Craftex Lathes?

OK, Bernie, I missed that lathe. I didn't find the one with the bed extension, which is why I decided on the 10" Lathe. As it is, the price for a decent lathe has crept higher and higher. I have a very sturdy lathe table that I made for the HF lathe, so that item should be alright. I'll have to buy it and face the wrath of the Memsahib.

If the budget will allow it, I'll second Bernie's recommendation to go with the midi (12") instead of the mini (10"). A bit more capacity, and more importantly, more horsepower. Especially if you're contemplating bowls.

Oh, and if it helps sell the idea to Memsahib, it's not too unrealistic for a lathe to pay for itself with things like pens and pepper mills.

Roger Tulk said:

It clearly has 10 speed settings. I'm in a bind as I want a better lathe than the HF one that I am trying to sell, but the $350 this guy is asking strains my budget a little.

Being able to turn spindles at least 36" long, and to turn bowls up to say, 12", is very desirable.

I've decided not to get a Beaver lathe, in spite of the good reputation they have in Canada, as it doesn't have a MT in the headstock, and the selection of spur centres is severely limited as they are not manufactured any more.

I'm trying to avoid tubular ways and stamped steel, which pretty much eliminates Mastercraft and some Craftsman lathes. I would prefer to have variable speed, but as I'm not doing production work, I can afford the extra few minutes to change pulleys.So, I've got a bit of time to look for a laathe, and to see what comes up on Kijiji (Canada's Craigslist.)

Anyway, thanks very much for the continued advice.

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I had a very nice, used, cast iron, Delta/Rockwell 1/2 hp motor wood lathe. I sold it for two reasons:

1) the drive threads were not 1 x 8 or a larger standard size. I had an adapter made. It was cumbersome. It projected out from the headstock.
This meant that there were many attachments that I could not purchase because the attachments were a standard thread and the lathe was not. The adapter was impractical even though it seemed logical before I had it.

2) it was not variable speed.
When I was turning something I would frequently want to change the speed for a few seconds. I hardly ever changed it because of the interruption to the flow of what I was doing. I was not pressed for time. I was pressed for continuity in the "process."

At 1/2 hp I would stop the lathe when doing the small bowls I make. The belt would not slip, I just plain ole' stopped the motor. These were 5" and 6" bowls---12" would be a complete laugh.

That's my 2 cents.

Enjoy,
JimB

Roger Tulk said:

OK, how about this lathe? This one has a good reputation, and the advantage for me that I can go visit my brother in West Chester, go to their store and load it onto my truck and come home. The price is workable, and my bro probably won't mind me dropping by again. I have dealt with this company before, and found them to be very helpful and eager to please their customers.

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A lady friend of mine has this very Turncrafter Commander lathe and I have this lathe sold under another name by Pioneer Tools. I like the lathe, and I bought mine NIB with a 21" bed extension for $299.

That being said, I'm holding out for my next lathe which will be the Grizzly G0733.