Which Lathe is best for me?

[Duane Broussard]

Afew of you guys already know me. I mentioned the HF lathe I bought that burned up on me trying to spin an 8"x8"x30" long post. The HF (34706) I think the number was is now returned to HF and I'm looking for a lathe that works for me. If any of you live close to Louisiana, and have a good lathe for sale... I might be interested in taking it off your hands. David (Will), a member on here has given me some great advise and has helped me quite a bit in knowledge and in my search. He's mentioned a few lathes that he thinks will work for me. I am down to 3 different lathes I think to choose from: The Grizzly G0462, the JET 1442 and the Palmgren 84315 15 inch. I need a powerful lathe. These chucks of wood aren't light to start off with. At the same time, I can't spend $800.00 or more on a late. Not right now. If you guys know of any deals and can give me some good advise, please do. The 3/4 hp on the HF lathe appeared to be too weak. Maybe it was just a poor quality motor... I don't know. The powermatic is way too much for me to spend. Any advice??

[Gordon Seto]

Of the three, the choice is clear. Jet, period.
If you do a search on the Palmgren, you will find a lot of unhappy customers. Most of them got several exchanges, then finally returned. That is the same lathe as the Craftsman.
The Grizzly has very high minimum rpm, not suitable for the capacity.
The Jet has a better track record and higher resale value. Keep in mind, the Reeves drive needs more maintenance.
You can consider the Nova 1624.
http://www.teknatool.com/products/Lathes/1624/Downloads/Fine%20Woodworking%20Heavy%20Duty%20Lathe%20Test_A pril%2007.pdf
To be honest, there is not a whole lot of recommendations on full size lathes for under $1K. Within this price range, you have to compromise on the pros and cons of each. The mini and midi are the best value.

[Duane Broussard]

Thanks Gordon. I may have to rob a bank now. Just kidding.
I have a cousin who just mentioned an old lathe he has that still works fine. Only thing is, he said the belt does not turn the lathe on all pulleys due to it just not fitting tight enough anymore. It's an old Rockwell 115/220 3/4 HP. Anyone know how I would determine the size belt this thing would need? If it's based on measuring a distance, from what point to what point would I measure to determine the correct belt size. It has the old typical pyrimid (opposite direction of each other) pulleys with 4 sizes to each pully. How would I know what size belt would run on all speeds of this lathe? And now that I'm on that subject... if the belt is on the smallest pulley on the bottom and wrapped to lets say the largest pulley on the top, will it run fast, or slow? Please explain this pulley process to me. Guess I'm trying to figure out how to properly set one of these when it comes to speed and purchasing the correct belt size. Any response on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Duane

[Russ Peters]

Smallest pulley on motor to largest pulley on drive equals slowest largest on motor to smallest on drive equals fastest turning speed. Not sure how to determine exact rpm from pulley size though. As far as belt size hopefully there is a size marked on the old belt. If not you can take it to a store and get the one closest (slightly smaller) of the same type and this should work if the old belt will turn in at all.

[Gordon Seto]

Try the link belt.
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20051
You have to match the width of the belt.
It would also make your lathe run smoother. You use the same belt for all pulley positions. All you have to do is align the pulley positions.

[Duane Broussard]

You guys are lifesavers. I'll se if I can make this work. Any other info would be great.
Also, when you say "All I have to do is align the pulleys"... do mean I need to loosen one of the pulleys, move it, and then re-tighten it with it lined up on the opposite pulley of choice?

[Gordon Seto]

I don't exactly know how your motor is mounted. It could possible be mounted on a hinge. The gravity from the motor weight pulls the belt tight. When you change speed, you loosen the tension on the belt and move the belt to the corresponding position: 1st top pulley with the corresponding bottom pulley. To increase speed, you choose the big drive pulley and small spindle pulley.

[Duane Broussard]

Gordon... that Link belt looks link my ticket. Do you just measure the approximate length of your current belt and then order the footage you need? And it looks like you can reduce or add small linkage per your need. Is that correct? Appreciate the help!

[Brian Poor]

Link belt is sold by the foot, you can adjust for a fractional fit on your machine. They run quieter / smoother than many stock belts.

[Gordon Seto]

Duane,

Link belt comes in different width, you have to match it with your pulley. You also have to pay attention to the direction of rotation.

[Duane Broussard]

Brian.. Gordon.... thanks guys for the suggestions and help. Looks like I'll be headed to Woodcraft. I'll need to replace the live center on this ol thing too. It's a bit small (the ring is 1/2" in diameter) and is NOT the bearing type. Any suggestions on a good live center? Will just says to take it in and match the correct diameter to my chioce of center with bearing. I'm thinking I need a hefty one with a really good centering point. Any suggestions?

[Denny Rice]

I also pondered this decision for a long time before I pulled the trigger. A lot of good people in this forum told me if I was going to spend the money on the 1442 Jet, for the money spend a couple more hundred and purchase the 1642, its a much better machine. I'm glad I listened.:)

[Gordon Seto]

Duane,

If your lathe takes #2 Morse Taper, Oneway, Nova live centers are the best. You can't go wrong with either.
Powermatic has a knock off Oneway live center:
http://www.osolnikmachinery.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=102
It doesn't come with the cone adapter. I don't know how good it is.
If your live center is #1 MT, then I won't spend $100 for the best live center. Because when you upgrade, most likely your next lathe would be MT#2.
Don't throw away your dead center. It can be used as drive center (instead of the spur drive) at the headstock end. If you have a catch, most likely your work would just slip and won't cause serious harm or damage.

[Brian Poor]

Used may be the way to get the most machine for the money, but then parts come into question.
When you look at a lathe for heavy or unwieldy work, then a LOW available rpm is a nice safety feature. The rim speed on a heavy out-of-round piece at 800 rpm is going to be unmanageable.

Most lathes in the class you are looking at will be Morse taper #2 for both head and tail stocks. Morse taper #1 is usually just found on really small lathes.
Nova and Oneway both make nice live centers that you can purchase cones for as desired / needed.

[Tom Hamilton]

Hi Duane: Welcome to the world of old woodworking machines and turning. You might post on OWWM.org with a pic of your lathe. The folks over there collect and restore old machines like some folks do cars. They will have all the info you need on parts and adjustments. Many of them will have the parts you need in their shop.

Good luck, T

[Duane Broussard]

Good info guys... thanks! Again.. I'm learning here, so I appreciate everyones patcience to some of my "dumb" questions. But hey... part of what a forum is all about huh? I am really unfamiliar with the determination of #1 or #2 MT. This machine being older, I am assuming by your comments that it is a #2. I measured the cone and it is 11/16" dia. at the large end and 1/2" dia. at the small end. It has an allen nut at the big end, of which I assume you can remove the live center from the cone. The live center's ring is 1/2" in diameter. Is this a #1 or #2 MT?

[Gordon Seto]

Duane,

You can find the dimension here:
http://www.woodturners.org/tech_tips/morse_taper_sizes.htm

Gordon

[Brian Poor]

The #2 Morse taper is 17.780 mm at it's greatest diameter.
17.780 mm = 0.700000000000756 inches which converts out to roughly your measurement of 11/16ths of an inch.

The #1 Morse taper is 12.065 mm at it's greatest diameter.
12.065 mm = 0.475000000000513 inches or roughly 7/16ths inches.

Hope that helps..

[Duane Broussard]

Looks like it is a #2MT. Thanks guys. You're doing me a huge help.

[Gordon Seto]

... do mean I need to loosen one of the pulleys, move it, and then re-tighten it with it lined up on the opposite pulley of choice?
A picture is better than a thousand words; a video is even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqPuDFtz_-Y
Nick Cook has a whole series of videos on YouTube, I think you will find them very informative and educational. He is an excellent teacher.
Be selective on what you see on YouTube. Some of them (not a lot but do exist) are just "what not to do", but without labeling them as such.
I will also recommend you to find a local chapter and attend their meetings.
AAW Local Chapter Listing - The American Association of Woodturners (http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/members.pl?submit=Chapter+List)

[Duane Broussard]

Thanks Gordon... I'll check out both the links