Replies

1. 
   RUmphres | Mar 12, 2020 09:40pm | #1

   I would get a lathe with at least 36” between centers. I have an old Craftsman spindle lathe 5” over bed and 32” between centers. It’s probably 50 years old. I have made quite a lot of legs on it. Jet seems to me to be the best value Hope this helps.

2. 
   user-7168223 | Mar 12, 2020 10:44pm | #2

   That dose I don't want to dump a bunch of$$$ into it and I see those on cl all the time the only thing I would want is not to have to switch belts for speed looks like it would take to much time thanks!

3. 
   rob_ss | Mar 13, 2020 02:54am | #3

   Switching belts is not a big issue.
   Most modern lathes come with a DVR which is better, but you can't tell the difference in the finished product.
   If changing belts is genuinely too much trouble then probably turning stuff is not for you - it's not as easy as it looks and requires patience and practice before you get decent results.

   You can turn small stuff on a big lathe, but you can't turn big stuff on a small lathe.
   That having been said, you can turn big stuff in two or more parts on a small lathe and cutting tenons is what lathes are best at, so you could get away with something big enough for a chair leg, then turn bigger stuff in stages.
   Why not listen to Shop Talk Live, which covered this subject in some detail in the last episode.

4. 
   _mj_ | Mar 13, 2020 07:21am | #4

   I needed to make some tool handles, and not knowing if turning was something I'd enjoy I bought a small $99 lathe at horrible fright and a $10 box of turning chisels at a yard sale. The handles went well. The lathe was a generic with the same casting as the rockler Excelcior. I bought the rockler extension bed and now I have an underpowered lathe for small projects and legs & a ton of useful knowledge for my eventual upgrade. I'll keep it when I upgrade.

5. 
   lat_axe | Mar 13, 2020 07:36am | #5

   One option would be to make your own pole lathe: a leg-powered lathe traditionally used by chair bodgers to turn legs, spindles and other chair parts best made on a lathe. They are not hard to make and will cost far, far less than a decent electric lathe.

   They are best suited to green wood as the power from your leg working a treadle is rather less than that from a modern electric motor. But dried wood parts can be successfully turned on a pole lathe if the majority of the wood is first removed with a saw, chisel and drawknife.

   https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22pole+lathe%22&ia=web

   Mind, this requires those tools; and a shaving horse. The cost is rising, along with the required man-effort!

   Still .....

   Lataxe

6. 
   hotdogman | Mar 13, 2020 09:21am | #6

   Go down to the Woodcraft Store and talk to someone there who turns. They are usually good at telling you what you need to know without a lot of BS. The tools that go with the lathe are really important too.