Hello everybody, I’m new to this forum. I have been making saw dust for about 20 years now and have finally, after assembling a decent shop, decided to start looking into the purchase of a lathe for heavy home use. A big, heavy lathe with lots of power. My question is this. If you where to buy a new lathe that will do everything, big, long stuff as well as small stuff and lets not forget big deep bowls, and price was no object, what would you buy? Who is the undisputed heavyweight of the world!! Remember, I’m still working in my garage so I’ll need to be able to get this thing through the door.
PATHFINDER
Replies
Pathfinder,
Wish I was in your position, but I'm not. When I went out looking for a lathe I was told three things were important.....minimun 36"x15" bed....two horse power motor with variable speed...and turn out 180 degree for bowls with support would be nice. Of course the quality of the motor and fit and finish all make a big difference on price.
For a base however, I hate giving up all that postential storage space to big lumps of cast iron. I made a heavy bench with 6 draws underneath and the grinder on the end...bench must weigh 500lbs with the draws empty.
Good luck with your quest
Thanks BG,
I kinda had my eye on a Powermatic 1791254, which, with extension, is 65 x 24. I think you can swing a 48" blank on the outside of the head and it weighs almost 900lbs and it comes with an AC inverter which will give me variable speed. Whatcha think?
Path,
Well...throw in a duplicator attchment....and if it comes in mustard color....ok...you can play with that...don't forget the rubber mat to stand on
Now, what ya gonna make?
On Friday I stopped by the big boy store and watched them put together a brand new Jet lathe...have no idea how heavy...but large cast iron base
Edited 6/23/2003 7:20:28 PM ET by BG
I looked at Jet and didn't get a good feeling from the lack of mass, hense vibration. I plan on making bed posts, knewl posts, table and chair legs, table tops, things like that.
1st question, Do you already know how to turn? you mention BIG , POWERFUL , LARGE.
2nd question, Do you know how to turn? Once you have mastered thin walled turning, then you could enter the world of large turnings.
In the last 12 years or so woodturning has gotten very popular. I have seen a lot of Novice and even experienced turners inflict harm to their body or shop from large turnings. My advice is to start with a good old heavy lathe Oliver, Powermatic, General, Rockwell or there are some others out there. Learn your tools, technics , form, and when you can do nice thin-walled objects you can advance to Big!
Then if you still have the wants for a Big lathe and $$ is no object, my choice would be #1 One Way # 2 Nichols #3 Powermatic or there are others
I used my General lathe for 10 years day after day and now just do turning from time to time, would sure like to have a One Way but I don't have an extra $5K or better laying around collecting dust.
I have done some turning on a real cheap craftsman lathe. When I started woodworking I bought a Craftsman table saw and fooled with that thing for 10 years. When I finally wore out the arbr bearing, I had had enough. I bought a 10" Jet cabinet saw, and finally can do the kind of work I new was possible, like tolerances of less that .010. The experience of inferior tools has taught me to buy the best and work up to it's potential and you will never have to buy anything ever again, kind of, do it right the first time. I have done enough turning to know that spending the money will give me the machine that will produce the results I'm looking for. As for large turning Ill work up to that. I've been doing this too long to mount a 24" x 60" tree trunk, and start stabbing at it with a gouge, right out of the box. Thanx for the info on Oneway, I'll check them out.
IM thinkig maybe a older Delta,Powermatic,General or something along those lines,if you could hook up with a used one from a school shop that would be cool.. the "oldies were Goodies"
ToolDoc
Hi -
Understand, I'm not anything close to a master turner, but I'm working on it ...
I bought the Powermatic 2442, probably similar to the one you're looking at. Close to 1000lbs shipping wt. This was after learning the basics on a small benchtop Delta.
As you know, it has the 3hp 3phase motor, variable speed with three speed ranges and is reversable. All of which are minimal specs (in my view) for any kind of serious lathe work. I don't care for the rotating headstock style lathes - one more thing to keep aligned. For large outboard turning, most bigger lathes allow for removing the handweel and mounting a face plate, etc., on the outboard side. You could probably swing a piece over 6' across but that's a lot of wood.
I suppose if money were no object, I'd think seriously about the big OneWay's. If for nothing else, braggin' rights (haha). The drawback (in my opinion) is the headstock takes a #3 morse taper and the tail stock #2 taper. #2 morse things, drive centers and such, seem to be more readily availble around my area. Bigger is, probably, better, though.
I have a very minor bit of vibration on my Powermatic. Not enough to make a big difference but it's annoying to spend that much money and be able to feel it running (grin).
I'd suggest, though, if you're new to turning, you buy a cheap benchtop unit, learn the basics and decide what you want to make mostly. I tend to work big lumps of green wood into round hollow things, not a lot of thin wall stuff, and I like the mass of the Powermatic. But ... I'm in the process of moving all my tools 70 miles to a new shop. Moving half a ton of cast iron isn't going to be fun.
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Pathfinder
In my opinion the answer to your question (and to your dreams) is a One Way. I got one a year ago and it delivers the sort of satisfaction you get when you work with a truly fine tool.Expect a long wait for delivery.
The issue of the #3 morse taper is really a non-issue. I went to W.W. Grainger and bought a taper adapter for about $5. Worked great.
To move mine into my ground floor shop, concrete floor, I used a small hydraulic jack (Sears) to get the shipping skid up onto the pipes borrowed from my clamps. It then rolled easily to the final position.
To check out all your options get a copy of The Woodturners Catalog (www.woodturnerscatalog.com) from Craft Supplies in Provo, UT. I also suggest you get a "turners smock" and a 3-M filtering face mask.
Jerry
Thank for your input. I'll check them out. Have you had any problems of any sort with this machine? As for the Morse taper issue? I sell machine tools for machine shops so MT#3 or MT#2 isn't a problem for me to get my hands on.
None whatsoever. It is a dream tp operate. Solid as a rock, no vibration. WExcellebnt variable speed control. Comes with a full set of items you will need to start, except the tools of course.
Good luck.
Jerry
Phone if you want to talk 734-769-8668
I've had problems making connections for a "reply", therefore this may be a duplicate.
No, I have not had any problems. The unit comes with all you will need to get started (except tools) as opposed to the bare-bones approach of others. The variable speed and reverse are seamless. If you want to talk, give me a call 1-734-769-8668
Jerry
Jerr, Couldn't google up that link (http://www.woodworkerscatalog.com)
If you can send me the poop, I'd really apreciate it. Stein
Sorry for the goof. It should have been "www.woodturnerscatalog.com"
Phone number is 1-800-551-8876
Jerry
Take a look at the Vicmarc line of lathes. I have a Vicmarc Vl300. You can read about them on this web site.
http://groups.msn.com/VicmarcOwnersGroup
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