Anybody else out there trying to make a lathe? Not easy to find a good source of plans, huh? Now you can get them and see the treadle lathe I built in one place!

The thought of owning my own treadle lathe had been haunting me ever since we saw one at Colonial Williamsburg many years ago. Something struck me deep inside when I saw that simple machine at work. It was almost a desire rather than a want. I knew at that moment that I just had to have one someday.

I've had a traditional woodworking hobby for over 20 years. I fell in love with the thought of taking something someone else would just throw in their fireplace and actually making something useful out of it.

To actually make a lathe is something I'd be very proud of. And two winters ago I finally did something about it.

I made up my mind to draw up my own plans for a foot powered lathe. I sketched for quite a while until I thought I had a pretty good concept for a treadle lathe. Then I started doing measured drawings to scale. Quite a few of my sketch ideas had to be altered once I got to that point on my homemade lathe. And I began to realize there were several parts I would need for my foot powered lathe and wouldn't be able to make them. I had to stop and find sources for the parts and get their dimensions to finish the plans for my treadle lathe.

Weeks went by as I waited for parts to arrive and entered them into the drawings. It was coming together, I finally thought to myself. It will soon be time to start building my homemade lathe.

I really took my time as I began cutting out the parts. I built sub-assemblies first, then finally began connecting them together. My foot powered lathe was rising from the shop floor!

More minor alterations ensued as assembly of my homemade lathe progressed. Clearance problems, flywheel balance, fabricating a live center on the tailstock from the original dead center, making an adjustable tool rest from wood, getting the idler pulley in just the right location; the list went on and on. But you know what? It was fun! It was pure fun to try and figure it all out! I was determined to have a treadle lathe.

Finally the day arrived to test it out. My little foot powered lathe was ready for testing. After working down a piece of green oak, I mounted it between the centers of my homemade lathe. I gave the drive pulleys a start-spin and pressed down on the treadle. It went down then carried my leg back up; down and up; down and up. The oak blank was spinning fast and the flywheel making a little creaking sound. I could hardly believe my eyes! My homemade lathe was working! I finally had my very own treadle lathe!

I adjusted the tool rest and put sharp steel to green wood. To my delight, thin wet ribbons of oak began to spin off the foot powered lathe . The smile on my face was ear to ear. It may have been a bad day somewhere else in the world, but in my little shop, it was a piece of heaven!

I did it! I had finally learned how to make a lathe!