I left a description of a power feed I made for my Jet 9x20 metal lathe under another post about a Grizzly (10x20) lathe. I don't know how clear my description was so I took some pictures and made a short video. Most any small lathe without power feed could use this inexpensive upgrade.
You will see in the pictures, how small the hand wheels for the
cross slide and compound are; making it difficult for someone with big hands to control them smoothly.
First upgrade: I used aluminum fly wheels out of old VCR (s) I have torn apart. I bored the center of the fly wheel to just fit the original handle wheels on the lathe. I side drilled the larger wheel, drilled and tapped for set screws, and put the original handle on the larger wheel.
Second upgrade: I wanted a power feed for the cross slide but they aren't available for these smaller lathes so I decided to make one. I used (on mine) the front gear drive with motor assembly from an old Skill cordless drill/driver
I purchased many, many years ago before I realized it was a piece O Crap for anything other than hanging a picture from time to time. The batteries finally died but I can't seem to throw anything away. (I always find a use for the parts later on as I did here). The drive assembly is being held in place by the same bolt that holds the threading dial in place. No modifications to the actual lathe were done. This drill motor, being cordless, was about 6 VDC
so in order to have variable speed I needed to have a way to vary my DC voltage to the motor. There are many ways to do this...I used what I had which was a 120 AC input to 13.8 VDC power supply. I varied the AC input to the power supply with a light dimmer control. A variable DC power supply would be a better way to go but I used what I had. Being that it is belt driven, if I accidently let it go to the stops, the belt will just slip; no damage has been done. The top switch turns the unit on and off. The side switch changes the rotation of the motor. Flip the switch toward the lathe and the cross slide moves away from you, pull the switch toward you and the cross slide will follow. One other recommendation for these lathes is to put a foam filter or similiar over the motor intake air vents held in place with a magnet. This will keep all of the little chips from trying to fly into the motor. I hope this helps someone.
The last picture is a piece of aluminum in a four jaw chuck faced on this lathe using the power feed.
Check this link for video
Nick
www.nixstuff.com