Questions from a new turner

[Sean D Evans]

Hi all.

I just started turning a few months ago when I bought an old Delta 11" double duty lathe to make some tool handles. I got pretty caught up and didn't do much of anything else with my free time. Thank goodness that the 1/2 HP motor burned up a few weeks ago, I needed to get back to my remodeling projects. It has me thinking though and planning for this winter when hopefully my other projects around the house are finished. I'd like to have a bigger lathe for making bowls. I don't see why a guy couldn't put one together fairly quickly and cheaply. A couple flange mount tapered roller bearings and an 1 1/4" spindle with a sturdy base should work for a bowl lathe. At least that's what I think with my limited experience. I don't see a need for a tailstock on a bowl lathe. Am I wrong? Variable speed would be nice but I think I would start without it.

But I also wonder what the heck I'm going to do with all the bowls I make. I get that they are just fun to make and are something that allows you to be creative. But what do you do with 100's of them?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I personaly like to start a bowl (or any project) between centers. Meaning yes, you do need a tailstock. Building your own lathe is quite an undertaking. You may think of rebuilding/upgrading your current lathe. 12" is plenty big to start. You can make a nice sized bowl.

You'd have lots of friends if you give 100 bowls away!

[Sean D Evans]

True, but I think after awhile people are more like "Eh, another bowl."

Couldn't you start on a faceplate and turn the outside and bottom and then switch to chuck?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You certainly can, but I like to start between centers, because you can balance out the blank. If the blank is well balanced, you can start roughing at a higher speed. Sometimes you want to move the blank around to shift the colors, or to avoid a knot, or include a knot. Lots of reasons. Once on a faceplate, you pretty much have only one choice, unless you want to go through the trouble of remounting. Sometime as you turn, you might decide the blank is on the "wrong way".

I'm sure you won't get, "ho hum yet another bowl.... nah, pass."

[Michelle Rich]

part of the fun of any woodworking, is to share with family & friends. We do it for our own satisfaction, our own need to produce lovely objects, and to just have a fun thing to do. You can turn handles, you can turn bowls, platters, art objects, canes, architectural pieces, and even bed posts & stair parts, and like me chair parts. You can turn bowls, platters, and other things for auctions for the disabled, for the dog shelters, children in hospitals, wounded warriors. You can find a home for anything you turn. It is a wider world than you are thinking. I agree with Kyle..get a tailstock..it will save your body from a flying chunk of wood. It's just that simple.

[John Keeton]

Sean, some folks seem to just like the building process as much or more than the turning. If you are one of those, then there are several threads on the creek regarding lathe builds, including this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?106663-Making-plans-to-build-a-concrete-bowl-lathe-opinions-welcome) - one of the most well recalled. There are also these, including one thread with detailed drawings in it -

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?190388-Concrete-Lathe-Adventure

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?200077-My-lathe-design-for-your-review (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?200077-My-lathe-design-for-your-review)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?125238-How-to-make-a-very-specific-large-quot-bowl-quot-lathe

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?93112-Home-Made-Lathes

On the other hand, if you are more typical, the odds are somewhere close to a million to one that you will end up turning a lot more than just bowls!;) That being the case, I would suggest you acquire a good, multi-purpose lathe, with reverse and electronic variable speed. In the end, you will enjoy those features - even if you "just turn bowls."

Just some thoughts for you.

[Reed Gray]

The sliding headstock and pivoting headstock lathes give a lathe that is both a spindle lathe and a bowl lathe. You could build one with out a whole lot of work if you have metal and motor mounting skills. Having a 3 phase motor and converter is a really big asset, along with 2 or 3 pulleys for speed ranges. As for a tailstock, they can come in handy, but are not absolutely necessary. One thing they do, which adds longevity to your bearings is distribute the load and shock more evenly between two points. A saw one once that was made from some channel iron and a DC motor, and welded to some steel plate. I am not an electrical engineer, but the newer brushless DC motors are supposed to be much better than the older standard DC motors.

robo hippy

[Dennis Ford]

I am one of those that enjoy the building process almost as much as using the new tools. A home-made machine without a tail-stock might be a fine additional lathe but it would be very limiting for an only lathe. I would suggest that you buy a lathe that you can afford, use it a while before deciding to build your own.

[Sean D Evans]

Appreciate the replies.

I read through all the links where this has been discussed previously and got some good ideas. It's good to see that some of what I was thinking wasn't that far fetched. I really liked the idea of casting it in concrete.

How big do you think it is safe to go on the outboard end of my old '30's Delta lathe? (Assuming the base is stout and not an issue.)