Lathest Addition to the Shop...

Congratulations, you lucky dog – you’ve got a great wife!! I bet we’ll be seeing some nice turnings coming off of that machine. You’re going to be having a lot of fun!

Now you can ship that little one on the floor to me ;^D

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Nice lathe! I see you use the underspace for storage as well. Me too. I think I might make a ramp that goes from the wall in a downward angle to try and keep the shavings off the stuff under the lathe. That looks like a worthy beast!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

THAT is a really nice lathe!! Congrats, Dorje, Enjoy to the max.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Hi Dorje;

Nice addition to any shop for sure! Your wife either likes you enough to buy it for you, or doesn’t like you enough to buy it for you.( could be she figures it will keep you out of her hair) Either way you win.

Have fun;

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Shoot, you already got the bigger lathe. Good for you, you certainly are deserving. Next to Karson and Frank I can’t think of anyone else as wood reverent as yourself.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Dorje -

WOW! Very cool addition to the shop. I am looking forward to future projects.

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

SWEEEET!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Can my wife like start hanging around your wife?.....way cool!

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

awesome.
The electrical deal must have hurt!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Good deal Dorje!
I find that his tool brings out the most relaxation of all my toys and the turnings become addictive after a few bowls.
Nice addtion to your shop.
p.s.You will really light the variable speed.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Congratulations and I thank your wife for the wonderful projects we will get to see in the future.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Dorje,

Very nice indeed! Nothing better than a new tool in the shop.

I’d like to hear your impressions of the Jet – that is the one with variable speed right? I have a Delta Midi lathe now and I’ve been thinking for quite a while that I want to upgrade. I’ve thought about the Jet and also the Nova DVR. The Jet looks a lot like the bigger Powermatic that always gets god marks. Be sure to let us know your thoughts.

-- Mark, Webster New York, Visit my website at http://thecraftsmanspath.com

Was the title a freudian slip? :::::Lathest Addition to the Shop…:::::

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

That thing is huge! Can you turn me a baseball bat?

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Very nice lathe Dorje, make many things and be careful of the spalted woods. Its a blast is’nt it. I miss mine, got the motor in getting an overhaul or whatever they do to electric motors for Delta lathes. Mine is an old Delta 46-745X a big one but just a boat anchor when it doesn’t run. Good latheing. mike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

Great looking lathe. The first tool my wife bought me was a welder on our first Christmas. Now I just get cheap drills along with the receipt so i can take them back and get what i want.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Hello,

(Bowing towards the turning gods, chanting “1642!, 1642!!!”)... Your wife is a keeper! I’ve turned on many 1642’s in the last few years, as I used to get a new one every week when I was demonstrating on The Woodworking Show Circuit. :-) Cool eh?

It’s a fine lathe and it has plenty of power. It was hard to give them up at the end of each show but I always knew that next week, another box would be waiting with a brand new 1642 in it that was just itching to make some shavings. :-)

Congrats again on your new “baby” and you might want to think about a Diamond necklace, or maybe some diamond earrings for your wonderful wife. Take care and all the best to you and yours!

Steve Russell
EWW, WVP, EWWFS
The Woodlands, Texas

-- Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry... http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

Thanks all -

Bob – no Freudian slip there, just trying to be witty…and I definitely like the variable speed. Starting a really wonky blank at any speed of my choosing is right up my alley!

Tom – your ramp idea is interesting…may lose space though? And clean up hasn’t been too bad. I kind of like the shavings that sit up on the tool cases; you can bed wet bowls in there! However, I wouldn’t want to leave wet shavings on my plywood floor; the floor would develop mold.

Mark – first impressions: I really like it! It’s a lot more lathe than I ever thought I’d have. It’s the little brother to the Powermatic 3520, though there is a 220v, 2hp Jet as well.

John – you must be some kind of slugger…

Mike – It is a blast! When do you get your motor back? Love the boat anchor metaphor…so true.

Steve – Good to hear your take on the lathe…that’s reassuring that i did the right thing! The Nova and the Powermatic (not to mention a Oneway or Vicmarc) were out of the range of possibility for me. And like I said, this is definitely more lathe than I thought I’d see in my shop – so am VERY pleased.

I wish I had more room in the shop. I really want it away from the wall to give me more room for movement – with hollowing cuts especially.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Hello Dorje,

I understand what you mean about lathe costs… I have $10,000.00 invested in my Oneway lathe and I still need a couple of things for it to really get it where it needs to be. :-o When you start adding up all of the tools, fixings and supplemental things you need to be a woodturner, it can really set you back. I’ve got enough invested in lathe tools to float a battleship and I’ still buying more…

You have a fine lathe that will serve you well for a long time. With the gawalop of cash you saved by not buying one of the other lathes, you can start acquiring all of the accessories you need to enjoy this hobby. Ya’ done good partner! (Texican for “Way Cool Dude”) Take care and all the best to you and yours!

Steve Russell
EWW, WVP, EWWFS
The Woodlands, Texas

-- Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry... http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

Thanks again Steve…

Hey – do you have a good recommendation for a 3/8 to 1/2” thick, 1 to 1and1/2, radiused scraper???

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Hello Dorje,

I really like the Henry Taylor Tools M2-HSS heavy duty radius edge shear scrapers… They come in 3/8” thickness, in various sizes from 3/4” to 1.5” in 1/4” increments. Don’t consider scrapers less than 3/8” thick, as there is too much vibration when you’re extended very far off the tool rest.

Although I have about 25 different scrapers, in various metal alloys and by numerous manufacturers, I still grab my Henry Taylor scrapers most of the time. Remember that with scrapers, you will be sharpening them very frequently as the tiny burr (if left), does not last very long.

The higher priced alloy scrapers do not offer much additional edge life for their substantially increased price, so I would look hard at the M2’s. The exotic alloys have their place (bowl gouges for example), but I don’t think they offer much additional benefit when used in scrapers. Take care and all the best to you and yours!

Steve Russell
EWW, WVP, EWWFS
The Woodlands, Texas

-- Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry... http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

Thanks Steve! I wasn’t too impressed with what the local Rockler and Woodcraft were offering – and that’s why I asked. For a first big scraper, which width should I go for…1.25”? I’ve been using a standard 3/4” wide round nose scraper, but it’s just way too light duty, and I definitley want the 3/8” minimum thickness! The next place I was going to go look is a gem of a hardware store in town that sells only Henry Taylor tools. I’m appreciative of your feedback and glad that I have a local supplier of the Henry Taylor tools…

Another thing, is M2 the standard HSS or a notch or two up?

Thanks!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Hello Dorje,

I like the wider scrapers because you have a little more area to create your radius. They also give you the ability to experiment a little with the shape of the curve, so I would go for the 1.25” scraper. Henry Taylor Tools has a radius edge shear scraper in the 1.25” inch size, with a 3/8” thick blade for around $68.00 with a handle and $65.00 without a handle that you might look at…

Also, if this is not in stock at your local store, you can always purchase a bull-nose (full round) or a straight scraper and grind your own profile on the end. Having a dealer for HTT so close is really cool! M2 HSS is the “standard” HSS that woodturning tools are made from and is the benchmark steel that all of the other exotic steels are measured against in woodturning tools.

There are many other grades of steels including M4, A-10, A-11, V-15, ASP-2030, ASP-2060 and cryogenically treated versions of some of these. M2 HSS is a very good all around steel for woodturning tools, but it does not hold its edge as long as any of those mentioned above. However, if you cryo treat M2 HSS, you can significantly increase its wear resistance, approaching the wear resistance of some exotic steels. Henry Taylor makes a cryo version of their M2 line of tools, if you don’t mind the cost difference, I highly recommend them.

The cost difference is quite a bit though… When you’re trying to decide what steel to purchase, remember that exotic steels offer you greater edge life, but will not make your turnings any better. They will give you the ability to turn for longer periods of time before you have to stop and resharpen them, but for many hobby woodturners this is not a concern. For a production turner like me, time is money and every time I stop for anything, it costs me money – so using exotic steels is a smart decision, especially in the roughout phase or when removing bark.

Having said that, about 75% of all of my turning tools feature standard M2 HSS as the base metal, the balance are split among the various exotics. Most of my M2 turning tools have been cryogenically treated (long before the turning tool suppliers began offering them), which gives me excellent wear resistance in a lower cost base metal. I sent my tools out to be cryo treated and tested them for wear resistance over a period exceeding one year. The results showed an average edge life increase of 250% – 300%+ over the control group of M2 HSS tools.

Henry Taylor claims their new line of “Kryo” tools holds and edge up to 6X that of a heat treated M2 HSS tool. I think that’s a bit optimistic, but I you will get 3X, and even a bit more without any problems. If you’re budget is tight, stick with the standard M2 HSS and you can save a few bucks. You will have to resharpen it more often, but you’ll end up with the same outcome when you’re finished. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Take care and all the best to you and yours!

Steve Russell
EWW, WVP, EWWFS
The Woodlands, Texas

-- Better Woodturning and Finishing Through Chemistry... http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com

Thanks for the information! I think the standard HSS are proabably fine for me, as I’m a hobbyist and not in production where the time REALLY matters.

I’ll check out what the local supplier has in stock! They usually have pretty good prices on the tools they sell. Often better than online stores and certainly better than the big WW stores (i.e., Rock and WC).

Sounds like you’re doing better Woodturning and Finishing through Science! (including Chemistry!)

Thanks again Steve…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Congrats on the new addition, Dorje! My darling was asking me about lathes the other day. I could not believe my ears… What’s on the plate for a break-in project?

Thanks, also, to Steve for such valuable information. I have learned more about turning tool steel in 10 minutes than I ever thought I would.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Ain’t Steve grand! Really appreciate that feller!

I’ve been breaking it in with some rough bowls posted over here...

Sounds like there may some lathe potential in your future!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA