lathes???

I have reciently thought of the idea of making wooden baseball bats myself. I love baseball but for somereason i havn't thought of this idea. What i am looking for is a cheap lathe big enough to make a bat (33'') but not industrial. I have been looking a lathes, but all i can find a mini lathes that are to small, and industrial lathes that are to big and too expensive. Does anyone know the prices of these lathes?? And does anyone know where i can get a lathe of the size im looking for, and relativly cheap?

Reply to
nerp1191
Loading thread data ...

I've turned several bats on my Jet 1442 (roughly $900), albeit smaller versions (28") for youngsters. But it can handle 40" stock with ease. Both Delta and Jet make 12x36 (approx.) lathes that price somewhat less. None of the above are industrial-quality machines.

Max

Reply to
Maxprop

Hi nerp1191,

You might want to look for a used Sears Craftsman, Rigid monotube, Canadian Tire or whatever similar lathe might turn up in your community. Lots of good work has been turned on them and I personally know of a turner who makes croquet mallets on a second hand Sears. They sell for astronomic prices so his purpose bought machine is no compromise.

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

formatting link

Reply to
Arch

You might take a look at this one:

formatting link
I know that some here have them and turn on them. It seem that if you get a good one you are in pretty good shape as an occasional turning machine. It is NOT a machine to use all day, every day. But many here have also reported a lot of problems, some that might make this machine more problems than it is worth. For the price it might be worth a try.

I know you will get a lot of advice on finding a used lathe, but in my experience, it doesn't happen. I looked for about 2 years before finally finally giving up and biting the bullet to buy my Nova 3000. There just aren't many out there, and the folks that buy them have so much invested in them that they all want close to full price. So close in fact that I opted for a new one so I could get a warranty.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Those midi lathess will do the job if you purchase a bed extension (or possibly two- I'm not sure how long a baseball bat is offhand.)

The last time I checked (a few years ago) the exensions were going for about $40.

Reply to
Prometheus

Go to Penn State Industries:

formatting link
And check out the Variable Speed Turncrafter Pro with Bed Extension. The lathe has a 10" swing and an overall length with the bed extension of 52". This is NOT the distance between centers but includes the headstock and tail stock but I'm fairly certain you could turn a 36" bat.

Reply to
Harry Pye

I don't own a lathe (yet), but I've been following this group for awhile to get familiar with things. While I can't make any meanful suggestion as to what lathe would be appropriate, your quest to make baseball bats reminded me of the Lathe 101 episode[1] of New Yankee Workshop in which Norm goes through the process of turning a baseball bat to demonstrate the use of a lathe. If you haven't all ready seen it, that might be useful to you.

[1]:
formatting link
Reply to
Michael Faurot

Ebay and graigslist have them everyday. 10 inch and 12 inch by 36".

At ebay, type in "wood lathe"

At graigslist, type in "lathe"

Pete Stanaitis

-------------------------------

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

Reply to
spaco

Cummins Tools, 48" lathe, $99.00. Just Google Cummins tools to find the website. I own one and it works just fine.

Reply to
Brian

you don't specify your location - used small lathes are cheap, particularly if they are old - if you are near a big city, try craigslist.org, if in a small town, ask around

Reply to
William Noble

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.