What lathe to start with

[ankrarakw]

I am thinking about getting into turning pens and other small items. The question I have is what lathe(s) should I consider?

Thx
Kreg

[TDHofstetter]

Simple answer for ya - the biggest, toughest one you can rightly afford. Plus a little one. :)

-- Tim --

Member of the
Robert "Limey" Bolton Memorial
International
Volunteer Mentorship and Assistance
Programme

[ankrarakw]

>Simple answer for ya - the biggest, toughest one you can
>rightly afford. Plus a little one. :)

It that big tough one for those big bad cigar pens :P

[Cody Colston]

Kreg,

Tim gave you good advise. The reason why getting the biggest you can afford is a good idea is because you will eventually want to turn something other than pens and then you will want more power with a bigger swing.

Now, that said, the Jet 1220VS is a good midi lathe with 12" swing, 20" between centers and variable speed. You can turn bowls up to about 11" with it if you wished.
http://www.woodworking.com/dcforum/U...6918ccdcb1.jpg

For a full sized lathe at a good price, I'd seriously consider the Grizzly G0632. It's 2 hp with 16" of swing, 1 1/4" x 8TPI spindle with MT2 taper. It's a lot of lathe.
http://www.woodworking.com/dcforum/U...fd0af88959.jpg

There's lots of sizes and brands in below, in between and above those two, also.

Cody
Tyler, TX


[b]

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and discipline

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c8...n/thCandle.jpg

[WoodMangler]

5-15/16" swing over bed, 3-1/4" swing over tool rest.... this would cause me not to buy it.

Everyone says they don't want to turn anything bigger than pens, but they always do...

I would try and get a lathe that at least leaves you the option...

[TDHofstetter]

I think that'd do fine... provided it's accompanied by a larger lathe for larger projects. For ONLY VERY SMALL STUFF, that one should do an entirely acceptable job. Doesn't give you much room for larger stuff, though. You WILL want to turn SOME larger stuff if you're going to be turning for the pleasure of it.

-- Tim --

Member of the
Robert "Limey" Bolton Memorial
International
Volunteer Mentorship and Assistance
Programme

[DougB]

nice feature to have. It does not take long to change a belt, and that is fine on a drill press, but for turning and putting a finish on pens, variable speed is really, really nice to have.

You probably won't find any better bang for your buck than you will with the Harbor Freight model 34706 VS lathe
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706


And you can turn plenty big bowls with it too when you get the urge to do bowls (and you will get the urge :) ). The Harbor Freight lathe is one of those very rare gems that can be found at HF - I have had mine for a couple years now and have not outgrown it yet. I'd still like a bigger, better lathe, but cannot quite justify one just yet.

Good luck in your quest for a lathe...it will be fun no matter what you end up getting.

<edit in> By the way,,,I absolutely love the line "Endeavor to persevere!!" by Chief Dan George in "The Outlaw Jose Wales".

Great movie and great line. I also like his hard rock candy line "it ain't for eating though, it's just for looking through"

What a great movie! They just don't make movies like that anymore.

[ankrarakw]

I want to thank everyone for their input. Budget and available space limits my options at this time. I am thinking of getting a small lathe and trying my hand at pens and other small items. When budget and space permits I can add a larger lathe for larger projects.

Doug - That is a great line. I had forgot about the hard rock candy line. That one is good also. It is one of my favorite movies.

[ankrarakw]

Thanks Cody.

I was also looking at the Grizzly G9247.