Motor size

[GORDON CORWIN]

I just got into wood turning and I'm wondering, is a .5 hp motor strong enough or should I get a bigger one, the lathe has a 12" swing

[Duane Meadows]

Depends on what you wish to turn, but I would go 3/4hp, myself.

[Paul Williams]

40 years ago my first homemade lathe had a 1/2 hp motor. Today I believe that most 12" swing lathes have 1 hp. I think it will depend what you are tuning. For spindle work, and certainly for pens and other small items that might be enough. If you are just starting out and have the motor and lathe, I would wire it up and see how it goes. If you are thinking about 11.9 inch bowls I would look for a bigger motor. If your speed control is pulleys you will have more torque at low speeds, so you could just accept the power limitations turn slow and get some experience.

I'm sure there are going to be lots of opinions on your question. The important thing is that you get to enjoying turning.

[GORDON CORWIN]

Thanks it is 220 so it might work for a bowl

[Josh Bowman]

Frankly it might be too small, but if you already have it, use it. You'll find what diameter that you can turn with the motor. Start with some spindle stuff and work up to the bowls.

[Geoff Gaudet]

It'll be fine. I turned for a decade with only a ½ hp motor on my lathe, and did bowls and platters up to 18" diameter with it. Yeah, you'll be able to bog it down, but that'll teach you to keep your tools sharp and cut with a gentle touch.

[Ron Rutter]

Gord. I was given a homemade lathe that had an old 1/4hp motor. I turned a 13" bowl with it. I ran it 1/2 hour finishing the inside. A while later when I fired it up the motor had seized. It had sleeve bearings!!! Try your set-up out. Just keep an eye on the motor temperature!! ( I did free up the motor & it still runs) Ron.

[Michelle Rich]

My first lathe was homemade & had ONE FOOT POWER from a bungy cord , and I turned into a pretty good turner. when I got electricity and a mini lathe with 1/3 hsp, I was in heaven. THE POWER!! I think folks worry too much about all the bells and whistles, and don't spend time learning to sharpen, & technique. The 1/2 hsp should be fine to learn on & more!

[Richard Coers]

It'll be fine. I turned for a decade with only a ½ hp motor on my lathe, and did bowls and platters up to 18" diameter with it. Yeah, you'll be able to bog it down, but that'll teach you to keep your tools sharp and cut with a gentle touch.

Come on, 18" bowl with 1/2 hp? How many days did it take to turn it? Sure theoretically, you can turn 18" with a cordless drill, but who wants to? I can pretty easily stall my 2hp Oneway on an 18" bowl while roughing out. Gordon, 110 or 220, it makes no difference with the hp.

[Reed Gray]

My first lathe was a small 4 speed Atlas with a 1/2 hp motor. It worked fine, but when the motor fried, probably at least in part from me being rather heavy handed, the 1 hp motor I replaced it with was so much better. 1/2 hp would be fine as long as I was only turning spindles on that lathe, but even then, for heavy cutting, 1 hp is much, much, much, better. Not necessary, mind you, but better.

robo hippy

[Geoff Gaudet]

Come on, 18" bowl with 1/2 hp? How many days did it take to turn it? Sure theoretically, you can turn 18" with a cordless drill, but who wants to? I can pretty easily stall my 2hp Oneway on an 18" bowl while roughing out. Gordon, 110 or 220, it makes no difference with the hp.
Not long, really. I use sharp tools and cut, not scrape. Also, I geared the lathe down to raise the torque. Once the outside was turned round (and that was always the hard/slow part, truing up the outside on a rough piece--I used a chainsaw to get an octagon, not having a good bandsaw), I never had any power issues. As for stalling out...yeah, I could, but I learned how not to (I can't even imagine stalling out a 2-hp Oneway).

Keep in mind also, not all motor horsepower ratings are equal. A good motor with a half-horsepower rating might actually have more continuous power than a cheap motor with a ¾ hp rating. I tend to look at the amperage (the ½ hp Baldor on my old lathe is rated for 7 amps at 115V), but even that doesn't always tell the tale.

I agree with Michelle, I think a lot of guys get too wound up with the machinery and forget about the goal, which is good turning. I read an article (published, I think, in Fine Woodworking in the 70s or something) about an itinerant bowl turner in Africa. This guy would wander from village to village with his tools, and set up a lathe from a couple sticks of wood and a metal point...one of the villagers would turn the "headstock" by pulling back and forth on a piece of rope wrapped around it, and the turner would sit on the ground and use his foot as the toolrest, cutting only on the downstroke. This guy didn't have much machinery, but he made surprisingly nice bowls (mostly wide, flat bowls that would be set on a pedestal and used for communal dining).

My point is, while big power is nice, it's not necessary. Back in the 90s when I started turning, I was never told I couldn't turn the pieces I was doing on my lathe, so...I just turned them anyway. And I'm not gonna be the guy to tell someone else what he can or can't do.

[Richard Coers]

Not long, really. I use sharp tools and cut, not scrape. Also, I geared the lathe down to raise the torque. Once the outside was turned round (and that was always the hard/slow part, truing up the outside on a rough piece--I used a chainsaw to get an octagon, not having a good bandsaw), I never had any power issues. As for stalling out...yeah, I could, but I learned how not to (I can't even imagine stalling out a 2-hp Oneway).

Keep in mind also, not all motor horsepower ratings are equal. A good motor with a half-horsepower rating might actually have more continuous power than a cheap motor with a ¾ hp rating. I tend to look at the amperage (the ½ hp Baldor on my old lathe is rated for 7 amps at 115V), but even that doesn't always tell the tale.

I agree with Michelle, I think a lot of guys get too wound up with the machinery and forget about the goal, which is good turning. I read an article (published, I think, in Fine Woodworking in the 70s or something) about an itinerant bowl turner in Africa. This guy would wander from village to village with his tools, and set up a lathe from a couple sticks of wood and a metal point...one of the villagers would turn the "headstock" by pulling back and forth on a piece of rope wrapped around it, and the turner would sit on the ground and use his foot as the toolrest, cutting only on the downstroke. This guy didn't have much machinery, but he made surprisingly nice bowls (mostly wide, flat bowls that would be set on a pedestal and used for communal dining).

My point is, while big power is nice, it's not necessary. Back in the 90s when I started turning, I was never told I couldn't turn the pieces I was doing on my lathe, so...I just turned them anyway. And I'm not gonna be the guy to tell someone else what he can or can't do.

I have also used razor sharp gouges, and cut not scrape. I've been doing that for almost 30 years. The curls I bring off a big bowl are at least 1/2" wide and a heavy 1/16" thick. The goal for me is to make money and enjoy myself while I do it. If I can't hog out an 18" bowl in less than 2 hours, I don't make much money. Power is a necessity for me. I think of what a 1/2hp motor is like on my little Jet mini lathe, and can't imagine how frustrating it would be to rough anything over 6" with it. To each his own, I just wanted to further explain my work.

[Mike Cruz]

Actually, Richard, the Vega bowl lathe I bought (used) had a 24" swing and per the manufacturer's recommendations, there was a 1/2 hp motor on it. It had a jack shaft and step pulley... That said, I have a 2 hp motor and can't imagine anything less on large turnings.

[Mike Cruz]

I can hear Tim The Tool Man Taylor saying to put a V8 on it!!!!

[Geoff Gaudet]

If I can't hog out an 18" bowl in less than 2 hours, I don't make much money. Power is a necessity for me. I think of what a 1/2hp motor is like on my little Jet mini lathe, and can't imagine how frustrating it would be to rough anything over 6" with it. To each his own, I just wanted to further explain my work.
I think you might be surprised...my old, cheap Teknatool with the half-horse Baldor actually hogged stuff out pretty good, and I could pull some pretty big shavings (especially in green wood). Nothing like your Oneway, of course, and I admit to lusting for a more powerful machine myself...but that said, though, not everyone is a professional, and for a newbie like the OP, I dunno if much more than ½ hp is required. For spindles and small stuff, ½ horse is plenty...and when he moves into larger vessels, I'm gonna suggest that it might be best to start out without too much power. In my short time on this site, I've read about more catches, broken tenons, failed recesses, and flying bowls than I ever experienced in my decade of active turning...is it possible that some of these incidents are at least partially due to inexperienced turners running with too much power?

[Mike Cruz]

Geoff, I think you hit the nail on the head... A 1/2 hp full sized Baldor motor is going to have a lot more torque than a 1/2 hp DC motor on a mini lathe. What is funny is that we, as turners, talk about hp when talking about power in our lathes. But torque is much more important. Kinda like a corvette and a 1 ton pick up. I'll take my Duramax diesel in a pickup over the V8 from a Vette for hauling any day. But I also wouldn't want a Duramax in a Vette. A Justy might pass me!

[Richard Coers]

The way so many of you guys are trying to sell me, I guess I should expect that the next big lathes coming out will have 1/2 hp motors. Wonder why the manufacturers never thought of it? Maybe Robust would build a custom one for you! I also don't consider the Vega bowl lathe to be an example of modern design and engineering. Those guys at Vega are the greatest, but as it was once explained to me, "It looks like a lathe I would build in my farm shop." Their new ones sure don't have a 1/2hp. Geoff, you haven't used a descriptor of time closer than pretty good, or not long, and pretty big for your shaving size. How long did it really take you to do that 18" diameter bowl? Sell me with some numbers. Sorry guys, no matter how many of you have had wonderful experiences with 1/2 hp motors on your wood lathes, I would never recommend one to anyone. If too much horsepower scares you, or you think it leads to accidents, tell a beginner to loosen the belt so it slips while you are learning. They will appreciate a bigger motor when they have learned what to do, and they won't have to switch motors latter.

[Mike Cruz]

Richard, I fear you may have misunderstood me. I'm not saying that 1/2 hp is enough. I was simply saying that there is a difference between a 1/2 hp Baldor full size motor and the 1/2 hp DC motors on mini lathes. Also, my point about the Vega lathes is that they most certainly used an older technology which utilizes a jackshaft to "increase" power to the spindle. Most (if not all) modern lathes are either direct drive or go straight from the motor to the spindle...with a belt (but no jackshaft). A 2 hp motor is almost certainly a must for any lathe with capabilities of 18" or over. Much of that is because modern lathes use 3 phase motors with VFDs (to make them electronically variable speed). On older lathes, when you changed speeds from 400 rpm to 2400 rpm, you moved the belt on your step pulleys. This kept your motor's torque constant throughout your speed range. Today's lathes change speeds electronically, and in so doing, lose power as you turn down the speed. So, that is why, in my opinion, the newer and larger lathes come with 2 and 3 hp motors. Do you need all 3 hp to turn a 20" bowl? No. But if you are turning a 20" blank at 400 rpm on a modern lathe, you will not be utilizing the entire 3 hp. If you are using an older lathe with pulleys and a jackshaft. A 1 hp motor might just give you the same power output to the spindle at the same 400 rpm.

Bottom line, you don't want to put a 3 hp motor on a 60 year old Delta lathe. The motor WILL/CAN transfer ALL of that 3 hp to the spindle...even at the lower speeds. And the lathe simply isn't built to handle the torque/pressures that can be experienced.

To answer the OP's question, if I remember it correctly... For a 12" lathe, the size of your motor should likely be in the 3/4-1 hp range. That, of course depends on the lathe, too. A 12" midi lathe can't handle what a 12" PM90 can handle. Mini/midis, in my opinion, are great for pens, bottle stoppers, small (6" diameter) hollow forms, and the likes. If you want to turn 10-12" bowls, you should move up to a larger lathe. An 11-12" out of balance blank (and it is hard to get them all to be well balanced) can toss around a 600 lb lathe...let alone a 100 lber.

[Joe Hillmann]

First I should point out that I am not much of a turner and am still learning.

When I first got my lathe it had a 1/6 hp motor and I made quite a bit of shaving with it while trying to learn how to use a skew. I now have a 1 hp motor on it but the belt slips so bad it is worse than the 1/6 hp motor.

I would suggest if you already have the 1/2 hp motor use it. If you are buying a new one going with a larger motor may be the way to go.

[David DeCristoforo]

I would go so far as to suggest that this is a somewhat silly argument. Of course more power would be "better". But the power you "need" is an altogether different issue. If it were a matter of choosing between a .5 hp motor and a 2hp motor, the 2hp would, all other considerations being equal, be the obvious choice. But, as has been pointed out, much can be done on a machine with a smaller motor, even to the extent of turning a bowl large enough to max out your swing capacity. I would suggest using the machine "as is" until such time as a larger motor becomes a recognizable and justifiable need.

[Dick Strauss]

I would second David's opinion about sticking with the 1/2 hp motor.

IMO the 1/2 hp is good for beginners so that you don't get into too much trouble before the motor stalls and catches should be less violent (kind of like a sorby steb center that slips when you get a catch). The 1/2 hp motor will also make it so that you are forced to turn with sharp tools and take lighter cuts, otherwise you will stall the lathe often. Have fun with what you have for a while and be sure to post your work!

Be safe,
Dick

[Geoff Gaudet]

I would go so far as to suggest that this is a somewhat silly argument. Of course more power would be "better". But the power you "need" is an altogether different issue. If it were a matter of choosing between a .5 hp motor and a 2hp motor, the 2hp would, all other considerations being equal, be the obvious choice. But, as has been pointed out, much can be done on a machine with a smaller motor, even to the extent of turning a bowl large enough to max out your swing capacity. I would suggest using the machine "as is" until such time as a larger motor becomes a recognizable and justifiable need.
Thank you, for clarifying my point.


I would suggest if you already have the 1/2 hp motor use it. If you are buying a new one going with a larger motor may be the way to go.This is probably the best advice so far.

And, my apologies...as a relatively new member of this forum, I hadn't realized that the value of a member's opinions are judged by the size of his...uh, "shavings." I'll try to keep that in mind ;)

[Ron Rutter]

Geoff. Nice one!!!!

[Richard Coers]

Thank you, for clarifying my point.

This is probably the best advice so far.

And, my apologies...as a relatively new member of this forum, I hadn't realized that the value of a member's opinions are judged by the size of his...uh, "shavings." I'll try to keep that in mind ;)

I'll apologize as well. I thought beginning turners on here would appreciate the advice of someone with 30 years of experience. My bad!