Talking with mechanically-inclined friends and other woodturners, I decided that the best motor for a wood turning lathe like mine would be a 1/2 HP 1 phase 115/230V 56 frame electric motor that runs at 1725 RPM. So while I was putting together my first wood lathe, I did a lot of research on finding the best motor for a wood lathe like mine. And my second wood lathe (also vintage) came with a 3-phase motor, which I couldn’t use with my electrical setup in my workshop. My first vintage wood lathe didn’t come with a motor (again, it was also left in New Zealand). Most new and vintage lathes will come with a motor, and it’ll likely work just fine. The wood turning lathe motor turns the belt, which spins the spindle V-belt. Just make sure it doesn’t cause your wood turning lathe to be unstable. If your lathe is a little low for you, then you can either build your own stand or add blocks under the current stand. If your wood lathe is a bit too tall for you, then you can put a couple floor pads under you to give you a little extra height. This is not a hard fast rule, but just a height that I’ve found gives my arms a nice 90 degree angle when standing straight for woodturning. I prefer to have the spindle somewhere around the height of my naval. When setting up a wood turning lathe, having a comfortable height is quite important so your wood turning motions are natural and unstrained. Because the wood turning lathe didn’t have a base, I had to build a custom base (see the blue base in a preceding photo). So over the years, as it was transported by the original owner’s son back to the United States, the heavy base was left behind. It was manufactured in the United States, but sold in New Zealand. It is an international version of the popular Delta Rockwell lathe. The first wood lathe I purchased (used for $250) was a Pre-World War II Tauco lathe. All other models come with a dedicated base. “Bench top” wood lathe models don’t have a base, but rely on the wood lathe sitting on the top of a workbench. This is the base or legs that support the wood turning lathe.
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