Mini-Lathe Beginners

Power Drill Cross Slide for mini-lathe

When performing a facing cut on the mini-lathe, my right hand soon grows tired of winding the cross slide backwards and forwards. With a piece of roughly cut 3 inch bar stock, it can take a long time to face off a job, winding the handle back and forth.

I am investigating methods of attaching a motor to the handle - however, whilst pondering this problem, I discovered a fantasically simple way of motorising the cross slide.

Simply remove the handle and its retaining nut. Then get your variable speed power drill on its lowest speed and highest torque setting, and tighten the chuck of the drill onto lathe as shown below.

Mini-lathe power drill pictures

Effortless control of the cross slide. I want to make a better system, as the drill does not have the most true bearings in the world, and therefore wobbles a bit under power, which cannot be doing either the lathe or my power drill any good.