Okay, bought the lathe--now what?

Phil, At the moment you're all set. Grab a hunk of wood, tap the drive center into one end and set it up in the lathe between the drive center and the tailstock center and cut off all the wood that doesn't look like a leg.

Your needs and interests will change (particularly once you get around to joining AAW) soon enough. That will be plenty soon to consider your next tool purchase.

Recommend you grab some sort of instruction on sharpening lathe tools (I use a belt sander for major re-sharps and a 'credit card' diamond file for a few quick licks between pieces.) and take a look at the online galleries a lot of private folks and clubs have posted.

There isn't a woodturning club near me so I am not a member of one, but membership in such a club is highly touted by those who have access.

Above all, don't be afraid to grab a refugee from the fireplace and turn a toothpick from it. In other words, 'practice, practice, practice'. Turn, if you can, daily.

Phil

i've been turning for about 1 year. I started with a lathe which came with a face plate, drive center an tailstock center. One set of eight HSS (high speed steel) turnin tools. I then brought a very cheap wet/dry stone grinder (£25 or $40 approx) and free handed the sharpening, trying to reproduce the shape that the came by. But if you look at Darrel Feltmate's web site you can then mak grinding jigs to get a constant bevel on your tool

which take the guess work out of sharpening for very little money. Wit a constant grind on your tool you can then spend more of your tim practicing instead of re-learning the way you present the tool to th wood. Also if you google woodturning + projects, you will find a whole hos of projects to turn, with step by step pictures and info on how to mak it. I have learned no end of new skills by following these simpl projects. My next two major investments where a chuck to hold my turnings and bandsaw. The first time you put a lump of firewood on your lath without removing the surplus corners, spin it up and the lathe start to shake its self accross the room, you will learn alot about the lath speed and preparing your wood. Another thing to consider is dust. Once you have sanded your firs masterpiece and look around you will find every surface coated wit fine dust, including your lungs. Over time this will kill, so at th very least wear a dust mask and consider buying some form o extractor. I hope i have helped you and not put you off this great hobby ( al right i will say it, obsession) Mar

Besides the dust mask as a safety item, I would recommend a face shield. So far it has only been needed once when a catch threw a splinter at my face - but once is all it takes.

Find what ever wood: dry, green, with the only purpose to make shavings. It will fulfill your inner spirit to be destructive and creative at the same time. :-)

I had a mallet I was turning fly off the lathe. Fortunately my nose didn't get broken but there was a scar and there was some pretty good blood flow. Made a believer out of me about face shields.

Thanks, everyone, for the input. My lathe should be arriving today or tomorrow. I'm giddy as a schoolgirl. Should I just arrange for storage for all my "square" machines now, or give it a while? I pride myself on my bargain-hunting ability, and this is the first machine that I've bought new; my new lathe cost me more than my table saw, band saw, jointer, planer, drill press, sander and biscuit joiner put together. With that in mind, I had better like turning!

-Phil Crow

Well, that's it. I'm hooked.

Got the lathe home--wait, that's a story in and of itself. The phone rang on business day 9, and it was a lady from Estes, saying that she wanted to arrange pickup for a package. I would be working the next day, so I called my roommate to see if he could be there to pick up the "package." After his reply, I called Estes back to see what they could do. I was informed that I could drive to Hammond after work and pick up my new lathe after work, as they would have folks there until late.

With a bad case of the Jimmy-legs, I walked into the office of the shipping hub. The nice lady there called someone in to show me my parcel. I was escorted onto the loading dock and saw one big and one freaking huge box sitting on a pallet. Both appeared to be in good condition. A nice guy with a forklift loaded the boxes into the back of my pickup, which lowered noticeably in the ass-end area. I shut the tailgate and I believe two drops of pee came out from the excitement.

Got it home and set it up. No problems there. Except, of course, for the very high mass of the thing. If my roomie hadn't been there, I'm not sure I would have done it so easily. In fact, the setup was almost anti-climactic (sp?). With my jointer, drill press and belt sander, there seemed to be lots of instructions, with very specific directions. With the lathe, it was more like, "Screw the legs on, screw the adjusting feet in, plug in to 120v, start turning."

Now, here comes the best part. I fired that sucker up at about 6:45pm, and forced myself away from it at 9:40. As soon as I did, I realized that I *really* had to pee. I didn't (or wouldn't) even recognize basic body functions while that chunk of wood was spinning near that tool rest. I spun the spur center, broke a thin piece, walked the lathe across the floor and turned a tool handle and a baseball bat. It's all freakin' awesome. I've thought seriously more than once about cutting a class or two in order to come home and finish up a set of candlesticks or bookends or whatever-the-hell-ever. I think I may have a problem.

So, the short version of this letter is, to all those turners, thanks a lot and go to hell. I'll never get anything done around the house again. But I'll have a shitload of candlesticks :)

-Phil Crow

snip

This is only the beginning? WOW! Congratulations!

You were warned. It's as close to instant gratification as you'll get in woodworking, and it's fun even when you don't go start to finish (pun intended) in one sitting.

Ask the guy with a couple hundred bowls on his shelves in various states from rough to awaiting finish who can't wait to rough out some new big chunks of maple.

You have a lathe. Your next purchase is a chainsaw. And a pickup truck. To cope with, um, 'roadside emergencies' involving neglected trees growing in the median where they could become a traffic hazard.

;-)

DAMHIKT

Bill