Wood lathe thoughts

[Lex_Peacekeeper]

so what brought this on is a bit ago I restored a little Unimat db 200 metal lathe but after using it a few times I now have to redo the paint (also used not great paint on this) and clean up the lead screw and stuff as some of the things I use for pen making have gunk up parts or ruined the so-so paint job I did, so I thought lets look into a tiny wood lathe and keep the Uni free and away from creams and sealers and glue for pen making, and then I moved to the other side of the country the Uni is still messed up (it can be used for wood but no way to move lead screw right now) I am now in New Bern NC with no clue short of ordering a lathe online of how to hunt one down here

now that that's out of the way this is what I am looking for help on

1) what is a reasonable price for a wood lathe in this area? before the move was looking at about $100-200 for ones that needed a little TLC
2) is there a place to just order a small lathe for not so much $?
3) would it be better to just use the Unimat and add some guards to it to protect the lead screw and stuff
4) how small is to small? I dont plan to do anything very wide, but might want to try making a wand or something a bit longer then a pen
(the Unimat only has like 6in of useable bed space)

 

[Al 1]

Lex, There are dozen or so wood mini lathes advertised. somewhere in the range of 400 to 500.00. And then you would probably need some other fixtures, chuck, etc. Most are not variable speed. I would check to see if they accept standard chuck etc. The price on the wood lathe used market has went down in the last year. I would also check CL and Market place. Have fun. Al

 

[jwmelvin]

I wanted a wood lathe for a while, so watched Craigslist and occasionally looked at Marketplace. I came across a Delta reeves-drive for $250 that needed a little work (replace bearings, mount the motor, put a spacer in the speed adjust, and make a bushing for the tool support). I’m in Northern Virginia. I wanted something with a decent swing so I could make some bowls; the Delta is 12x36, I believe. There seems to be a steady stream of used lathes in the market from $100-$600 around here. Seeing that, I just waited for one that seemed like a good fit.

 

[Chewy]

I got my wife a used Craftsman for $150 a few years ago on Craigslist. That was a starter lathe. It was 12" X 40" with a round bed. It was three speeds and used the old MT1 taper. That lasted until she got a Jet 6 speed manual lathe. I bought her the 20" extension and when I have the time, I will make an end of bed arbor for turning big bowls.

Couple of points. On a 12" lathe you can only go about 9-10" on the bowls. You can custom make a face plate to go a little larger. Try if possible to get 1"-8 tpi spindle with MT2 taper. More stuff is available for it. Mine is 3/4" with MT1. Not a game stopper but a PIA. If you buy a round bed ways lathe you will have to constantly recheck the tail-stock alignment. Again, not a game stopper but PIA. My lathe had three speeds so I got a cheap 3 phase motor and VFD and that helped a lot. The original motor was iffy on starting, sometimes you had to spin the piece to get it started. It wasn't the start cap so I went with the 3 phase. I still have the original motor. The lathe is in pieces and I'm going to put all the original parts back together and sell it. The lathe is the cheapest part of the deal. If you get a free lathe, you will quickly spend $4-500 to get chucks and tooling. I'm not talking top of line stuff either, Ebay chisels and a decent chuck from Penn State. It took two years for my wife to get totally bit by the bug. She makes pens out of all sorts of material. She has gouges and skews that go for $200 each.

Be aware that this hobby is addictive. At least as bad or worse then machining. On the plus side, the money you spend is on tooling. For the most part, the materials can be found locally for free. I just designed a Pen Blank Drill Vise, that I have a prototype and will put up for sale next year.

Just another Rabbit hole to go down.

 

[Lex_Peacekeeper]

I got my wife a used Craftsman for $150 a few years ago on Craigslist. That was a starter lathe. It was 12" X 40" with a round bed. It was three speeds and used the old MT1 taper. That lasted until she got a Jet 6 speed manual lathe. I bought her the 20" extension and when I have the time, I will make an end of bed arbor for turning big bowls.

Be aware that this hobby is addictive. At least as bad or worse then machining. On the plus side, the money you spend is on tooling. For the most part, the materials can be found locally for free. I just designed a Pen Blank Drill Vise, that I have a prototype and will put up for sale next year.

I am more planning it as work, before the move I could not find a job and and the on the side IT stuff I was doing all came to an end with the
stable clients moving away.

the main plan was dice set with matching pens/pencils
funny thing is I already have a MT1 pen mandrel bought it to take the rod and end cap from as it was cheaper then buying those on its own
I have some tools but the "lathe tool set" I bought is just wood working chisels, but I do some a set of proper insert tools

likely not a great set but it was like $55 I just have to find where to get replacement inserts for them

 

[Chewy]

I would go with a decent set of wood turning tools. Around $150. They did everything years ago before inserts became popular. The expensive name brand turning tools are expensive, but are much heavier. Then you need to get a good sharpening system. The Wolverine is what I have. Just went to a diamond 180 grit wheel. You can get the inserts on Ebay. I have a set laying around somewhere, as I was going to make my own insert tools. I would recommend going to a carbide insert company and go through the spec's. Then you can get the right inserts in quantity cheap. Chinese works OK on wood. Based on your wanting to do this as work, I would skip over the Barracuda vise and go straight to Nova. When we upgraded, we almost never use the Barracuda.

For work, you want a flat ways, heavy lathe. Anything else will be a hindrance. The biggest heaviest one that will fit in your place used. New, I would go with the 12X20 lathes,variable speed if possible. If they have the provisions for an extension bed, that is a plus. My wife has maxed hers out twice in about 3 years and was happy for the extra few inches she needed.
Bear in mind that wood turning and wood working is like fishing. All those lures that hang on the wall is to catch fishermen, not fish. My wife could easily blow another $3K on stuff and not really do any better then she can now.

 

[Lex_Peacekeeper]

does anyone have thoughts on "Shopsmith Mark 5" as a lathe? theres one not far from me for not a ton but its one of those multi use tools that can be iffy

 

[Chewy]

It is fantastic for woodworking. I have the old 1950's version which I use as a second operation machine. New I believe they go for around $5K. I have used the newer version a couple of times over the years for quick cutting at a person's house. A wood lathe is one of it's features. It is a large machine and the downside is breaking it down to use different operations. If the price is right, you could do worse. Look up the speeds and spindle sizes so you know what will fit it. Attachments for it are not cheap.

 

[Lex_Peacekeeper]

its $100 does not list what it comes with, just says " runs with various accessories" its listing title has it as "shopsmith mark 5 lathe" so it should at least have the lathe stuff

 

[Chewy]

if it runs, no problem with motor I would buy it on the spot. look up a new one. Question is why the price so low?