What a great idea, a tachometer for your mini lathe! This project started with an idea to wrap a piece of paper, bearing evenly spaced markings (specifically, numbers), around the chuck. When the chuck was turning at just the right speed, the numbers would appear still. Using different numbers at different spacing, you could directly read various speeds.
This Jet bandsaw has quite a few improvements that would make any brand 4×6 a bit nicer. The one modification that stands out is the replacement table. It has been replaced with a 12″ x 12″ x ½” aluminum table held to the saw through
counter-bored holes, using 2, ¼-20, cap-head screws. The owner used an F drill & ⅜” end mill to achieve close-tolerance, counter-bored holes.
You can buy a router table in a store for your Dremel tool – but what fun would that be? This is a very nice how-to on building a Router/Shaper table for using with a Dremel. In this article you will find how to make use of some plywood to make a table insert and MDF for the table, which will turn that moto tool into the router you always wanted. Well, that maybe is a stretch – but it certainly will get you started making sawdust.
It would be hard to disagree that the invention of the Dremel tool has proved to be an amazing tool. As like all other things on this site, we like to highlight something that is great and show how people have adapted to make it greater. The creator of this mod wanted the ability to adjust the speed of the dremel without taking his hands off a workpiece. This lead to the idea of coming up with a foot controlled speed regulator for the Dremel.
Here is a great little DIY project with a very unique name: the FONLY… The name comes from the phrase most of us who would be reading this article have said in the past: “If I only had a lathe…” Thus the name FONLY was created as an answer to that problem.
This is another great example of creating a tool that otherwise could be financially prohibitive for a given individual to own. This doll-maker has made several wooden lathes, with this particular lathe being the fourth one he has built.
This English Wheel was not modified from an existing product, but scratch built – as most people do who wants to own one without buying a premium product. I like the C-Shape design, but this one was cut out with a CNC plasma. However, you could certainly cut it out with a torch and smooth out with a grinder. Regardless if you wanted to go that route, there is many design ideas in this build. Check it out:
This pictorial shows the progression of building a quick change tool post. There is not a lot of documentation around the pictures, but should at least give you design ideas or maybe help you decide if this will become a future project.
Block with dovetails and plunger hole with lock plunger blank
Good article containing modifications to a Harbor Freight dust collector. The changes include:
- neutral vane
- filter cartridge
- crosshair removal
