Advice on Central machinery wood lathe

I just left my local Woodcraft store and they had a Jet mini with a nice 4 jaw Nova chuck for $269.00 on sale. This would be a much better value than any HF lathe.

AZCRAIG

My first lathe was a HF, cost about $129. My thinking was if I found I was not adept at turning or just did not like woodturning I could just forget the whole thing and not have too much invested. As it turned out the HF served the purpose well. After about a month I sold the HF for $50 and bought a real lathe. As suggested in the other post, the Jet Mini would be a much better buy. Hope this helps

LB

Chuck,

The Jet mini is a great lathe. You would be very pleased with the fit and finish. Everything works smoothly. I don't get this feeling from the Central Mach. lathes. I think you would be happy with a better quality lathe like the Jet with good resale value if you ever want to move up. The chuck it comes with from Woodcraft is a very nice little chuck. The combination makes it a great value.

Have fun,

AZCRAIG

I plan on turning bowls, mostly, so a Mini lathe is probably too small for me. The reason I asked about the Harbor Freight lathe was that it is full size, low priced, and I had heard of several turners who bought it and were very happy with it. This wasn't true of the other lathes they sell at Harbor Freight--just this one, their 34706, which is a knock off of the Jet

1236 lathe. Although I am aware that Harbor Freight sells some really cheap tools and that some are lousy I heard that this particular lathe was pretty good. I was hoping to hear from anyone who actually has one or has used one to see if there was any compelling reason not get one as a starter lathe.

Thanks,

Chuck

Hope you own a bandsaw. That low end speed can be a challenge at capacity. You'll want as well-balanced a blank as possible to start with. Means circular, and nibble those triangles off the ends to get the CG as close to possible to the center of rotation.

I am a believer in pin chucks and/or pin jaws because they are very secure in their resistance to fly-away.

"caaron" wrote in news:hvednWd6qut909 snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

If you're planning on turning bowls, you'll find that a 12" lathe, from any builder, is too small for much of your work...

Should you buy this one, don't plan on using it for your 'primary' for very long.

Patriarch, on his second...

I thought that was the purpose of the pivoting headstock--to rotate so that I could accomodate larger bowls. Is that correct or did I misunderstand the purpose of the pivoting headstock?

Chuck

"caaron" wrote: I thought that was the purpose of the pivoting headstock--to rotate so that I could accomodate larger bowls. Is that correct or did I misunderstand the purpose of the pivoting headstock? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ No, you did not misunderstand, but you were mislead by the hype. A rotating head will do that in theory, but for a number of practical reasons it seldom works out:

1.) The crank-shaped toolrest extension that you need with the head turned will break as soon as you try to use it. There have been foot injuries from this.

2.) With the head turned, the tailstock cannot be used to stabilize a heavy, unbalanced piece. This is IMPORTANT.

3.) The Reeves variable speed drive on the Jet 1236 and the HF clone stalls easily. This will be especially annoying if you try to turn anything really large.

However, the 12" swing will permit you to turn bowls that are quite large enough to be satisfying. The rotating head is useful for working the inside of bowls with good visibility and minimal leaning. It also helps to get the tool handle away from the ways and tailstock for more freedom.

Chuck,

The pivoting headstock will be of little use for two or more reasons. The HF lathe does not have enough cast iron or low enough rpms to make use of this feature if you are turning a bowl larger than 12". The tool rest set up will not be strong enough to extend far enough to make use of this feature on a large bowl. At best the pivoting headstock would make it easier to sand or turn in certain situations on a bowl that could be turned over the ways. I think you would have the same problem on the Jet equivalent.

Many have been happy with that HF lathe as a starter lathe. I am pretty confident they are not turning bowls that require the headstock pivot. You might be able to turn platters this way?

I am sure it would be fine as long as you turn over the ways. Most important thing is that you get a lathe and start having some fun.

Take care,

AZCRAIG

Owning one of each I like them both. My HF is not the same model as you are looking at but still one of the large ones, was $79 on sale at the time. If you want to do big stuff its fine, although the bed has a tendency to bow on mine if too much pressure on the ends of the wood is used. Its not cast but square steel stock instead. Not so with the Jet mini. If you want to do smaller stuff (yes, you can buy a bed extension), I'd opt for the Jet. Its a really nice unit, semi portable and the price is right. I paid $199 for mine on sale. John

caar> I'm getting ready to purchase my first wood lathe, and I wanted to see if

Chuck

Here's a couple leads for lathes

There are a few more lathes for sale in the WC classifieds Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

Building your own stand and mounting the banjo and toolrest to the extended top has worked at my house. You certainly don't have all the movements you'd have with it on rails, but it works well enough. Have to have a long enough post on your toolrest to get up to centerline or start to compromise on how large a piece you want to turn.

Of course, faceplates and pin chucks work well. Spend the extra time to balance the piece, too.

Slicing rather than stabbing is the answer. If the motor can turn the piece, it has enough rotational force to shave off wood. Slipping and heat production is a reminder not to press so hard or use dull tools. That low end speed still bothers me, though. Had a similar problem with a 600+ on my

12" Delta, and until things were pretty round, one portion of my anatomy was puckered oval or better....

Score a pair for the use of "spindle" gouges with their shorter handles. Especially shallow fluted ones that allow you to cut in on centerline at nearly 90 degrees to the toolrest. No problems with clearance, no leaning required, though you "feel" the cut and watch the progress on the opposite side.

Chuck I started on a single tube bed lathe that cost about C$150 at Canadian Tire. People crap on this model, sold by lots of companies under different names, all the time because of the low speed of 600 rpm and the single tube bed. On the other hand I still have and use it along with my other three. It has a

12" swing and about 39" between centers. While it is used mostly for spindle work these days, I have turned 11" bowls on it with no problem. The point is, it turns wood round. More money gets you bigger, better, heavier, but start up money gets you turning for fun fast. Enjoy this stuff. People will reply to this that I should tell you to get the great lathe that they like and not to get a cheap lathe and so on. Get something you can afford to own and have fun. Robin wood is doing great work on a home made treadle lathe with home made tools. It sounds like you have done some home work. If no one has turned on this particular model it is hard to give an opinion on it and "if it is Harbor Freight it is bad" is a poor approach to an opinion. If HF starts to sell the Jet Mini tomorrow does that make it a bad lathe? Give me a break.

Enough. I am getting way off topic. Everyone go turn something and relax. Me too.

I own and use this particular lathe. There are 'things' with this that I'm not satisfied about, but for the money I paid I honestly can't complain about these thing.

Like other have already mentioned - please don't expect to load up a really heavy piece and have it perform well. What other have said are true - the speed stalls out with larger pieces, etc.....

A few things to be aware of that I've found out through experience-

1) The rotating headstock is a cool selling feature (on ANY lathe), but to date I've never used it. Having the tailstock as support is vital. This crazy 'outboard' tool rest slide just takes up space, as I'll probably never use it. This might be OK for thinner plates, but certainly not deep bowls.

2) When using the tailstock, don't crank down on it too hard, as it will cause the headstock to actually lift slighty out of place, no matter how tight I have the headstock in place (I've posted here before on this).

3) This one really gets me - The motor housing is located in the stupidest place one could think of. I can't practically use my homemade Cole jaws, because there isn't enough clearance (only about 8"). So while it says 12" swing, that is AFTER you clear the motor housing. If you're using the faceplace that comes with it, then it's never a problem. I haven't had any problems with shorter faceplates or a chuck under normal use.

4) The 'high' low speed of 600 RPM is a concern really only if you're turning big, uneven pieces. Bandsawing or otherwise cutting the corners beforehand is a good idea for any size piece. I've never to date turned with the higher speeds - just thinking if the piece was to ever fall apart at those crazy speeds is cause enough for me not to use them.

5) Where I live, very few trees grow over 12" round, so having a large swing isn't a concern for me. I haven't gotten into segmenting pieces larger than that yet. Again, having the rotating headstock is (really) a dumb feature. While you could work with the headstock at 180 deg, it's not a good idea without the tailstock support.

6) The spindle is a standard 1" x 8 tpi, which you can use just about any accessories.

If these concerns aren't going to hinder your plans too much, then the price of this lathe is a good deal. Wait until it goes on sale for $200, which is often. If you honestly want to turn bowls larger than

12", then look elsewhere.

"Brent" wrote: (clip)The rotating headstock is a cool selling feature (on ANY lathe), but to date I've never used it. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Try rotating the headstock 15-30 degrees toward you sometime when you are working on the inside of a bowl. I think you will find the visibility is improved, you will have more room to swing the tool handle, and you may find it is easier to get light in there. It is also easier on the back, since you don't have to lean over the ways. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (clip) Where I live, very few trees grow over 12" round, so having a large swing isn't a concern for me. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If you turn natural edge bowls, you may want to cut a blank longer than the diameter of the tree.

Thanks to all who replied for the advice.

Chuck