Evenin' Robin & Dave:
Building a lathe sounds interesting. I wish you both the best of luck, however, I have a question.
If, while the "Direct Drive" lathe is turning, you get a bad "Catch", there is nothing to slip and take some of the torque away. Wouldn't that be very dangerous for the operator, especially with a large chunk of wood?
Since I'm not a machinist, I'm just guessing here.
"Just one OLD man's opinion." :wink: