Replies

1. 
   RickL | Jan 10, 2006 04:10pm | #1

   Get  a used lathe.  Uaed lathes don't get the prices of used saws, planers, etc, so when you upgrade you can typically get your money back.  http://www.woodcentral.com  and other forums have dedicated turning forums.

1. 
   Rackman | Jan 10, 2006 04:31pm | #2

   Thanks for the tip. Any used lathes out there? I travel North East US on my job, willing to pick up if there's one out there.

   Edited 1/10/2006 9:38 am ET by Rackman

1. 
   RickL | Jan 11, 2006 07:05pm | #7

   Buying used or auction is a learned thing. Where to look and doing your homework is a big thing. There's lot of places to look such as local and off the wall classifieds. Call on ads with machines in general for sale and ask if they know of any other used machines for sale. Good leads are often found in the most surprising ways.  You do subscribe to WoodShop News of course!  http://www.batgainnews.com is just a tip of the iceberg. I'm not going to tell you all the place to look, you;ll have to do some homework yourself but I've owned tools most people never dreamed of owning by doing the research and the networking. Learning how to deal with three phase opens tremendous possibilities. Patternmakers lathes are the best bowl lathes you could ever find.

2. 
   BrooklynTed | Jan 10, 2006 07:23pm | #3

   Do you know yet if you are more interested in turning bowls or spindles/between centers?  I have the Delta midi which is great because I can turn long stock using the optional bed extender BUT the head doesn't swivel so I can't make very big bowls.  (More of my turnings are "between centers" (rattles, tops, chess pieces, spindles for stairs) so this is less of an issue for me.)

   I'm a novice and have been very happy with the Delta.

   Grizzly has a modest priced lathe with a swiveling head which might be a better fit if you are more of a bowl turner. 

   This is from their site: http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0584

   I know nothing about this lathe.  Just saw it in the catalog and remarked on the price...

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 10, 2006 09:09pm | #4

   I have a friend who bought that lathe last year.  I can check with him and find out how much he's used it, what his experience has been.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   Rackman | Jan 11, 2006 01:30am | #5

   Main interest is bowls.

1. 
   micanopy | Jan 11, 2006 06:48pm | #6

   Check out equipment auctions. I picked up 4 lathes (2 older powermatic 45's with variable speed,and 2 large deltas, variable speed) all for $450. I've invested about $400 in used parts, tailstocks etc. and they all run fine. They came from school board auctions when the schools replaced them with new.They included the base cabinets and some parts including tool rests and except for chipped paint,appear to have had little use. The best advice that I can give is check the weights and get the heaviest that you can afford. You can't turn a serious bowl without variable speeds and a lot of weight to keep the machine in one place.

   Micanopy