Several years ago, I needed an outboard faceplate lathe for turning large plates. While considering ways to home-build the lathe, I remembered that as a young fellow I had helped my wife’s dad as an oiler on a threshing machine. The contraption had a number of low-RPM shafts, which turned in hard-maple pillow blocks.

Adapting the idea to the project at hand, I purchased a 20-in. long, 1-in. thick shaft, fitted a 12-in. pulley (reclaimed from a clothes dryer) to one end, and threaded the other to accept standard faceplates. The shaft runs in two hard-maple pillow blocks, which are lubricated through grease fittings installed in the top.

The whole arrangement is bolted to a sturdy bench, and is run by a motor and belt from below.

Vic Johnson, Lincoln, Nebr.

Fine Woodworking Magazine, June 1985 No. 52

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