Small beginners lathe

[Scott Rollins]

I am interested in getting a small lathe for turning spindles for chairs and tables. Nothing huge (yet) or large bowl turning (lest the vortex take me). I have a 2 car garage with my workshop filling it. I currently do furntiture, but I want to add turning to my resume. I have turned in the past on other peoples lathes, but it has been a long time and I have no turning tools at all. So to keep the budget intact I was thinking of either the Rikon 70-100 (12"X 16" plus bed extensions available) or the jet 10X14 plus bed extension. Are these a complete waste of money? I still need all the tools, sharpening, chucks, etc.

[Jim Underwood]

I can tell you the Jet Mini is not a waste of money. There's a reason everyone and their dog has one... I have one, and intend to keep it for demos and craft shows even if I get a bigger one.

Does the Jet 1220 have a bed extension? I'd be tempted to go a little bigger for longer legs...

[Tom Hamilton]

Scott, I bought a Delta mini from Amazon for $125 last Sept. A few lessons and SCHAZAM I'm into turning. Powermatic sent a new 3520B last week.

The mini was a great learning lathe for me. I'll keep it as a pen turning lathe and as a buffing station.

So, I encourage you to get a mini, get your tools and sharpening stuff together and see if you like the craft and then you can decide on moving to a larger capacity lathe.

Best regards, Tom, in Houston, suddenly with two lathes

[Bernie Weishapl]

Scott I got the Rikon with the bed extension. I do chair legs for a friend of mine on occasion. I turned everything from pens to 11 1/2" bowls. It has been a good lathe for the money.

[Gordon Seto]

Does the Jet 1220 have a bed extension? I'd be tempted to go a little bigger for longer legs...

Yes, $89.95

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=lathes-jet-1220

I am tempting to wait for the 1220 VS. I have the mini 1014 VS which I like very much. I think the minimum speed of 270 on the 1220 VS is a big plus.

[Neal Addy]

Of all the lathes you can find for under $1K a mini (1014 or 1220) is the first one I'd recommend, especially for new turners. They're workhorses.

[Tim A. Mitchell]

I also have the Rikon, and really like it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Scott....the Rikon or the Jet Mini. Both can be bought with bed extensions and will satisfy your needs.

[Fred Conte]

Scott - I also have the Rikon w/extension and really like it, it's solid and a real workhorse. There customer service is first rate too!

[Greg Narozniak]

I recently pickup a Penn State Industries VS Turncrafter Pro (With the bed extension although I have not mounted it yet) and for a very short time I have used it it has been great. Perfect out of the box and the variable speed is a great addition over having to change belts.

I looked hard at the jet and the rikon but I went with the PSI unit and I would buy it again.

[Joyce Baldauf]

I, too, have the Rikon and bed extension. Only need the extension for making chair legs and spindles. I also have a Jet 1642 EVS. I love the Jet. Having said that, I recently had the opportunity to turn on a Jet 1014. It was much easier to stall that 1/2 hp motor than the 1/2 motor on the Rikon. Knowing absolutely nothing about motors or electricity I can't explain why this happens, but it does. The belt on the Rikon is more accessible than on the Jet and it has indexing and an extremely handy spindle lock mechanism. Rikon customer service is outstanding and so is Jet.

I have no experience on the Turncrafter Pro vs but take a look at Penn States' other turning tools. Their lathe chisels are an inexpensive way of getting tools on which to learn to turn and learn to sharpen. Nothing worse than spending big $$$ for a piece of steel and watch it disappear at the grinding wheel. Check the prices for these items on Amazon. It will save you some cash. You will also find the Barracuda chuck system there. It is a real deal and works well.

Woodcraft has a good slow speed grinder with good wheels at a reasonable price and sometimes it's on sale.

Don't forget safety ... face mask, safety glasses, breathing protection, you probably already have a method of dust collection/extraction.

Good luck and happy spending. :D Let us know how you make out.

[Scott Rollins]

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like the jet and Rikon are both prety good lathes. I will be heading over to Woodcraft tomorrow...maybe they have both models in stock to look at and ponder over. I will also look intothe penn state version.