OK, I usually don’t like the “tell me what to do” posts, but I feel the need to unburden a bit. About 8 years ago, I bought the mid-line Delta lathe. It was about $400. I have some good tools for it and recently bought a Oneway grinding system to sharpen said tools. My purpose was to turn table legs and that sort of thing-no bowls or vases or anything.
Since that purchase, I have used it for my furnituremaking exactly zero times. I have messed around with some spindles and tried to sharpen the gouges and chisels correctly, but it just doesn’t really get me going. I’m a weekend warrior/semi-pro who does mostly casework, and I thought the turning would add another dimension to what I do. But I just can’t bring myself to take the time to learn how to do it all.
So naturally I’m thinking about selling it, but I have never sold a tool that I didn’t upgrade (meaning I would sell a POC router to get a bigger or better one). In this case I would be eliminating the lathe from my collection. This gives me the willies. I’m afraid I would immediately regret it and want to start turning everything. History, however, proves otherwise.
Anyone else ever feel this way? I guess the sensible part of me says I should concentrate and improve on one aspect of work that I already do (casework) and if I want to add turnings, find a local turner and have them do it.
Replies
Sorry, folks, that should be "Stop FOOLING myself?". I'm good at typos.
I've got an idea!
I have a lower quality lathe on my hands and would be happy to trade you straight across. That way you would still have a lathe, but since it is of lower quality, you wouldn't feel so bad about not using it :)Lazarus"Wisdom is the toughest of teachers! She gives the test first and the lesson after."
Well, hey, I'd not considered that option-I knew I could count on creative thinking here!!
Maybe you shouldn't start turning. It's so addictive that you might end up turning all the time, skipping work, losing your job, then your family, and end up living in a "trailer down by the river."
Save yourself! Get rid of the thing now before you get hooked!
I just saw you question and have one for you. Do you have room for it? If you answer yes maybe you should just keep the lathe. You never know when the bug will bite and if it's not in the way you'd already own it.
If you're doing casework now how about spending a Saturday making wooden knobs for your case work. A great way to learn the use of the tool and you won't spend a bundle on wood or time.
I've got an old Rockwell Delta Lathe and it gets used every now and then but when it is used it sure pays for itself. I guess if worse came to worse you'd have a great antique someday!
I have a lathe and I think in the last couple of years I've probably used it only three or four times. It just isn't all that necessary with the furniture that I make because I don't turn legs unless someone specifically wants that and I never use turned knobs. Projects that I have used it for were oddball projects, like a 16" diameter tapered vessel, making dowels out of specific woods, and tool handles. All of which I could have tackled another way. If my lathe were worth something, I might sell it, but it isn't, so I guess it will sit gathering dust.
John,
My 2 cents. Keep it. If you have the room.
I don't have a lathe, well I've got a Shopsmith, but I'm not calling that POC a lathe. For the first part of this learning curve that I'm on, my projects had nothing that required the use of a lathe. Now that I'm getting into WW full bore, and the projects are getting more diverse and complicated, I wish I had a lathe. I can't imagine that I'd use one more then a handfull of times a year, but when you need a lathe, not much else will work.
J5,
You might be able to develop some "muscle memory" and focus your development on some specific lathe skills by taking on a project that requires you to make multiples of a fairly simple object. Pepper mills, cylindrical mallets, bats for local little leaguers, rolling pins, etc.
My turning skills are limited to the tasks I've had to learn in order to complete specific projects, which I initially tackled by preparing several poplar 2" x 2" blanks and practicing the basics repeatedly: turning them into cylinders with a gouge; using a parting tool and calipers to subdivide each practice piece into various sections with their own diameters; turning coves and beads, etc.
Maybe a local charity, or some sales at a swap meet, would provide the incentive you're looking for. Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
mount an inflateable drum sander in it..use it for that..
a faceplate style sanding disc also works..make a table for the tool rest..
you don't have a lathe..you have a sanding center
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
This is one of the fundamental questions of life, right?
I've got a double garage full of things I know I'll need one day, and never have. And, more to the point, now that I'm older than mumble mumble, and a recreational woodworker, never will.
My life would be simpler, my working space much larger, and my fire risk lower if I just got rid of it.
But here's the dilemma.
Once, about 16 years ago, I sold all the larger capital items, and a lot of the smaller stuff, from what was then a fully-functional professional wood shop that took six years to build up (don't ask, it made sense at the time).
Almost straight away I wished I hadn't. Now, I really wish I hadn't.
If it's not eating any grass, and you've got the space, and you're not trading up, keep it, mate.
Edited 4/23/2004 1:37 am ET by kiwimac2
A neighbor came over last night to chat and I told him of my thought process and he shook his head. Never, ever get rid of a tool, unless you have multiples and you're getting rid of the lower end one, he said. He looked around my shop and said disassemble it and hoist it up into the ceiling. Plenty of unused space up there, and when you want to get to it, well, it's right there. I thought that was a brilliant idea. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it.
So thanks everyone for the input, and sorry to the bloke who wanted to swap for the lower-end one. :-)
Jazz,
You are exactly right. My turning skills improved when I took on a job turning replacement spindles for a stairway balustrade. 40 some spindles, poplar, 1 1/4" sq, various lengths up to about 40". It's fun to be able to watch someone who has turned windsor chair legs all day every day for years just crank out a turning in a few minutes. Like many other craft skills, repetition brings speed. For the rest of us, it is remarkable enough to be able to do it at all, like Johnson's comment about the dog walking on its hind legs. Practice!!
Cheers,
Ray
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