What is the expense?

$199 for a Jet Mini Lathe. Another $50 for a cheap starter set of tools. That's enough to get you hooked. After that, it's every spare dollar you can rake scrape or borrow to spend on $150 bowl gouges, $300 chucks and $5000 lathes. A $100 grinder and $200 for a Wolverine sharpening jig. Just joking, but not really, because turning is really, really addictive.

Barry

For me it was about $1000. I took a class a t a local collage and the teacher kept saying $1000. On the last day he was talking about the different kind of chucks and some one asked how much they cost and his reply was "didn't I tell you about the second $1000???" I got a Jet 1236 some Sorby tools and a Wolverine sharpening jig set and it was close to $900. Then I bought a slow speed ginder which was real close to $100. So after being done there was not much left from my tax refund. Probabley couldn't buy a cup of coffee with the change. As I remember the tools were rough gouge, bowl gouge, spindle gouge, round nose scraper, skew and parting tool. I think the collage had gotten a class discount from Rocklers. I have been happy with it, but like any other hobby I drool at the tool catalogs and would like more stuff. the good thing about the collage class is you could see what turning was like and get familiar with the tools before I made my purchaces. The down side was the class was 4 hours once a week on a Sunday. There was no way to reinforce what I had learned on the weekend by practice during the week. I find there is a lot of "feel" in turning. You can be shown the moves but you have to feel when it is cutting right and the next weekend part of the time was getting back in that groove. I hope you have a lot of fun and be safe.

You really need a bandsaw too, or at least some means of preparing the wood before it is mounted on the lathe.

You got some good, realistic replies for this day and age. On the other hand, when I started in Junior High school by building my own lathe from plans in Popular Mechanics magazine for litle or nothing, most everything I needed my father had laying around; a motor, a 4' 4"x12" plank, a couple of 3' pieces of black pipe, some plywood for a tailstock and toolrest and I was in business. The shop teacher asked me to demonstrate at Open House, I told him I didn't have any chisels. He goes in the back store room, comes out with a handful of chisels with no handles. So I borrowed a gouge with a handle from the wood shop, and set out making handles for the chisels. That was in 1964, I still have the chisels, some with the first handles I made. Don't have the lathe any more. But I have 7 others. :)

Don

That varies with what you plan to turn. I spent $4K on my Conover Master lathe and about $500 for Sorby tools, the most expensive and largest machine in my shop. I'm thinking you can probably get a decent lathe and good set of tools for $1000, maybe a few hundred more. Maybe you can find a used lathe and save some bucks, but don't skimp on the tools. Mini lathes are less expensive.

Oops! And some wood..........don't forget the wood! Barry

=============================== Hi, I agree with Andrew about needing something to preshape the blank. If the bandsaw is out of the budget right now, an electric chainsaw is an economical alternative. However, don't look at it as a permanent cure. Most people find that have a much shorter life than the pricier gasoline models. With care, they should get you started with blank prep.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

I started up with an electric chain saw and now I have a gasoline one. They both have their uses. On a Sunday morning or during the evenings when in the garage I use the electric chainsaw. When on field trips I use the gasoline one. Felling, bucking to length and ripping in two halves is done right in the field. As for the bandsaw I have not made my mind yet. Some people are saying that an 18 inches one running on 220V is the answer. The later can cost over a $1000.00 plus running a pony panel to get the proper voltage. The existing one I have is an old 14 inches Rockwell. It is only good to cut 8 inches OD blank and it is on its way out. For larger blanks I use the electric chainsaw for trimming. I wish I would have bought the electric chainsaw with an automatic oilier.

Conversely in making a cost analyze to find out "What is the expense" the present value approach is the favorite. Too often I have purchased tools at bargain price only to find out that I had to replace them with better quality at a higher cost. When working as an apprentice electrician making $0.72 per hours I purchased my first pair of plyer/cutter (made in the US) for $6.00. These are still in my tool box and working great. The other approach is to not tally the cost or buying what is needed for woodturning and enjoy every moment of it.

Also, with enough power and a couple hundred Canadian for a riser kit, you can increase the 6" cut depth to 12" for those odd times you might want it.

George, maybe I am looking to justify the purchase of a new bandsaw? This Rockwell Beaver model 28115 is about 30 years old. After careful look I found out that it is only a 10 inches. I cannot even get new tires. Delta do not carry parts for it anymore. The only way I could rise the height is to make a rising block with oak or have a welded construction done. The blade length is not a problem over here we have them made to measure. I concur with you. With a riser kit, proper table extension and circle cutting fixture, jig and space the possibilities are greater. Not to mention a good dust collecting outlet properly located at the bottom of the lower pulley. Thanks I'll see what I can do to improve the old Rockwell/Beaver bandsaw.

The riser kit was based on your estimate of the 14" saw. I'd take your 10" as a collector's item and move up to your level of comfort in cash outlay for a new one.

You can get new tires. Places like Suffolk sell 10" tires if you want to keep the saw for small work.

Nothing. Nada. Zip. There are a few up front costs anywhere from $500 to $2000 or more depending on what you already have and how fancy of equipment you want to go with, but I began selling my turnings in '97 and just expanded my equipment as I made money. Turning more than paid for itself! I now have a fairly complete shop w/bandsaw, drill press, tablesaw, 12" planer, jointer, DC, handtools, etc. Some I had before, but not most. Started on a Shopsmith, now long gone.

I turn just enough for it to remain fun. I sell through a shop downtown and when I first started doing so, I told the lady that I'm a flaky business man, and don't want to ruin the process for myself. Consequently, if I want to go fishing instead of turning I do. She's easy w/that, and it works out well for me. I do try to keep her well stocked, especially during tourist season, but I don't beat myself up!

So, to answer your question, you can turn for free, sorta, if you want to. It will take a bit of time, of course, to develop you skill to consistantly produce pleasing forms...

...Kevin

Elastic. You can do it for very little, but if you have it you'll spend it.

As an interesting exercise, try to see some real backwoods green woodworking going on. Maybe you can do a camp-and-turn course. On these courses you'll make a Windsor chair or something, camping out in a coppice and turning on a sprung pole lathe. Hardly any of the tools are store-bought, most of the metalwork was made by re-forging old leafsprings, and things like the lathe are constructed for the course itself. Not something I'd recommend doing as a habit, but it's an excellent thing to have done once and have the experience of.

For more typical workshop stuff, spindle turning scrounged green wood on a S/H lathe is very cheap. Couple of centres and maybe a faceplate

- you don't need a chuck. Four chisels are all you need (although extras in other sizes can be more convenient). If you have spare cash, find a slow grinder. More chisels if you want to do bowls too. A little cash for finishing supplies, but brewing your own with basic oils, waxes or shellac is cheaper than buying name-brand wonder-polishes. Haunt junkshops for a couple of pairs of calipers.

The money mainly starts disappearing on complicated gadgets; magic chucks, magic chisels. These are also those most likely to end up on the shelf unused.

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