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What is a good start??

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Mar 3, 2021
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I'm new to woodturning and wanted suggestion on where to start. What is a good starter lathe that I wont outgrow in 6 months? I see there are different chucks, what is the best to start with? What tools are considered essential to start with?

Thanks!
 
Joined
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Very wide open question Carl. It would help to answer your questions if you let us know a budget, and a little bit about what you would like to turn. Otherwise, the answers will range from about $1000 to $10,000 In cost and will include almost every option out there.

BTW, welcome to the forum!
 

hockenbery

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In anteCovid times the absolute best place to start is a quality class.
You could go to John C Campbell or to David Ellsworth’s for a long weekend or connect with a mentor/teacher from a local Chapter.

In the classes you not only learn basic skills that make turning rewarding an pleasurable but you also get an appreciation for what features to look for in tools.

my suggestion for getting started is to spend the first few months on spindles,
Learn beads and coves, then re learn beads and coves, then practice beads and coves.
All forms in turning are made from combinations of beads, coves, and flats.

for tools - 1/2” bowl gouge, 3/8 spindle gouge, parting tool.
For a lathe get a used mini or midi - 10” or 12” swing. Most turners with big lathes have one of these.
Get a grinder set up with a sharpening jig system (woulverine ).
For a Chuck get a vicmarc 100 or Oneway talon

after 3-4 months of spindles on the small lathe you will want to move up to a larger lathe like a jet1840

turn five each below and you will be an accomplished turner
carving mallets, gavels, goblets, set of 4 napkin rings, spheres, mortise& pestle, boxes, hollow ball Christmas ornaments,
For extra credit-
Pens, bottle stoppers, pepper mills, salt mills
 
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Roger Wiegand

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Check out your local AAW chapter. Ours, at least, has loaner lathes and chucks that we provide to new turners. After using any lathe for a couple of months you will develop (probably strong) opinions as to what features you really need and now deeply you want to dive in. With a little experience you'll make a much better decision about what to buy. Alternately an inexpensive lathe from Craigslist can serve the same purpose and probably be resold at little to no loss.
 
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I agree with Roger on the point about the lathe holding its value. I started out about ten years on a basic Grizzly lathe with Reeves drive. Spent about $700 on it. I suffered through its limitations until upgrading to a Powermatic last year. Was like going from a Yugo to a Mercedes. I was able to sell the Grizzly on Craigslist for $500. That amortizes out to about $20/ year for my first decade.
 
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What got you interested in turning? Usually folks see “things” they want to be able to make. The size of these “things” dictate the size lathe needed, then the size of your wallet guides the lathe selection. Some smaller lathes can still be expensive.

For the most part, “thing” size doesn’t drive tool size, but does at the small and really big ends of the spectrum. Your wallet size guides tool mfr selection, and to some degree sharpening equipment, chucks, etc.

IMO the term “starter” lathe, tool, etc. actually applies to wallet size/willingness to spend $ on turning. A top line $8-10k lathe is actually easier to use vs a bgt lathe, and expensive tools and accessories can be a bit easier to learn and use. As the size of the “thing” increases, safety concerns increase - bigger things have more momentum and do more damage when let loose(tho small things can still hurt you critically).

There are also a lot of ways to “skin the cat” in turning. Buying a hi $ lathe and tools and figuring out you would rather have different options available, which means different equipment, can be an expensive experiment. An example: a pivoting headstock is a must have for me (I’m in the minority) for several reasons, and not many lathes have that capability.

So help us out with $’s to spend and “things” (including approx size) you want to make.
 
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Joined
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Thanks for all the replies. If I wanted to cap the $'s at say 2k and looked at used machine etc... Is there any brands that that are preferred/should be avoided?
 
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Thanks for all the replies. If I wanted to cap the $'s at say 2k and looked at used machine etc... Is there any brands that that are preferred/should be avoided?

$2k for the lathe only or total for all equipment?

sharpening - ~$350-400 for 8” slow speed grinder withAl oxide wheels & Wolverine/varigrind jigs

Cutting tools - bgt Benjamins Best or Hurricane~$25-30/tool say $200. They cut just fine. IMO start here, try different sized and types of tools then spend $100/tool on a few specific ones used most.

chuck - $100-$500 depending on brand and jaw sets, key or tommy bar.

Pretty easy to spend $800-1000 other than the lathe to get started.
 
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You will end up spending more on 'accessories' than you will on the lathe. As you get more into it, that can be by a factor of 5 to 1 or more. Best buy would be to find one that comes with 'extras' as in some one is getting out of it and selling everything. Contact the nearest club, probably a better source than Craig's List. You can turn small things on a bigger lathe, but you can't turn bigger things on a smaller lathe. I turned one or two spindles to start, and went straight to bowls. No limit to things you can turn....

robo hippy
 
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$2k for the lathe only or total for all equipment?

sharpening - ~$350-400 for 8” slow speed grinder withAl oxide wheels & Wolverine/varigrind jigs

Cutting tools - bgt Benjamins Best or Hurricane~$25-30/tool say $200. They cut just fine. IMO start here, try different sized and types of tools then spend $100/tool on a few specific ones used most.

chuck - $100-$500 depending on brand and jaw sets, key or tommy bar.

Pretty easy to spend $800-1000 other than the lathe to get started.



That makes sense. If I budget 1k for just the lathe, any suggestions?
 
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That makes sense. If I budget 1k for just the lathe, any suggestions?

Stay away from tube lathes (older Craftsman) and lathes with Reeves drives.
 
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I agree with staying away from tube style lathes. Reeves drive is “ok”, especially if you want to stay below $1k, even used. Thats a full size lathe, midi size you can find under $1k with evs. Midi size will do most spindle turning, and up to ~ 10 inch bowl. Grizzly G0844 and Nova Comet 14 are 14” swing 20” length, that could do 12-13” bowls. As Robo said look around the local turning clubs and FB and CL to see what is available.

Best to have a 1”x 8tpi or 1-1/4”x8 tpi spindle thread and mt2 tapers, cast bed not stamped steel, evs. There are some older powermatics, 45?, someone will know the right model #. A lot the older lathes will either be multiple pulley or reeves drive - I’d take the reeves drive if in good shape, but either can be converted to evs if you wanted a project.
 
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Feb 28, 2021
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Roulette, PA
I'd add, definitely stay away from the cheapo harbor freight (Central Machinery) lathes.. I have one.. (a 12 x 36) I absolutely HATE it.. Things won't stay aligned (I had to shim the headstock with a piece of 1/8" steel to get drive to line up with live center in tailstock.. Granted, however the machine HAD been badly abused by the prior owner trying to turn bowls with pretty much the cheapest possible 8-piece tool set in existence, which I quickly relegated to scrap pile) and banjo and tailstock constantly need re-adjusted to stay locked in place, and with the 25mm post tool rests, its hard to find any good, decent tool rests that will work better than the crappy soft cast iron rests.. It might do for a "once in a while on a weekend" turner that only plays around with spindle stuff (lowest RPM that sucker will do is 650, so I would never trust it to turn a large bowl (over 10") ... (Only reason I have it is , it came with a chuck worth half the cost of the lathe, and a set of accessories that if I had bought them all new, I'd have spent about the same, making the lathe essentially free) So, a decent lathe (Im considering a Jet Midi lathe,although I'd really love to get a Robust, but that's WAY out of my price range... and keeping the HF lathe for the rare 36"-ish spindles I might turn such as for stool and table legs) is my next planned purchase
 
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Sounds like the original owner screwed up your HF lathe pretty good. I started with that lathe, and while I did have some issues like broken handles and bolts, nothing that couldnt be fixed relatively easily. It may have helped that I bought it new and stripped it down, filed the bed and mating surfaces, and deburred all contact surfaces. I did some 14” bowls with it, but yes, 650 rpm is too fast for the slowest speed. As much as anything it showed me a lot about what I did and did not want in a lathe and accessories. Possibly a curse, I loved the pivoting headstock and the ability to get in front of a bowl to hollow it, and to hang a piece at 90 deg to the bed to sand and finish and not worry about the bed getting in the way. The reeves drive was low maintenance for the 6 years I owned it, but the pulleys were starting to wear enough to need replacement. 6 years for $180 investment was a pretty good deal.
 
Joined
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Wrentham, MA
As for reeves drives, the Older Powermatic 45 and 90 as well as the Rockwell/Deltas are generally ok, esp for a starter lathe. YMMV, depending on condition, etc. but units built before the 'value engineering' mindset would be robust enough. Generally available for well under 1k, but may need some minor work like bearings.

Also be sure the threads on headstock are one of the normal pattern 1x8 etc. some older lathes (Walker Turner) used strange thread combos.
 
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Feb 16, 2021
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Parkersburg, West Virginia
There are quite a few decent variable speed lathes with 12” swing for $700 or less. I have a Rikon 70-220 VSR that has been a good lathe. I just out grew mine and went bigger. You can buy the Rikon new for $699. Welcome.
 
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You need to determine the type and size of items you intend on turning over time. A small dc motor powered lathe would work fine for someone turning pens for the next ten years. If you want to turn hollow forms like bowls and vases, how large do you want to turn? Larger heavier pieces require adequate horsepower and turning capacity. If you want to turn spindle shaped pieces, how long of pieces do you want or need to turn. If you know the types and size of items you want to turn you will also end up with a list of face plates, adjustable chucks, collets, spur drives, screw drives and other items used to hold the work piece between centers. Join a turning club and try out a few different lathes, many clubs have loaner and lease programs on club owned machines. Pen turners use small handled tools, long handled CS, HSS, Carbide tools for most turning projects, Large diameter and deep hollow vessels will require heavier and longer designed tools and support systems to reach into these larger deeper vessels. Long spindle work pieces can require additional support systems on a long bed lathe. There is no perfect lathe designed to make every item out there. Start out with a smaller lathe and turn as many items as you can to develop your turning skills, if you are in it for the long haul you will soon figure out the machine that will work best for the items you want to turn. There are well over a thousand different shapes and sizes of items a person can turn on a lathe.
 
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Grizzly G0844, Nova Comet 14”. Both 14” swing, 20” between centers, ~$600. A12” swing can get you ~11” bowls but the blanks have to be dressed to clear. 14” swing gives more room for imperfect blanks. There are other 14” midi’s but a lot more $.

You may as well throw some $ in for a chainsaw. I use a 16” Craftsman electric ~$100 in the shop, a 20” bar gas for outside. Using free wood is the way to go.

Favorite chuck is Oneway but fairly hi $. Look at Nova protek g3, and Craft Supplies Apprentice 3-1/2” I think with 4 jaw sets for $200.
 
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Grizzly G0844, Nova Comet 14”. Both 14” swing, 20” between centers, ~$600. A12” swing can get you ~11” bowls but the blanks have to be dressed to clear. 14” swing gives more room for imperfect blanks. There are other 14” midi’s but a lot more $.

You may as well throw some $ in for a chainsaw. I use a 16” Craftsman electric ~$100 in the shop, a 20” bar gas for outside. Using free wood is the way to go.

Favorite chuck is Oneway but fairly hi $. Look at Nova protek g3, and Craft Supplies Apprentice 3-1/2” I think with 4 jaw sets for $200.


Thank you! What do you think about carbide tool? Are they good to start with?
 

hockenbery

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What do you think about carbide tool? Are they good to start with
Yes and no. Like everything in woodturning it’s a trade off.
@john lucas has some nice video on using carbides.
I use a #4 Hunter a often on but not on bowls or hollowforms.

The carbides are easy to learn with. You don’t need to sharpen them
The traditional gouges in most situations remove wood faster and leave a cleaner surface.

In general you need more carbide tools and they are expensive. I can turn a finished beads I can sand with 320 with spindle gouge or a skew. Turning a bead with carbides you need a point carbide to cut the groove on the sides of the bead and a square or round to shape the bead and you probably need to start with 180 or 220.

For roughing bowls -Carbides are harder on the body and I think harder to make nice curves with.
A bowl gouge the tool does the work being held lightly in the hands

Where it can be used the hunter can leave a fine surface- I use it as a finishing tool for boxes and goblet cups.

I know a turner who lacks the range of motion to use gouges well, does incredible work with carbides.
When he did a demo for our club he used 6 or 7 different carbide tools to make a piece i use 4 tools to make.

It’s your choice. But sooner or later most carbide users want to switch to gouges but keep the carbides for some jobs,
 
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Not a fan of carbide. I do use carbide inserts for my shop made hand held hollowing tools because they are less aggressive than hss tool bits (which I use for my captive tool hollowing rig). All carbide tools except the Hunter cup style are scrapers. New carbide edges are not as sharp as hss scrapers so dont cut as well, and the carbide just dulls and performs worse. They can be resharpened but IMO not worth messing with. I made my own carbide insert holders years ago vs buying them, and rarely use them. My hollowing rig can use a Hunter #1 carbide, but I like hss better. Never tried the Hunter hand held tools with the cupped bevel contact cutters as in John Lucas’ video above.

Carbide is for “instant gratification”, avoiding learning sharpening and tool control of the different hss tools. Use hss scrapers instead. They are easy to sharpen and are still useful after graduating to other hss tools. They can be ground to the same shape as carbide.
 
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There are two styles of the carbide tools. Those that sit flat and are actually small scrapers, and those, like the Hunter tools, which are designed to sit at an angle so you get a shear cutting action, which is far cleaner on bowls than any scraping tool. I use scrapers exclusively for all of the roughing work on my bowls, then do finish cuts with gouges, and clean up with shear scraping. Some times the NRS (negative rake scraper) will work, but mostly it works better on the bottom of the bowl, and less so when coming up the sides of a bowl because it is still a scraper and will tend to pull at the fibers rather than shear slice them. Me, being frugal, prefer the standard scraper which I can sharpen hundreds if not thousands of times rather than a carbide tipped tool which can never seem to get back to factory levels.

Scrapers do excel in end grain cutting, like boxes and hollow forms.

robo hippy
 
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