Going to buy my first lathe and would like some advice...

The truth is a wood lathe is a simple machine at heart. You should see what can be turned on a rough home-made wooden spring pole lathe. For the hobbiest a relatively inexpensive wood lathe will work well if it is bolted to a HEAVY base. The problem is turning out-of-balance items like the beginnings of a bowl where the lathe shakes like crazy. As long as the headstock spindle and tailstock will accept most standard accessories a lot can be done. Of course an expensive Powermatic lathe is nice and if I were to make an every day living using a lathe I would want it to be a really good one. My wood lathe is a heavy cast iron 12” Delta from the 1940s and even it is prone to some shaking if rough turning a large piece. As is most often the case, it is the skill of the person using the tool that is the determiner of quality more than the tool itself.

I would strongly recommend saving money and buying a heavy older cast iron machine and cleaning it up with some tender loving care. There is little that can go wrong with a wood lathe if its all there. Look around at the government surplus web sites like http://www.govdeals.com/ or CraigsList at http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites and find a wood lathe from a school shop or other commercial shop. Just make sure is isn’t powered by a 3-phase motor unless you have this already in your shop. 3-phase power isn’t available except to industrial sites. I expect most of these surplus lathes will be powered by 220V single phase motors and 220V single phase is available is almost every home. Excellent lathe tooling can be found this way too.

Rufus Carswell

-- Always remember half of the people in this country are below average.

I just got the Pen Making Starter Set from Penn State Industries and so far I’m rather impressed. It came with everything necessary to start turning out of the box and you can’t beat the price. I too am new to the whole turning addiction, but the pen turners swap made me want to try it. From where I sit, this set is a perfect introductory package.

-- Working at Woodworking http://www.VillageLaneFurniture.com

I’m agree with planeman…............buy a used one.Not much can go wrong with them due to their simplicity and if your a strong believer in you get what you pay for, you can get a much bigger “Bang for the Buck” by getting a used machine.

-- http://www.furnituremann.ca/

I too am very interested in obtaining a lathe, and the turning addiction. I have been looking around as well, and figured that a Oneway 1224 would be just the right machine…... but that is not going to happen, I could never get this one in past the wife’s eyes… So I am still looking.

One thing that I think you must remember when looking at a lathe, is too allow enough budget for all the toys that goes with the ownership of a lathe. Not just the turning tools (which can add up) but also a good means of sharpening them. And of course you will need chucks, face plates and a bunch of other toys….. I figure just about as much in options as in the lathe itself.

Here is a what to look for in a lathe article you might find useful….... take it for what it is worth. Written by a oneway employee. http://www.yoyospin.com/lathe/

Good luck in your turning endeavors.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

I got my cast iron 48” Rockwell Beaver for $50

made in the 30’s? I think

Great machine

-- The only easy wood project is a fire

I bought a used Delta 46-5567X made about in 89 and I would’nt trade it for the world. Big, heavy 400lbs + and reliable. Big enough to make a ballbat on or an inkpen. Three phase 2 hp frequency controlled so it runs on 110 and quiet as a mouse. Paid 1200 buck for it, bought from a widow and she gave me all the tools, sorbys, and just a bunch of real nice stuff worth way more than I paid for the lathe, I figured when I got home about 2,000 dollars worth of extras, including a Dremel scroll saw, like new.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

I purchased a used Craftsman lathe at a pawn shop and have used it for just over a year. I have found out what things I like and do not like and can make an informed decision when I have saved enough to get a good one.

-- Hope Never fails

I would say get a live-center tail-stock if you can, and an easy-to-adjust
and solid toolrest. 1” x 8 TPI accessories are the most common so
going with a delta of other lathe with 1×8 is a good idea.

Turning big things is a lot more demanding than most furniture
parts… that’s what the big lathes are for.

-- Would you like to recession-proof your present business using the internet? - my revealing 9-page free report gives you the straight facts: http://copymatch.com/rec/cap.html

Before you spend a lot of money check-out the American Association of Woodturners. There website is http://www.woodturner.org/ . That is where I started woordturning. They have local chapters all over the country. I live in a small town and we have a chapter. It is a great place to learn and each chapter is always looking for new members of all skill levels. A local mimber may have a good used lathe for sale. You may also find that you may want to turn more than the Pens and what not. Rember you can always turn small stuff on a big lathe but you can not turn big stuff on a small lathe.

-- Bob Clark, Tool Collector and Sawdust Maker

I have the Jet mini VS and I love it. If I could have found a used lathe at the time I would have bought it in a heart beat.

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

Russell… Welcome to the addiction!