Newbie looking for a lathe

[phil harold]

Hi,
I have been a trim carpenter all my life, I used to have a small delta lathe years ago and want to get back into turning.

I am looking for a lathe, I am willing to spend between 600 - 1000 dollars
I would assume that used iron would give me the most bang for my buck.

I want to turn bowls.

So what would be some good older models and what ones would you stay away from?

thanks
phil

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Phil,

Welcome to the Creek!

I am not familiar with old iron but I will give you one piece of advice. Get a lathe with as low a low speed as possible. When you mount an unbalanced blank to start roughing out, higher speeds can be exciting! My first lathe had a 500 rpm low speed and a 9 1/2" throw. It was exciting with an unbalanced blank on that lathe. My current lathe goes down to 50 RPM..much less exciting....and that's a good thing!

[Gordon Seto]

Frankly, there is not too many full size lathe choices worth recommending in that price range. Most of the old irons were primary spindle lathes.
Look at the Nova 1624. May be the slightly used Jet 1642. Don't just compare price; service and warranty are important.

[charlie knighton]

Phil, welcome

where are you?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Phil - Welcome to the Creek! No idea where you are located but you might want to check and see if there is a local turning club. Lots of good folks in these clubs that will give you some great advice and may even be aware of some local lathes that are for sale.

[alex carey]

Get to the turning club. Check out craigslist big searches.

http://crazedlist.org/index.cgi

I would buy a newer lathe or a newer used lathe.

I had the general int 25-200 maxi lathe.

http://www.islandwoodcraft.ca/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1776

Less than 1000$ and the outboard will let you turn a bit bigger. It is VS starting around 350rpm.

I don't know what tools you already have but keep in mind for bowls you will want a chuck and quite a few tools.

Alex

[phil harold]

Thanks for all the welcomes!

I live in southeast South Dakota (sw of sioux falls 25 miles)


thanks!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Phil to SMC. Lots of good people and lots of knowledge. You have gotten some good advice. Only thing I would add is that not to often do bigger lathes come on the market for $1000 especially PM's and Jets. I would look at the 1624 Nova. If not that the only others I would recommend keeping your price down Jet 1642 or the Nova DVR.

[Dean Thomas]

So what would be some good older models and what ones would you stay away from?
Opinion questions are really dangerous here. You'll figure that out soon enough.

The nice thing is that we have all pretty much agreed to disagree on some things and you have to automatically read in that you're dealing with opinions.

Opinion: Stay away from old Craftsman lathes. You cannot get parts for them. I have several friends who grew up with them and love 'em, but also have several friends who have machines with bent shafts that are worthless as tools but great as anchors.

Old Delta or Rockwell/Deltas don't have bells or whistles, but they are rebuildable and serviceable. Deltas built in the last 5 years or so get a really mixed bag of reviews, but many folks find parts failures common. The reason you can find them is that folks are selling them in favor of something more reliable. Deltas built 5-15 years ago are even MORE of a mixed bag. Lots of folks in my circles have had troubles with them and would not recommend them.

Grizzly & whatever Harbor Freight sells: You're going to find folks who have had nothing but great luck with them, and others who cannot understand why their turning is so much better on the club lathes than on their _____ at home. Quality matters.

You won't find many major gripes about Jet, Powermatic, Rikon, or Nova lathes. And unless you find someone getting a bigger one, you're not going to find too many of them on the used markets. Lots of folks buy these as their life-time lathes because of the quality expectations.

Other major names in the size and quality level we're talking about might include Vicmarc's products, General, and some others.

I don't know about Steel City tools, or ShopFox; only heard rumors about them.

Hope it helps.

[Neal Addy]

Phil, one other thing to be aware of...

The other "essentials" for getting started can chew up a budget. If $1K is your max you may want to research these other items first and factor them in. Being a carpenter I'm sure you have a well equipped shop but there may still be things you need. Tools, a sharpening system, and safety equipment are #1. Beyond that you'll probably want a good chuck and other accessories. The list is endless. It ain't called The Vortex for nuttin! ;)

[phil harold]

Phil, one other thing to be aware of...

The other "essentials" for getting started can chew up a budget. If $1K is your max you may want to research these other items first and factor them in. Being a carpenter I'm sure you have a well equipped shop but there may still be things you need. Tools, a sharpening system, and safety equipment are #1. Beyond that you'll probably want a good chuck and other accessories. The list is endless. It ain't called The Vortex for nuttin! ;)

I can understand that.
That is the idea of a 600 dollar lathe
and 400 for chucks and some chisels

Sharpening is all under control I have a wet grinder arkansas, japanese water, and diamond stones I thought the I thought 6000 grit was a good edge, until I started carving now I have to leather strop and then buff.


If I get hooked I can always buy bigger


thanks everybody for the information I will be looking for jet, nova, or general

I see that one of my wood carving members is in the local woodturner group, I will bend his ear...

[Jeff Nicol]

Phil, You will have to do some looking in your area for used lathes and see what is out there. In the mean time you could get a nice mini for around $250 -$400 to see if it is still going to be a passion for you. Most of the mini's can have an extension put on to do longer things and 10" swing is great to start. Then keep looking on, Craigslist, the paper, e-bay, going to auctions etc. to find the lathe you want. By then you may have sold some of your creations off the mini and have more money to spend on a bigger lathe. I have 3 lathes and love all of them, so I guess you can't have to many of them!!

Good luck and keep looking

Jeff

[Dean Thomas]

Sharpening is all under control I have a wet grinder arkansas, japanese water, and diamond stones I thought the I thought 6000 grit was a good edge, until I started carving now I have to leather strop and then buff.
Hopefully your woodcarver who turns can help you in this area. We've had a couple of extended discussions about ROI for polished tools when it comes to woodturning. That ROI (IMO) is minimal. Think about how many cuts per minute you make as a carver and think about how many cuts per minute your LATHE makes as it whirls around at high speeds. If you have a 3.5" diameter box spinning at 1000rpm, that means 1000 linear feet of wood are going to touch the business end of your chisel every MINUTE. Carvers I know make their cuts in inches and for a lot of their work can produce a cut every couple of seconds. Thirty cuts and 2" per cut...that would make 5 linear feet per minutes and those would be finish cuts.

Most "name" turners are pretty much agreed that they cut straight off the wheel, even for finish cuts. That wheel can be 80, 100, or 120 grit, depending on the pro you listen to, but the point is that most professional turners do not spend more than mere seconds on their edge.

Further, among those who do hone, most of them hone not to perfect the edge, but rather to postpone trips back to the grinder. A few quick licks on a diamond hone to tune up the edge and back to cutting. Again, seconds without the lathe ever being off.

It's really hard for some to remember that since the chisels don't move that we're still dealing with POWER tools here. :)