My first lathe - Bunch of stuff and a few questions

[Jeremy Parkins]

So I picked up my first lathe over the weekend. It is a Nova 3000 DVR. I got it for a great price and it came with a heap of stuff. I don't mind selling and swapping to get what I need. I would like to turn bowls and boxes mostly.

It came with a Titan chuck and 3 jaw sets... Would I be better off with the a Talon size chuck or maybe the new Sorby?

It came with a Sorby live center set ... I don't see the use for all the different shapes... Why would one want this? I think I would like to swap it for the oneway live center.

It come with a few oneway vacuum chucks... It seems to sketch me out to use a vacume chuck... and I need a pump.

It also cam with 3 4" oneway faceplates.. why would I need 3?

It came with a bunch of other stuff including a Varigrind setup so that was exiting as well as a a taylor bowl gouge, steb centers, drive centers and a sweet 8/4 maple stand.

Sorry for all the questions but I am rapidly sliding down that slope.

Thanks,
Jeremy

[Richard Madison]

Jeremy,
The first thing you need to know is - keep all that stuff. Do not trade it away. As you learn to turn and your skills progress, you will soon find uses for virtually every piece of it. Others will follow here with details of why you will eventually want several faceplates, several chucks and jaw sets, etc.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jeremy - congrats on your new lathe and all the accessories! Richard is right - keep everything at this point! If you are like the rest of us, you will experiment with different styles of turning and will eventually use everything you just listed.

You didn't mention if you belong to a local turning club - but we will all highly recommend that you join one and get some one-on-one turning instruction. It will save you a lot of frustration and get you up and turning a lot faster!

Have fun with everything! Ask questions! Looking forward to seeing some of your turnings real soon!

Welcome to the Vortex!!!

[charlie knighton]

congratulations, keep everything, keep in your wallet a list of your spindle sizes and what size morse taper you have, sometimes you run into stuff and you will want to know if it will work with your lathe, a lot of chucks all you have to do is buy an insert to fit your spindle size

[Philip Morris]

Jeremy,
Don't listen to these guys, they're just tool collectors. Send it all to me. It will just clutter your shop and be a safety hazard.

Nah, just kidding. Do as everyone has advised and keep it. If you're like the rest of us, in a year you'll be surfing the catalogs and internet looking for more stuff.

[Jeremy Parkins]

I am already looking for new toys.. I mean tools for the lathe.

I am new to Turning but not tool collecting errrr... I mean woodworking ;)

It was nice to get so much stuff at once... but it did kill the fun of hunting it down.

Jeremy

[Bill Mitchel]

Jeremy

I second what Steve said about joining a local turning club. I joined one and went to my 1st meeting last month. What a great group of guys and gals. They had a X-mas orinament demo along with a demo on everything you would want to know about chainsaws and how to (and most importantly how not to:eek:) maintain them and cut blanks out of logs safely. After the logs were cut for the demo they gave away all the wood they prepared.
I even keep my chainsaw in the trunk of my car. (If you see a guy in St Louis on the side of the road in a suit cutting a up a log, stop and say hi and I'll cut off and give you a piece:D) I probally wouldn't be doing that if someone had not taken them time to show me the proper way. Have Fun!!

Bill

[Ron Ainge]

I have been turning for about 6 years now and I have aquired 7 chuck and probably 20 face plates. I would not sell any one of them and I would not suggest that you sell them either. In fact I am in the market for another Vicmark chuck so that I do not have to change the jaws so often on the one that I currently own. As I have heard many time the guy that dies with the most tool leaves more for the wife to auction off.:D:D

[Jeremy Parkins]

I certainly don't intend to lower the number of items I have... :). I was just wondering if I would be better off with a Oneway Talon vs the Titan - the Titan is huge... or the Oneway live center over the Sorby live center set.

I can see myself buyoing multiple chucks but I would rather start with the best / better and wondering if the Titan is it or should i start building a collection of Oneways.

Thanks,
Jeremy

[Bob Hallowell]

Maybe the chuck is overkill but I wouldn't get rid of it, as for the live center I have the jet which is very close to the oneway and it is nice but I don't think I would sell a sorby center and then spen more money to get it.
Those vaccuum chucks will be nice and they are expensive, I am to cheap to buy anything like those and use ones I have made but once again I would keep them for when you get a pump.

Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on the new lathe and tools. Keep it all Jeremy. You will use it all.

[David Drickhamer]

Congrats on the new toys I mean tools. I agree with everyone else. Keep everything. Someday you'll be happy you did and you'll realize you still need more.

[Jeremy Parkins]

I am already addicted. I grabbed a few logs off the side of the road the other day on the way to work and threw them in my truck wearing my suit. Can't pas up free wood.