ATTN: Tom aka tmac

Chris,
That is a perfect solution, thanks for sharing it. When I was in the 10th grade back in the early 1960s one of my school mates was given a Unimat for Christmas. He used rubber bands to drive the lathe but in that case they did not work as well as the O’Ring belts. For a set of Turns or a Jacot tool the torque requirements are much lower than a lathe, even a Unimat or other watchmaker size lathe, so a rubber band will work in that case. For Turns or a Jacot tool, thin monofilament fishing line will drive the pulley but there is no reasonable way to turn it into an endless belt. No matter how good someone gets with a bow the process is choppy at best and continuous rotation is much smoother. It will also free up my left hand so I can also do shots of moonshine while I am using the machine. It looks like a rubber band solves the problem.
Thanks Again,
david

Chris:

Is that a variable speed motor? Where did you pick that one up?

Thanks!
Tom

@Bob Tascione wrote:

Chris and David,
Yeah I agree…I think you guys are both correct. Nice setup Chris! A motor probably makes it much easier and efficient. For me though there’s just something that feels ‘right’ about using a bow. I guess it’s a connection with the past or something and that need for experiencing the way it used to be seems to grow stronger as I get older. Also choppiness on a turns when using a bow is a real concern but for a Jacot tool or pivot polishers I’ve never felt that was a problem. The hand crank was a big improvement over the bow when it came to turning though.

Bob

Don’t worry Bob, at least we can polish pivots when the aliens invade and use their elctro magnetic pulse gun! 😆
Paul.

Tom,
Almost any small sewing machine motor can be regulated with a foot reostat. If the motor has brushes it can be regulated this way. The motor from Sincere is an induction motor and cannot be controlled that way. I am sure that small sewing machine motors can be purchased from Ebay at a low cost. Dayton motors had a 1hp sewing machine type motor that used to be sold in the WW Grainger catalog. If you look them up under Dayton Motors you should be able to find a fair selection of these types of motors.
Bob, Paul,
In fairness to the Bow vs Motor debate, a bow can give you a sense of feel that cannot be obtained with a crank wheel or a motor. This may prove to be an advantage for extremely delicate turning. On the other hand, why use a sling shot when you can drop an Atom Bomb. The debate rages on!
david

Bob,
A stacking press would be a pretty good tool for that, especially for reaming and tapping. I have a Marshall Tri Duty stacking set that has the ability to convert to a drill press and has pulleys and a belt included in the set. I also have some old watch repair books that show how to use a bow drill. As with woodworking tools and techniques there are a lot of tools and methods from the past that should be remembered and respected if for no other reason than these are the roots of the profession.
david