Buying my first Lathe

[Reed Gray]

To get the most lathe for the least money, go used. If there is a local Woodcraft, there is probably a bulletin board with 'for sale' items. You may be able to get lathe and tools for what you would get the lathe for new. Also, find the local or nearest club. Not only for learning, but to find out who is upgrading, and again, used tools.

I used to say that whatever you spend on your lathe, you will spend at least that much on accessories. Well, for me, that now seems to be more like 3, 4, or even 5 times as much, and that doesn't include the shop to put it all in.

robo hippy

[Bill Bulloch]

You have $250.00 to start with, but look to spend a lot more over time. I found Woodturning to be almost as expensive as Golf.

[Bailey Hudson]

This is such a great read!!
I have been planning on buying my own equipment. My dad and I stated doing projects when I was young. I still have his old lathe. But I've been wanting to buy my own so I can do more projects. This thread is a really fun and useful read.

[Mike Peace]

This is such a great read!!
I have been planning on buying my own equipment. My dad and I stated doing projects when I was young. I still have his old lathe. But I've been wanting to buy my own so I can do more projects. This thread is a really fun and useful read.

Just remember it is 9 years old and there are a lot of new midi lathes out there. I did this video you may be interested in on buying your first Midi lathe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YDgte_C7Q

[Bailey Hudson]

I've been scouting lathes from Summit. Have you heard of it? They also have this guide on lathe projects that can help me get my groove on making more projects. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I think they're a bit expensive but it's a lifetime investment to have a machine like that.

[Eric Danstrom]

I've been scouting lathes from Summit.....

These are metal turning lathes. They can be used for woodworking but it isn't common.

Are you looking to work with wood or metal? This website is dedicated to woodworking. There are websites for metalworking.

[Bailey Hudson]

For a novice like me, I think I should start with wood huh? What's a good lathe now? or a mini maybe since I'm just starting?
I remember we did some metal projects before. But I think I want to give woodworking a try.
What's a good one to start with?

[Thomas Wilson80]

For a novice like me, I think I should start with wood huh? What's a good lathe now? or a mini maybe since I'm just starting?
I remember we did some metal projects before. But I think I want to give woodworking a try.
What's a good one to start with?

Welcome Bailey. I’m still pretty new myself but woodturning is a lot of fun and very rewarding and has become somewhat of an obsession for me. You can plan on spending more money on tools than you will on the lathe. A lot will depend on what you want to turn - Bowls vs small spindles/pens/ornaments. I started with a harbor freight 10” for ornaments then upgraded to a used jet mini 10” then wanted to do a bit of everything (except pens) and was hooked so I saved up for a couple years for a Laguna 2436.

You will need cutting tools and a way to sharpen them unless you use carbide - many people (including myself) start with carbide but many eventually turn to traditional gouges because the finish is much better and requires much less sanding. Hunter carbide tools act more like gouges with the ability to cut instead of scrape but they aren’t cheap. After getting hooked on carbide, I bought a Thompson bowl gouge and wolverine grinding jig and made several bowls before eventually adding skews and spindle gouges for smaller/detailed work.

You will need a face mask with respirator and if possible a dust collection system is ideal (I don’t have room for dust collection now and my cars and garage have a perpetual film of dust covering them....hoping to move to bigger shop soon).

You can use the faceplate that comes with the lathe to hold wood or glue blocks, but most people eventually go to a 4 jaw chuck (or multiple chucks) for convenience.

There is an endless array of tools to spend money on out there. One of of the best things you can do up front is find a local turning club and get involved. Most turners are more than happy to give advice or even let you try certain tools to see if you like it. You can save a lot of money by figuring out what you want before buying.

Here are a couple photos of a recent jewelry box I made from cedar, some “magic” wands from random branches, and a natural edge walnut bowl that pushed the limits of my mini lathe and helped me decide to go bigger! Again, I’m new and still learning but have really enjoyed the process!!

Good luck and enjoy!

Tom

[Bailey Hudson]

Welcome Bailey. I’m still pretty new myself but woodturning is a lot of fun and very rewarding and has become somewhat of an obsession for me. You can plan on spending more money on tools than you will on the lathe. A lot will depend on what you want to turn - Bowls vs small spindles/pens/ornaments. I started with a harbor freight 10” for ornaments then upgraded to a used jet mini 10” then wanted to do a bit of everything (except pens) and was hooked so I saved up for a couple years for a Laguna 2436.

You will need cutting tools and a way to sharpen them unless you use carbide - many people (including myself) start with carbide but many eventually turn to traditional gouges because the finish is much better and requires much less sanding. Hunter carbide tools act more like gouges with the ability to cut instead of scrape but they aren’t cheap. After getting hooked on carbide, I bought a Thompson bowl gouge and wolverine grinding jig and made several bowls before eventually adding skews and spindle gouges for smaller/detailed work.

You will need a face mask with respirator and if possible a dust collection system is ideal (I don’t have room for dust collection now and my cars and garage have a perpetual film of dust covering them....hoping to move to bigger shop soon).

You can use the faceplate that comes with the lathe to hold wood or glue blocks, but most people eventually go to a 4 jaw chuck (or multiple chucks) for convenience.

There is an endless array of tools to spend money on out there. One of of the best things you can do up front is find a local turning club and get involved. Most turners are more than happy to give advice or even let you try certain tools to see if you like it. You can save a lot of money by figuring out what you want before buying.

Here are a couple photos of a recent jewelry box I made from cedar, some “magic” wands from random branches, and a natural edge walnut bowl that pushed the limits of my mini lathe and helped me decide to go bigger! Again, I’m new and still learning but have really enjoyed the process!!

Good luck and enjoy!

Tom

Hi Tom,
Thank you so much for this input. I will seriously take this in consideration. You have been a great help. Again, thank you.

[Michael A. Tyree]

Ebay has many decent lathes cheaper than building one. I also saw a wood lathe bed extension for sale new on ebay. Obviously Chinese but ships from CA for ~ $85. I fabricated my bed extension years ago by welding. Never had any interest in pens on a lathe though, to each his own but I'd never go after a lathe with that use in mind. To me a good pen is a free pen from my credit union.