Forget buying an expensive lathe; this project helps you build your own

Nov 03, 2024

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Lathes are indispensable tools for metalworking, woodworking, jewelry making, and more. A lathe can be used to shape and machine materials like metal, wood, and plastic. The lathe rotates the piece around a fixed axis while you use various cutting tools to trim or grind the material to fit the look or purpose you want it to have.

Lathes are also relatively expensive, and various parts must be replaced regularly. The 3D printer community has many solutions to such problems, and the lathe is no exception. Nevertheless, despite finding a wealth of 3D-printed lathe projects, DIY enthusiast Chris Borge wasn’t happy with the designs or their limitations, so he set out to make his own.

Looking to build a cool DIY project? Here are eight products you might wanna grab first.

Borge has been tinkering with 3D-printed tools for years. His latest project is an open-source, 3D-printable lathe design. He printed the outer shell in two pieces, added some structural components, and filled it with concrete for extra strength and stability.

Depending on the motor you choose, Borge estimates this project can be built for less than $100, including basic tooling. Despite the size of the lathe, it required less than a 1kg spool of PLA to print all the 3D-printable parts.

The printed base is held together by two long metal rods with bolts threaded through from below and fastened to T-nuts on top. A 2020 aluminum extrusion serves as the motor mount. The headstock, holding the rotating workpiece, is attached using four threaded rods in coupling nuts embedded in the base.

This headstock unit, assembled separately with a 3D-printed shell, long rods, and bolts, is removable because it’s more prone to failure than other lathe parts.

Once Borge assembled everything, he poured runny concrete to fill the structure. Next, he allowed the concrete to cure before smoothing the top surfaces. He installed a belt-driven motor and control electronics, preparing it for tooling.

His first tool setup included a T-shaped tool rest for a graver and a hand tool for wood turning or light metals. He designed an adjustable tool rest with steel pieces and another 2020 extrusion to make things more versatile.

For his initial testing, Borge pulled a motor from a printer. It was just a tiny, 1000rpm motor that often stalled if a tool caught on the workpiece. The project’s overall design is meant to encourage using salvaged motors—part of the 'greater good' of finding ways to repurpose old electronics and other devices.

Borge noted that the 1000rpm motor stalled several times during an aluminum disk torture test he performed. For this reason, he recommends using a motor more in the 2000 to 3000rpm range.

During the torture test, Borge attached a rough-cut aluminum disk to a threaded holder and used the lathe to smooth and polish the disk’s surface. It worked, but the motor pulley melted from the heat.

The project continues, of course. Thus far, Borge has provided instructions and a recommended bill of materials that gives exact recommendations for most of the needed components. You can find the 3D print files, assembly instructions, and the parts sourcing document on Borge’s Printables page for the project.

If you're looking for new 3D modeling software for your 3D printer, try out one of these

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