What Next ?

[Nick Mastropietro]

After the lathe and some turning tools, what was your next lathe accessory purchase? Just trying to prepare myself for the inevitable!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well lets see. Sharpening system and face shield would be number one for me.

[Curt Fuller]

A good chuck.

[David Christopher]

angle sander and maybe a vacuum chuck

[Nick Mastropietro]

Hi Bernie - I have a Worksharp 3000, would that sufice as a sharpening system? and I havee a face shield as well.

Curt - what do you think of the Baracuda2 T/N? PSI will have it on sale for 199.95 with a bunch of accessories.

[Nick Mastropietro]

Dave what do you suggest as a vacuum chuck?

[Reed Gray]

Best Christmas present I ever bought myself was the lathe, and am now on #3 and 4. Next best was as big bandsaw, or was it the centralized dust collection system, or maybe the chainsaws, or the chucks? Not really sure. Don't have a vacuum chuck yet.

robo hippy

[Harlan Coverdale]

The Worksharp 3000 will work, but not as well as several other more common methods for sharpening turning tools. A wolverine jig and 8" grinder with decent wheels will get you better and more consistent results.

The WS3000 is a nice tool, but it's just not real well-suited to sharpening most turning tools easily. It's much better with plane irons and bench chisels.

The PSI chuck you mentioned is a good one, and a pretty good value, considering it also includes a few different jaw sets. But if you can find a Nova or Oneway or Vicmark chuck on sale, one of those would be my recommendation. I've seen recent mentions of the Supernova 2 on sale somewhere for something like $120, but I don't remember where. At that price range, you could get a SN2 with an extra set or two of jaws for about the same as the Barracuda 2, and have a better chuck in the end IMHO. I've owned and used both, and I prefer the Nova.

[Rob Holcomb]

I'll 2nd Bernie's comments. I just bought my first lathe and turned my first piece last night. It didn't come out great but I didn't expect it to. As I was turning, I could notice my tools becoming dull and my safety glasses fogging up. I have a grinder but didn't dare try to sharpen the tools freehand. When I was done, I went online and bought a faceshield, an aluminum oxide sanding wheel and Wolverine sharpening jig. I also think a woodworkers apron would be a good investment. You get covered with shavings!

[John Keeton]

It is Woodcraft that has the SN2 on sale. With the #2 jaws, but without the insert, I think it is $120. The insert is about $23. Sometimes the PSI chuck is on sale with all 4 sets of jaws included for about $200 - and, may be now.

I haven't been turning long, but I think you would rarely use all the jaws, and for the money, I would prefer the SN2. I have 2 Nova chucks, and it is so much handier than when I had one. Might even buy another!

I bought the Cole jaws, and I do use them frequently. However, I think I would prefer to make a set with more capacity now that I have the Delta and can run at a slower speed.

I would get a Stebcenter drive, a mandrel for doing Christmas ornaments if you think that may interest you (they are kind of quick and fun!), and I would probably look at a curved tool rest. I ended up with the round bar "S" shaped one from PSI, but do not care for it.

Then, I would NOT get a bunch of other cutting tools until I used the lathe for awhile. I ended up buying a few tools that I never use. Seems a lot of folks end up with 4-5 tools they use all the time, and others have a dozen or more they use. So, I think you need to learn what is going to be right for you and buy more as you learn. I now realize I need a couple more that I didn't think I would need.

[Dick Sowa]

I think I would go a slightly different route than some have said. With only the lathe and tools, there are some other basic things you can use. You don't really NEED a chuck, although they are nice to have.

-Get several faceplates. I have some set up with different size glue blocks, that I turn for jamb chucks. One is permanently mounted on a doughnut chuck, etc.

-Get some dust protection...good quality face masks or respirator. Your lungs will thank you.

-Jacobs chuck with morse taper, that you can mount in the tailstock to bore out your blank.

-The worksharp might work for lathe tools, but most folks opt for a Wolverine jig...very fast and convenient.

[Sean Hughto]

I all depends upon what you want to make. If you want to make table legs the answer is different than if you want to make a 15" diameter bowl and different again if you want to make a hollow form vase.

Pick a project, and you'll get more useful answers.

The 1642 comes with a large faceplate and a decent live center.

[Sean Hughto]

The guys above are right that no matter what you need: safety equipment like a face shield and I would add a respirator (or at least mask to keep the dust out of your nose and lungs); and a good sharpening system.

Tools and work holding devices are the things that are much more project specific.

[Gary Chester]

Got wood??? All that other stuff won't do you much good without some wood.

If you're brand new to all of this, get a 2x4, cut it at 18" and cut that in half lengthwise and practice. Do a search on Craig's list for "firewood" or fire wood"... ya never know what you might find...

[Thom Sturgill]

Some good answers, some maybe not. As was said about gouges, do some turning and find out what you use and could use if you had. Sets are a waste except for a few pieces. They do let you practice sharpening and can often be adapted to other tasks. And that leads to the second purchase - a grinder and wolverine system.

I also agree about getting a decent chuck. I bought the PSI with the extra jaws and while I do use them on occasion, I also bought their dovetail jaws and find that I greatly prefer the dovetail to serrated ones. that would be the next major purchase after the grinder/jigs.

As to buying multiple face plates, I would suggest buying a tap and using threaded wood for your glue blocks, donut chucks, etc. OR buying some large nuts and epoxying them in a recess in a glue block. I have one face plate and it has only been used once or twice at most. YMMVG