Getting into turning - a reasonable budget?

[Dan Karachio]

Hi everyone. I have stayed away from here, but now I am getting ready. Years ago (about 30) in junior high and high school shop class the lathe was my favorite. To this day my mom's place is still full of lamps, bowls, dishes and yes, at least one set of candle stick holders I made on the lathe. I'd like to get back into this, but unlike some of my other shop purchases I want to be smart and do it right the first time.

Can anyone point me to a good book or other online resource to list what I need (lathe, chucks, gouges...), the good models and brands to buy and what I should budget to do this? Also, I see a few interesting looking used lathes on CL, and would like to educate myself on buying used. I have a few bandsaw books that treat the BS this way (soup to nuts) but there seems to be dozens of such books on the lathe and I'm not sure what to order.

[Charlie Reals]

welcome to the vortex Dan. uhhh budget,reasonable,:D:D The slide into oblivion has begun.
charlie

[Dan Karachio]

Yea, the thread title is all wrong (just plain dumb of me) and I wish I could change it. Let's just say "budget to get started with good quality tools," but more importantly, what are the best books and resources to make myself an educated consumer (so I don't have to post all the dumb newbie questions here).

By the way, I did a little clicking around on Woodcraft and it seems 1000-1500 might be that budget. Delta 46-460, extension, stand then money for good chisels and gouges (found this article at FWW - http://www.finewoodworking.com/subscription/ToolGuide/ToolGuideArticle.aspx?id=30963)

[Sean Hughto]

Like most everything else in life you can spend as much as you want - the sky is the limit. It would probably better if you suggested a budget and then we suggested what routes we might suggest for a beginner with that much to spend. Also, of course, you need to say what you hope to make exactly (our answers will be different if all you want to make is pens as opposed to large bowl or table legs).

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Welcome Dan. The dark side has swallowed you and there is no escape. What you ask may not be as simple as a single comprehensive book but there are plenty of folks here to help you. I relate completely to your situation and can assure you that wanting to do it right the first time is a wise decision. From the sounds of your experience you will want to look for a lathe that is not limited to just one or two types of turning. My experience led me to the Robust lathe but others will share their satisfaction on other types as well. Once the lathe is decided upon then the real work begins. Take it a step at a time and ask plenty of questions. Each step you take will be covered here at the creek so do a little research for the wealth of information that is available. Again Welcome to the Abyss, we're glad to see another bite the dust.:D

[Greg Just]

I would recommend the following book by Ernie Conover:

http://www.amazon.com/Lathe-Book-Complete-Machine-Accessories/dp/1561584169/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289265172&sr=1-3

[David DeCristoforo]

"Reasonable budget" is something of an oxymoron when it comes to turning. But since you asked, I'll try to give you a reasonable answer. Figure five hundred for a lathe. That will get you a Delta midi which is a very well respected machine or, if you luck out, a bigger used lathe. A good chuck will set you back a couple of hundred. A decent set of basic lathe tools will run around a hundred. You will want to supplement that with a few good bowl gouges so figure on another couple of hundred there. You will also need a good sharpening setup. If you got a Wolverine system, there's another few bills plus the grinder. At this point, we are right around $1,200 and we're turning. From that point, the sky's the limit...

[Dan Karachio]

Thanks everyone. The book will be ordered in a minute. I think 1,000 to 1,500 is my budget. I want to turn bowls, legs and pulls/knobs to start. I think another subject I need to learn about is wood for turning.

[Brian Kent]

Dan I didn't catch you in time. Around here, if you want to spend $1,000 to $1,500, you should say "My budget is $500" and then people will coax you up. If you say $1,500 the recommendations will start at about $3,000. ;)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Another book I would recommend would be by Keith Rowley. It is "Woodturning a Foundation Course." Absolutely excellent.

[Don Alexander]

BUDGET?

whatever you have in the vault x2 or x10 hehe :D

[Mike Cruz]

Ok, as someone that has recently gotten sucked into the vortex let me give you my two cents.

First lathe, CL $200. Spent $200 getting it "up to par" with what I thought would make it what I wanted. Got a starter set of tools from PSI for about $80. A chuck, some faceplates, live centers...totaling another $150 to $200.

Good start?

Had the lathe less than 6 months (2 months in turning) to realize it wasn't what I wanted/needed. Need to sell the old lathe. Got a real lathe at auction for the bargain price of $300. Without even refinishing the lathe (superficial rust...) I've already put $200 into a VFD (variable speed 3 phase converter) and potentiometer (knob to control the speed rather than pushing small up and down buttons on the VFD). I wanted a digital tach readout (most here think you don't need it...I want it, so I ordered one) so that was another $100. And I've got about another $100 coming in boxes and mounts for the above additions.

Upon starting turning, I realized I needed good sharpening equipment. So, I got an inexpensive slow speed grinder for about $100 through Woodcraft. DON'T recommend this model, get the better one... Got the Wolverine sharpening jig $90? with the bowl gouge adapter $50?. Realized that the bowl gouge that came with the set was a 1/2" and had too short of a handle. Turned a long handle for it, but it is still only a 1/2". Wanted something bigger and went with a highly recommended manufacturer (Thompson) 5/8" bowl gouge, tool only no handle $90?.

Since, I've bought another chuck, and a tailstock chuck (like on your drill press). Can't think of what else, but I know there is more.

How much have I spent? I don't want to know. You do the math from the above figures. Minus the sale of my old lathe of course, but I probably won't get all the money back that I have into it...

[Jim Burr]

Dan, to put it simply, buy the best lathe you'll ever need, extrapolate to what you can't even think about doing right now. Look at the project posts of what we do and think bigger...that's done. But the best gouges you can find. IMHO it's Thompson...I think most of us have some of those. Start with 3, 1/2" bowl gouge, 3/4" skew, and a big scraper...although I have a set of pen tools but still use a 1/2" Sorby bowl gouge on pens...don't know why...just do. Start with a genre...pens, stoppers, bowls, whatever, get the specific add-on's and master it. Move on to the next genre...master that. I paid for my Monster, and soon my 1642 by making pens. Again, get the best and you won't need anything else. Last...listen to what everyone here tells you...most of the best of the best are here. ;)