I've been using a Sears wood lathe to turn block rims, but i got the urge to make my own lathe and sell the Sears lathe before it goes bad, just like the first one I owned. I had asked for ideas for a table to put it on and I got some good advice. I looked at a bunch of Youtube videos on building work benches and found this one that is simple to make and relatively cheap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWY7Pi4v-M
So here's my take on his design. Just the frame:
And with the 1 1/2 inch thick particle board top:
And here's my assembled lathe set up on my regular work bench just to see if all the parts would work together.
I had a local machine shop make the 1 inch shaft with threads for my chucks on one end and a keyed pulley on the other end. Two pillow bearings from a local bearing dealer. A two horse 1725 rpm motor from Farm & Fleet with 2-3-4 inch pulley. The pulley on the shaft is 7 inches. That should get me the low speed that I do most of my work at and a couple of faster speeds for sanding and polishing. I've got about $300 into it. Nothing else big to buy. All my other lathe stuff will work with this setup.
I plan to make the bottom shelf into a box that I'll fill with sand and hang some drawers under the the top. I'll add some plywood sides and back to add rigidity and keep some of the sawdust away from the stuff on the lower shelf.
More to come.