Yesterday I had no thought of buying a lathe,

[Bob Borzelleri]

but tomorrow, I'm going over to WC to look at a Nova 1624.

This all started when I was replacing the o-rings and gaskets on my wife's La Pavoni espresso machine. It has knobs and handles (4 of 'em) made of Bakelite that never really caught my attention before, but as I was taking this thing apart, it occurred to me that all four pieces would look good in wood.

Went over to the various La Pavoni parts websites and found the wood pieces. $248 for the set got me to thinking, "wait, if I spend $250 on a lathe I can make these babies and have a lathe left over".

So I spent most of this morning researching lathes in the $250 range. Since many folks who frequent these sorts of interest forums can easily relate to the incremental successive approximation purchase process, I'm going to save you the time reading and me the time typing. It took about 2 hours to go from a Rikon mini to the Nova.

Now that I know what lathe I will be buying, it occurs to me that I don't really know anything about parts, accessories or what really makes a lathe purchase relatively complete. The Nova won't come with a chuck, but do I need to make a chuck decision before I can turn anything like maybe the wood handles for the espresso machine? Do these things come with adequate stock mounting hardware to play with as in pens, 6" handles and the like or do I have to get smart on chuck and various plate options before heading off to WC and the rows and rows of glittering "options"? I Dl'ed the Nova manual but I'm not up on the nomenclature so what part does what is not yet clear to me.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated since WC is a 60 mile round trip.

[Barry Elder]

The cost of the lathe is not so much. It's all the accessories and tools like chucks, safety equipment, gouges, sharpening system, DVDs, books, etc. But you can make incredibly beautiful "things" that your wife will love you even more for making, since everything you make will be hers!:p

[alex carey]

Best advice is to get yourself to a turning club. It will help you tremendously.

[Harvey Ghesser]

The cost of the lathe is minimal compared to the cost of the accessories you "really need". Like the gouges, chucks, hollowing tools, finishing supplies, etc, etc, etc,.....that's why it's called a vortex.

It's like getting a dog at the rescue for free.......

Welcome to the vortex!

Harv:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome to the vortex Bob. The lathe is cheap. I have 3 of them and still have more in tools, safety equipment, sharpening, etc. than I do in the lathes but it sure is fun. The instant product is great though. I love starting a piece and a hour or so later it is done. Have fun and enjoy.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bob,

Nearly 4 years ago I accidentally came into the Turners Forum because they were a light-hearted bunch and were having some funny verbal arguments.:)

I got into a teasing contest. I LOST.:eek:

Those idiots took up a collection and sent me a Jet VS Mini and tools and wood.....and my life has never been the same.:)

18 months later I ordered a PM3520B lathe.....I had already spent over $3,000 on accessories BEFORE I spent another $3,000 on a bigger lathe. :eek:

The turners got even with me.:p

The lathe really is the cheapest part of turning as others have told you.

I sure smile more since those idiots bombed me with that lathe. I use the term "idiots" when I refer to them with affection, I might add.

[tyler mckee]

She must really like coffee :eek:

[gary Zimmel]

Upside is you upgraded your lathe before you got it....

I have only been on this side of Creek a short time and it is a real deep hole.
But in a good way....
Lots to learn and lots to shop for.
Even if one had the list complete for the trip to WC, you will be back next week.

Welcome to the vortex!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bob - if you like working with wood - you will love turning! Sounds like you pretty much have your lathe picked out but you will need some type of face/breathing protection and some means to sharpen your turning tools. A lot of us have the Woodcraft slow speed 8" grinder and Wolverine sharpening system and are very happy with ease of use and repeatable grinds. There are other options out there including making your own sharpening jigs - just have to do a little research.

Welcome to the Vortex! Looking forward to seeing photos of your new lathe!

[Joe Mioux]

you will be spending a lot more than just lathe money when you go to wc tomorrow. ;)

and no you don't need a chuck like the super nova2, but you will wind up getting one anyway, so you might as well get it while it is on sale.

this is what you could likely bring home with you tomorrow.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=93233

[Daniel Heine]

I have the 1624 lathe, and I could not be any happier with it. I love it. The quality of my turning has increased exponentially since I upgraded from my cheap Palmgren lathe. I cannot recomend it enough. For my monee the best < 1.000.00 lathe on the market.

Good Luck,
Dan

[Bob Borzelleri]

Thanks to all for the welcome. I'm only now beginning to comprehend the ratio of lathe cost to goodies cost. Maybe $248 for the wood knobs/handles wasn't so bad a deal. ;) Truth is, my wife likes the idea of candle holders and bowls for gifts so this is an opportunity I can't really pass up.

I already have a Triton powered respirator, a low speed grinder and a Tormek sharpening setup so I should be OK for breathing and sharpening (I don't recall if I bought specific turning tool sharpening stuff for the Tormek, though). I'll probably look into a dust hood of some sort to hook up to the cyclone I have in the corner of the shop.

This looks like it's gonna be fun.

I'll post some pictures after I get it all put together and set up. Oh, now I have to straighten up and reorganize the shop to find room for the lathe.

[Bill O'Conner]

As Ken says take a picture of the money in your wallet because it won't be there any more, enjoy the ride

Bill

[Richard Jones]

Yep, buying a lathe is about like buying a tractor. Without implements, about the only thing you can do on a tractor is ride it...........

Learn to sharpen, one of the best things you can give yourself. The Tormek is fine for keeping an edge, not so much for grinding. You'll find the slow-speed grinder a real addition to your arsenal. I still use my Tormek for scrapers, but the slow-speed grinders get everything else. The Wolverine-type set-up is the way to go, IMO. I have all the stuff to do gouges, skews, etc., for my Tormek, but they do not get used anymore.

One other trivia point: the reason they call it a table saw is because folks with lathes use it as a table............

Most Important Thing to Remember: Have fun!

Rich

[Harlan Coverdale]

Congrats, Bob. Sounds like you're off to the races. I do the opposite of Rich, I use the Tormek for my gouges and my Woodcraft grinder for my scrapers. I still need to try sharpening the scrapers the Tormek way one of these days. Sounds like you're set up to try both for yourself and pick a favorite.

[Jeff Nicol]

Bob, Even after you buy a pen mandrel and some pen kits, a nice set of turning tools and the chuck you won't be to far in the hole! But the thing is that there are so many cool tools and accesories that will keep drawing you in to get them and more! You will be able to do most every thing with what comes with the lathe for turning handles and spindles, such as the faceplate and spur center. Tools will make your head swim so see about a set that has most everything in it to start and as I said there will be a draw or should I say suction from the Vortex to help you with buying more!

Welcome and have fun,

Jeff

[Dennis McGarry]

Bob, Even after you buy a pen mandrel and some pen kits, a nice set of turning tools and the chuck you won't be to far in the hole! But the thing is that there are so many cool tools and accesories that will keep drawing you in to get them and more! You will be able to do most every thing with what comes with the lathe for turning handles and spindles, such as the faceplate and spur center. Tools will make your head swim so see about a set that has most everything in it to start and as I said there will be a draw or should I say suction from the Vortex to help you with buying more!

Welcome and have fun,

Jeff

AHH Someone actually hit on his question, I know its hard to get past the Hahhhaaa ahHhhhh another victim to the vortex syndrom but...

Bob, along with the ts, you need a decent set of tools. Now there is a great debate on what this entails. I myself used the cheap 10.00 set from menards with my first lathe, a rikon. I have now moved up to the 44.00 set from HF, which are HSS. Your first set you dont want anything to expensive but you dont want junk. The HF ones are great starter sets.

Also need a bench grinder, slow speed or vs if possible for sharpening. (lots of info here on that)

Now for making the handles, a Chuck will be great for that, but you can do it between centers which the lathe will have already and part off the ends or use a small saw to cut them off once turned, Only downside there is drilling the hole for the handle. I would look into a chuck as well, around 100.00 bucks. The you are also going to want a small set of forstner bits and a drill chuck for the lathe as well.

As for pen making supllies, Pen mandrel, (mt2 taper), bushings, kits, etc. For finishing, get the woodriver sandpaper set from WC, paper towels, CA (superglue) and some Boiled Linseed Oil.

After that the sky is the limit and you will always be trying to reach it! Good luck, happy turning and welcome!

[Bob Borzelleri]

All these expression of encouragement and advice are quite appreciated. It's good to understand the nuances of what one can do with the tool as it is in addition to the added value or utility of things like chucks and such.

So I met a buddy at WC this morning and promptly got into a discussion with the WC "turning guy" who just happens to be a fellow I worked with before I retired. 2.5 hours later, we drove off with a Nova 1624, a SuperNova 2 chuck, 6 tools and a book.

We got it all home and after rearranging the shop started putting it all together. Only one slight hitch and we were up and running. The headstock guard has to come off when mounting the motor which didn't seem all that complicated, but two of the hex screws were apparently put in by a person who possesses strength beyond their awareness. One rounded out and the other was actually so tight that I broke the tip of my T handle hex wrench (ball end) and the tip lodged in the hex opening.

After way too long fiddling with every gripping tool I had available and just before drilling the screws out, I decided to cut a slot in the screw that wasn't filled with the broken head of the hex tool. That and a flat screwdriver made it one down and one to go.

The screw with the broken tip wouldn't go anywhere with a frontal assault so I simply unwound the entire headstock guard and backed off the screw, guard and all. This represented the most consumption of time and head scratching. Everything else went together very smoothly. The motor runs quietly and with no vibration so it looks like the belt is happy with 1/2" deflection.

Tomorrow I get familiar with the chuck. More to follow...

UPDATE on the stuck allen screws: I called the Teknatool customer service number for the US and spoke to a very helpful fellow. I guess stuck screws in the headstock guard are not uncommon. He is sending me out a new set. Now where's that Supernova2 manual?