I've been making my own furniture since about 2003, and have decided I'd like to take the plunge into lathes. Haven't used a woodworking lathe since Junior High, about 28 years ago.
Any FAQ or buying guides around here that I can take a look at instead of asking the same questions over and over?
I'd like something I can use which is large enough to make table legs, and bowls/vases. I figure if I want to make bed posts, it would be in two sections and I would tenon them. TIA.
Determine the maximum length and maximum swing you think you might need. That will narrow your choices. A heavy base or shelf to place sandbags will help vibration issues. Lathes has a wide price range, but best to stick with a quality name. DC motors are really nice but expensive. Set aside $500 (or more) just for tools, chucks, sharpeners, rests, etc. My lathe is the most expensive power tool in my shop (yet my table saw gets the most use.) Research magazine articles and Taunton Press publications. Turning can be addictive.
Well, my advice is generally to look used. There's little to go wrong with a good older lathe, and what little there is can be easily fixed.
I do advise remotoring, or (in the case of lathes that come out of schools or factories) getting a VFD if there is a 3-phase motor on it. Electronic variable speed is one of the modern improvements which makes things better - and I lived without it for a LONG time, so no need for the folks that are still living without it to point out how noble they are - it really is useful, in particular when there's a harmonic vibration, and you can tweak the speed just a bit to make it go away. Unlike a Reeves drive (mechanical variable speed) they are quiet.
If your bowl visions are of moderate size (a foot or less) any 12x36 will do you. We have folks that swear they are happy with their Harbor Freight lathes and Craftsman monotubes - IMHO because they haven't used anything better, but if they are happy, they are happy. Either does beat no lathe at all - but you can often find a good (if filthy) used lathe for what those cost new.
I started turning of a Shopsmith - it beat the heck out of no lathe, but I won't defend it as being anything other than moderately functional if you have no better option. It's quite a good drill press and disk sander, leaves something to be desired (a low speed, among other things) in the lathe mode, and is not a very good tablesaw at all, based on 30 years of use. I lack confidence in it as a router/shaper. The belt sander accessory works well. Parts availability is great, though prices are less than great, and it's a noisy Reeves machine.
A 14x40 (or so) will give you a few more options and a much more solid lathe - harder to move, but better at staying put. With any lathe, if the stand it comes with is flimsy (or it comes with no stand, or you are buying new and can elect not to buy the flimsy stand) building a solid base, and filling that base with sand or shot will make the lathe behave better.
In new lathes, Oneway and General (not General International) are good bets, as is Nova. There are some other high end newer lathes I don't have much experience with. In old iron, Delta (Rockwell) that's old enough not to be imported, Yates American, Oliver are all good bets from mid 20th century - a good vintage, when they still put enough cast iron into things.
Phisherman wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Do I really need to dive in with $500 of tools right away, or can I add them as I go along?
What will the additional chucks do for me?
One more benefit of the right used lathe - it often comes with all the tools and related stuff (especially if the owner died and the heirs want the house cleaned out.)
I worked for decades with no chuck at all - just other ways of fixturing to the faceplate. You can acquire stuff as you find a need for it.
A few comments from my perspective. Only one man's opinion and I'm certainly not a master turner.
A sliding and swiveling headstock is nice to have, especially if you have a bad back or if you have to site the lathe such that straddling the bed is not an option.
Electronic variable speed sure beats changing belts.
The large General lathe is a great one. Their middle and small size ones with the variable speed have had problems with the speed control.
The Nova 1624-44 (I think I got that right) got the best value award in a survey (FWW?) a while back and a large Powermatic got the best lathe award.
The local turners club went for the big Powermatic.
In the mini lathes, both the Rikon and the Jet have been beat to death in the local Woodcraft classroom and are still going after 3 years. Delta is coming out with a new one that looks pretty good.
The larger Jet lathes are a decent lathe in the lower price ranges for large lathes.
At least one chuck will speed up the mounting process.
Good luck.
many of the turning clubs have lathe survey results "why did you get your " that might help you - one is at woodturners.org (in the tips section), but there are others.
Some things you will need
A way to sharpen tools. Woodcraft has a low-speed grinder that if you can one on sale, it'a a good deal. Cost - $85 on sale - save $15 if you get before Feb 27
You will need to get more things depending on what you do.
Scroll Chuck
A nice bowl gouge - $50
Pen turning sets
A sharpening jig (like the wolverine) - $90-$250
and on it goes.....
Or 30-60 minutes with wood and free. Lots of great info (not involving spending a lot of money) at Darrel's site:
Just a FWIW... for several years I had a couple "toy" lathes. I turned what I had to (fixing old furniture, replacing rotted turned ballisters, etc.). They did what I needed but there was no fun to it. (Hmmm... maybe that's a little harsh.) Recently, I got ahold of a Craftsman "monotube" with a set of tools (in great shape) for under $100. I got a single $30 shelving unit from Ikea, cut it in half (so it is approx. 6' by 2' by 32" tall), and added a few braces and sandbags to stiffen it. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles and I *do* want to get some more chucks and such, but it is a danged handy machine. And, it is a fun machine to use. The additional chucks will allow additional types of turning... and less wasted wood.
The point being, you don't *need* a $500 tool. IMO, that is. Scour craigslist or HF and pick one and go with it. Relearn some old skills and gain some new ones. See if it is a tool you want to use. If it is, you can either augment the one you get or move to a different machine. There is a good chance that if you get a hundred dollar machine, and decide to move up, you'll be able to sell it and get back a good part of it's cost. The only thing I'd say to look into is to be sure there are additional parts (chucks, centers, etc.) available for the machine you chose. That is one reason I went for the Craftsman... 3/4x16 and mt1 is easy enough to find parts and addons for.
Another angle... if you buy a $100 used lathe, decide you don't like it, you can probably get that $100 back. A $150 new lathe, you can probably get $100 back. A $500 lathe and you can probably get around $300 back.
Oh, this is not to argue with those who say to start with a top notch pro level tool, just a differing outlook.
Ed
Don't know if this will help anyone but, here is a link to a PDF file that is online. It has the specs for many different lathes.
Ted
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