Just wondering which would those of you out there purchase first?
My opinion is: like much else in life, decisions like this depend on what you like or hope to do.
CORING: I had a McNaughton coring system for a long time and it worked well. But I eventually gave it away. 1, I found preferred to turn smaller, detailed things than bowls and bowls and more bowls. 2, I didn't always like the bowl shape limitations the coring system tried to dictate.
From my decades of turning, I realize that bowl and bigger bowl turning is a huge focus for many, and there is, of course, nothing wrong with that. For some, it's a passion. For some it's a big money maker. I noticed turners who don't focus on turning for income sometimes drift away from turning so many bowls. I've turned a bunch, some to the limit of the lathe, but my average now is probably close to one per year and most are relatively small. With the exception of a few I kept for examples, I make them and give them away. One observation, more people seem to like moderately small bowls instead of big bowls. Big bowls need more of the sometimes limited space in the house. Smaller bowls can be easier to display or put away when not in use. (same with platters)
Another thing: I've known several people who loved to turn big bowls and platters but fell in love and couldn't part with any! I visited one turner's house and nearly every wall, surface, and shelf was covered with big turnings. He hinted his wife was unreasonably unhappy about it. Turning more smaller things and giving them away spreads the joy - I once gave a young lady named Olivia a ring keeper made from olivewood and she got teary eyed: "This is the nicest present I've ever gotten in my life" Yikes!!
And it's wonderful to find people who have never had, and occasionally someone who says they've never even held, a hand-turned bowl or small platter!
One thing I realized when coring was the tendency to let the tool shape define the bowl shape. I'd rather waste the wood and get the shape I wanted. (Admittedly, this is a lot easier when not turning for quantity or sale and where wood is, like in this part of the country, always abundant and free!)
BED EXTENSION: I'd hate be without the bed extension on my PM3520b. (I mount it as an extension, not to turn larger diameters.) It gets the tailstock out of the way for elbow and tool handle room without having to break my back or add a swing-away.
It lets me turn long spindles which I do on occasion.
I also take advantage of the extra bed length keep working sets of tools at hand without risking them rolling off the bed! Long ago I started making tool trays from plywood and now have variations with even more space, often keep two on the same lathe. The surface is covered with carpet, short sides keep the tools from rolling, and the block on the bottom keeps the tray from tipping while allowing it to slide in the bed gap. Also good for keeping hand scrapers and soft sanding blocks at hand. (These trays are more practical, of course, for tools without mega handles.)
This is the first one I made, for my 1st real lathe, a Jet1642:
I position the tray(s) to the left or right of the tailstock depending on what I'm doing. Always take them to demos. Try one, you may like it!
A bed extension makes these even more useful, hate to be without it. The downside is the factory extensions are so stinking expensive! Fortunately, mine came with the used PM lathe I bought. However, I've seen pictures of some that people have built from wood, steel, or a combination, sometimes as tailstock swing-aways. Lathes often come with multiple mounting holes which makes mounting a shop-built extension easier.
But to each his own. Wouldn't life be boring if we all liked and did the same thing?!
JKJ
