I think I messed up. (Ref: Ridgid WL1200 Lathe)

[Josh Griffith]

I went and purchased a Jet Band Saw off of some classifieds, and spotted a Ridgid WL1200 Lathe, he was selling. I haven't used a lathe in over 25 years, and it's been on my "that would be cool to have" list. He wanted $275, I thought that was probably a good deal, so I bought it. Now I'm home, and realized that it only has the set up for turning spindles, but none of the attachments for turning bowls, or a chuck. So, I google the parts, and none of them are available anymore.

Total buyers remorse.

Does anyone have any ideas or experience with this lathe.

[John K Jordan]

I went and purchased a Jet Band Saw off of some classifieds, and spotted a Ridgid WL1200 Lathe, he was selling. I haven't used a lathe in over 25 years, and it's been on my "that would be cool to have" list. He wanted $275, I thought that was probably a good deal, so I bought it. Now I'm home, and realized that it only has the set up for turning spindles, but none of the attachments for turning bowls, or a chuck. So, I google the parts, and none of them are available anymore.
Total buyers remorse.
Does anyone have any ideas or experience with this lathe.

That's a copy of the old Craftsman "tube" lathe, 1/2 hp motor, a tube holding the tailstock. That was the first lathe I had and others have said they started with it too.

If you didn't get the manual: https://www.manualslib.com/manual/611905/Ridgid-Wl1200.html

I hate to be the one to break the news but that is a terrible lathe and I think the price was way too high. A few years ago I bought a good used Jet mini lathe for about 1/2 that cost.

It is obviously good for starting out since some of us got started that way, but I kept it only a short time before I bought a better lathe gave that one to someone. I found the tailstock the worst thing, difficult to keep aligned. That said, I did turn spindles and a bowl or two. That was enough to get me hooked - fifteen years later I five lathes and woodturning is my favorite thing in the shop!

As you probably know, the WL1200 was supposed to come with a face plate for turning bowls and such. You might be able to find one used if you ask in the Classified section here or look around. I've seen that lathe sold for $50 and given away so maybe you can find another one just to get the faceplate. You can also get a chuck for it with an insert to fit the threads on the spindle - I bought one but never used it. A new Nova G3 chuck is probably around $100 and the insert is a little more.

You can make a faceplate - lots of people have. Find a big nut the fits the spindle, cut a steel disk, and weld nut to the disk. Some people machine them from aluminum.

However, knowing what I know now I think I would skip the effort, write it up as a bad day, and get a different lathe.

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

BTW, the manual for that lathe is actually one of the best I've seen for an introduction to wood turning. It has a great deal of information on how to approach woodturning, the tools, and how to use them to make a variety of things.

JKJ

[Josh Griffith]

Thanks for getting back to me. I did find the owners manual last night, and read the whole thing.

What would be a good "starter" lathe? I see that Harbor Freight has a lathe with the cast iron base. With my 20% off coupon, I could buy it for less than what I paid for the Ridgid, lol.

[John K Jordan]

Thanks for getting back to me. I did find the owners manual last night, and read the whole thing.

What would be a good "starter" lathe? I see that Harbor Freight has a lathe with the cast iron base. With my 20% off coupon, I could buy it for less than what I paid for the Ridgid, lol.

I think almost any other lathe would be a better starter lathe than the Ridgid. :(

To get started, I recommend:
- lathe with at least 10" swing (almost all)
- some kind of stand or table to put the lathe spindle about elbow height
- a minimum set of tools (roughing gouge, parting tool, scraper, skew chisel, spindle gouge, bowl gouge)
- a way to sharpen, usually a bench grinder with perhaps a jig eventually for the gouges
- a chuck that fits the spindle (one with threaded inserts so you can just change the insert if you upgrade lathes someday)

FWIW, even if your goal is to turn bowls lots of experts recommend starting with spindle turning before moving to bowls. They say, and my experience concurs, that if you become proficient with spindle turning you will learn the fine tool control that people who start and stick with bowls sometimes never learn. When I teach a student who has never touched a lathe the first tool in their hands is a skew chisel. Maybe 15 minutes later they all are planing cylinders. It's easy, once you know how!

I don't see where you mentioned where you live but if you happen to live near East Tennessee come visit and I'll show you the basics and maybe you can borrow one of my Jet mini lathes and some tools for a few weeks to see if you like woodturning.

JKJ

[John Keeton]

IMO the only HF lathe worth having is the 34706, but it is essentially a spindle lathe because of the high rpm of the low speed setting - around 600 rpm. I started on that lathe and it isn't a bad lathe, but you will probably want to move up soon. After upgrading three times, I am of the opinion it is better to start a little higher on the ladder. Overall, your outlay will be less

[david privett]

you can turn bowls on that lathe , just I think a 12 inch max. but they will have to be as round as possible as your lowest rpm is around 600. psi has some chucks that come with a bushing that goes from the 3/4x16 thread on your head stock to 1x8 on the chuck, that would be a good move over a faceplate for doing all your bowl turning. I had a lathe like that one and I put on a jack shaft and reduced the rpm by 3 to 1 . but that is some engineering that you might not want to do because you still have a light weight non reversible lathe. Give what you got a spin and see if it is something you like and reevaluate your wants.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I will be odd man out on my advice. In my lifetime I have used a lot worse lathes, it would be considered a good one compared to some of them.

My advice is to use it as a learning tool. If you want a chuck, Penn State has some inexpensive chucks that have adapters to fit the threads on the Ridgid. I believe it has threads of 3/4-16, the adapter comes with the PSI economy chuck. but the chuck will also work on any of the more common 1-8 threads.

You will have to do a better job of centering and balancing your blanks because of speed issues but it can be done. You can pickup a faceplate off of the auction site, if you do get one with 1-8 threads, the above adapter will work on it. If you upgrade the Ridgid can become a buffing station.

The road of wood woodworking tools is full of nice almost new tools that people thought they could not live without, but then when the interest wore out, it sat there collecting dust and rust to be sold for pennies on the dollar.

[Josh Griffith]

I think almost any other lathe would be a better starter lathe than the Ridgid. :(

To get started, I recommend:
- lathe with at least 10" swing (almost all)
- some kind of stand or table to put the lathe spindle about elbow height
- a minimum set of tools (roughing gouge, parting tool, scraper, skew chisel, spindle gouge, bowl gouge)
- a way to sharpen, usually a bench grinder with perhaps a jig eventually for the gouges
- a chuck that fits the spindle (one with threaded inserts so you can just change the insert if you upgrade lathes someday)

FWIW, even if your goal is to turn bowls lots of experts recommend starting with spindle turning before moving to bowls. They say, and my experience concurs, that if you become proficient with spindle turning you will learn the fine tool control that people who start and stick with bowls sometimes never learn. When I teach a student who has never touched a lathe the first tool in their hands is a skew chisel. Maybe 15 minutes later they all are planing cylinders. It's easy, once you know how!

I don't see where you mentioned where you live but if you happen to live near East Tennessee come visit and I'll show you the basics and maybe you can borrow one of my Jet mini lathes and some tools for a few weeks to see if you like woodturning.

JKJ

Thank you for the advise and offer. I need to fill in my profile, I've only been a member for a year. lol. I live in Idaho, on the Oregon border.

Thanks again everyone for the replies.

[Brian Kent]

Welcome, Josh. In my experience with cheaper tools, I think you can learn a lot if you know the safety concerns (such as using only spindles or bowl blanks cut round because of the low speed of 600 RPM). Start using goggles and dust protection immediately. Then avoid spending much money for pieces unique to this lathe. Use the advise about adapters that will make chucks work on future lathes. Pay attention to sharpening systems that are absolutely essential for every quality of lathe.

Have fun and experiment. You may want to try making a bonker because they can be any shape and everybody needs a bonker. (A bonker is the lathe equivalent to an ash tray in ceramics. If nothing else worked, at least you made an ash tray, or a bonker.)

[Eugene Dixon]

I have one of those. Disassembled in the attic of the shop. Bought for my father-in-law who said he wanted to turn. He never did. When they moved from the farm to a gated community, he returned the lathe. I've turned a few pens for it. Have a G3 thread insert, the face plate, stand, manual, etc. Be nice to find a new home for all of it, but the time shipping is calculated to Idaho, it may be another $250.

[Glenn C Roberts]

Thought about making a rose engine with a tube lathe (just a thought). Head stock pivoting on the tube with good needle bearings. Seems like it oughta work.

[ELY WALTON]

That's a copy of the old Craftsman "tube" lathe, 1/2 hp motor, a tube holding the tailstock. [...]
JKJ

What's more, I believe the OEM is Emerson Electric for both the Craftsman and Rigid...

Ely

[Josh Griffith]

Hey everyone, I was able to get rid of the Ridgid lathe without taking too bad of a bath. Now, I am wanting a lathe so bad, I spend all my free time looking on line and on classifieds. Locally someone is selling a Delta 46-460 with an extension bed, stand, and a set of knives for $650. That is above my secret stash of $$, and was curious what value you all would put on that package? I've read enough threads to know, that the Delta is a good starter lathe, and with the extension, i think I would never need to upgrade (I don't have high expectations of my lathing capabilities), unless I get the turning bug real bad.

Edited to add: It doesn't have a 4 jaw chuck, so I assume I'll need to purchase the Nova G3. After of course spending some time learning to turn spindles, as advised. :)

Josh

[John Keeton]

I would say the deal depends somewhat on condition, age, what "knives" (gouges) are included (brand and configuration) The bed extension is good if you end up doing extended spindles (furniture legs, etc.) but not much benefit for vessel turning except when using a hollowing system. Then, it comes in handy. The stand that came with the 46-460 was a bit lightweight, but that can be addressed with a ballast box. If the included tools are junk, then I think the price may be just a bit high. I would be more comfortable at around $500-575. The new retail on the lathe, extension and stand was probably close to $1,000. The lathe itself can be bought for around $600 new.

The 46-460 was a good lathe. I turned on one for a couple years (2nd lathe of the four I have owned) and enjoyed it. There were some switch issues, but as I recall replacement parts may now be more available than they once were.

Just my thoughts.

[cody michael]

The nicer harbor freight lathe is a good starting point, you can make bowls but only up to 8-10 inches and you need them round to start. If you like turning save up and buy a Grizzly G0766. I had a harbor freight lathe and used it for years, made alot of bowls and pens. I sold it to buy a Delta lathe with a DC motor that has awesome speed control. I do wish I would have just bought a G0766, my delta is just ok and I ended up putting a lot of money into it.