CNC lathe

I’ve always wanted to add a lathe to my shop. I have a mini-lathe that I use for machining light woods and plastics, but nothing that can handle larger, harder materials, and certainly nothing automated.

I recently came across a maker on YouTube called Melkano. While the videos Melkano posts are in French, each system he develops has a site in English and French that you can follow. The designs he has are very easy to understand. I have already built one of his early mini-laser cutters, using some scrap extrusions and a few miscellaneous parts. Melkano also has designs for a CNC machine (very similar to a 3018) and a 3D printer. However, what caught my eye was an automated lathe. Unlike all our other machines, the lathe has the workpiece turning at a high revolutions per minute (RPM) rate, while a sharp edge moves along one side and cuts into it. Just think about how the vertical supports of stair rails might be made.

Here is a video of Melkano’s lathe...