Thinking about a lathe

[Brad_bb]

Yeah, I went to contact them and it just changed to sold.  I screwed up.  I think that was probably a smokin deal with everything.  Well I may not find a package like that again, but I know what to look for.  Thanks.  Well, What heads should you have with it?  There's the head that looks like a brad point bit(what's that called)?  Then I guess there's a plate type head?  

[SwampDonkey]

A lot of lathes will turn outboard to, so instead of a 12" bowl, you can turn a 16" one. I don't think I would want to try anything bigger than 12" on mine anyway. Mine's just a low end Delta starter type lathe, nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. I like making tool handles, pulls, runners, ferrules, large dowels, legs, posts and so on. I'll make a bowl once in awhile, but it's not my thing. I look at them as dust collectors. 

[rusticretreater]

There is the lathe drive center w/ the point and four biting teeth, the face plate, the chuck(thread specific), the longworth chuck, jam chucks(usually homemade), vacuum chuck.

On the tailstock end is the live center(spins with the work pieces), drill chuck, reverse work chucking alignment adapter.  All of these things should be Morse Taper 2, MT2 for short.  The taper is the fit into the tailstock. Its a precise, machined press fit that releases easily.

You need at a minimum, the drive center, face plate, a chuck and a live center.  Most lathes usually come with these items.  Also good to have is a knock-out rod to remove the drive center from the head stock.  But you can use any rod or dowel to do the job.

[Brad_bb]

Well, I'm not thinking anymore. Marketplace is dangerous with my money.  Spent $650.  Grizzly 1/2 HP, with a faceplate, and a chuck, but not like a drill chuck.  Looks like the starting diameter for the chuck(on the machine) might be 2-3"?  The tail stock is tapered and has a drill chuck, a live center , and one  with 4 teeth kinda like a forstner bit but with 4 teeth.  What do you use that one for??

It also has a device on it that the 87 year old guy told me was for copying an exising piece.  You can see where you mount the piece to be copied.  He had never used it like that though and didn't know how to.  He attached a two way vise to hold cutting tools so he could use the hand wheel to move it back and forth and the
vice to move it in and out.  There is an attachement that came with it pictured that looks like it only goes in and out(and that's what he told me and why he added the two way vise.  Just what I needed, another vice!  I'm going to wait til it's warmer to mess with it.

[rusticretreater]

Hey, a pretty good start!  Looks like you got some gouges and chisels too.  Now you need a sharpening setup.  I recommend the Oneway Wolverine and a CBN wheel, 120 grit.

The piece with the four teeth is a drive center.  That goes in your headstock.  It bites into the wood and spins it.  Did you get a knockout rod with it?  You slide it through the headstock and knock the drive center out.

One thing you need to be sure of is the thread size on your headstock.  It is probably 1" x 8tpi which is a popular size.  Your chucks need to have this thread size or you can buy adapters. You can usually buy other jaws for your chuck to make it hold bigger things or hollow forms.  You can hold things by a tenon or by an angled recess.  They make different jaws for each of them.  Your chuck appears to be a grizzly G8784(1" x 8tpi) which is 2 - 2 3/4" OD.

The two way vise is called a cross-slide.  Usually used in machining work, it has its applications.  I have put a cross-slide on my wood lathe, squared it to the headstock and using a metal cutting bit and tower cut across the bottom of bowls making them perfectly flat.

The other device that you have is called a copy attachment.  It is for duplicating table legs and spindles.  Grizzly 2891.  Here is a link to the manual. https://cdn0.grizzly.com/manuals/g2891_m.pdf

You should look up a turning club in the area.  You will find many old men who know everything you want to know, identify wood for you, teach you to sharpen the chisels properly and other fun things.  They are also a great source for tools.  My turning club also has a supply store where you can buy special sandpaper, CA - crazy glue and other things. Look up Starbond glue on the net.

Time to feed the monster!  Feel free to message me if you have further questions.

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like a great deal to me.   Another method I use for duplicating table legs is making a template from cardboard or a thin board, trace the profile onto the squared stock on two faces, 90 degrees to one another. Nearly free and you can get really good at duplicating legs. I have seen this done in old shops around here years ago. The walls would have templates hanging on them.

[aigheadish]

Nice Brad!

For what it's worth I hate the drive center with the four teeth. I've hammered them pretty firmly into wood that I've turned and a few times had them come loose, which is maddening. I tend to turn bowls or platters and that may be some of the issue but I've found much better luck with the face plates screwed into my piece. Some folks glue a sacrificial bottom for the face plate. I haven't done that yet but I see the appeal.

Beware, if you turn bowls, if you are anything like me, you'll mount it backwards from what you actually want a bunch of times before it sinks in to do it properly. Meaning I tended (and just did with my most recent bowl attempt) to attach my faceplate to the bottom of the piece when it should have been into the part that gets hollowed out, then after getting the chunk of wood round and a tenon (or angled recess, as RR put it) you take the piece off, add the jaw chuck and then start on the inside of the bowl, where you no longer need the tail stock.

It's taken me several tried to get the correct shape for the jaw chuck too and it has inside and outside grabbing ability. Everytime I use that method I have to really pay attention to what I'm doing to get the correct shape and depth for the jaws to grab effectively. There are some good youtube videos that explain it pretty well and even though it's a simple concept there are ways to make it much more secure. I did have a catch recently that knocked my piece out of square in the jaws. It was a lesson to really crank it on there (and take lighter cuts).

You jaw chuck looks to only hold on a tenon though, now that I look a bit closer. I'm not seeing the angle on the outside of the jaws that bite into an angled recess.

You can also buy different sized and shaped tool rests, the one on your machine looks pretty wide.

[wesdor]

Are you still in Joliet?  If so you should check out your local Woodturning Club.  The national group (AAW) can be found at www.woodturner.org

Good luck.  One word of caution - you have fallen into a rabbit hole that can become very cost.  Ask me how I know.

[Brad_bb]

Thanks, but it's not my first Rabbit Hole!

[Old Greenhorn]

Thanks, but it's not my first Rabbit Hole!

Love that. The voice of experience talking there! Many of us have been there, not many admit it when we are falling into the hole....again.  We all know it, but we won't admit it.