Replies

1. 
   HeavyD | Jan 10, 2004 07:31am | #1

   Jeff,

   I am not a turner, let me make that clear. My father is and this is what he did which takes care of weight and thus stability. Take the lathe off the "usually cheap stamped metal stand and bolt it to a piece of 1'2 inch steel plate or plywood. Make up two "Boxes" of plywood and fill those "boxes with sand. Make the boxes to the height that is comfy for yourself make sure you run inside stringers so as to not blow the box apart with the sand. attach the top-plate with your lathe. I promise you that your lathe won't move, ever. This may or may not be an advantage if you need to move your machinery around. As far as type etc. I'll let the experts here answer that one. Hope this helps.

2. 
   CharlieD | Jan 10, 2004 10:40am | #2

   If you think you might like to to some bowls, consider a rotating headstock (or at least the ability to attach drives to the opposite side of the headstock); the distance from drive center to lathe bed limits your workpiece diameter otherwise.

   Also, consider the need for tools and your ability to sharpen them as part of your budget. Even HSS tools dull quickly and need sharpening often, so you don't get far w/out a grinder, some jigs for keeping angles/bevels, and at least $100 in chisels and gouges. And, in short order, you'll want add'l chucking choices, unless you plan to stick with spindles of a similar size.

   Sure is fun. I'm enjoying the heck out of mine, a recent purchase I made after the late great ToolDoc recommended the Harbor Freight lathe as a great value. Given your clear statement of a desire for quality, I don't necessarily recommend that one for you, although it did seem like a straight knock-off of the Jet to ToolDoc and I. But the finish is cheesy and the adjustment levers are, too. Other than that, I really like it, and I got out the door for less than $200. I had a problem with the tool rest, and they were great about it, fixed me right up.

   The 3/4 horse Jet's around $400, I think, if you catch one on sale; that won't leave you much for other stuff, but you can save up and buy things one piece at a time as you go, right? That's what I'm doing.

   Oh, and set aside $30 for a good book, unless you've got somebody to teach you. I like Mike Darley's books; a very technical and analytical approach. Other folks here have raved about Richard Raffin's books.

   Good luck!

   Charlie

   I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
3. 
   ron61 | Jan 10, 2004 11:26am | #3

   Jeff

   I have done a little Turning

   1) Size from spindle to tailstock If you want to do turning for furniture at least 36in. to  40in. and from spindle to floor what I do is : from the floor to your elbow is the height of the center of the spindle. You want it at a comfortable Height ,I found this in a old turning book 

   2) stability, a factor of footprint and weight - Depends on what you are doing  Bowls more Stability than Spindle Turning-

   If it was me what I would get a Bench Model Lathe and build my own stand most factory stands are junk sheet metal , you could  build the stand where you could put sand bags in it for weight" Go to  http://www.teknatool.com/products/Lathes/3000/nova.htm    and look at the manuals I think  they show a nice plan for a stand " I am saving my money for one of ther Lathes check them out"

   3) motor, need enough juice to not bog down  Depends on what you will be doing and the size - spindle turning smaller 3/4hp. maybe less - Bowl turning they say at least 1 hp. or bigger

   piecrust table - you might want to think about Out Board Turning some Lathes the Head Stock turns so you can Turn Large Diameter stuff or they are made to screw on a Face Plate to the outside end of the Head Stock. I would look for a lathe that had the Out Board turning rest made to attach to the lathe instead of a Floor rest they will tip into the work and large diameter stuff is turning fast running at low speed-

   Something eles If you want to do Out Board Turning I would for sure check out the variable speeds of the lathes and get one with the slowest speed.

   As far as the $500.00 for what it seems to me you had  better save another $500.00 and get the lathe I want The Nova DVR  http://www.teknatool.com/products/Lathes/DVR/Nova%20_DVR.htm

   Check it out it looks like a Real Jim Dandy

   Ron
4. 
   jako17 | Jan 10, 2004 06:28pm | #4

   Jeff ,IMHO Do some sertious reading first before parting up with the money.Read books by Conover,Raffan,Darlow,Dunbar etc.Then you will have a better grasp of the kind of lathe you need.Bed length,centre height,gap in bed,outboard turning,perhaps you might want to take up ornamental turning? We even do some metal spinning!   :-)

   
   

   ---

   Edited 1/10/2004 10:30:10 AM ET by jako

5. 
   SawdustSteve | Jan 10, 2004 11:25pm | #5

   Jeff   Important factors in a lathe are:

   1  As you have said, Length of the bed

   2  Swing over the bed  (What is the largest diameter you can turn)

   3  Motor   More TORQUE, not Speed.

   4  Are various different chucks available (This relates to the spindle diameter and threading)

   5  Stability   Nothing like 3 or 4  50# bags of sand to weigh down the base.  Keeps the lathe from wandering.  It also gives you the ability to move the lathe easily when you change the layout of your shop.

   If you'are turning only pens or similar small objects, none of this matters.  If you want LARGE stuff, then you have to do LOTS of research.  You will find that many wood turners have more than one lathe.  They switch back and forth depending on what they are making.  Do a 'Google' search in wood-turners Club, group or society.  They probably have a group near you that will help you answer many of your questions.  

   SawdustSteve

6. 
   jeffreysherow | Jan 11, 2004 01:42am | #6

   been researching for a while can get a delta 14" for about $550.00 (wife has approved the extra $50.00) and it includes 6 tools (looked fine but not great) from delta.

   It weighs 400 lbs, has a outboard capability, can handle pretty big stuff, has 3/4 hp motor (not real big but pretty good) and seems to have plenty of optional accessories available.  I also don't think you can ever really go wrong with Delta.

   Thoughts? 

1. 
   ron61 | Jan 11, 2004 02:29am | #7

   Jeff

   GO FOR IT that is a good deal. Tool Cribs #46-715 14 in. Delta Lathe is $679.99

   That's a good Lathe - like you said cant go wrong with a Delta  You will be able to do lots of things with it and have lots of fun - you will need some kind of Grinder to keep your tools sharp. Get yourself a face shield keep those chips out of your eyes and barrow one of your wife's aprons. 

   Way better than what I have now but when I get that Nova DVR man watch out chips will be  flying - did you check them out? did you look at any of the pictures of their lathes in shops? One guy has this HUGE chunk of wood mounted.

   Glad there will be another WoodTurner on FWW

   Good Luck

   Ron

1. 
   jeffreysherow | Jan 11, 2004 07:48pm | #8

   Thanks Ron! I'll check out the Nova DVR man.

7. 
   rslatm | Jan 15, 2004 10:33pm | #9

   I'd look for used. Lathes don't command the resale prices of saws, planers and jointers so you get a lot more bang for the buck in my experience.  The first thing I'd do is look at some turning books to get more informed.  Also there is a good English turning magazine available.  Look for dedicated turning forums as well. woodcentral.com has one and I'm sure there are some in the yahoo groups.
1. 
   veggiefahmah | Jan 16, 2004 12:02am | #10

   The American Assoc. of Woodturners has a pretty active forum.

8. 
   fdampier5 | Jan 16, 2004 02:17am | #11

   I was in exactly your spot about two years ago..   I owned a bunch of delta equipment and looked at their lathe..

     then I started to wrestle with Delta over other matters..

    (a benchtop planer arrived without handles and it took a month to get them, the contractors saw  couldn't hold a setting and wasn't very powerful, Etc.)

       That so embittered me that I looked elsewhere..

         I found Sears sells a pretty decent lathe.. (PS I hate Sears) not that tube thingy but a real cast iron base swivel head variable speed lathe.. I think on sale the lathe was $600 but they offered 10% off on the floor model and another 10% if you'd sign up for the discover card.. (no you don't have to use it,  just get it and cut it up as soon as you get home)   I didn't take that cheezy stand they offer with it because I could make my own out of Black walnut 4x4's 

     Mine has been great fun and let me assure you that the lathe is only a small part of the package. you'll need tools and a way to keep them sharp.   Plus like a lot of other equipment  there are al kinds of cool attachments to buy in the future.

9. 
   ETG | Jan 16, 2004 07:54pm | #12

   I have both lathes that this thread talks about - the Sears cast machine and the Delta low end full size lathe.  Both are in my school shop and my students are quickly learning what "low-end" means:

   The Sears is heavy - made off shore; but it is terribly noisy at the drive end and the variable speed switch is so cheap that we have been through 2 of them till I upgraded and adopted a heavy duty one; the tool rest mechanism is sluggish - reworked several times to no avail; the drive head swivels but is not an easy process; to remove the drive center, you need two wrenches to force off the center (real lathes use knock out bars); fit/finish not the best.

   The Delta has cheesey knobs that are ackward to use; we've been through two attachment yokes that hold the drive head to the bed - very poorly designed; we don't do outboard turning so I ended up bolting the drive to the bed - for a while I had drive heads dropping on the floor! even the Delta rep agreed it is a very low end machine.

   My home machine is a vintage 50's Delta - wonderful machine; for $500, search ebay and get some old iron - many lathes out there in excellent condition.  As someone else pointed out, if you have to go new, then you'd better throw another $500 at least in the kitty.

10. 
    sharptools | Jan 16, 2004 10:46pm | #13

    I would agree that your best value is with a used lathe.  I bought a 1940's vintage Delta 1460 (cast iron everything, including the stand) off eBay a couple of years ago for about $600.00.  It also came with about 15 Sorby tools, a Nova Chuck, several rests and faceplates, and lots of other goodies.  The accessories that came with it would have cost me over $600.00 alone.  This is where you have to think ahead with your budget, because you could easily spend as much on tooling as on the lathe itself.

    There are always parts and pieces for the 1460 and other lathes on eBay, but I would recommend waiting for a complete lathe (whether you buy online or locally through the classifieds).  Putting a lathe together from the various parts would probably cost twice as much as buying the whole lathe.

    If you absolutely need a lathe right away, this may not be an option, but I think you would be happier in the long run with a vintage tool rather than a new Taiwanese import.

1. 
   jeffreysherow | Jan 19, 2004 05:48pm | #14

   I appreciate your thought.  I've looked on ebay, in fact have spent hours there and am now a little annoyed at how much time I have spent there.

   The last time I visited (yesterday) there were two lathes that look somewhat interesting because they are older well-made tools that look like they would outlast me.  However, tracking and trying to win the bid, arranging and paying to ship/truck to my home and the little (maybe not so little) TLC they seem to need and the need for parts consumes a lot of time.  All the time I've spent on eBay, and the time I'd need to spend trying to find out how to arrange for shipping, fixing/cleaning up and/or going to ebay for more parts is more than I want to spend.

   I don't have a lot of spare time and when I do, I want to be in the shop working completing pieces.