Looking for a lathe

Something that might help us- Do you have $500-1000 for the lathe only, or for the lathe and accessories? The chuck and turning tools often end up costing more than the lathe itself.

They certainly did in my case

Take a look at the Jet 1442 VS from Southern-Tool. I have one and like it a lot. The only thing I would suggest is that you turn the speed select handle around. (Peel the range sticker and undo two screws, pull it out and rotate 180 degrees, reassemble.)

If you back up one page you can see the 1236 and 1642 also. The good thing about Southern is that they ship free. Deb

If you have a very complete shop, the first piece of advice would be sell everything but the bandsaw (you'll need it for Phase II) and then you'll have all the money you need for the lathe AND the accessories you want.

You see, once you get started turning (Phase II) you won't need the other tools because you won't go back to flat work, so why not put them to good use financing the lathe.

By the way, you'll be able to get a LOT more lathe with the $2-3K you got from selling the tools than you will at $500-1K.

Starting with an amount of money you want to spend may not be the best way to go. You might want to start with the question, "What exactly do I want to make on my new lathe?" If all you want to do is make small bowls with small diameters or small size spindle work then a lathe in the range of $500-$1000 or even less will work fine. But if you need a bigger swing over the bed or a lot of weight and horse power for off balanced work or a headstock that turns or slides or any of a number of other possible criteria then you may be wasting your time. Only you can decide.

When I was looking for a lathe I first looked in the price range that you are talking about. After I did a little research I decided that an inexpensive lathe was not what I needed. Mine cost almost $2000 four years ago including the stand. It is the minimum that I need to for what I want to do. I really need a bigger lathe that they one I got.

Let us know what your expectations are. Do you know what you want to turn on your lathe?

snipped-for-privacy@yourbiz.com wrote:

Hope your very complete shop has better equipment than the lathe your getting for your planned budget.

Recommendation: better wait till you can spare some $$$$$$$\

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

May I suggest a different track from some of the people here.....?

I agree with Ted that you should determine what you want to make with the lathe. A Jet Midi/Mini lathe with an extension and adjustable speeds can handle a table leg up to 30" or more if you are making tables, and small to medium bowls.

However, what no one mentioned here is shopping yard/garage sales! My wife was out one day and came across very nice Craftsman lathe mounted on a large steel craftman table with drawers, filled with 2 full sets of brand new chisels, several chucks and a large duplicator. The owner had recently passed on and his wife said he never got to use it. My wife paid $150 for the whole package!!

Aside from being a bargain, it was a great way to find out I really liked my small projects better. I could easily resell the lathe for more than I paid for it and the learning was free. I usually don't spend money on a top tool until I have had a chance to use a similar tool for a while and decided what I want most out of that tool, then I look for the best I can afford. You may also ask a friend to use theirs for a few trial runs first.

I know that once to start turning all other tools will collect dust. Good luck

-Jeff

Purchased my lathe from a guy who posted on the net. Cost less than the one he replaced, and included some additional items like the chuck, faceplates, toolrests, that wouldn't fit the Oneway 24" he had ordered.

Bells, whistles, lights and diodes he hasn't got, but he spins wood nicely.

All you fellas need a slap on the wrist- ignoring all your other tools for the lathe. Any of you turners want to sell me your jointer/drum sander/top-of-the-line router/dovetail jig/shaper/etc...? I'll pay the price of a brand new supernova chuck for a Unisaw...

:)

I like my lathes too, but c'mon guys- you're kidding when you claim to have orphaned your flatwork tools, right?

I have... I use the band saw and CMS for blanks and stuff, but my other stuff like the RAS, router table, etc. is covered with turnings in progress or things that involve turning... Hell, I can hardly SEE my bench...

One of the "rules" that I've made for the new house and shop is to be organized enough to do both turning and flat work.. sure hope I can stick to that.. lol

Mac

In my case, the lathe was an addition to the other tools, as I use it primarily for making parts for furniture - legs, knobs, pulls, etc. Or, lately I've been doing segmented work, which requires all the other tools anyway.

Then there's the kids. Mine seem to think that dad can (and will) make anything they need or want. They have enough turnings, it's shelves, tables, cabinets and beds they're in need of. That and wooden utensils.

My birthday drum sander really cut a lot of time out of doing all the slats for the bed. All four sides _accurately_ sanded to 180 prior to assembly makes things a lot easier.

Having it has caused me to re-think a lot of smaller pieces of stuff that were on the "someday" pile for turning. With the sander, short pieces are easily thicknessed for use in small boxes and shelves. Not to mention the cooling racks that are freshly assembled and waiting.

Anyone made a jig for a drum sander for stave work? It's nice to have the pieces small, but the saw and jointer make working with them high pucker factor. Sander would do the job with better operator safety.