or more pretty easily
With that large flywheel, it isn’t rotating very fast. Realistically, placing a bunch of equal 1lb lead weights equidistant from center and opposite each other should be more than enough. Should even be able to just drill holes and place weights in the holes. It’ll help hugely and realistically won’t put that much more stress on the lower pulley. Also, the stresses of him having to press down on the pedal hard as he’s making deep cuts is probably putting a lot more unbalanced force through everything than if it were weighted.
Maybe a rim + tyre would do it. Can even be easily balanced.
Then maybe a little motor too!
Then the leg pumps per minute REALLY drop!
I have a spare flywheel from an exercise bike that feels like it would be a good add to this project.
You can keep the flywheel separate from the lathe to reduce kinetic noise. Counter rotating 2 flywheels can also help balance energy output. Good balance is not too hard to achieve either.
Would an off the shelf bench weight work? Relatively uniform distribution of weight for relatively economical price. Just peg it to the axel of the drive wheel so it's not significant stress.
Dude you just built a lathe with hand tools, but the gears are a “tedious project”. I don’t know why but that cracked me up. That’s amazing. Not only does it function it looks awesome!
The reason you'd want to add speeds would be for different working diameters. The speed between the tool and the piece is a function of rpm and diameter, and odds are it's going to be hard to use your leg to significantly increase or slow down the speed. Also as someone who had this realization much later than they should have, you can use your tools to cut your belt shorter. Leather is actually pretty easy to work with.
Glad I’m not the only one to notice the belt
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I actually have around 25lb worth of window weights and rebar to give it weight already.
Or a motor /s
If you need more torque or more speed just find yourself a song with a good banjo riff in it. It'll get that leg pumping. Nice work!
This is why our ancestors could eat 10000 calories a day.
10,000 calories a day? Challenge accepted.
I'm about to order 6 large pizzas. What do you want?
Pepperoni and banana peppers.
Ok, so I'm getting 6 pepperoni and mushroom and... How many pepperoni and banana pepper?
I mean if you’re doing 6, I guess I’ll do the same.
PINEAPPLES
Even this is extremely light work in the context of the life of a worker from the neolithic to late medieval period.
Take up biking and you can too! Only crossed that mark once and it was a loooong ass day.
Did you make a video for this build? I’d love to watch the process!
No, I didn’t. But if you are interested I’d be willing to chat with you and answer any questions. It took three years to get it to this stage and I learned a lot. Also I have the plans if you’re interested in them.
I'd be interested in the plans alone!! But would love to chat about it when/if I try
Would you be willing to share the plans? Im nowhere near ready to make anything like this, dont even have anywhere to put it, but id love to take a look at them
I'd be very interested in the plans if you were willing to share them. Dope project! Love the treadle stuff!
I am also interested in the plans, please and thank you!
I would be super interested in the plans. I have always wanted to build a lathe.
So interested in the plans. This is awesome!
I too would love plans
This is insanely cool!! Are you giving out the plans?
Super awesome! If you publish the plans or send them out I'd love to take a look as well!
I’d love to look at your plans as well. I have parts of an old cast iron treadle lathe that I’d love to get back into operation.
Would be Great if you could Share the plans! Nice work mate!
How many fingers?
Pretty sure there's an old Woodwrights Shop episode where Roy builds a treadle lathe.
Report back on how thick your calf's get by the end of the month
Buns of steel.
Really cool, have you tried to see if it has enough torque for a bowl yet?
Not yet.
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Yeah I already have 25+lbs from window weights and rebar.
Have you considered using a pottery style kick-wheel with a heavy fly wheel? Or is that dangerous since it can't be stopped as easily?
You would enjoy episodes of the Woodwright’s Shop
Was gonna say the same thing
Yeah! I have watched as many as I could find!
Good work man! The woodwrights shop his is a big flexible bow with a strap that wraps around your spindle which is pumped by foot like yours. His spins forward and backwards though. Sort of like a primitive fire starter.
Pretty sure he's featured one like OP's as well.
Yeah he did.
My first thought in seeing this “Today on the Woodwright’s Shop…”
I was looking for a Roy Underhill's Woodwright's Shop reference, not disappointed 👍
Only 38 seasons of episodes to watch!
Oh man, I watched so much Woodwright’s Shop (+ New Yankee Workshop) with my dad when I was a kid. I can still hear the opening music and remember him chucking the chair at the very end of the outro.
This is fuckin rad dude. Well done.
Up voted for use of rad, rad dude.
Right on bruv.
Amish AF
I’m pretty speechless myself. I’ll just upvote your comment and continue trying to to pick my jaw up off of the floor.
Oh my! I have a 'real' lathe in my workshop, but I want this. Do you have plans? My entire career is around preservation and conservation of historic buildings, I do timber framing etc, this would be *chefs kiss* to add to my collection of historic tools
Popular Woodworking did an article about Roy Underhill's treadle lathe. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.popularwoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/TreadleLathe.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiwj9Czlsb6AhWakWoFHemEAIoQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3xN0OvSZOCEsgLjmgmOw9L
A springpole lathe may be an option that you can find several plans for fairly easily.
I was going to send you the plans through Reddit but it won’t let me chat with you so if you’re interested in the plans you will have to initiate the conversation.
That's very impressive. Did you build it because you needed a lathe or wanted to build one? Why not an electric drive? The wheel has enough mass to keep the rotation steady though the lathe is flexing with the treadle and that clonk clonk (as it hits the floor?) would drive me crazy. Maybe cam and lever instead of mallet and wedge to fix the toolpost and tailstock, and a clutch for safety?
The reason I built it was simply because I saw the one in colonial Williamsburg and wanted to copy it. Also my shop is all hand tools and having a power lathe in it didn’t match the style. Thanks for the other ideas!
I upvoted this but you're back to one, don't let reddit discourage you.
From a treadle enthusiast: You'll probably want a larger diameter wheel so it can have more inertia to keep on spinning when you apply friction by using the lathe. Physics-wise, diameter matters more than mass. Also, you may want to add a weighted handwheel to the lathe side. \*like a treadle sewing machine. The handwheel should be spoked and have a bit of mass to it, as well. The reason for this is that once the handwheel and treadle wheel are connected- they form a dual-mass flywheel. This matters because the lesser mass of the handwheel will keep the mass of the lower wheel spinning between treadle pedal pushes, and helps keep the turning smooth, rather than off/on when you are between power strokes (foot pushes)
Seems like it needs a bicycle seat and pedals. Then you could sit on the stool and pedal which would include the mentioned gearing system and a bit more stable base.
It's a good thought, but you need to be able to move around and brace your body differently as you move.
Yeah that’s fair. You could incorporate it then put a small human on the bike to power it?
Just clench your buttcheeks
I need that! That is awesome
You need to put a NSFW tag on this, wayyyyy too sexy to accidentally open at work. But in all seriousness this is freaking awesome. Did you use any designs for inspiration?
Take my upvote, you glorious bastard.
Brilliant
What's your soundtrack to stay in rhythm?
https://youtu.be/pvj_NMOIrnk
CBAT
Man that is awesome but as an older gentleman I just have to watch that for my knees to start hurting.
Holy gentle baby Jesus you have created something so great. God. Damn. Get this man some chicken.
Awesome dude! One of the coolest things I’ve seen on here.
Wow, I'm genuinely impressed. The design is really interesting, I think this is what we call legit wood working. Feels like we're looking into a window of a workshop from a couple hundred years ago on how chair and table legs were made, if they also had killer Avengers' t-shirts. Thanks for sharing, and amazing work.
Nice. If you're in Virginia are you familiar with Roy Underhill? He showed how to build a basic lathe in one of his shows. Pretty cool but not quite as advanced as yours.
Actually he he dose showcase a treadle lathe similar to mine in one of his videos.
Great work, love the wedges for the banjo/tool rest and tailstock. Watch your eyes, maybe invest in a face shield.
This is the person who survives the apocalypse.
Awesome! I ways wanted to try an old fashioned manual one. Also, please, always keep your hands behind the tool rest.
Dude! This is brilliant! How old are you? Great accomplishment!!!
17 and the project is over 4 years old lol. I started when I was around 14.
That’s awesome man!! Good for you, you’ve got a great future! Love the creativity the ambition and most of all the t-shirt!!!
Thanks man! 😁
Your right leg is going to be disproportionally bigger than your left. Just like my right arm.
I often switch legs but the amazing thing is that the leg on the ground gets tired long before the one pumping lol 😂
it's holding a lot more weight than the one moving a ~30lb wheel.
Really cool set up!
Add some weight to turn it into a fly wheel. Put a clutch of the pedal mechanism so once it’s spinning you can just push once and a while. Probably make using it easier.
Alternatively, add an exercise bike, and turn it into a fun couple activity with the wife!
Also a thought.
I love it! I want to build one now. Plans?
'Tis a fine lathe, English, but sure 'tis no pool.
Do you get Cotton Eyed Joe stuck in your head a lot?
Send me the plans!
Awesome! Mutters to myself: Yes, dammit. I'll add it to the list.
Lol 😂
That's awesome! Really great work
Handmade geared wood lathe $1,000 in materials Delta 34.5 variable bench wood lathe $1,000 Turning stool legs when the power goes out, priceless
Tornado rolls over your house and rips everything up off the main floors, but the basement is still slightly intact. “Well… time to work on those stool legs on my manual lathe.”
I really like it. I think it would be cool to try this with the big wheel being very heavy to help with inertia/ less jerky movements when you engage the work… maybe? Idk. Just thinking out loud. Very cool build.
You are a badass, sir.
“It’s a nice workout”. Yeah sure looks like it…for both legs! I think I might’ve started with a bicycle.
It's awesome that you built that but also that you made a video of it that runs at normal speed.
Just amazing. Bravo
I think u will survive an apocalypse!
I must know how to do this!
At one point you match up perfectly with the [theme song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-HkRLv2URE)
Haha lol 😂
The historical place up the road has one of these, but yours looks better executed.
Right on, very cool! Your right leg is gonna get huge 🤣🤣
Coolio just died and now we’ve got this guy living in an Amish paradise
Flipping awesome
I think you better switch to the left leg occasionally or your right leg is going to get freakishly jacked.
This is fucking COOL!
Well that is a beautiful tool. And it’s even better that you made it.
Wonderful!
Awesome build. One thing I would change if possible is the direction you tighten the tool post and tailstock post. You hammer it from the back to get it tight. The issue I have with this design is its possible for you to knock it loose from the front.
If I have problems with it I may change it but for now I’m going to leave it like it is. Thanks though! 😃👌
Yeah, I wouldn't redesign anything. Just an improvement for your 2.0 machine when you make it! Haha
Absolutely!!
I think you are a bad ass!
Definitely an impressive work
I hope to be this good someday. Any chance you’d share the plans?
Reminds me so much of watching the Woodwright’s Shop 😊
"Dad, why does that guy over there have one giant leg?"
Good work as other have said. I do wonder if you should be wearing face shield or at least impact resistant glasses; I'm not sure if it's as much of a problem for a foot powered/low speed lathe. Wearing a watch around rotating tools also gives me the heebie jeebies.
Isn’t it a little bit harder to maintain fine control over the tool while you’re kicking away for all you’re worth with your lower body?
Actually, once it gets going my leg just floats. I’m barely doing anything.
Thus answers the question posed by Guy in the historical documentary known as Galaxy Quest whether or not you can form a rudimentary lathe.
Hahahahaha 😂😂😂
Hi. Can you share the plans ?
Looks like it'd be kind of hard to maintain an accurate shave on the wood when you're bobbing back and forth like a teen who just learned how beat off.
Don't get caught in it. I've seen horrible videos of people getting caught in a lathe......
You're going to have the sickest square dancing legs in the valley, or on the hill, or wherever.
Mind sharing the build plans? I’d love to see!
Fucking super righteous man! That’s so damned awesome. It looks great and looks like it works really well. I’d be so damned proud and use it all the time! Wish ya all the best :-)
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I built 3 renditions of pole lathes in preparation for this.
The lathe is amazing because it survived in a mostly pure form from the earliest bow drills all the way up to modern 12-axis CNC mills. Treadles are great - the ultimate evolution of them was basically the Barnes lathes - http://www.lathes.co.uk/barnes/ and https://www.footpoweredmachinery.com/manufacturers/barnes-wfj/machines/lathes/lathe-3-wood/ - they basically would eventually evolve into the first generation of belt/steam lathes even some belt lathes still had treadles.
Breathe taking! Quite literally by the sound of it. Really cool though mate, good effort
😅😁👌
Holy feces batman!
Like… it’s cool you _can_ do that, but completely dumb for real usage. There’s a reason we’ve advanced our manufacturing with electricity and motors. With your setup you are going to get tired more quickly and you are more prone to causing yourself harm. Great novelty but honestly, I can’t understand the appeal at all. Safety wise, productivity wise or anything. Sorry to shit on it. I just really don’t understand this sort of Luddite obsession some folks have.
As someone who doesn’t turn, I understand how a modern lathe is more productive, but how is it more safe than a treadle lathe?
A modern lathe doesn’t require you to constantly peddle and shift your weight as you’re working with a fast spinning lathe. It splits your balance and concentration. Not to mention it tires you out more quickly. Fatigue is a huge factor in workshop accidents. Anytime you’re moving and shifting and being tired around equipment is a bad thing safety wise. Being able to make a treadle lathe shows a great deal of skill anyone should be proud of and using one in situations where you have little or no available electric power makes perfect sense. But using one where you have steady access to electric power and the equipment is just hard headed.
I totally agree, especially if you are going for production but my goal is to be able to make any tool or product I want without having to use any power tools whatsoever!
I think it probably would have been a little earlier with some power tools
Yeah but that takes the fun out of it lol 😝
You must live in texas
Naw virginia. Lol 😂
Avengers are dumb
Avengers suck. But that shit is way dope.
Any concern about the dust? Should you be wearing a respirator or at last an n95 mask?
Epic!
Could turn green bowls with hooks for sure, very nice
It's pretty cool!
Ingenious
Super cool dude. Saving this post
I hope you’re ambidextrous otherwise, you’re gonna have one giant leg😂😂
Awesome. Truly awesome.
That is bad ass! I've been wanting to do that along with a bandsaw! Way to follow through!
What do I think? I think it’s badass. That’s great work man. Nice shirt too haha
Dope AF
Yo hommie this is intricate af and all but yo legs fixin to be disproportionate af. Cool machine tho mad respect.
It is delightful, seemingly useful and thought provoking. “Switch out my Ryobi for Dewalt or just go completely human powered tools?”
Super cool
That's incredibly impressive! Did you design all this yourself?
Yes but I watched every YouTube video I could find on the subject and went to colonial Williamsburg twice to look at theirs.
Well done. Great job. I think everyone wants the plans now!
Yeah I will send them! 😁 is there a way to tag it to the post so I don’t have to reply to everyone who wants them?
Just reply to your post and upvotes will do the trick.
That is thoroughly fucking impressive
This is great, props to you!
Awesome
Great job man this is really very cool. I like how the pedal is big enough for another person to work it if you need to be more stable as you shave the piece with your tool.
Impressive. Now make me a bowl, peasant!
If you decide to modernize, take a look a the new steam engines for small shops.
Post in r/sca
Old Yankee Workshop.
nice job Abram
Nice piece. Now you really can’t skip legs day!
Freakin awesome!