Vacuum Chuck

Just completed work on a vacuum chucking system. The chuck itself came from eBay, it's aluminum, with a sealed bearing and 3/8" tubing that extends through the headstock. Much simpler than the rotary coupler on most systems, but not as versatile. The vacuum pump came from Craft Supplies. The platform/backboard is attached to a small hand truck for portability. As it sits I can pull maximum vacuum of 24 inHg.

Vicmarc VL100 Lathe

A couple of years ago I purchased a bench mount Vicmarc VL100 wood lathe from Craig's List. It had an AC motor mounted on the bench behind it, and speeds were changed with a 6-step pulley. I had wanted to put a variable speed motor on the unit, and make it more self-contained. This is the result of many hours of planning, designing and building. It uses a Baldor 1 hp 3 phase motor, a Westinghouse inverter, and a homemade control panel. I bolted it to a Rikon universal stand, which had to be shortened by about 5 inches.