Shortbus, I don't want to skin cats with my lathe. Way to messy

I like the riding mower parts idea. I have a mower mechanic friend and now I'll go scavenging there.

 

I have an antique wood lathe (circa 1915) and I THINK?? the motor from a front loading washer could be used to power it. A used motor runs in the $50 range on line, they are listed as variable speed, but I have no idea what kind of controller(s) are needed to create the installation I have in mind. (I can do all the mechanical, like building motor mounts that provide belt tension, etc.) I can do basic house current wiring. When the word electronic appears, I am in over my 56 year old head! I'll try to attach a few photos, but they are kind of irrelevant to the issue. I am hesitant to buy a motor unless I know all the other pieces to make this work are available and affordable. (John/JES-Rolla).View attachment 75877

John,
Before you get too far into this project, you might want to look at the bearings and, surprisingly, the bars that hold the tool holder and sliding tail stock. I tried to rebuild a 1950's era Craftsman lathe and the bars for the tail stock were badly worn and, once clamped into position, the tail stock was no longer aligned (concentric) with the headstock bearing. It was a pain in the ass to shim it each time and, in my case, a 2.5" diameter rail was used that had a groove (key) machined the whole length. I eventually scrapped it and bought a 1990s-era lathe instead.

In other words, if you want to turn wood, I suggest getting something a bit more modern before making a significant investment in an antique. Note, a decent used lathe can be had for $250 or less if you watch craigslist.org on a regular bases (assuming you are in a reasonably-sized city).

 

If it was me and I really wanted a wide range of speeds I would look at getting one of the more common 3 speed single phase washing machine motors that are on the market. They are 1/2 - 3/4 HP single phase and rather easy to set up.

Down side is they are the typical square open frame type though. Up side it they are on the go speed selectable and easy to reverse in all three speeds.