Potential Lathe

[Odie]

I think what wears down turning tools, most especially gouges, is when a new turner experiments with various grinds. Each time a grind is altered, it quickly removes metal, and the result is.....it gets shorter faster.

As the turner establishes those grinds that he likes, he will remove the bare minimum of metal in order to true up the existing grind. When maintaining a single grind over the life of a gouge, it will last 10x longer than switching the grinds at random.

ooc

 

[Mark Porter]

First, I'm the guy with the Jet1236 for sale and I can't deliver that far, sorry. Thanks for the mention guys.

I also have that same Sears lathe. It is not great to say the least. It was given to me barley used. I would not spend money on it after trying it. Very under powered and cheaply made. Tool rest and tail stock are pretty good not so much the rest of it. It has no reeves drive, it's a variable electronic geared drive. A bit fast on slow and slow on fast. A single headstock bearing and the gearing contribute to a vibration which increases with speed. There are almost no parts available from Sears. My lathe was purchased in 1995 and they were still offered in 2004.

 

[Duane Meadows]

The Craftsman may turn a 13" bowl if you make very light cuts. I own one of those. It can be stalled very easily. I didn't pay much over $400 for it new.

The motor is a DC unit, that runs thru a 4 to 1 reduction gear box. The head stock is not hollow. Vacuum chucking is not a possibility. The lathe has only one main bearing. It runs noisy, with considerable backlash in the gearing.

The lathe bed casting is vastly superior to the later reeves drive version, though.

I also have one of the older tubular Craftsman lathes, also. It runs much smoother, it is actually useable for smaller turning.

My advice... don't do it. Much better lathes available for that kind of money!

Edit.. Just seen this is a rather old post!