Spindle adapter for old lathe

[Brad Simmons]

I've got an old craftsman lathe to start turning on. The consensus seems to be that I should get spindle ad adapter so tools used on this lathe will work when I upgrade someday. The question is, what size spindle to I need to adapt to? I know I need MT2, but the adapters are also threaded. What thread size should I get? If it matters, I plan to do pens, segmented turning and small bowls. I doubt I'll ever do anything big due to budget. Thanks for your wisdom.

[Jamie Donaldson]

You don't need any adapter until you intend to buy a chuck, then you need the proper spindle thread step-up adapter from the Craftsman to whatever size the spindle thread on the new lathe requires. Many smaller lathes use a 1"x 8TPI spindle thread size, the next and larger size is usually 1 1/4"x 8TPI.