I’m thinking of finally buying a lathe for myself. I’m mainly interested in being able to turn knobs, small objects, bowls (not too large) , chair spindles and table legs, maybe even a table pedestal. Right now most of what I do in the shop involves case construction. Eventually however I would like to learn chair making. My shop right now consists of a large one car garage which houses a table saw, portable planer, a Veritas workbench and a benchtop router table, so space is somewhat limited. I’m also considering buying a 6″ jointer. Space is going to be tight, but I believe it will be workable.
I’m in a quandry as to what kind of lathe I should buy. Obvoiusly, I would love to be able to afford to buy a One Way, regretably, that isn’t going to happen for me anytime soon. I was wondering what you all thought about some of the midi-type lathes? In particular, I have been looking at the small Rikon. I noticed recently that it got fairly good reviews in FW. What intrigues me about the Rikon is the fact that additional bed extensions are available , giving it the capability of handling longer type work, even exceeding 4′-0″. It also has a pretty good over the bed capacity.
My question here is this….when it comes to spending under 1K, hopefully, (tools, stand and extensions included), would this lathe would be my best buy? Does the Rikon have enough power? I must admit changing speeds with this one will be somewhat of a hassle, but given the other features maybe this isn too big of a deal? What are your thoughts?
By the way Frenchy, I received loads of rave reviews on the garnet shellac finish I wound up using on the walnut armoire, many thanks for the advice.
Replies
I've been struggling with many of the same issues--except that space is an even bigger problem in my extremely small shop. (What to do with the lathe when it's not being used?) My interest is in turning furniture parts, particularly for tables, chars and casework.
Considered the Rikon midi, but after exploring the limitations and upgrade-ability of that and some other lathes, along with cost considerations, I orderd the Jet 1442VS. It will turn a spindle up to about 40 inches or so and I can add an extension for even longer pieces.
Woodcraft's web site showed it at $899.99 but my local Woodcaft store has a 10% off sale which makes it $810 plus tax. Picked up 4 moderately priced tools (Pinnacle brand) for about another $100.
I think this might be a lathe with sufficient flexibility that I won't soon outgrow it. But the unit won't arrive for another week so I can't tell you yet how well my decision is working out.
Good luck on your decision and let us know what you decide on.
Bob
Last summer I was at the same point and purchased a Jet JML-1014 which included a Teknatool midi chuck. With two kids under three I used the lathe on my workbench for about 90 minutes all of last year. I bought the lathe to turn furniture parts like knobs, spindles and legs. It was a little awkward to move the lathe from a low shelf to the bench so at Christmas time I ordered the appropriate stand (JML-S).
Last month (with my wifes support) I took a 4-day class through my local Woodcraft and built a Windsor chair. With only 90 minutes of prior turning experience it took me a little over 18 hours over 2+ days to turn the legs, stretchers, and front spindles. For me gaining some experience turning was as important as learning how to build the chair. I had more than a few disagreements with the 3/8" spindle gouge. During the class I turned on a Jet JML-1014, Jet JWL-1642EVS and a Oneway 1224. Given my lack of experience and the work I was doing the Jet JML-1014 worked just as well as the others for me. I'm confident the Rikon would be similar.
I'm now gearing up to build at least 3 more chairs and have purchased a 9" tool rest, bed extension (JML-BE) and stand extension (JML-S-BEJ) along with a Oneway safe driver and live center kit.
As many have proved, the lathe is just the beginning in terms of cost. Right now the $269 spent for the lathe/chuck combo has morphed into approximately $900 including the Sorby tools and accessories. The next item on the list is a sharpening system which can handle the swept back fingernail gouge profile more consistently than my free-hand attempts using a 1" sander/grinder.
Have fun buying your new lathe.
Thanks for the advice. I'll certainly look into the Jet. I too will not attempt chairbuilding with out taking a class. Fortunately for me, my Brother-in-law has a cabin just a few miles from Dunbars place (Windsor Institute) in NH that he's offered to let me use whenever (maybe this Summer).
What about tools, what would you suggest for the "basic set"?
The "basic" tool set I purchased to do the turnings for a Windsor chair included: 3/8" spindle gouge; 3/4" roughing gouge, 3/16" diamond parting tool, 1/16" narrow parting tool, 3/4" SpindleMaster.
NOTE: I'm not a 100% sure but it is my understanding that the Dunbar program provides the turnings already completed.
If that's the case, I'm not going to do it. I'm not looking for a paint by numbers class. Thanks for pointing that out.
B.
If you are interested in getting a feel for the Windsor chair making process I would be happy to provide you with my notes. Shoot me an email at [email protected] and I would be happy to share them with you.
My class (building a Sack Back) was four days (over two weekends) and did have homework. My homework consisted of "pulling" the seven back spindles with a spokeshave and final "saddling" of the seat. I rough saddled the seat in class but cleaned up the scorp marks at home. The thing I liked about this format was because it was over two weekends, I could catch up (do homework) and reflect on the process during the week. The other things I liked were the class was local and a little less expensive than some of the others. There were four students and two instructors, one of whom has built over 1,200 chairs in the last 25 years working part time.
Mike Dunbar wrote a nice book entitled something like "Woodturning for Cabinet Makers". It is a nice how to book and helped me as I'd never turned before.
I have an old (25 year old?) Craftsman lathe. I put it on a heavy wooden stand. It works ok for what I do with it. It won't turn a nice bowl as the clearance is only a few inches. I bought it used for $50. Eventually it will get replaced as I get older and turn more. However, it is a cheap and usable solution.
Frank
Thanks
There's also "Turning for Furniture" by Ernie Conover. Order it directly from Ernie and it will arrive with a very nice inscription.
http://www.conoverworkshops.com/shop/
David
I agree. Ernie's books are great. I wonder if he is still selling the Conover lathe?
Frank
The Conover lathe has been out of production for 5 years. Prior to that Ernie's family sold the business.
We recently acquired a Conover lathe. Now I need to build a set of ways and legs.
I admire you for having the guts to buy a lathe. One day I hope to have one but at this point I know nothing about turning wood. I have a thought concerning your buying a joiner and having limited space. I’ve taken care of my limited space problem by building stands for all my equipment and attaching wheels. Most of my equipment is jammed into a corner of my garage and I pull it out one piece at a time as needed.
steveky
I had never turned a single piece on a lathe, I bought one, and a few tools and went at it.. inside of a few hours I'd figured out the hows and have picked up the tricks by watching various shows on TV..
Mine isn't on a perminant stand I clamp it to what is my workbench when I use it..
when not I shove it out of my way..
Now here's the remarkable thing..
I bought mine at Sears.. now I hate Sears and the usual lathe they sell is a tube frame thing that's sadly lacking..
However they do have a nice one.. it's big enough to make legs and spindes from cast iron base and variable speed. plus the head turns for making bowls and such..
It sells for more thn your $1000 limit but Sears often has sales.. when they do if you sign up for their credit card (not that you have to use it), but if you simply sign up for it you get an additional 15% discount.. if you take the floor model that's an additional 10% discount.. thus you can buy one from Sears for well under the $1000.00 budget you had..
I am not going to make a recommendation for a particular lathe but, I will recommend finding an AAW chapter close to you and paying them a visit. Find one at:
http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/members.pl?submit=Chapter+List
Our chapter has members with just about every spectrum of lathe and price range. Narrow your choices down based on discussions with people you know and can talk with face to face about the pros and cons of each model. Often, a member will be upgrading and will offer his current lathe for sale. There are also educational opportunities and demos from which to learn. Be careful though, it is addictive.
Steve
I've thought about the storage issues as well. Come to think of it, when you get down to it, having a midi (that's not kept on a benchtop but off in a corner when not in use (valuable spece in my shop), isn't much different than having a smaller stationary one kept in the same corner.
I have been considering a Jet also. I guess the cost may be the driving factor here though (that is quality of machines being equal, even if the Rikon is smaller) .
billibobb
I've owned several lathes over the years,never bought one new. The lathe is a very simple tool. Some of the best furniture ever made was done without electric power. I paid about 1000 for my present Yates- American J-170. It's great! 400#, variable speed, gap-bed. I think it's about 50 years old.
When not in use as a lathe it becomes a great disc sander. 12" plywood on a face plate, with a table resting between the bed rails. It's nece to have a varible speed sander.
Look around! you might find a treasure.
Tom
Billibobb
Look at Sears!
Now I hate Sears I've had some real bad experiance with them. But they sell a pretty good lathe.. Not that tube frame thingie.. that's pretty weak. They sell a cast iron framed one that's actually pretty good..It's more than your $1000.00 budget but you can still buy it within your budget..
A couple of the good features are it's big enough to make decent sized projects with, the cast iron base is steady enough for good work.. and the head swivals for bowl work plus it's a variable speed..
Wait untill they have a sale Like fathers day etc. then it's about 15% off. Sign up for their credit card (you don't have to use it, simply sign up for it) that's another 15% off and if you take the floor model you get another 10% off..
you can now buy the lathe and tools.
Don't buy a stand.. clamp it to your work bench when you use it. make your own stand,
I'll look into this possibility the next time at at Sears.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled