which lathe to buy?

[xli1]

I am totally new to the wood turning. I have no idea of which lathe to choose. I am planning to turn some bowl and plate, and maybe some other stuff, could be 2' in length. I want to get a middle end lathe so I don't have to upgrade in near future. Could anybody give me some suggestions? I have looked the PSI lathe with extension bed from Amazon.com, if this one good enough for my needs? Also, what other accessories should I get in order to turn bowl and plate? Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

[Russianwolf]

I would not get a lathe to turn bowls without full VS capability (the psi lathe still requiresbelt changes with the VS, just fewer). When working on blanks that are out of balance you need to be able to adjust speeds quickly and easily. You want to turn the piece as fast as possible without too much vibration, so you'll start slow and work up the speed as you true the piece more and more.

Given that, I'd look at something like this http://www.grizzly.com/products/16-x...od-Lathe/G0632

The 0492 is a nice lathe too, but it doesn't go slow enough for big out of round blanks.

Both JET and Powermatic have versions of both these that are more expensive. You have to decide which will fit for you better, I personally thing you are paying more for the name on the others, But then I have an 0462 in my shop.

I have a PSI Turncrafter Pro also, selling it this weekend, and it's a nice lathe, but the belt changes are annoying.

[American & Proud]

BAD advice!

Do NOT get a grizzly lathe!

Grizzly is NOT a good choice in a lathe.

Get the JET 1642 for only about 200.00 more. Amazon also has Free Shipping on it at the moment.http://www.amazon.com/708359-JWL-164...1664390&sr=8-1

You will be MUCH Happier with the Jet over that grizzly lathe.

Now, onto the PSI mini, I know several who have had problems with it and ended up shipping it back (at their own costs)and getting a jet mini and wishing they had just done so to begin with.

Jet has several Mini models to choose from.

Look at used quality lathes over those cheapy ones you will Regret buying later on.

Buy ONCE cry ONCE.

Alot of turners will be upgrading to the New Jet 1220VS so keep your eyes and ears open and be ready to pounce on their practically new 1014's 1014VS or even their 1220's to get the new 1220VS

If you don't want to be upgrading in the very near future spend the money NOW on at least the Jet 1442 or 1642 ( Go with the 1642 )

That will last you a good long time before the upgrade bug BITES you, and it will, just alot sooner if you buy a small lathe.

Don't get me wrong, grizzly does make some good tools, but their lathes leave alot to be desired.

Most all lathes will supply some basics like a way too large 6" faceplate, so you should get say a 3" faceplate.
a drive spur and live center most likely will be included too. ect.

A Chuck can wait, they ARE NICE to have but there are other ways to mount bowl blanks for now.
I have 9 chucks at present. (I HATE changing jaws)

You can start with a Harbor Freight HHS set of chisels and then get a Bowl Gouge as neither of the HF sets includes one.

Get the Woodcraft 8" slow speed grinder, it comes with the Right wheels for grinding your HSS tools, Its a GOOD value for your bucks.

Also get the Oneway Wolverine sharpening System and get the Vari-Grind Accessory to go with it.
Get the 15.00 Diamond wheel dresser from Woodcraft , it works fine and I like it better than the 70.00 Oneway one.

You should be pretty much set to get started right.

Of course you'll need wood, and the other tools will come over time and as you learn what YOU need next.

(Use 2X4's cut in 1/2 length wise for spindle practice, don't waste wood you paid for, you can get free pieces from most any construction site, look at new houses being build, drive up and ask, you'll get all you need Free.)

Most likely a Chuck will be your next choice after a bowl gouge.

Once you get sharpening down pat (WATCH the VIDS on Oneways website)and you know more about your style of turning, and needs, you can add more expensive chisels/gouges.

Good luck, have Fun, and ASK questions.

[Russianwolf]

[QUOTE=American & Proud;347795][B][I][FONT="Times New Roman"][SIZE="3"]BAD advice!

[QUOTE]

No offense but what part of my advice was bad? I said Something LIKE the Griz, and mentioned both the JET and Powermatic versions that have almost identical specs.

If you don't like Griz, that's your opinion. I know many people, myself included that love their Griz lathes.

If you are one that is going to suggest buying one lathe and never having to upgrade, Jet isn't the answer. For that, You'd be looking at a Oneway, Vicmarc or VB.

Second, get rid of the bold type. No one likes it when you yell. (bold in a post is yelling).

[eezlock]

which lathe to buy?

You will probably receive many opinions as to what lathe to buy based on personal prefrences. I like my Jet 1014I, it does a great job and I'm buying accessories as the money permits. I just recently bought a scroll chuck at Woodcraft ( WoodRiver brand) and it works really well.

I don't have any personal experience with the PSI Turncrafter lathe, but I will say this...based on what I have read on other forums about turning, Jet,Delta, SteelCity,seem to get the best reviews in the mini sized lathe, Oneway, Powermatic and some others get the nod here for the larger sized lathes. I would read as much info. as I could concerning the type and size lathe I wanted and then start chasing them down on e-bay. amazon or the retail stores before putting the money on the counter for one!

Personally speaking, I would stay away from the tube style lathe, can be hard to keep in alignment to the headstock, a cast iron flat bedways lathe is better and more stable. You might want to give a look on Craig's list or ebay
and try to pick up a good used lathe, most likely would be cheaper than new
and that way you could decide if you really like turning or not!


Until I bought my lathe a while back, I had not even turned on a lathe in
over 40 years ( back in high school days) it was like the first time seeing an old, long lost friend again! I love it! and you probably will too!

A few people say they have good luck with HF lathe chisels, I don't know
about them, I would recommend that ,they would be a STARTER set, after
a while if you get into turning and really like it, move up to Pinnacle brand
or Sorby...they are good and expensive too! But you get what you pay for here, the better the chisel(quality), the easier the turning will be! Hope this clear things up a little....eezlock

[American & Proud]

Grizzly is not well known for their lathes. Thats a pretty common concensus among a multitude of turners. Their low speeds are far to fast on most of their lathes, Motors are exaggerated HP.
(Like Harbor Freight claiming 2HP on their DC unit.)
They do not seem to be designed by woodturners, for woodturners.

For 200.00 more and a 5 year warranty the Jet 1642 is a Much Better lathe choice than the grizzly copy version. Weather you care to believe it or not.

I own 7 lathes , 3 Delta's, 3 Jets, and now a Powermatic 3520B.

I have turned on a Fully Loaded Oneway 2436 lathe. It would not be my choice of a last lathe.

Maybe a VB36, The Robust All American Beauty, or a Stubby S1000, those would fit my turning style better than a Oneway.

For now I believe I bought wisely and getting the best bang for my buck with the Powermatic 3520B. I could afford any one of the others, but did not feel the need to upgrade to one of them, feeling the Powermatic filled my turning needs at this point and time.

I own a Grizzly 17" Band Saw, good machine for the money, even better for what I got it for.

Read my post thoroghly, I Never said nor suggested it would be a last lathe. I mearly said a larger one over a mini lathe would prolong the BITE to upgrade soon after getting a mini lathe.

I still think it's bad advice to recommend a grizzly lathe. No offence was meant to you personally.

And bolded font is Not considered yelling. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS.

[Alex Franke]

I picked up the Delta LA200 for about $120 shipping included during an Amazon sale a while ago, and I absolutely love it. Personally I think it makes sense to start out small, and for only $120 in this case I really couldn't pass it up. It's a good proof of concept -- if I get good at this level, then stepping up later won't be such a gamble.

That said, I've never even tried to turn a bowl or a plate, so I won't even presume to recommend it for your needs... Because you said you were new to wood turning, I just wanted to point out that an inexpensive machine might be a good way to test the water before you dive in.

BTW, I've always known Russianwolf to give pretty good advice... For example, he's right: the belt changes are annoying.

[Anna]

I'm a relatively new turner, and I got the Jet JWL-1236 because I thought it's a good mid-sized lathe to begin with. Although I can live with it, especially since it's a Christmas present from my husband, I can already see all the limitations once I started bowl turning.

One neat thing about it is that the headstock can rotate 90° to allow turning larger diameter bowls/plates (~16"). Haven't tried that yet (the largest bowl I've turned so far is ~10"), but will be doing so once I find a large enough blank.

The big problem, though, is the lack of continuously variable speed. It has 6 fixed speeds, and I don't have to manually change the belts which is a blessing, but I'd really like more control of the speed.

To get a really good lathe with variable speed, you're looking at spending ~$1500. I'm not sure if you want to invest that much money into something you've never used before.

A mini lathe will make bowls and platters, you're just limited by the maximum diameter the lathe will swing and also the motor rating. The PSI lathe, for example, is only .5 hp. I know someone who said that at that rating, a bad catch will make the lathe stop spinning. So that will also limit the size of the bowl.

I don't really know what to suggest in terms of which to buy. If you're sure you are going to stick with it, then skip the small lathes and go straight for the bigger ones like the Jet 1442. It's still not a continuous variable speed lathe, but it has more speed settings than my 1236. If you can afford it, go with something like the Jet 1642 or equivalent.

For turning tools, I bought a Benjamin Best scraper from Penn State and I love it. I'm thinking of buying more of their turning tools, especially since they're much cheaper than Sorbies. I bought a set of Sorbies on sale at Woodcraft at a good price. Woodturnerscatalog.com is having a sale right now on turning tools and you might like to head that way. In any case, always look for HSS (high speed steel).

For bowls, you'll need a chuck. Again, the PSI chucks are well-priced (I just bought a set), although if you're buying a $1500 lathe, you might buy the OneWay chucks for 2 to 3 times the price.

With face plates, my lathe came with a 6" (I think) face plate. I also bought a 2" version which I'm still to use. I think a 3" one will be good for most things.

Lastly, you have to have a good sharpening system. Believe me, I learned that the hard way. Some people can sharpen their gouges without jigs. I can't, so I bought a set of Wolverine sharpening jigs. I think there are other kinds out there.

Really really really figure out what you want and how much you can afford. It's a very addictive hobby. And a big potential cash sinkhole.

Good luck!

[bfrikken]

I would really recommend keeping an eye on craig's list or check outlocal woodworking stores to see if they have bulletin boards up with people selling used equipment. I have a woodcraft and a woodsource nearby and both have bulletin boards, and in fact both had used lathes for sale a little out of my price range, but very reasonable if you look at your requirements.

[guycox]

Nove 1644 is a good choice

The Nova is my 3rd lathe after a Shopsmith and a Jet 1014. It's been able to do all I've wanted to do at the momemnt (except turn a 20" spruce burl). I've added the Jameison Hollowing Jig with the short bed back rest.

I really don't miss the VS. I ususlly statically balance the big pieces and turn the between centers to true it up, I can then move the axis a bit at a time to get it to where I want it.

The Nove was recently on sale at Woodcraft for $999. I'm hoping that I can get the outboard turning rest with my Birthday discount.

[JR]

Do any of the above recommendations change if the goals change? I'm intersted in turning legs and spindles mostly. Bowl turning sounds intruiging, but is further down my list of priorities?

Is the Grizzly adequate for my purposes? Do I need to "move up" to something else, given my priorities?

JR

[American & Proud]

Grizzly doesn't have a good track record on wood lathes. For Example this 20" is almost rated at the Bottom in every category. Not by me, but by Fine Woodworking. May/June 2007.

Poorly designed, as most all their lathes are, has pretty much useless "bells & whistles" like the sander where the hand wheel should be located at. You can not use a knockout bar, nor do vacuum chucking it would seem.

As I said before, grizzly lathes leave alot to be desired, not designed by woodturners for woodturners.

You have to be a paid member to access Finewoodworkings website, so I will post a link to Teknatools website that has the article available in PDF format. Tool Test- Heavy-Duty Lathes.http://www.teknatool.com/products/La...April%2007.pdf

Not only in this article but in several reviews the Grizzly lathes do not fair well.

For Spindle work, you could pick up a Used Delta/Rockwell 12" swing lathe
with VS from CL or a school, these older lathes are Designed for Spindle work and are true workhorses. and Made in the U.S.of A. Easily restored, easy to get parts still. Prices are all over the place but real DEALS can be found by someone practically giving them away. A Powermatic 45 is currently for sale on Woodnet forums real cheap. He is asking $250.00 for it.
Here is a pic of a Powermatic 45 ( NOT the actual one for sale. Just to give you an idea what they look like. )


On SMC someone just added a 3phase 1HP motor and VS Drive replacing the Reeves drive to modernize the lathe. He cleaned it up and used Rustoleum Machine Gray and has a very nice spindle machine.
His Pic.


Look at Woodnet and SMC for others feelings about grizzly lathes too.

I have about 2500 posts on Woodnet and around 500 on SMC and posts on other woodworking and woodturning sites as well.

And again, I now own a Grizzly 17" Bandsaw and it is a Great machine. I am NOT knocking Grizzly, just their woodturning lathes are not the best choice.

[Russianwolf]

JR, call Griz and ask to be put in touch with someone locally that owns the lathe you are interested in. You'll at least get to talk to someone who uses the lathe on the phone and possibly invited to come try it out in their shop.

I'll take the opinions of owners over magazines reviewers anyday. I mean, how does our beloved BT3 rate in the magazines?

[leehljp]

You don't want to buy a top of the line or even a top rated model if you are not sure you want to continue (Unless your money is unlimited). But if you feel that you are going to be doing this for a long time, then getting a higher end would be wise.

I only turn pens and got the smallest decent lathe that I could that would handle pens accurately. I liked it and soon (within a year) found that I had out grown it. I bought a larger lathe but not a VS (electronically Variable Speed). I would have saved considerable money if I had just bought one VS at the beginning.

Most people never know until they give it a try. The pen turning forums are full of members that gave it a try for a few months to a year and just stopped. I am sure this happens to people who turn bowls too.

[leehljp]

American & Proud,

All caps is considered yelling in type, especially when ALL of the text is all caps. However, with common sense intact, one word or two in a group as all caps, it is not usually taken as yelling but as emphasis by most.

The same basic thing happens (internet rules or not) when everything is "all bold". "Bold", which is intended for emphasis, looses its punch when applied to the whole post, and often achieves the opposite effect on the reader from what was intended. "All bold" and or "italics" are not effective communication tools - except when it is your boss that is using it. And the whole point behind postings is to "communicate."