Tool Gloat

[James G. Jones]

Ok, now I've done it. I've admired the turnings on this forum for a long time. I guess I was jealous of all the fun you all are having and the really nice pieces turned out. I went on a little rust hunt today and I came up with a 12" swing 42" long older craftsman lathe, three bowl face plates in varying sizes, a 4 jaw chuck, and two sets of turning tools thrown in. Not too bad for $40. I'll attach it to a 1hp motor (on the way), and then I'm sure I'll be asking all kinds of questions. So, speaking of questions, here are my first 3:

1. What is the piece in front of the lathe? It appears to be from a duplicator - it has a small gouge mounted on it, but there are several places where things could be attached but are not.

2. Is 1 hp sufficient, not enough, or too much for this set up?

3. What would be a good beginner project to help me develop skills. I was thinking to make socket chisel handles.

Here's what it looks like after the initial cleaning of superficial rust.

James

[Norm Zax]

Hey man, you were ripped off. I'll do my best to give you 35$ and take it off your hands with minimal loss.
Just kiddin of course! Welcome to the vortex.

[Bruce Pennell]

James great buy....welcome, sorry I will have to let someone with that type of lathe answer your questions. If you want to try bowls I highly recommend Bill Grumbines "Bowls made Easy" DVD, check out your local wood stores for turning DVD's or online there are a lot of great sources with video and turning projects. Heres a few;
Woodworking Online (http://www.woodworkingonline.com/2006/12/22/podcast-7-bowl-turning-from-log-to-bowl-in-under-an-hour/)

Expert Village (http://www.expertvillage.com/video/121117_woodturning-tools-bowl-gouge-vs.htm)

Woodturning Online (http://www.woodturningonline.com/Turning/Turning_projects.html)

Woodturner's Resource (http://www.turnwood.net/videos.html)

Have fun, these should keep you busy for an hour or two, Good Luck...Bruce
PS a lot of lathes where sold with metal working attachments, for brass, copper, light stuff, that maybe what the up front piece is.

[robert hainstock]

Your 1hp motor is more than enough for that lathe. I turned on a similar lathe with a 1/3 hp washing machine motor. You are on your own as to what or how the attachments might work. The headstock is 3/4, 16tpi, FYI. Happy shavings, and welcome. :):)
Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on your lathe. 1 hp motor will be fine.

[Steve Schlumpf]

James - congrats on your new lathe! Looks like you have the same lathe that I started out with! Great lathe to learn on!

Couple of things about the lathe: you should still be able to get a parts breakdown list from the Sears Craftsman repair site. You might be able to still get the manual also. I know I used to have a copy - a total of 4 pages if I remember - so if you can't find it - give me a bump and I'll see if I can locate mine.

One of the problems with the lathe is that of speeds. It is primarily set up as a spindle lathe and the lowest speed (875 rpm) is actually pretty high for roughing out bowls - although I know that it can be done!

Other thing to watch out for is all the adjustment arms/knobs - you will get tired of having to screw everything in each time you make an adjustment to the tool rest and I promise you - you will bust your knuckles more than once!

Typical first projects are bonkers - just simple practice shapes turned between centers and used to find out how to control all the different tools!

Have fun with it! Looking forward to seeing some of your projects once you are up and running!

[Richard Madison]

James,
Happy "new" lathe! Thousands of us started with that one. Hope you are getting a 1725 rpm motor, not a 3450. Ref. Steve's comment on spindle speed. Lots of experience with the ubiquitous single tube Craftsman is available here.

[Dan Carroll]

SHot, i am still using mine. I picked up from my brother in law for free, after he picked it out at a yeard sale. It only took him 3 years to realize he was ever going to use it. By the way it is a Morse Taper #1 -- sometimes a little hard to find.

[James G. Jones]

Thanks for all the support and added info.

Steve - Thanks, I found the parts list from Sears. No luck on the manual though.
Richard - Yep, 1725 rpm 1 hp motor on the way.
As I've never turned before, I wanted minimal investment to determine what exactly I will like to do with it. I anticipate a lot of scraps until I develop some basic skills. Then who knows.

James