Home made lathe w/sewing machine motor & crutch tip. HELP

[JimS]

I'm putting together a shaft turning machine using steady rest off ebay and a sewing machine motor w/a foot switch. I'll be using a crutch tip to hold the shaft.

The problem I'm having is how to attach the crutch tip to the output shaft on the sewing machine motor.

Any ideas?

 

[KJ Cues]

Sewing Mach. Mtr.

Hi Jim,
Sewing machine motors turn some wicked RPMs..........and they have to. To generate what little power they have, they have to run at near full speed. With a direct drive coupling you'd be turning at way more RPMs than what you would need to do any type of shaft work.
Let the motor run at lower RPMs and you wouldn't have the power you'd need.
About the only time a sewing mach. mtr. is used in cue building is for use on a linen wrap lathe. Even then there
is RPM reduction through different sized pulleys.
If you want to work on shafts get yourself a $100 wood
lathe & mount a Jacobs type chuck on the drive spindle.
Mount a concave live-center on the tailstock & you're in business. Good Luck, KJ

 

[poolcuemaster]

I was thinking that the older sewing motors had a small threaded hole in the shaftlike a 32/10 screw or 24/10 if it does you can use washers and a screw through crutch tip.--Leonard

 

[JimS]

I was thinking that the older sewing motors had a small threaded hole in the shaftlike a 32/10 screw or 24/10 if it does you can use washers and a screw through crutch tip.--Leonard

I wish. No hole. The shaft is 6mm, according to my digital caliper. Maybe I can thread the shaft.

The wood lathe would be just the thing but I don't have the space. I set up a board so the sewing machine motor and steady rest to be removable and store on a shelf. I'm thinking that I'll have to rig up a large pulley to gear it down. The motor comes w/a belt and a small pulley.

 

[Deadon]

FWIW, a very top line cuemaker began making cues in his garage in the 60s with a lathe made from an old sewing maching.