Woodturning Lathe Build Process

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With the spindle complete, it was time to do a test assembly of the headstock. The first job was to glue the little stainless steel top hat washers into the tommy bar access holes:

I could then squeeze the rear bearing in, using a couple of scraps of 6 mm steel flat bar and an F-clamp:

This was roughly the set-up for fitting the angular contact bearing onto the spindle:

I say "roughly" because I swapped the M10 threaded rod for some M12 stuff before actually pulling the bearing home. Here it is fitted:

The spindle and angular contact bearing assembly then got pulled into the headstock (which already has the rear bearing fitted):

I'm very pleased to say that it looks like I got the hole for the dividing bar in the right place:

The locking bar length is just right as well (although that would have been very easy to fix if not):

I still need to make the cover for the tommy bar hole and fit a couple of 3D-printed bits (the chuck key holder at the back and the slot cover at the front), but otherwise that's the headstock finished.

I am a hobbyist metalworker and woodworker. I work as an electronic design engineer and spend most of my working days in front of a computer so I enjoy having the opportunity to use my hands and make things in my spare time. I particularly enjoy making tools as I can then use them on other projects. This website showcases some of the things I've made.

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