I have a Rikon 70-100 lathe that is great for pens and small projects. I have started making vases which need to be hollowed out. I drill out the bulk of the material on the lathe then use turning tools to finish. The problem is that my 16″ bed is too short to chuck a drill bit and drill out any project that is deeper than 8″. I want to buy a larger lathe and can spend around $1200 – $1500. I seems that all the lathes that I look at are in the $2500 range which is too much to spend. Any suggestions?
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Wouldn't it be cool to make a treadle lathe like this one?
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/9685/011015060.pdf
I have enough trouble turning as it is. I do NOT want to be pumping a treadle while trying to turn.
Remember, you are talking to a man that resaws logs by hand. Everyone has their own definition of crazypants.
That so needs a haha emoji!
This would be worth checking out. 20" BC. You can get a 16" extension for 36". It also has a swiveling headstock which is great for hollowing. Btw You can mount a twist drill in a wood handle or chuck and drill out the center by hand, no need to use the tailstock. The bulk can be cut out quickly using hollowing tools.
https://www.thewoodturningstore.com/record-power-16006-herald-lathe-1-1-4-x-8-110v/
I do a lot of bowl turning , up to 19 inches in diameter and 8 inches deep. I use a 1984 10 speed General 260 lathe with Oneway chucks. The main quality of a lathe for bowl turning is its weight, it dampens vibration and you will eventually find that you don’t need to drill the blanks, using a fingernail bowl gouge will be faster. Those lathes and similar Powermatic can be found on the used market for about your budget and there isn’t much to go wrong with them.
Why not choose to spend more money and use it with confidence in the future?
I like my old Powermatic Model 90 lathe. Heavy duty, variable speed, 38" length capacity. Rockwell made a similar model, but almost no-one bought it; I've only seen one. No swiveling headstock...
Wood turning is a risky hobby if you get to like it. It may lead to buying cutting tools, chucks, faceplates, tool rests, vacuum pumps, sharpening equipment, chain saws, bandsaws, dust collectors and finally, the cost of the lathe was a fraction of the final investment.
Turning is easily as expensive as all the rest of woodworking combined, unless you are strictly turning a few spindles now and then. The list of accessories is long and very pricey.
I'm kind of shocked how much lathes have gone up in price. I have a full size Jet 1642 with electronic variable speed, and their current model is three times what I paid a dozen or so years ago.
If you arecommitted to that price range, I would beat the bushes looking at used machines. Lathes are pretty simple machines, and if all the parts are there it should be easy to get it running. Avoid machines with missing parts. They can cost more to make functional than a brand new lathe.
Gulfstar and John C2 are NOT overstating the facts. I know from my own personal experience.
Is there a woodturning club in your area? Hang out with them and see if someone is selling a lathe so they can upgrade.
Parental advisory : clicking the following link exposes the user to explicit content 55 years and older.
https://oneway.ca/
I looked at a bed extension for my lathe. Says it is 24". Anyone with experience with this product?
Also looked at Jet 1221VS. Seems like a good machine. Any experience with that product?
I've used that machine. It's nice, but small and light.
The question I ask myself these days is, is this the last machine of this type I'll buy? Or will I want to upgrade again? If I think I'll want to upgrade, I'll wait. Every in-between machine costs money that I could just put toward the final goal.
Pretty much everything that needs to be said here has been already, but there are a couple of things to add:
Fancy features are really nice, but overrated. Things like DVR are awesome but other than ease of adjustment make no difference - I have a Reeves drive on my lathe and it's much the same. Digital is better and easier, but you do pay for the convenience. Ditto reversibility - it makes sanding a tiny bit easier but is expensive and your chuck can come off...
It is tempting to buy a huge lathe as you can turn big things on it, but unless that truly is your ambition, it is probably better to buy something more modest in dimension. A rotating head is really nice if huge platters are in your future, but most full size lathes will swing a 16 inch diameter piece. There is ALWAYS a bigger lathe out there - I've seen video of someone turning a dining table from a single chunk of wood.
Lathes are incredibly simple devices so parts are not really an issue - they are easily made to requirements. EXCEPT where the fittings are nonstandard. It can be expensive and difficult to get things like faceplates for some lathes, though you can buy one that fits the nova chuck inserts now. If you buy a lathe, make sure it has a 2MT head and tailstock and you can buy a Nova insert for its head stock thread - otherwise you will be having to pay a local machinist to do the work.
Extension beds are fine - they only need to be 'more or less' coplanar with the original beds because the turning is done by hand - it's not as if they are a reference surface. half a degree off is not going to make any practicable difference if turning between centres. Closer is better of course, but there is no need for machinist precision.
So to recommendations:
If you want new, then the money-no-object lathe which most every turner wants is the Nova Orion. It's the lathe with everything, including extension beds being available.
Mid-range would be the Nova 1624-44 which has everything you need but no fancy features, and at the low end, pretty much every basic machine big enough to meet your needs is fine - just buy one with solid ways and a minimum 500W 3/4HP motor. More than that is just showing off.
I bought a nice Grizzly several years ago. I was amazed to find that the tool rest stem (the rod that goes into the banjo) was 25mm. 1" rods are too big, 7/8ths are too small. I can say with confidence there are no used tool rests on the market in that size. Combine that with the fact that Grizzly did not sell different size and shape tool rests. They sold a high power lathe but no parts to support it. I bought some 25mm rod stock and made my own tool rests.
Grizzly has corrected this, now you select the banjo size you want - 1" or 25mm.
Follow Craigslist. In your price range there are likely to be quite a few wood lathes available. Right now in my area is a Powermatic 45 $1000 that looks really well kept, A full size Delta $ 500, A Delta homecraft $200 These all seem to include tools and accessories. There are several old Craftman, a Nova and some others as well listed. Tomorrow there are likely to be others.
There os always the possibility of building your own. Well sorta. I found parts on Ebay for an old Delta 1460. Head stock and tail stock $200, $50 for new bearings, and eventually i replaced the motor for $100. Built the bed from angle iron and construction lumber. Ebay is a good source for used lathe parts.
I had a sears tabletop lathe gifted to me. It was... problematic. I decided to build my own. Sorta.
Delta 1460 made in the 50s and 60s seemed to be a model that had a lot of parts available.
Head stock was $125
Tail stock was $75
New bearings for head stock $50
I had a 1/4 hp motor lying around
Link belt $35
Built the bed from 1/4 angle iron and construction 2x6s legs from 2x6s.
Frank is 6ft long with 56" between centers.
The original banjo and tool rest were a hodge podge of hardware store parts reluctantly welded together at the local muffler shop for $25.
Frank got a new banjo and tool rest from Harbor freight. Their current lathe has parts that fit Frank's specs. It's not impossible to make your own. I have very limited metalworking tools and no welding experience. Picture is from the build process.
Grizzly has a great one right in your range check their site
I am admittedly a Neanderthal with regard to power tools, as I am predominantly a hand tool woodworker, but my lathe is a 1949 Shopsmith 10er.
It is a beast. No vibration, weighs a ton, can’t reverse, has only three speeds (belt/pulley), but has served me well.
Yes, I did buy an expensive four jaw reversible chuck years ago. Usable faceplates are cheap and plentiful.
This is industrial quality. No plastic.
It is an option you might explore. Not fancy, just solid.
Best Regards
Don
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