- This blog is intended to be a journal of my projects and musings. I am neither a professional nor an expert.
- I like hand tools. I have power tools and will use them from time to time, but hand tools are cordless, quiet and create shavings instead of dust.
- This is my hobby. I’m in no rush. I want to make beautiful things. This will take practice.
- The internet and books are nice for guidance, but if you have advice, insight or conversation, I would really appreciate it.
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T r i a l & E r r o r 
Thanks for starting this blog. It is ventures like this that will keep our craft alive. I really enjoyed reading your posts on the lathe and will be referencing it a lot as I start building my own.
I watched the video on youtube and posted your blog to my facebook wall. I want to build a machine like yours. Beautiful work.
Thanks for the comment Dave – I’m glad you found the lathe exciting! I’ll be glad to find out how your build goes.
I just found this site and I am excited. Another useful site is evenfallstudios.com, check out the library.
A quick look tells me … building a treadle lathe is NOT for the novice !
I’m a writer working on a novel in which someone in desperate trouble uses an antique foot-powered treadle grindstone to sharpen a metal rod into a spike to use as a weapon. The metal rod is a baluster from a wrought iron spiral staircase. My question is whether a foot-powered grindstone would be powerful enough to do this, and if so, about how long would it take? If it can’t do this, have lathes ever been produced that run on gasoline? No electricity is available. I’d really appreciate any help you can give. I work hard to make all my books as realistic as possible. Thanks.
Yes – a big old treadle grinding wheel would do the job. Maybe a half hour to get the job done. Google ‘treadle grinding wheel’ to see what you are after. Human powered grinding wheels are as powerful as powered ones because they don’t need to spin super fast to get the job done. Might be easier to grind a blade rather than a spike though. A hand file is an alternate way to do it. I hope the rod is used for good…!
Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I really appreciate it.
I am so glad to have found your blog! Your work is fantastic, and you’ve just gained another follower! 🙂