Not exactly eye candy but a fairly unusual hobby. These are parts of a 10.5" swing x 20" centers metal lathe I started building back in 1982, finished in 1988. Would have been much sooner but was kinda busy: quit one job, moved, had a daughter, got a Ph.D., found another job, and moved again during that time.
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Clockwise from top left: headstock with bearing caps; tailstock; countershaft; carriage/cross slide/compound slide assembly; large faceplate; feet for bed. At center is the spindle with bronze bearings, smaller faceplace, homemade pulley. Sadly, photos of the completed lathe are lost in antiquity. The bed, not seen here, was not a casting but was 3 feet of square steel tubing, filed flat and topped with 1/2 x 4" cold-rolled steel for the ways. After I got some spare change I was able to buy an old 13" South Bend. The homemade one sat unused until a fellow bought the parts you see here.
All the castings are aluminum from a homemade furnace and foundry setup. The lathe worked pretty well, I was able to machine the faceplates, the pulley on the spindle, and several other items. But it didn't have thread cutting capability, and getting it to that point would have taken years --- build milling machine, then dividing head, then machine gears and other parts. Still, I had a lot of fun.
(Word of advice: if you want to have fun, build a metal lathe. But if you want a lathe, don't build, buy one.)
Best,
Terry