SpudFiles

john bunsenburner wrote:How big of a wood lathe can i build?

I would recommend checking online to see what size wood lathes use what size motor. Trying to turn a large piece with a large gouge will likely overload a smaller motor.

Start on this page.
http://tool-corral.com/shopsite_sc/stor ... age38.html

The small table top lathe uses a 1/3 hp motor. The rest use larger motors.

What about compressor size?

john bunsenburner wrote:What about compressor size?

Same thing. My little 3 gallon Harbor Freight compressor is 1/3 HP. It is about 0.5 SCCM at 100 PSI max. It's a little thing.

The question I have is do you have 3 phase power?

I do have the required power however, i don't want to waste the motor. I can get a compressor at a sale i saw for 75 or so bucks, and it should fulfil basic shop compressor needs. This would really only be for higher pressure. I may also get 5-10fridge pumps to make a very large unit to get between 500 and 800psi. And i am thinking about building a pressure multiplier to get 1000-1300psi, for the last to ideas a scuba tank set up and other safety measures for the high pressure would be needed. But this is not for a while.

The woad lathe seems like a good investment of the motor. I don't really have a welding facility and so certain parts may be difficult to make, also i don't have a large foundry so making a 50kg lathe bed is near impossible. Do you think the project is still reasonable?