Lathe recommendation (Woodtek?)

[Joe Melton]

Hello, I'm a new member, and this is my first post, though I've read much of the archives with considerable interest. I've been turning pens for a couple of months, and now want to try something different. Toward that end, I think a larger lathe is in order.
A friend has offered me his like-new Woodtek 12" for $600. He paid about $1200 for it new. I can't seem to find any comments on this lathe, other than those from the dealer.
Another option is a Powermatic Model 45, 40 years old, that is for sale locally for $1000.
I think I would be turning mostly bowls, with some vases and candlesticks.
A thousand dollars is quite near the upper end on what I want to spend.
Any advice is gratefully appreciated.
Joe in Colorado Springs

[Gary Max]

Welcome to the Creek. I would of loved to found the Woodtek when I was shopping for Lathes. I looked at their new ones and they where out of reach of my wallet.
So for my money I would buy the Woodtek.

[Joe Melton]

I thought list members would be pretty opinionated about lathes. Does anyone else have knowledge of Woodtek lathes? They recently came out with a larger lathe that is pricey, but the one I am considering is more basic and has just a 3/4 hp motor.

Joe

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Joe

I have been turning for almost 12 years now, and have turned on a lot, a WHOLE lot of lathes in my own shop and in the shops of others, from the newest on the market to an old Blount from the early 1900s, and even an old treadle lathe from the early 1800s! In all those shops and all those lathes, I have never come across a Woodtek in real life. I have seen the pictures, and I have seen the prices, and I have read the claims, but these things just aren't around my neck-o-the-woods. I do not know why that is, but turners just don't seem to go to that lathe when they are looking for a new machine.

If you were to ask about a Jet, Delta, Powermatic, Poolewood, Oneway, Woodfast, Vicmarc, Stubby, or a list of others, you would find owners and opinions. But no one to my knowledge has a Woodtek. There are people here who have Harbor Freight lathes, and Ridgid lathes, and lathes from Canadian Tire! But no one has ever posted to talk about their Woodtek lathe. Maybe they are the greatest secret in the woodturning world, but I don't think so. I am not saying anything bad about the lathe, because I have never seen one. I have no idea if it is well built, or if it is rough around the corners. I don't know what its stated or actual capacities are, and I suspect that most of the people here are in the same boat.

That is not to say that what you see is not a bad price. My first question would be, why is this guy selling it for half price? Is there something wrong with it? Does he want a better lathe, and what makes what he wants better? Just looking at the specs you have provided, a 3/4 HP motor is kind of wimpy for the size of the lathe. It would be fine for spindle work, but when it comes to bowls, you will be stalling it on a regular basis.

And, as far as that Powermatic goes, it is a fine lathe, but it is not an ideal bowl turning lathe. It was designed for spindle work, and will turn spindles until the Second Coming, but for bowls, you are going to be limited by the size of the banjo, which gets in the way, and the gap in the bed, which if I recall, most Powermatic 90s, if not all, have. For that same $1000 there are a number of other options out there for you to consider, but that is a lot more than I would be willing to pay for a lathe of that vintage and design if my primary focus was bowls. If I was going into business making table legs, that would be a different story.

If it were me, I would keep looking on both counts. There are almost always used lathes coming on the market from people who are moving up. Lots of people say buy once cry once for the price and size, but most people cannot afford to drop $5000 on a machine that they may or may not like. I went through seven lathes to get where I am now, and I cannot say anything bad about any of them, even though none of the previous ones were as good as the ones I have now. They all served their purpose, and I sold them to people who were just as happy as I was to get their hands on them.

Good luck with your decision. Hopefully my post here will generate some more discussion for you.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

Bill points out a very important point about vintage lathes (and even a bunch of the ones being sold today)...the designs are ideal for spindle work and less than optimal for bowl and vessel turning. The latter issue is primarily based on three things:

Bed length...long beds make for more discomfort when hollowing a bowl or vessel because they are exactly where it would be nice to put your body for certain cuts. Some of the current lathe offerings get around this with the ability to slide or rotate the headstock, but it's always important to remember that these features can also bring issues, too.

Swing...most vintage lathes are in the 8"-12" swing size which can be very limiting, especially if the tool rest base is beefy; some have the "gap bed" issue that prevents getting the tool rest where you might want it for bowl and vessel work. Again, some of the current crop of machines get around this with sliding or rotating headstocks, but one must be mindful of the downsides to these features, such as balance, realignment after the fact, etc. Some lathes also allow for outboard turning which is a great feature as long as you have a way to securely use a tool rest and preferably still have the ability to use a tailstock for safety during roughing.

Speed control...most, if not all, of the older machines have a few fixed speeds or use a "reeves drive" for "variable speed". Even in the latter case, the slowest speed may not be slow enough for safe bowl turning when you get into the larger sizes and/or are using unbalanced material. Further, with the reeves drive, you have to be mindful of cranking down the speed to the slowest setting at the end of a session and before you turn off the lathe...you can only make speed adjustments when the machine is running. If you don't do that, you could accidentally mount a large, unstable blank on the machine and turn it on at too fast a speed, resulting in possible physical harm to you and/or your shop.
It amazes me that so many lathes being sold today still follow the same old "spindle oriented" designs of years gone by. They are getting better, however, and we're now seeing increased swing capacities even in the value-priced models. That's good since the largest percentage of folks entering the turning world, when not making things like pens, etc., are making bowls and vessels. I bet a big percentage of those will never be turning long spindles for furniture, either...ever.

The folks that make the NOVA series of lathes "got" that awhile ago and they have offered several versions of their machines with the base unit being a short-bed design with nice swing capacity (16") and a variety of powering options including VS DC, VS AC and the relatively new DVR design with a unique motor setup. On the higher end, Vicmark with their short bed VL300 as well as a few other lesser known machines really hit the mark with lathes that are perfectly sized for bowl and vessel turning. Poolewood now offers a short-bed version of the Euro machine that Bill uses in his shop and video. Stubby is the most unique in that it's a short bed lathe that can also do longer spindle work on occasion merely by sliding the bed out from the headstock. (The bed can also be rotated to be able to position the tool rest in many, many orientations, especially when working with up to 30" inboard on the Stubby 750)

I wonder when Jet, Delta, PM, etc., will think seriously about making lathes that are better suited to bowl and vessel turning; a short bed version of the Jet 1642...maybe a 1624...would be killer, especially with it's VFD VS system.

[Bob Hovde]

I wonder when Jet, Delta, PM, etc., will think seriously about making lathes that are better suited to bowl and vessel turning; a short bed version of the Jet 1642...maybe a 1624...would be killer, especially with it's VFD VS system.

Jim,

Isn't the real question one of getting an "affordable" bowl lathe (without making one yourself)? Although it's considerably more expensive than we're discussing here, the PM 3520A is both long and short bed lathe - by moving the headstock - and VS. I have the auxillerary toolrest stand, so my bowl/plate size is dictated by the floor (or my nerve, since I haven't tried it yet). I'll have my 220 line in soon and will report on how it works.

Bob

[Jim Becker]

That's exactly the point I was making, Bob. And yes, the PM3520A functions as you state. But it would be nice if the machine was available in a true short bed version...for a couple hundred bucks less...for folks who never intend to turn long spindles and have space issues. (One of the many reasons I chose my Stubby 750 was space. I could not afford to put a long-bed lathe in my shop without taking space away from my flat work needs) And on the next tier down from the PM machine, I'd love to see some competition for the NOVA 3000 with the DC VS motor setup from some other vendors. That $1000-$1500 slot is an important price point segment and would serve a lot of folks who have become serious about their turning but cannot or will not budget for a high-end machine or even the present PM3520A.

[Joe Melton]

Thanks to those who took the time to offer their opinions. It was very helpful to me.

A guy called me a few minutes ago in response to my local newspaper ad looking for a lathe. He has a Delta, made in the mid 1970s, with very little use on it. It is 3/4 hp (he thinks), and has an outboard stand as a tool rest for bowl turning.
I'm going to see this lathe this afternoon, and would appreciate any opinions and advice about this model. Wish I had a model number, but maybe someone recognizes it from my description.
He is asking $600 for it, but it sounds negotiable.
Thanks,
Joe

[Joe Judge]

For what its worth ...
I got a Rockwell (Delta) 70s-ish lathe (46-111) and have been very happy.

--joe

[sascha gast]

jim, you are right. i was trying to upgrade to a better lathe, but the size of the 1642 or the 3520 kept me from getting either one of them.
the 1442 can be had for $800ish, but i wanted a better motor and the speed control. so i went for the Nova DVR and love it. what a great machine, but it would be nice to get a mediium end short bed lathe around $1200+.

one day i'll get my 2436 oneway, but not until i have more space in the shop.


my opinion about woodtek, if you have a hard time finding people that have one, doesn't mean the lathe is bad, it'll just be hard to find help on the boards if anything goes wrong.
i'd stick with the popular brands.

sascha

[Jim C Bradley]

Hi,

If you are still looking for Woodtek lathe information:

Go to "Turner's Forum."

Do a "Search." on the "Google SawmillCreek" window.

See "Lathe recommendations (Woodtek) and click on "Go."

Also see "AWFS - Show Reports - Page 2." This is by Nancy Laird. Then go down the column of photos and you will see a man turning a large (50# or more as a guess) cylinder on a Woodtek lathe.

The current price on the Woodtek 12" / 37.5" between centers with a full safety shield is 1,399.99 at Woodworker's Supply. (woodworker.com) How do I know this? I was in the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps woodworking shop. They love the machine so much that they just purchased a larger machine to add to their equipment. According to them the machine is extremely versitile and this is important. They have many different people turning and each of those people seem to have their own desires. Anyway, that's why I contacted Woodworker's Supply.

When I was in the Marine Corps wood shop a man was turning a slice of log about17" in diameter and about 6" thick. He had lopped off the main irregularities with a BS. It was a piece of "Road Kill." I suppose "Tree Kill" would be a more accurate description....He picked it up at the side of the road.

Enjoy,

Jim

[Bob Hallowell]

Jim,
He more than likely has purchased a lathe allready, this thread is from 2004.

Bob

[Jim C Bradley]

Hi Bob

Hey I'm 83 and a little slow.
I got too interested because I was looking at the Woodtek 12/36.
Nancy Laird's husband sells them.

Enjoy,

Jim

[alex carey]

Your not the only one, I was about to comment until I saw Bob say something.

[Mark Norman]

LOL

still good info here.
Thanks for the insight Mr. Becker:)

Exacly why I'm building my own...