Which lathe do I need?

Chuck....You can get by with a lathe, a cheap set of tools, sharpening equipment and safety equipment. You won't want to turn without the sharpening equipment and a face shield........Not for long anyway.

Last year at another site, I was given a lathe, chuck, tools and video and even some turing blanks. Near as I can figure those crazy idiots...some of whom are members here, gave me over $1000 in tools etc..........I figure I've spent another $2000-3000. My tool purchase alone cost me nearly $400. You can do it cheaper.......I got to teasing the turners and they got their revenge.....Of course, I smile alot more these days!

You can ease into it, however.

And the answer Lee, tod, Vaughn, Steve and others......

"My shop still isn't finished......but I'm turning!":D






:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


Get that shop finished Ken

:guitar: :guitar: :guitar: :D :D :D
 
Chuck, if you haven't bought your mini/midi yet, PLEASE look at the WoodTek at www.woodworker.com. It's a great little lathe - 6 speeds, 15" between centers, and will do everything you want for under $400.00 -- until you get hooked on bowls and want something bigger.

Nancy
Not trying to be contrarian, but I don't see what the WoodTek offers for twice the price of the Rikon. It has the same horsepower, 2" less swing over the bed, no capability for bed extensions for longer spindle work, and a higher "low" speed. Am I missing something? :huh:
 
Not trying to be contrarian, but I don't see what the WoodTek offers for twice the price of the Rikon. It has the same horsepower, 2" less swing over the bed, no capability for bed extensions for longer spindle work, and a higher "low" speed. Am I missing something? :huh:

I agree with Vaughn. Why would you spend double for something that has a lot less.
 
Lathe

I set mine up in like 10 minutes. Easy setup... I'm not sure what speeds to use or the indexing (like 12 or something) but here is a result of about an hour of playing...

IMG_5822.jpg


On oak. So can these mini lathes do bowls?
 
I set mine up in like 10 minutes. Easy setup... I'm not sure what speeds to use or the indexing (like 12 or something) but here is a result of about an hour of playing...

On oak. So can these mini lathes do bowls?
George, I do believe that's your first official bonker. :thumb: Nice job, especially in a piece of oak. Making a bonker is a rite of passage among a lot of turners, so I guess you're a turner now. ;) And yes, a lot of fine bowls and hollow forms are done on mini lathes. You can use a faceplate, but most folks end up buying a chuck to hold the wood. (And if you use a faceplate, I'd suggest getting one that's smaller than the one that came with your lathe. I use my 2" faceplate the most, and the 3" for bigger stuff. And that's on my full-size lathe...the faceplate that came with my mini lathe is bigger than either of those two.)

The next step is to take all the money out of your wallet, place it on the kitchen table...then do this:

:wave:

Because that's the last you'll see of it. :rofl:

Welcome to the vortex, George!
 
Vaughn's right....You can turn anything on a mini that you can turn on a bigger lathe except it's smaller.........

I would suggest, however, you take the money from your wallet and photograph it and frame the photo and hang it next to the lathe. That way you at least have a momento to remember what it used to look like!:D
 
I see...

George, I do believe that's your first official bonker. :thumb: Nice job, especially in a piece of oak. Making a bonker is a rite of passage among a lot of turners, so I guess you're a turner now. ;) And yes, a lot of fine bowls and hollow forms are done on mini lathes. You can use a faceplate, but most folks end up buying a chuck to hold the wood. (And if you use a faceplate, I'd suggest getting one that's smaller than the one that came with your lathe. I use my 2" faceplate the most, and the 3" for bigger stuff. And that's on my full-size lathe...the faceplate that came with my mini lathe is bigger than either of those two.)

The next step is to take all the money out of your wallet, place it on the kitchen table...then do this:

:wave:

Because that's the last you'll see of it. :rofl:

Welcome to the vortex, George!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Tonight I took a piece of 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 12" Hickory that was laying around and turned a handle.. sorta anyway, I had cut this about a month ago as a mallet for my chisels. I figured it was good enough, had a nice weight and right size. The handle was rough. Now it is smoooooooth... heh... The "mallet" part is still square because it was only 1 1/2 thick, but it should do.

I will post a picture tomorrow.
 
Nice Bonker George!! :thumb:

The mallet, yep, that is just a start, then you will look at your files and say "Man I hate those crappy plastic handles...."

You will be HOOKED!!

The you will start looking at your screw drivers, thinking......

"Boy some wooden handles would be nice" >LINK<

then the handles on your turning tools will looks tame and you will want to turn your own >LINK<

Then you might want to start MAKING you own turning tools..... >LINK< >LINK< >LINK<

Heck, the ice cream scoop is not safe!!:eek:

Have fun!! :wave:
 
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