A good dedicated pen turning mini lathe??

[Chris Yarish]

I opted to put this here rather than the turners forum.....

What is a decent mini lathe one could dedicate solely for pen turning?
It's for a school so it would need to withstand several hours of use per day for 100+ days out of the year.

Thanks.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris.......

I noticed you are in Canada. Taking that into consideration, I'd recommend one of the General line of lathes or a Oneway lathe.

Keep in mind, you can turn small things on a big lathe.....You can't turn big things on a small lathe.....easily that is.

The better quality lathes...Oneway or General would cost more up front but would probably last longer under the vigors of student useage. Typically students are harder on machines than experienced users. For that reason, a quality lathe would probably last longer.

If that isn't possible due to budgetary constraints, I'd look at a Jet Mini or a Rikon Mini. Cost wise they are cheaper and they have fairly good repuations among the turners here.

Again...in a student situation....if you have the budget, I'd look at Oneway or General....both Canadian companies and they might be willing to make your school a " special" deal.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

I don't think it's legal to turn "men" even in Canada. Eh? :)

But seriously I have a Jet mini that I think is perfect for pen turning. It's very smooth and quiet and good quality at a decent price. I've turned a lot of pens on mine. Is Jet available in Canada?

[Chris Yarish]

Thanks guys....I had narrowed it down to the Jet or the General. There is a Vicmarc mini for like, $1700, compared to $550 for the General.

I will look into those....and yes, Jet is available, although difficult to find.

I will see if I can order through Rockler.

[Eddie Darby]

I was at Home Depot the other day and saw a Delta midi lathe for $299 which was a good solid simple lathe.