I have been wanting a lathe for a long time. Of course, I don't want to spend a lot of money at first till I see if I can like it or not. Also, I know a lathe is a money pit. I would like to turn legs for small tables and make gifts. I guess I am asking for any advice you guys have? If you need more information just ask.

 

Thanks, Don

If you have never tried turning, and you are not sure it's for you (but I know it will be ), there is a Woodcraft store at 209 S Royal Oaks Blvd, Franklin, TN 37064. I'd go there and check out if they have classes or can let you try it. If you like it, it is a slippery slop from there on .

 

There are lots of great lathes out there- Grizzly, Jet, Powermatic all make great lathes. From your description, you'll probably want one that can turn spindles at least 36" long. For bowls, it depends on how big in diameter they will be. My lathe has a 14" swing over the bed. I can make bowls a scooch over 13" in diameter. As for tools, start with Easy Wood Tools (carbide tips) the learning curve is so easy that you'll be turning projects in no time!

 

Keep asking questions and we here at the Turner's Forum will try to guide you along.

If you are buying new, spending the money for a quality machine will be cheaper in the long run. It will also make it easier to recover some of your money should you decide to sell. The lathe you buy will also have a big influence on whether you like turning or not. Grizzly sold a machine a few years back that was absolute junk but it was cheap. I've often wondered how many would be turners bought that machine only to decide turning wasn't for them. If you want to turn table legs you'll need more capacity as far as bed length goes. I would recommend the Jet 1221VS with a bed extension but there are other good options as well. Figure you're going to spend the cost of the lathe again in tools and accessories.

 

Steve

Edited September 20, 20187 yr by Steve Krumanaker

Don I was garage saleing up in Colo. in 2010 and happened to see this old Wards lathe in the guys horse stall. He had bought a new Harbor Freight lathe and it was the only place he said he had to get rid of it...No motor but it was all there just needed cleaning up and new paint and I brought it back to Texas and use it as much as the other 2 used ones I have...It was the first lathe I had in my shop since I sold the one I had in 1963..I paid 7 dollars for it and a little labor got me back into playing with a lathe.....I already had a few motors so It works just like the 10,000.00 models but with no bells and whistles to play with... The other two I have are also used but I like to use this one.. This is what I bought in this condition.

 I even got the 2x10 the lathe was mounted on....

 

I cleaned it up.

 

Then painted it and bought some knives at a first monday sale.

 And no, I didn't turn these two pieces on this machine. A hand cranked Legacy Ornamental Mill did them.

  Too bad you don't live close for I would loan you a lathe for a while before you spend your lifes savings on something that you might not like to do....

That is the Deluxe model, I had the economy model,saved my lunch and poker on the school bus money,$13. for mine. It also had a 4" grinding wheel on the left end of the shaft, where a face plate could be mounted also. I put an old used 1/4 hp washing machine motor on mine, and a used V belt hanging on the shop wall.

 

Wow,you sure cleaned that up looks better than brand new.

Good job.

Herb

My recommendation would be to make sure whatever lathe you buy the drive is variable speed. I just upgraded to a Rikon. It is VS and will turn a 12 inch bowl or a 21 inch spindle.  I am very happy with it so far.

6 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Don I was garage saleing up in Colo. in 2010 and happened to see this old Wards lathe in the guys horse stall. He had bought a new Harbor Freight lathe and it was the only place he said he had to get rid of it...No motor but it was all there just needed cleaning up and new paint and I brought it back to Texas and use it as much as the other 2 used ones I have...It was the first lathe I had in my shop since I sold the one I had in 1963..I paid 7 dollars for it and a little labor got me back into playing with a lathe.....I already had a few motors so It works just like the 10,000.00 models but with no bells and whistles to play with... The other two I have are also used but I like to use this one.. This is what I bought in this condition.

 I even got the 2x10 the lathe was mounted on....

 

I cleaned it up.

 

Then painted it and bought some knives at a first monday sale.

 And no, I didn't turn these two pieces on this machine. A hand cranked Legacy Ornamental Mill did them.

  Too bad you don't live close for I would loan you a lathe for a while before you spend your lifes savings on something that you might not like to do....

I am telling you that is a beauty. Reminds me of a girlfriend I once had, ( She cleaned up real nice ). LOL A lathe similar to yours is what I think I want. The old lathes are tough and about the only thing that could go wrong with one is the bearings and I bet they can be bought locally. There is several similar to yours on E-bay but they will not ship them.  The paint you used, is it silver or maybe machine grey?

2 minutes ago, RustyFN said:

My recommendation would be to make sure whatever lathe you buy the drive is variable speed. I just upgraded to a Rikon. It is VS and will turn a 12 inch bowl or a 21 inch spindle.  I am very happy with it so far.

Rusty, I bet you are happy. That is a very nice lathe.

That is a beauty, Rusty.

 

Herb

Don I bought the lathe in 2010 and I can hardly remember my phone number or even if I have one but I am a fan of Rustoleum rattle cans.......for indoor use. It fades real fast outside.. Just ask my golf cart. It had turned a different color in less than a month.. On metal, a can of rusty metal primer by Rustoleum first then then the paint.. can't remember if it was silver or some light grey?? But that would be the owners choice....

  These old lathes are somewhat different and this one I have has a bearing on each end of the shaft which means it will stay more stable and inline with the world... Some lathes someone said has only one bearing or maybe two bearings side by side which maybe this old you might shy away from. Yes , a bearing supply has the bearing....These were still good and the guy said they are the originals??? Who knows? I thought I checked and it is in the 1950 to 1960 years and a Montgomery Wards brand which Wards or Sears didn't make their own tools or equipment so no telling who the manuf was.. but they do kinda look like each other...

  I have this list I carry all the time on things I look for when making garage sales, auctions and flee markets and electric motors are one of the things I am always looking for. The other thing I buy when not needing it is a swimming pool pump with hair strainers preferred...Thrifty nickel use to be great for pumps for when people ruin the pool liner the rest of the things are always in the way and go real cheap.. A very good way to add water falls and ponds to your property . 

  Important when looking through garage sales... tell the people what you are looking for and if they might need to sell things to raise some quick cash they just might have what it is you are needing. I told this lady I needed a 22 rifle and she said my husband has one. I said go ask him. She brought it back with a price I could not believe.. It was way cheaper than I ever imagined I could find one for.  So you never know why people has garage sales.

 Used lathe knives I bought from 3 to 6 dollars each.....And not remembering which ones I already had I have ended up with 3 each of the popular styles. 

  I have been looking for a big set of leather working tools.. They work great on putting designs on wood..I have a few I use but have only run in to one large set but was at an auction and was gonna be about the last things that sold that day and I could vision about 5 more hours till then so I left and have kicked myself a few times ever since.

  Lots of auctions you tell them what you are looking for and they will get a hold of us.

Don , Like you said it can get expensive . I have 3 lathes and did get a bargain on one. Try looking on Craigs list and local tool sales on Facebook. You can also get into the FB turning groups and will see a few there. If you do not want to wait How much do you want to spend ? Then we could make a recommendation . I have a Delta 46-460 for demo use and it is great but not cheap.

    Another thing you could do is go to a local turning club and ask if anyone has a lathe for sale. There are two or three for sale in our club now. There are several clubs near you and the TAW has a symposium in Franklin in January you might want to look into.. I would stay away from HF lathes unless you do the research as Steve said they have had some duds. Jet and PM  are safe bets . Not all Deltas are worth a boat anchor either. Hear good stuff about the Rikon Rusty got but that will not turn table legs, however they may have extensions for the bed (not cheap).

    If the posts get seem oll over the map it is a BIG and OPEN question.

    You did not ask but I do not recommend a full set of turning tools because you get tools you will not use and probably will be cheap tools too.