Youtube user QueticoChris recently acquired an old cast-iron flywheel, and it got him to thinking. Why not use it as a power-plant for a wood lathe? You see, Chris is quite passionate about old-style woodworking techniques and uses hand tools whenever possible. Keeping in this tradition, Chris used the flywheel to build a wood lathe that’s powered by a foot treadle.
Other than having a machinist cut a groove in the flywheel to fit a pulley, he exclusively used hand tools and wood to craft the apparatus that fit the lathe. Every part is friction fit and held together tightly by wooden pegs. It’s really a marvel of vintage engineering, and as you can see at the end of the video, his contraption works gorgeously. Chris manages to pump out quite a nice handle for a large chisel in need of one. I’m excited to see more projects from this maker.
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