Which Lathe to buy

[MNaber]

I am looking to buy my first lathe; I will mostly be turning table and chair legs. I am thinking of getting the 2436, but would like to know what other comparable lathes I should consider.

 

[Jeff Jilg]

This is a frequent question to the forum. Consider using the Search button to lookup "lathe purchase" or to type in the model you are evaluating.

 

[hockenbery]

Unless you plan to do really big bowls, you won't need the capacity of the 2436 for table legs.

Oneway lathes are certainly a pleasure to use.

The 1640 Oneway would be a great lathe for spindles and is big enough comfortably turn 14" bowls.

For a lot less bucks the the Jet 1640 would be a good choice too.

If you plan to turn 4 hours a day 5 days a week then look seriously at the Oneway. If you plan to turn 4 hours a month, look more at the Jet.

The jet would stand up to the 20 hour work week but you would be turning enough to appreciate the smoothness, postive locking, and ergonomics of the Oneway.

Height is critcal if you turn 4 hours a day. You have several choices for the Oneway. Find a lathe to try out so you know what height.

CHECK OUT the Onway drill master. I think this would be a must for production chair legs.

Happy Turning,
Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

For spindle turning, the Jet 1236 is more than adequate, but it would be a bit small for faceplate turning anything larger than about six inches diameter. The Jet 1442 variable speed lathe can take care of most things that you would be likely to turn and would suit the hobbyist woodworker just fine unless you wanted to turn something larger than 14 inches diameter. If you want to do production turning as a business then the Oneway might be something to consider.

Bill

 

[Gynia]

The Oneway 2436 is a terrific lathe for hobby/artistic turning. For spindle work the Laguna or MinMax lathes are low end furnature factory lathes. At a slightly lower end are Vega lathes. If my primary interest were making furnature parts on a lathe then the Laguna Pinnacle would be at the top of my list.

http://www.lagunatools.com/pinnicle.htm

http://www.lagunatools.com/lathe1200.htm

http://www.minimax-usa.com/lathes.html

Good Luck with your quest.