A few decades ago when I was a machinist, I hated lathe work, I had more trouble and got more (mostly) minor injuries doing lathe work than when running any other type of machine. Consequently I was a mill man.
In my woodshop I have every major machine there is except a lathe.
I’ve decided that not having a lathe or the ability to turned shapes like turned table legs is not acceptable, I need a lathe for making table legs, drawer knobs, etc..
What features would you all recommend in a basic lathe? What features are ‘must have’? I think I need a lathe that has approx. a 12″ swing and can turn up to approx 36″. I see a lot of cheap Harbor Freight type machines on Craigslist. Will these machines work well enough? What should I expect to spend for a decent used lathe? Thanks….Jeff
Replies
I bought one used lathe in my life, had a very bad experinece with that and have bought new ones ever since. My biggest problem was not buying the best one first as "working my way up" cost way more than just getting the good one (Powermatic PM 3520B) in the first place. That said, I have reviews of several lathes at the link below that will fit your needs as you describe them.
http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/index.html#woodlathes
Tom Hintz
Because there is always more to learn!
To start with, I would place Oneway at the top of any list for quality - but it surely fails on a low-price requirement. But who knows what Craigslist might offer.
On top of all the normal requirements such as stability, smooth ways, good motor, etc. I would suggest easily variable speed and reverse capability. These surely help when roughing a blank and when sanding.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hello Jeff
If you want to do lathe type of work, but have a hang up about what to buy.
Why not look at a milling possibility that can do both milling and round work? Legacy ornamental mills may be what you are looking for. check out there web site. http://www.legacywoodworking.com/
Ornamental Ornamental
I'm in exactly the same situation. I used to own a really bad copy of a Craftsman 12x36 tube lathe and never used it. It was really more trouble than it was worth, and I thought that turning was just a PITA. How could anybody enjoy turning? But lately, I've been thinking how I'm missing only one machine in my shop and that if I got a nice lathe, I'd probably enjoy using it. So I started researching lathes. I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet, but I'm going to go for the Powermatic 3520b. At first I thought it was probably overkill and that I'd be satisfied with something with less to offer, but then I always try to get the best tools I can afford -- and I think about some of the junk I used to have.
In all the research I've done in the past couple of weeks, including amazon reviews, lurking in forums, and googling, I keep leaning toward the 3520b. It's got the weight, the horsepower, ridiculous capacity, speed control, tachometer, reverse switch, little door on the tailstock to keep stuff in... oh oh OH! Another good resource for researching lathes is youtube, and going down to the local Woodcraft when they have a demo going. You can watch these people at work on their lathes, spot the brand and see how it performs.
Unfortunately, PM and Jet had a 20%-off sale last week or so, and I missed it. I'm going to wait for the next sale.
Just to let you know - if you're waiting for the %20 sale to happen again, you're going to be waiting for along time! Last years %10 sale was down by almost %60 so they had to do something to reduce inventory. Chris
Rockler says they're going to have a 10% sale in around two weeks. I'm going to call them today to line it up. Making shavings is more fun than waiting for a miracle sale, and 10% ain't too bad.
Be sure to look for a "Tool Gloat" in the near future!
Hi Jeff
I bought a Jet 1236 off of Craigslist a few years ago. I've used it to turn knobs, bun feet and some bowls. It's worked fine so far. The Harbor Freight knock off (swivel head model which look identical) is apparently made in the same factory as the Jet, and is considered one of their jewels in the rough. Either should work fine for what you're doing.
I think it's a good idea to get something used, say under $300. Like Tom says, if you turn much, you'll soon be eyeing a bigger, heavier lathe. It's kind of like a contractor's saw vs cabinet saw thing.
Which ever lathe you go with, check out the various turning forums for how to squeeze better performance out of it. Lots of good advice. Also, go easy when buying lathe tools. You don't need much to get started. Do you have a bench grinder? If not, you'll pretty much need one of those too (8").
Good hunting!
You can't go wrong with the big Oneway; my neighbor has one and it is beautiful (but under utilized by him), but pricey.
Several years ago Santa brought my then high school aged son a Jet 1642 (?) to make baseball bats. The original 110 volt one kept throwing the GFCI's, which apparently is /was a known problems with them. I took it back to the local dealer and exchanged it for the same but 220 volt and it has been great . . . for him. One of the WWing mags had an article about adding additional ballast to the base, which seemed like a good idea, but it has never been necessary.
Jeff
Get a good one. On top of the list there are two lathes that come to mind: Oneway and General. Before I say anything else, let me say they are both really nice lathes. This becomes the Ford vs. Chevy debate. Well maybe that's a bad start but you get the idea... I hope.
I am a spindle turner. Tons of work with the skew and chair legs. I love the General and everything about it. I like the Oneway but I don't like the control position and I can't get close to the work with the Oneway like I can with the General. OK now I've ruffled the Oneway camp look out.
For the money, I like the General. Truthfully, from the sound of your initial input, you understand the value/importance of a heavy machine and no vibration. Most of the small stuff has to be worked. Also, there is nothing like a speed dial at your finger tips. That goes for spindle and face plate work. Its a joy you should consider. Changing belts and speeds stinks.
Most turners climb the ladder(buying and selling lathes) to arrive at the fork in road: Oneway or General. Maybe you should check out these two fantastic lathes and decide like the Cheshire Cat: go left or go right the only bad decision is no decision. Good Luck.
I think guys over-buy lathes. Oneway lathes are really designed for bowl turners and guys doing art work, not spindle turners. For spindle turning, you just don't need gobs of horsepower and tons of weight. I have a JET 1236. I enclosed the base with masonite and added 200lbs of playground sand to it. I also jacked it up 8" or so because I am so tall.
I do a fair bit of spindle turning, table legs, knobs, tool handles etc. I almost never leave the lowest speed setting.
I recommend getting a cheap lathe with a bed that can be extended to at least 40" for table legs, and post and rung chairs. The 1236 can't actually turn something 36". I don't think you need to worry about anything fancy. I think Jet has a more expensive version of teh 1236 that can accept extension beds. I would start there.
When selectting a lathe, look also at the tool rest. It's probably a good idea to get one you can replace or modify. I'd like to have or make another longer rest for my lathe.
If you have any interest in bowl turning, ignore my point of view. I've never tried it and I wouldn't think it woud be as fun on my lathe. I've turned irregular stock before. It's not pretty.
Anyway, here are a few suggestions:
1) Weigh your lathe down as I have, with sand bags. Load it up with as many sand bags as you can. This dampens vibration, producing smoother work.
2) Replace the factory drive center with a Sorby steb center immediatly. PSI has cheap knock-offs. I have them and they are fine, tho i think the Sorbys are bigger and smaller than the 2 PSI's I have. That would be better.
3) You can buy cheap tools or make your own from old files. But spend an afternoon as I recently did making nice handles for them, a rack to hold them near the lathe, and sharpen them all correctly.
4) Get yourself a rubber mat to stand on. It will make turning much mroe comfortable.
5) Use some good incandescent or strong CF light for your lathe area
6) Consider a 3 or 4 jaw chuck. You can get these for metal working lathes at the various metal working discount places like Shars, Enco, Wholesale tool, etc.
I turn quite often, but I never feel like I know what I am doing. I enjoy it, but I'm not good at it. It takes a different set of skills to be good with a lathe. I hope you don't regret getting yourself a lathe.
Adam
I have to agree that most people overbuy lathes. Unless you're going to concentrate on bowls I don't think it's necessary to spend a lot of money.
I have been making missing/broken pieces for antiques that I restore on a Delta Homecrafters model that I bought second-hand about 30 years ago. Obviously, it's not in the same league with a Oneway or top-of-the-line Powermatic, but it does a great job. You can find similar tools on Craig's List fairly often.
I have turned more things on this lathe than I can even begin to remember.
I agree with most of your comments except two. Although I have made a couple of lathe tools I would not reccomend using old files. The files are too brittle, they must be tempered or run the risk of shattering . Also metal working chucks usually need expensive adaptors to work on a wood lathe spindle. Smaller chucks bolt on a backplate, larger chucks may be screwed on the spindle but it might be difficult to find a chuck made for metal turning that will fit a wood lathe spindle. Wood lathe chucks are much cheaper because they are made to lesser tolerances.
A chuck isn't needed for most lathe work. Rarely if ever for spindle turning. You can use a faceplate instead of a chuck for bowl work. If you need a chuck ,there are a number of chucks made for woodworking lathes that can readily adapt to almost any lathe.
mike
Agreed on all points. You can easily draw the temper down on any old file by placing it in the oven in your kitchen at 400-425 for 20 minutes. It'll still be hard to grind then- about as hard as a ww chisel. And the teeth aren't nice to hold or use against your tool rest. My only point was that turners on a budget can use found items for tools. For chucks, I bought a tiny (2?) 4 jaw chuck from Harbor Freight for $20-30 (don't recall). It came with a MT2 back. I turned a chair spindle, cut off teh ends and found I wanted to do more turning. Instead of re-establishing a drive center (I may not have had a center small enough), I used my chuck. I didn't have a cup tail, so I made a center there. I've also used the chuck for making knobs. Oh, if I forgot to mention, it's nice to have a jacobs chuck as well. Ya know, I do all kinds of stuff on my lathe. Maybe because it's the only ww power tool in my shop. I drill holes with that thing and do all sorts of stuff. I've even turned brass on it. I'm thinking about getting a good cross slide vise so I can turn metal better. Turning brass is pretty fun. Adam
Adam, I turn a lot of metal, brass included. You would be far better off with a metal lathe than try to adapt a wood lathe to turn brass. Brass turned on a metal lathe is at speeds of about 150 rpm's at most.The acme threads on a drill press cross vice are too coarse.I am not trying to discourage you, just trying to save you a few bucks and some grief. You might be able to find older American lathes for under a $1000.00 or a china lathe for $500.00. My family has a number of machinists, they all agree on one thing. An American made lathe 100 years old is a better buy than any china lathe made today.That being said, I got a little china lathe for myself. I cover it up and lock the shop when they stop over.Seems everytime I bid on an American made lathe someone outbid me. Finally bought a Cummins lathe which is similar to the Grizzly small 7x12.
mike
What about going the other way, e.g. buy a metal lathe and use it for woodworking as well?? I know the metal lathe is overkill for woodworking, but having the capability to turn metal is very appealing...
That makes sense, keep in mind you should clean up more often than with a wood lathe. Chips that stick to the lead screw and dust can bind up mechanisms. Turning wood with a rest for normal wood turning works up a lot more chips and dust than you would see turning metal. I believe some penmakers use small lathes with a cross slide and maybe even a power lead screw. Would be easier to replicate small items like pens and produce a lot more.
mike
Jeff100,
I bought a lathe about 5-6 years ago for, what appears to be, the same reasons your considering one...gotta add turning capabilities to the arsenal of options.
The key issues at the time was a unit that was big enough and heavy enough, sufficient quality, and flexibility. I was also challenged by space issues and power availability.
I ended up with a 15x38" cast iron bed that weighed in at about 200 lb. It had a direct drive variable speed motor that provided 'up to 2hp'. The head stock lined up with the tail stock, it has indexing and 180 degree head swivel for outboard turning. The only thing it doesn't have is a reversible motor.
I built a workbench with nested drawers and attached the lathe ...it is very solid and unmovable.
It is a Sears and I don't think its made anymore. It has two draw backs: the motor is noisy and I worry about its life, and, aftermarket stuff may not fit. It's a standard morse taper but the tool rest is not standard...if there is a standard. I think it cost about $450 at the time and has served me well.
My reason for this post was to identify some potential features you might consider.
HI Jeff,
About a year and a half ago, I was in a similar situation. I had an inexpensive benchtop lathe and some cheap lathe tools and had struggled for years turning furniture parts here and there with little success - I could never turn anything of complexity well enough to be happy about it.
I did two things. I looked around, read, researched and bought a solid lathe for spindle turning for furniture parts. (I have no interest in bowl or artistic turning - though I have great respect for those who do this well.) Then, I took a few turning lessons from a very good furniture maker.
The lathe I decided on is the Jet 1442. Mine was right around $1000. It is cast iron, solid and stable at around 400lbs. This lathe, the lessons and the addition of some good tools really made the difference and I am now very happy about the furniture parts I turn.
On thing to consider is speed. Lower end lathes are going to come with a manual system where you have two sets of stepped pulleys, like a drill press. You open a cover, release the tension, and select your speed. The next option is an automated version of this process where you move a lever that moves a belt internally that changes the speed (this is what my 1442 has.) Finally there is electronic speed control that uses electronics to change motor speed. The most expensive lathes seem to have electronic speed control and very low speeds at the bottom end for turning large diameter and out of round stuff.
Another consideration is what you will spend after you buy the lathe. There will quickly be a need for a chuck to hold parts you won't turn between centers, some better turning tools, a second banjo for that two-post 24" tool rest you want so you can put a nice smooth taper on that leg. And then there's that small tool rest you will want for little parts; a drilling chuck for drilling out mortises on parts.... and so on.
I love the lathe and I couldn't be happier with the results. My only regret was that I waited so long.
Good luck
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