What Lathe

[onewaywood]

Now that warmer weather is coming what inexpensive lathe
would anyone recomend that I can pick up and carry out to the garage or
backyard ???? For turning small items such as Pens and bottle stoppers.

 

[Rob Wallace]

Get a mini-lathe - do a search ...

Onewaywood (you originally from Canada?):

You will likely be advised by many to get some sort of mini-lathe - there will be a wide range of opinions as to which one to get, whether it should have variable speed or not, and whether you see yourself graduating to a larger lathe soon.

For many, the Jet Mini-lathe has been the entry point to woodturning - it is a solid machine, whether you get the step-pulley 'standard' version, or spend another $ 100 to get the variable speed. People have also been happy with the Delta Midi-lathe, and several new versions of mini-lathes now offered by a range of manufacturers (...including Oneway!). In addition to my Jet 1642-2HP, I also own a Jet mini-lathe for taking to turning demonstrations I do, to allow my 10 year old son to turn with me in the shop, and to have an extra lathe around for smaller projects while I have other bigger ones in progress on the 1642. I have been VERY happy with the standard (step pulley) mini lathe for the past 5 years or so.

I suggest you do a search on these topics in the past threads of the AAW forum, as well as searches on the Woodcentral-Woodturning and other related web sites - this exact topic has been discussed MANY, MANY times before, and you can benefit by reading past posts to get a good overview. You can then formulate specific questions about certain lathes which can be answered a bit more specifically.

Welcome to woodturning!! - Be sure to learn as much as you can about the tools before you begin, and always turn safely.

Rob Wallace

 

[dkulze]

Jet Mini. Bomb proof lathe of choice for most beginner and clubs. Personally, I'd skip the variable speed and sink the 100 into a stand and/or chuck. Wonderful little lathe and perfect for what you're describing.

Dietrich

 

[Dario]

As posted on another forum....Jet mini. I highly recommend the VS version if you can afford the $100.00 extra.

I too have it (as well as a bigger lathe) and can't ask for more for what I paid for it.

 

[john lucas]

I'm a fan of the Jet mini also but would probably take a look at the new Rikon mini. If you want something a little lighter in weight with a little less capacity but still very solid look at the Carbo-Tec mini lathe. I often use this for Demos as schools because it's light enough to carry up a flight of stairs. I've turned a lot of wood on that thing. It's a very solid performer.

 

[ahoiberg]

i, also, will recommend the jet-mini. i got the newest version of it, the 1014I which has an indexing pin, although i haven't been able to figure out what it's used for.

i've turned quite a few pens/pencils on it with great results and turned my first mallet on it last night.

the only problem i've had with it is the tailstock assembly seems a little loose, it wants to slide if i put too much pressure on the crank, but after getting some advice from some others, i've adapted my mounting method and it seems to have solved the problem.

i got it on amazon.com for $250 with shipping included, not bad for a starting rig. the pulley system is easy to change speeds on, i'd agree with the previous post who said to sink that extra $100 into a stand or some tools or something...

 

[onewaywood]

Thanks for the reply's, and yes the Jet would be the way to go
but thats more than I can spend.I was considering the proformax on amazon its 103.00 and free shipping
but the 3/4 x 16 and number 1 morse taper makes me a little leary.

 

[Brodie Brickey]

Thanks for the reply's, and yes the Jet would be the way to go
but thats more than I can spend.I was considering the proformax on amazon its 103.00 and free shipping
but the 3/4 x 16 and number 1 morse taper makes me a little leary.

If you're going to get a lathe. make sure its in the standard sizes. 8x1 TPI MT#2. You will end up buying stuff and then not being able to use it when you muscle up to a larger lathe. If you like pen & bottle stopper turning, you'll love [ insert options here (bowl, hollowform, platters,ect) ] and next thing you know, you have 4 face plates, 2 chucks and a lot of turning tools. The plates and chucks won't be usable on your new lathe next year and you'll have trouble selling them because they're an off size.

 

[jimbob91577]

My Experience...

4 years ago I purchased a "Shop Fox" mini lathe from a local hardware store where I live. This was my first lathe and I had very few problems with it. It had the 3/4 x 16 // 1MT head you are desribing and a small Electronic Variable Speed(EVS) motor (1/3hp I think), thus turning objects larger than 4" square would cause the motor to bog down easily. I also purchased a $50 Grizzly chuck to complement this lathe and a couple sets of tools. This is what I used to learn on.

Now that I have my full size lathe, this little lathe is used primarily as a buffing station, for drilling out holes using a jacob's chuck and drill bit, and will be used for teaching my kids how to turn.

Hindsight being 20/20 - I would have purchased a lathe that had a standard spindle head size (1x8 //2MT) only because of the cross compatibility of the Face plate, Chucks, and Centers, however there are adapters available from Penn State that may solve that problem.

 

[Mike Cunningham]

If you can't afford the Jet, take a look at Penn State's Turncrafter midi and pen lathes, they're between $139 and $179. Not a bad lathe, our club owns 6 of these along with 5 Jet minis.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/lathes.html

 

[Jake Debski]

Thanks for the reply's, and yes the Jet would be the way to go
but thats more than I can spend.I was considering the proformax on amazon its 103.00 and free shipping
but the 3/4 x 16 and number 1 morse taper makes me a little leary.

I have found the lathe was the least expensive part of the turning equation. All the other must haves have driven the cost up substantially.

 

[dkulze]

Also, Rockler has a no-name chinese knock off of the Jet Mini that is actually a pretty decent starter lathe. I'd guess you'd burn out the bearings eventually if you did alot of off balance heavy pieces but for pens and small turnings, should work fine. Runs about 150.

Dietrich

 

[GA Darling]

onewaywood,
I've owned the Penn State Turncrafter Pro for three years now. So far I have no complaints about this lathe. It has done everything I've wanted to do with it. For the price you can't go wrong.
I've used the Jet mini and Delta mini. I would put the Turncrafter Pro up against both of them.

GA. Darling