Begginers lathe around $1000 dollars

[Radek Kowalski]

I want to be able to turn stuff, thats how simple it gets. Spindles and all would be cool, but I would need to turn several like 10 or more to be a set. I want to make Bowls, vases, pens all that fun stuff. I am thinking around $1000 dollars if possible.

This looks pretty good for the price: Nova 1624-44 For 849.99 new. If I added the 20" section I would still be fairly close to 1000.00 and I do not have to buy that right away. Jet makes some cool stuff, but a 1642 is much more. Any comments? What else will I need to start turning? Thanks.

[David Walser]

Radek,

The Nova 1624-44 lathe is a good bet as a "starter lathe". For many, it'll be more than that. It'll be a lathe they never out grow. It's a quality lathe and, but for variable speed control and mass, it doesn't lack for much. The deal at WoodCraft is the best price I've seen on the lathe.

Having said that, a few years ago I was in a slightly different position than you are. Back then, I was not sure I'd like woodturning and wanted to try it out without making a major investment in a lathe. I bought a Harbor Freight lathe to get my feet wet. Total investment in lathe, tools, and some pen kits, was less than $200. I still have and use my starter lathe, but it's be relegated to "back up" status. For most of my turning I rely on a WoodFast 16" short-bed lathe I purchased about 6 months after buying the original lathe. I don't regret buying the HF lathe. It was a good way for me to try out a hobby I've grown to love.

You sound like you know you want to turn. Therefore, I'd suggest you skip right on past the try-out-the-hobby-lathe and get something like the Nova. It'll serve you for years and you may never need or want to replace it with something more expensive.

Good luck.

[Philip Morris]

Can you clarify if you lathe budget is $1000 or if your turning budget is $1000? At this level it is easy to spend almost as much on the accessories (grinder, turning tools, chuck, sanding, specialty accessories) as the lathe.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Radek,

The accessories in turning are what kills the budget. The idiot turners here decided I needed to become a turner. They gifted (?) me with a Jet VS Mini and a SN2 chuck and tools and wood. 2 years later when I bought my PM3520B, I had spent $2000-3000 of my own money on accessories while turning on the Jet VS Mini. Luckily, all of them are transferable and useable on my new lathe.


If $1,000 is just your lathe budget ....go for it. There a lot of folks who have that lathe and like it.

I just want you to be aware that the lathe is just the start of the financial spiral into the Vortex called turning.

I'm broker now but I smile a whole lot more!:D

[Lee DeRaud]

Can you clarify if you lathe budget is $1000 or if your turning budget is $1000? At this level it is easy to spend almost as much on the accessories (grinder, turning tools, chuck, sanding, specialty accessories) as the lathe.What he said. A Jet Mini with all the fixin's will run at least $1000, and can easily top $1500. DAMHIKT :eek:

Except for the lathe, everything involved is relatively cheap...but it's a long list. You don't have to buy it all at once, but it's like tearing off a bandage: at least that way it only hurts once.

[jason lambert]

Yea but you don't need everything to get started. Just depends what you want to make spindle turning is easy and the stuff usally comes with the lathe. It is when you get into bowls and stuff you start need a chuck. Also good tools can be about 50-100 ea depending. But look used and again you don't need that many. One turner I know makes almost everything with a bowl guage and that is it.

[Scott Hubl]

Were are you located? Chicago area???

Take a LOOK right in our own "classifieds".

[Gary Herrmann]

Echoing what the others have said. What is your total budget? You'll also need tools, a grinder if you won't have one, a sharpening jig (not necessarily, but makes life much easier), facemask, sandpaper (regular paper sandpaper works, but you feel a lot more heat through it - I believe most turners use J weight sandpaper), faceplate or two, chucks are nice, but a lot of people start without them. Wood is often free.

You can do all or most of this for 1k total if you're selective about tools, well, and everything else...

[Lee DeRaud]

Then again, I wonder how many of the used tools for sale (both spinny and flatwork) are the result of people trying to get into the hobby "cheapest way possible" and getting frustrated as a result.

[Radek Kowalski]

Thanks everyone. I am in the Chicago area, yes. Are there any other options for around $1000 for machine only that I should look at? I have a grinder, I have heard to get tools from Harbor Freight for starters. What else? Total budgect, around 1300 or so.

[Wilbur Pan]

I recently went through this process. For a $1000 budget I couldn't find any better new machine than the Nova 1624-44 that you're considering. The ability to add onto the bed for extra length will be very nice, and even in its 24" bed configuration it's a pretty solid machine. One of my friends has one, and has the base weighed down with three sandbags, and it handled an out of balance 10" blank without any problems.

The belt change mechanism is pretty nice, and I would say that the simplicity of the belt change to get different speeds is better than the Reeves drive mechanism that you'll see on other lathes like the 12" and 14" Jets. Plus, the extra 2" swing that the Nova has is really useful.

My main other consideration at the time was the Jet 1642-EVS, which is more money, but would give me the same swing, a longer bed, and variable speed. But I got lucky, and found a used lathe at a really good price just when I was about to decide between the Jet and the Nova.

If your budget is a firm $1000, get the Nova on sale, and put the $150 towards a good chuck.

[Scott Hubl]

I sent you a PM - private message.

[Bill Mitchel]

Radek,

Take a look at the Jet Lathe that Scott has in the classifieds. Looks almost untouched and a good price - especially if your in the Chicago area.

Bill

[Radek Kowalski]

How useful is the 29" max outboard swing. I can assume the lathe will have alot of vibration when not over the bed. The 16" swing plus the 29 max at times sounds GREAT. Is the Nova, not variable speed?

What kinds of things would I need to get this ready to go? Chucks and which ones? Can I turn pens on this lathe, what else would I need in that case?

Thanks

[Scott Hubl]

I bought it from an ederly couple who had planned on turning small craft items on it, they did a few small projects were he turned, and she did the finishing/painting.

They had retirement dreams of turning and selling at craft shows and the like.

But sadly that dream was not realized as she got ill soon after they bought it.
She passed away and he had no desire to do it alone.

I used it for a very short time as a Newb turning a few dozen pens and small items and a few small bowls.

I was fortunate enough that very soon after I got it, I was able to buy the Powermatic 3520B lathe and it (The JET)has been sitting collecting dust.

Honestly, IF I didnt come into some extra money at the time I did, the 1442 would have been about all the lathe I would have ever really needed.

This 1442 is barely even broken in.

I don't have the room to keep it as well or I would.

[David Walser]

...Is the Nova, not variable speed?...

No, the Nova is not a "variable speed" lathe. Neither is the Jet Scott has for sale. By variable speed we mean a lathe equipped with electronic variable speed. The Nova you are considering, and the Jet, change turning speeds via changing belts and pulleys. Until quite recently (the last couple of decades), changing belts was the only way to change speeds. Variable speed is a nice thing to have -- some consider it a necessity -- but you can do very well without it. In fact, there are very few things, if any, you can turn with a variable speed lathe that you could not turn with a lathe without variable speed.

[Bob Hallowell]

It is true that you have to change the belts but the nova is one of the few lathes that's not VS that you can go down to 200rmp's which IMHO is very important on a larger lathe.

Bob

[Dean Thomas]

Ah, a favorite subject of many!

Two things. First, think WAY outside the box. Think what you might like to turn in your wildest imaginings. Now think practicality. Do you have regular access to the sorts of raw lumber that will encourage really big turnings? I have a friend who LOVES to go out and whack up fallen trees after storms and such or when a tree needs to come out. He delights in turning 24-36" bowls on his big momma Mustard 4224. It'll handle 24" over the bed and more when turning outboard. He's turned 36" but the spec says that it can handle 48" outboard!!! He's looking for a REALLY big tree. I suggested that he move toward sequoias...

Because you're in a nice big city, check in with your local chapters of the AAW and go visit some lathes!!! Here in KC, one local chapter has 10 or 12 lathes in their clubhouse, about 8 different brands/models from mini to Powermatic 3520b. Nice to test drive a variety.

Back again to practical. What do you really, REALLY want to turn? Some folks really want to turn hollowforms that are 10-12" in size. My Jet 12" lathe will handle that nicely. I'd like it better if it could run slower at the beginning of things, but it does pretty well. I can turn all sorts of things on that lathe. Yeah, if I had enough money and space, I'd really like to go Mustard, but it's not in my future unless I start buying Lotto tickets for both the lathe/accessories and the wood that such a lathe would deserve. I don't have the physical wherewithal to go harvest my own Flintstone sized chunks of wood, so I'd have to buy or bribe to get those chunks, and they're expensive. If you want to specialize in pens, weedpots, bowls up to 12" and hollowforms up to 12" in diameter, you don't need anything more than a 12 or 14" lathe.

Second, think about new vs used. If you buy quality machines, it doesn't honestly matter much, except for the nicety of a warranty on a new machine. Machines outside the warranty that have been utilized are proven machines. The worst you'd have to do is to replace bearings if it has set for a long time. Not a biggie in either time or $$. They do wear out, and they do get cranky if they set and the grease hardens at the bottom of the races.

If you look through this forum, you'll find folks who've bought lathes more than 50 years old with great joy! Solid, repairable, very, very usable. Bells & whistles? Probably not. Do you NEED bells & whistles? No, but they're nice. The nicest whistle is variable speed. The Jet Scott is selling is not electronically variable, but you do have some speed choices that are easily accessed at the crank of a handle (while the lathe is spinning, please!!!). This is not always true. Some models, even the quality machines, have to move belts in order to change speeds. Not a big thing, but it is a thing that you have to reconcile yourself to if you buy a lathe without electronic or level variable speeds.

Biggest recommendation is to go use someone else's lathe or lathes for a few hours. It will either spoil you forever, or it will help you decide what you really really want/need in order to accomplish what you're really, really going to be able to do in your own space and skill set.