Are there any reasonable lathes?

All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

Reply to
nerp1191
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Use the one at the HS or the local junior college?

Reply to
George

Used, local. Shipping is impractical for a lthe of this size. I picked up a monster (20X60) for $250 a few years back - it was old, used, dirty, came with tools and accessories, and had belonged to a guy who died - the heirs considered it a blight upon the house they were trying sell, and set the price low. This is not so uncommon - try asking real estate agents if you don't find any in the classified ads, the classified ad paper (as separate from the classified ads in the regular paper), the website associated with the classified ad paper, or craigslist for your area.

I don't recall if you've ever mentioned where you're at, but in upstate eastern NY, You have an overpriced nearly new Sears at $495 on offer from the classified ad paper, and a right-priced:

40", mounted w/turning tool set, $225   Neg Westport, NY 

Craigslist for that area offers:

Electric Lathe bought new hardly used has some tools and is mounted on portable base. $200 or best offer.

Also an estate sale with lathe that is over now. Estate sales (converting the assets of the late departed into cash) can be a great deal, as the family would normally have retained the tools if anyone wanted them. If lots of people that want tools show up, it may not be such a good deal - on the other hand, if you are the only person there that wants a lathe it becomes a matter of sell it to you cheap and get it out of their hair, or hang onto it and try to sell it later. Personally, I've always found the price of lathes set low enough I have not bothered to dicker, and have had much associated tooling thrown in "to clear out the space". The one exception (but I did not dicker, I just walked away) was a smaller lathe, disfunctional, rusty, and priced far too high as it was perceived as being easily portable, rather than being priced based on condition (poor).

Craigslist for Vermont offers someone selling a cheesy harbor freight special (the sort you've been warned away from) for $75.

Unlike a dealer, you do have to either wait for one to come along, or go find it. Unlike a dealer, prices tend to be low. Have a pickup or trailer and 3-5 friends lined up for moving the thing.

Reply to
Ecnerwal

Hi,

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but...

I just recently bought my son a Jet Mini Lathe. I'm afraid he will not be as happy later as he is now. Because every lathe needs some toys...

Like gouges, a choice of tail stock centers, a face protector, and before long a scroll chuck. Before long he's going to have more invested in toys for the lathe than I spent for the lathe itself. To say nothing of the wood needed to feed it.

So, even if you do find your dream/cheap/used lathe, you've only started to spend money. Maybe you will need TWO summer jobs to make this work.

Good luck on your quest. Wood turning is a blast.

Old Guy

Reply to
Old guy

Only one: use your high school's wood lathe. That's what I did at your age.

Max

Reply to
Maxprop

You have been given some good advice by others. I am throwing in a pennies worth of information.

I bought the Harbor Freight (HF) lathe #34706, it retails for $279 and goes on sale periodically for about 200 dollars. I bought a 8 piece gouge set from HF, I believe I paid $42 and it now sells for approx. $36.

The lathe will serve me well for some time. Time, interest and my skill growth will tell if I need to Invest in a second and larger lathe.

I bought some bowl gouges, a chuck, roughing gouge and skew chiesel from Wood Craft. I have done some spindle turning and have done 4 bowls (about 10 inch diameter). You will not need these items in the beginning if you are going to turn bats, that is you can get by with the HF tools. I was fortunate to buy the Wood Craft items on sale.

If I were more interested in turning spindles the HF Gouges would work fine as a starter set. This will give you a chance to practice sharpening on a cheaper gouge, at least for me it is less intimidating.

Reply to
Angelo

My suggestion is still the best one for your budget, IMO. If you can find a Delta midi or Jet mini lathe on sale, and buy a bed extension or two, you should be able to keep it at or near $300- $450 at the outside. That might mean you need to postpone getting the lathe for a time to save up a little money, but it will be worth the wait. It's also a good idea to stick with the little ones *because* you're a high school freshman. It wasn't so long ago that I was that age myself, and I moved around a lot in the years after I graduated. A little 70 pound lathe with extensions that can be removed for easy transport and compact storage will probably work a lot better for you than a 400 pound monster, unless you happen to be in a position where you're going to be buying a home right away.

There *are* less expensive lathes at most hardware stores as well- Menard's has a Wilton lathe that is big enough to turn a bat for just over $100, but considering the cost of your average decent lathe, I'm more than a little suspicious of the cheap knockoffs- $100 would hardly buy the materials for a lathe that size, to say nothing of the labor and design process that goes into developing and making it. They might work fine, but you're gambling. The Delta and Jet are both solid, good machines that are nice to use, and will accept standard accessories- most of the folks who turn have one, even if they've got a bigger and fancier one in the shop.

The other thing to consider and budget for is chisels. Since you're interested in making bats, you won't need a chuck right away, but you'll need at least a couple of cutting tools- and they're not all that cheap- accessories cost more than the lathe itself in the long run. Plan to invest $50 at least to get started.

I don't say any of this to turn you off from it- it's well worth the money to do, I'm just trying to let you know what you're in for so you don't get hit with sticker shock. Good luck, and let us know what you decide on.

Reply to
Prometheus

Almost forgot- you'll need a grinder as well, to sharpen tools. Lots of guys like variable speed models with white or pink friable wheels, but I use a regular old delta fast speed grinder with the stock wheels bolted to an old stool, and it works fine for me- you just need to have a light touch and some practice.

If you look around a bit, bench grinders are everywhere- even the least handy guys seem to have one in the garage somewhere. Mine cost about $50 new, but I would imagine that if you look around a bit, you can find one for almost nothing at a garage sale or a junk shop. They're hard to wear out, so don't be afraid of buying a used one. That's a useful multi-purpose tool that will serve you well for many years as well- even if you decide turning isn't for you.

Reply to
Prometheus

What he said

Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

Hi again,

I think I completely missed a trick here.

Go the American Association of Woodturners site, and look up the local chapters.

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Find one near you and contact them. Most turners would be delighted to mentor someone like you who was interested, eager and young. Might even let them use their lathe. You could offer to sweep the shop in return. (If you are from around southern Minnesota, give me a call.)

This would let you spend your money on your own chisels. Maybe they would have a few they aren't using or have replaced, and would give you. That way you wouldn't have to use theirs. (Using someone else's chisel is like using their toothbrush, only more personal.)

This might be more practical and fun than learning on your own machine.

My $.02, good luck on getting set up.

Old Guy

Reply to
Old guy

you have to look around locally - a few years ago I picked up a crafstman monotube lathe for $5, it needed a motor but was otherwise complete and it came with some tools - you don't need a lot of swing and you don't need a lot of horsepower to make a bat - 4 inch swing will do, and 1/4 hp will do. If you can't find a lathe, just make one - you need a something for the headstock - an old saw arbor will do, you can use a nail in a 2X4 for the tail stock, and notch the other end of the 2X4 to fit over a 2X4 you use for the ways - and you are set to go - another scrap 2X4 sitting on the floor can make your tool rest. I'd guess you could make a lathe like I am describing for a maximum of $10, probably less if you dig around and get the motor and pulleys for free from a broken washing machine rather than paying for them.

Reply to
William Noble

Bill Noble has a made a good point: except for the length, you have described a need for a truly minimal lathe. Use your imagination. You need to safely spin a fairly skinny piece of wood at a few hundred rpms. You need a way to support a cutting tool while it is engaged in the wood. And you will need both a tool and a way to sharpen it. Scrounge, adapt, modify and re-purpose well enough and you should be able to hang on to nearly ALL of your nestegg.

Consider the project an engineering challenge. If you are near Detroit, I might have a small electric motor to donate. In fact, if you are near Detroit, contact me at billat googledot com. I may be able to help you a LOT further along than that.

Oh ... and congratulations on getting started so young. Many of us were already wheezers and geezers before we got our start and any chance of us attaining serious stature as turners is limited by the number of hours remaining in our lives ... far too few, for the most part, for that goal.

But you - you are starting young enough to actually take the craft of woodturning forward a notch or two. I hope you make not just a bat or two ... but history!

Bill

Reply to
BillinDetroit

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