Uploaded November 2010 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Matt's new cymbal lathe, complete with tongue-in-cheek soundtrack.
2 hp motor, 6 speeds, emergency stop footswitch. It even has two handy drawers. The base is an old cabinet thing that my dad used to use as a workbench. On top of that, I've built it up with lumber and metal parts cut from a 1950's cast iron bed frame and a 1990s steel television stand. Lots of nuts and bolts (lots of drilling!), a handful of pulleys and bearings and there you have it. Oh, and the 2 backing plates too: one flat, one concave, made from multiple layers of 12 and 18mm plywood. I also have some plywood discs and rings to modify the shape of the backers for things like China cymbals and Flat-rides.
The 6 speeds come from changing the primary belt between 2 pulleys on the motor and 3 pulleys on the secondary shaft. There are 2 different length belts and the motor slides sideways to line up the pulleys and hinges in and out to take up the slack. The belt is tensioned using the M12 motor struts.
Now to learn how to use it to allow a wider variety of creation possibilities for my cymbals...
© 2010 Matt Nolan
mattnolancustom.com
Matt's new cymbal lathe, complete with tongue-in-cheek soundtrack.
2 hp motor, 6 speeds, emergency stop footswitch. It even has two handy drawers. The base is an old cabinet thing that my dad used to use as a workbench. On top of that, I've built it up with lumber and metal parts cut from a 1950's cast iron bed frame and a 1990s steel television stand. Lots of nuts and bolts (lots of drilling!), a handful of pulleys and bearings and there you have it. Oh, and the 2 backing plates too: one flat, one concave, made from multiple layers of 12 and 18mm plywood. I also have some plywood discs and rings to modify the shape of the backers for things like China cymbals and Flat-rides.
The 6 speeds come from changing the primary belt between 2 pulleys on the motor and 3 pulleys on the secondary shaft. There are 2 different length belts and the motor slides sideways to line up the pulleys and hinges in and out to take up the slack. The belt is tensioned using the M12 motor struts.
Now to learn how to use it to allow a wider variety of creation possibilities for my cymbals...
© 2010 Matt Nolan
mattnolancustom.com
