The Ultimate Harbor Freight Lathe Upgrade

[@craigs7473]

Thank you, very informative video plus the links. Since I'm not a welder it nice to see an lathe upgrade video that used wood to make the support. Finally came across a discarded treadmill and anxious to get my upgrade started. Looking forward to videos to come. Thanks

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Craig. Good luck with your lathe upgrade.

[@johnwimbs2157]

Great video. I've had the same lathe 10 years now. Warped the shaft by over loading. I was gonna order a shaft..... Anyway it sat tore apart the last three years. I've bought two more almost working lathes since . I decided to make one work out of the parts. I recently did some painting for a lady who has a treadmill in the way for Free. Motor placement has been my biggest problem. After this video, I will be turning again in a couple days !!!! Thank you

[@TheTdeline]

Great job Dave. You explained everything nicely. Looking forward to your first project with your new lathe.

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Tim. I have lots of projects planned for this lathe in the future.

[@mark4tucker]

I just snapped the banjo right in half on mine . I had the warranty so I picked up a new one and wanted to make the modifications as I assemble it. The lock down mechanisms on the banjo and tail stock gave me a hard time so greasing them is one of the things to do before assembling. The under-powered motor is definitely an issue for me and your video is perfect . Thanks for making it! I made a few other modes to fit my needs but this lathe for the money is a good buy, but get the extended warranty . I snapped the banjo right in half when I had to extend the rest all the way out and had a catch.

[@michaelhutchins8000]

Many good ideas, thank you, particularly with the electric motor upgrade and a good source for the motor. And I happen to have a treadmill motor! Thanks.

[@ptcruiser2012]

Thanks Dave. This is a well done video and description section. Thanks for all the links and info.

[@DaveGatton]

Well, I did call it the "ultimate". 😀 Thanks for watching Paul. Hope you found the video useful.

[@Brady20212]

What an awesome video! I'm excited, and a little nervous, to begin my upgrades.

[@djstaffo2075]

Thank you for the video. I have the same lathe and am thinking of a like upgrade, Great job!

[@colemahaney4208]

I converted mine to DC .Tread mill motor 2.5 hp and love it .i used what th call "the Black box" for a controller

[@Tom-hz9oc]

Very informative! I found one of these lathes for about $250 and have been debating buying it. I have 3 motors sitting on a shelf that I got for free, so the upgrade will be cheap! Subscribed and looking forward to seeing more of your videos!

[@OzarkArtsandCrafts]

I enjoyed watching you upgrade. I still have one sitting in storage with motor out. No room in my shop for it now is reason I bought the NOVA Comet. Thanks for another great video. Maybe someday I’ll upgrade the same.

[@DaveGatton]

The Nova Comet is a great little midi lathe. Thanks for watching Dennis. Free used treadmills are easy to come by so you should be able to upgrade your HF lathe in the future.

[@spindlesworkshop9744]

What a great video with lots of great tips and upgrades

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Luie. I appreciate you. I have watched you make so many beautiful things with your HF lathe that I had to get one for myself.

[@spindlesworkshop9744]

@@DaveGatton I have been working with that lathe about hmmmm 5 years? Knock on wood she has been good to me

[@HarnealMedia]

Cool job Dave. Gives me ideas for when i get back to turning on my HF lathe

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Steve. Much appreciated.

[@johnhoward9878]

Great ideas Dave 👍

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching John. Much appreciated buddy.

[@homemadetools]

Nice job. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing. Much appreciated.

[@ljgault]

Informative video Dave thanks for posting it. I put a reverse switch on my 12" sander and wired it the same way. Can't wait for projects on this lathe.

[@DaveGatton]

Glad it helped Larry and thank you for watching.

[@jesusberumenveliz1864]

Good improvement 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jago5300]

I have one haven't set it up yet. I wouldn't mind knowing the accessories tools to go with it. And are the harbor freight chisels worth buying.

[@gregeastman6662]

do you have a part number for the jet hand wheel ?

[@ThePapa1947]

Lots of great information Dave. And that should be a great upgrade for that lathe. When you find a pulley that fits I would get a 2 step for the lathe and the motor. That way you could get a higher speed and then a lower one for torque. Even the new lathes with a VFD and 3 phase motor come that way. I have a 9X20 Harbor Freight metal lathe and I put a treadmill motor and the controller on it and it is so much better. Problem is the power board went out so I am working on making something to replace it. This video will get me motivated to finish the project. Gary

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Gary. That is a great idea to get the 2 step pulley. I'm sure it will be easier to find one for the 30 plus year old treadmill motor than for that metric shaft on the lathe.

[@ThePapa1947]

@@DaveGatton I am sure could find some and then if needed you could use bushing to get to the right size. If you run into issues finding bushings let me know I know this guy that could make them...that would be me LOL. Another thing you could do is use the Reeves motor pulley. But I would prefer two step pulleys myself. What I did on my HF metal lathe was turned a set of pulleys because the belt that came with it was very skinny and broke easy.

[@DaveGatton]

@@ThePapa1947 I have one of the Harbor Freight mini metal lathe also and I may have to knock the dust of it and make something that will work better.

[@CarlosMDominguez]

Thank you very much for sharing these videos, awesome job you did with this modification. I just want to let you know, that thanks to you I got in to CNC , thanks to your simple and concise explanations, but overall, because of your ideas that inspire us all to build "something worth having" as you pretty eloquent said it when you build the "shoestring" CNC. Thanks Dave.

[@DaveGatton]

Thank you so much for your kind words Carlos. It really means a lot to me.

[@rexmundi8154]

I’ve had one of these lathes for years and it’s pretty crappy but was generally serviceable. I actually did a lot of production turning on it. Then I switched careers and stopped using it. The other day I turned it on to do a little job and the pulley disintegrated. It was so rotten what was left just crumbled in my hand. It was stored in an un heated garage, but it wasn’t getting rained on or anything. I’m gonna replace the pulley on the head with a fixed one and add a step pulley to the motor if I can figure out a way to make it easily changed and tensioned , otherwise I’ll just go with a fixed speed. I always kept it in 6 or 7 anyway.

[@bobreichel]

I have the 12" lathe. My question is do you know the thread size on the back side of the spindle? I'm thinking of adding a rotisserie for slow turning.

[@williamhoward8319]

the ones i have worked on were a bit larger and ran a conveyor chain

[@shermananderson700]

The frame can be fastened to a sheet of OSB then tighten the frame mounts tighter. It will be a sturdy lathe.

[@BuildswithBrian]

Thanks for this video Dave, great tips on upgrading an economical starter lathe👍

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Brian. This HF lathe is very popular with new woodturners and one that is really easy to improve with a treadmill motor.

[@coleyounger6758]

I did the same thing but i used the"Black Box" from e-bay and i love mine my top speed is 3100 rpms

[@ronaldfowler8394]

Dave,great video! I just acquired a treadmill to do my own conversion and I had a couple of questions. #1- where did you get your terminal block and #2 where did you find your pully? Thanks in advance and again,great video! Very informative. 👍

[@DaveGatton]

Terminal block is from Amazon. The pulley on the motor is the same one that was on it in the treadmill. Thanks for watching Ronald.

[@monteglover4133]

Just found you today. Did you ever find a shiv (pulley) for the shaft? Mine disintegrated and is not salvageable. I have a 2hp 3 phase motor and planing to use a VFD Thanks for the video

[@normpeplow3813]

Excellent job and presentation. I am waiting for a Chinese company to start selling a variable speed motors and controllers for upgrading older machines as US companies do not offer a product for this market.

[@johncorvin8895]

great video!

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching John.

[@MD-en3zm]

I’ve been considering something similar. I added a tach and dc variable speed motor to my smaller hf lathe, but now considering it for this one. Great video. Can you still turn outboard? Couldn’t you combine the variable speed motor and the reeves drive to get an even greater speed range?

[@switzcheese36]

do you know what the thread size is on the back side where your hand wheel would go? Best I can gather is 7/16" reverse thread... Thoughts?

[@DaveGatton]

I believe that is correct. 7/16" LH thread.

[@bobreichel]

I'd like to see someone modify the lathe to make it a 16" or 20" lathe by raising the head & tail stock up 2" or 4". I'm going to upgrade mine to a 3hp treadmill motor and eventually see if it's possible to raise the head & tail stock. By the little I've seen so far it seems doable.

[@justinlogue31]

Where did you find such a large treadmill motor? All the ones I have seen are a small style motor?

[@bobleeswoodshop7919]

Very cool ideas!! Dave

[@DaveGatton]

Thank you Bob. I appreciate you watching.

[@FCWW87]

Big thanks!

[@jasonc9677]

Have u had any problems with the alignment of the headstock to the tail stock mine is off and haven’t been able to get it perfect

[@DaveGatton]

No it hasn't been an issue at all. I recently checked mine and it hasn't moved since I first adjusted it.

[@SeeClamp]

Great Idea, Dave! I just have one question; I have that same lathe, and it looks like your Reeves drive lever moves much more easily than mine. How did you do that? Did you change the springs?? Thanks. - Dave B.

[@DaveGatton]

Same springs. Everything was stock when I started. Thanks for watching.

[@jimdavis1474]

Where can I get the spendel reeves pulley atpulley for the

[@Blessedtree2023]

You are really great. I wish you all happiness and success in your life and work. Please, what is the best brand? and cheap. The price

[@CharnavinT.Charnuvanik]

Which jet hand wheel fits this lathe?

[@joshuahasson9687]

My biggest complaint of this lathe is I cannot find out the dimensions I need if I want to add a drill chuck to the tail stock. All I can find is MT#2 but the shank diameter was way off on the one I ordered. Do you happen to know which will work?

[@DaveGatton]

Yes. It's a MT 2.

[@davematthews7686]

I need to start actively looking for a couple of treadmills - I want to build a Stumpy Nubs sander. That motor is a huge improvement. That is a nice set up upgrades.

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Dave. Treadmill motors (DC permanent magnet) are great. I used a treadmill motor to make a drum sander a few years ago.

[@troypritchard2999]

Very nice job, Dave. In the beginning of the video, you said that the Head stock was able to swivel. My question is.... will the head still swivel after all the upgrades that you made?

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Troy. Yes, I made sure to add the motor mount in such a way that the headstock will still rotate. I probably won't use that feature that much but I didn't want to eliminate the possibility.

[@johnz6528]

Have you lost the ability to rotate the headstock with this substituted motor ? I am modifying one of these and wondering if it is worth the effort in designing it to do such.

[@DaveGatton]

I made sure to make it where I can still rotate the headstock but to date I have not turned anything big enough to require that. Thanks for watching.

[@johnz6528]

@@DaveGatton When you rotate would you not lose support of the 2x4 beneath ?

[@DaveGatton]

@@johnz6528 No. I would move it to the other side of the headstock.

[@justinlogue31]

Is the 5 amp 60 W 12v supply enough or go bigger?

[@DaveGatton]

That's plenty big enough. The 12 volt power supply is only powering the tachometer so it doesn't take much. I install a tach on my smaller Nova Comet II lathe in another video and I used a simple power supply much like a phone charger. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGOlmJWZlrClfMk

[@timplumey-fl5xn]

Question is does the head stock and the tail stock line up?

[@DaveGatton]

Yes. They line up.

[@timplumey-fl5xn]

@@DaveGatton Good, I watched two videos today where the head and tail were out of alinement 1/8 and 1/4 inch. They had to shim the tail stock got them close but never were able to line them up exactly.

[@mikepruett1745]

try to turn a 12 in bowl???

[@woodensurfer]

Has anyone been able to do indexing with this lathe? At the back of the motor, rear end of the headstock. there is a female threaded hole, with the retention ring. It appears that indexing can be implemented using this female threaded hole (with a bolt that fits this size and pit of thread and a graduated disk), but I have yet to find out what thread it is.

[@daveb.misc.2589]

Sent you an email! Thanks for the video!

[@staceywitenberger4556]

What's a tuba for?

[@SeeClamp]

The low notes ;-)

[@williamhoward8319]

use a long bolt and put a 90 degre bend in it

[@menglor]

Love it

[@DaveGatton]

Thanks for watching Stephen. Much appreciated.

[@gizmobowen]

I think I saw a ghost. That was a spooky transition when you were changing shots near the end. Interesting video that I'll keep in mind if I need a variable speed motor or want to get a lathe. Thanks.

[@DaveGatton]

You are correct gizmo. There was a ghost in the video. Treadmill motors are great for a lot of projects around the shop and a nice upgrade to the Harbor Freight lathes.

[@dptp9lf]

Wow, i'm putting a Leeson motor on my drill press...

[@DaveGatton]

Treadmill motors work great for a lot of projects and they're usually "low mileage" motors.

[@jamesmulwa1137]

How much is the lathe machine?am in Kenya

[@DaveGatton]

I don't have a clue. Do you have a Harbor Freight in Kenya? That's something you'll have to research yourself.

[@sgtgotten]

Like it alot :)

[@DaveGatton]

Thank you and thanks for watching.

[@Blessedtree2023]

I want a wood turning machine and what is better. A brand and it should be cheap

[@goodboyringo9716]

I don't get it, Harbor freight list this lathe 34706 as 12x 33 3/8 but your lathe says 12 x 36" , see harbor freight

[@DaveGatton]

It is a little confusing because Harbor Freight calls it a 12" x 33 3/8" but on the box it comes in and the manual it says 12" x 36". That's why I included the model number 34706. 😉

[@RBallarddesigns]

Gattoneers love recycling Invacare stuff. Haha.

[@DaveGatton]

Don't ya know it. Hahaha

[@fishhuntadventure]

3:26 draw file it

[@DavidGlunt]

The banjos on this lathe are weak. Made from cast. I've broke two of them. Got a new one and had it wrapped in steel. Works much better now.

[@DaveGatton]

Cast wrapped in steel????

[@DavidGlunt]

@@DaveGatton The steel is bent to the same shape as the banjo and welded on.

[@timwaldburger3477]

I bought this lathe, had it delivered from California, about 10 days later, spent a few hours setting it up and have regretted the purchase ever since. The motor, in slow speed, spins entirely too fast to safely work on anything but a near-perfectly round piece. Any slightly out of round piece spinning will make this thing dance all over the place, even with extra ballast added. A real disappointment in my humble opinion.

[@DaveGatton]

Did you watch the video? I addressed those issues with these upgrades.

[@theleetbeagle]

Heaven forbid you don't use a clickbait title and just tell us in the title or descr WTF you actually did.

[@DaveGatton]

Comments on my videos help KZbin know it's popular. As a result, my video will be seen by more people. Thank you for helping my channel reach new people.

[@shermananderson700]

Redo the video and you stand behind the lathe…don’t block your photos.

[@DaveGatton]

Redo the video....yeah right.

[@bobleglob162]

If I could create the most garbage way to change a machine's speed, I would create this one.

[@DaveGatton]

Comments on my videos help KZbin know it's popular. As a result, my video will be seen by more people. Thank you for helping my channel reach new people.

[@bobleglob162]

@@DaveGatton Glad to help.

[@chillertechtexas4375]

Best HF upgrade is .... the dumpster! Absolute chinese garbage.

[@monteglover4133]

I have the HF mini wood lathe and have used heavily for several years so far so good. H F tools range from dumpster fill to very good buys Most equipment is now Chinese

[@MrJunglebear1]

Why didn't you just build a reinforced work bench for it

[@DaveGatton]

Why?? It was much cheaper to do it the way I did especially with today's lumber prices.

[@MrJunglebear1]

@@DaveGatton Skids and Pallets are free, i have built many a work bench, saw tables , out feed tables out of pallets and skids , free resource and repurposing is good, it's just a thought

[@DaveGatton]

@@MrJunglebear1 pallets are free but my time to break them down is not.

[@MrJunglebear1]

@@DaveGatton ok