"Made It Myself" Lathe Turns Wood Bowls

"Made It Myself" Lathe Turns Wood Bowls AG WORLD 33-5-23 Bill Warnecke was fascinated by the art of wood bowl making - but not enough to spend thousands of dollars for a lathe. So he decided to make his own. "I saw a similar setup a long time ago in a Woodworker magazine and decided I should try to make one. I bought some bearings, did a little welding, and I've been playing with it ever since," Warnecke says. The main component is a flywheel off an old Datsun, which he uses as a weighted pulley. He secures the wood with wood screws from the back of a faceplate, which has a welded nut to mount to the shaft. He purchased a used 2 hp, 2-speed motor for the lathe. Though variable speed would be nicer, Warnecke has managed to turn out dozens of beautiful bowls over the years. He uses old pipes for a steady rest for supporting his homemade tool holders. One holder has a pistol grip and accepts different carbide bits that he purchased at a machine shop. Warnecke shapes the outside of the bowl first, then moves the steady rest pipe to the front and removes the interior wood. His specialty is laminated bowls - often using scraps picked up at construction sites. Warnecke says he also likes to use exotic woods, such as bloodwood, to add color to his bowls. He recently started using a smaller lathe to create pepper grinders. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bill Warnecke, W. 5300 Faro Springs Rd., Hilbert, Wis. 54129 (ph 920 989-2439; matw50@tds.net).

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