Hey guys, 1st post. If you had 5 to 6 thousand to spend, what lathe & turning tools would you buy? I thought about a mini lathe, but would soon outgrow it. I plan to turn everything from a few pens to bowls to who knows what.
Thanks,
Larry
My goodness. I don't know that you'll find many people around here with a lathe in the $5-6K range. :o
Perhaps I'm wrong. I have under $2000 in turning tools, including my lathe, tools, chucks, calipers, etc. and there's not a whole lot I can't do. I have a Jet 1442 and it's been a good one. I think it cost me $750, shipped, when I bought it. It has probably gone up since then. That was about 7 years ago. I occasionally wish it were longer, and I have at times wished it had more swing, but it handles 99% of what I want to do. I turn bowls, chair parts, and table legs, primarily.
Ipresnel
I am with Dodgy Loner on this issue. Don't know of many lathes out there that you could spend $5000 on unless you are looking for one that has CNC capabilities.
The woodworking club I belong to has 6 JET JWL-1642EVS, 16 X 42 LATHE, 1.5HP 3PH 230V .
They are a mighty fine lathe to work with. Head can be rotated so you can turn objects as large as 5 feet in diameter. Actually saw a club member turn a 3 foot diameter segmented wood bowl once on one of them.
They will set you back about $2300 from places like Southern Tool, who right now is offering free tailgate delivery on them as well. I just bought a Jet 10-20 drum sander from them and it was at my door two days later. Was not home when it came and delivery driver was so nice that he actually used his hand cart and wheeled it right into my wood shop for my wife.
I have turned about 100 pens and probably 50 bowls on these Jet lathes and love them. At home I have a Rikon Mid size lathe and like it very much. I turn a lot of bowls on it. Wife has a nice little carbatech lathe from Penn State Industries that she turns a lot of pens on. She finds the smaller size less intimidating and likes the infinitely variable speed control a real asset, plus it is portable enough that we take it to our lake place
If I was new to turning and wanted a super lathe in that price range, I would probably suggest getting a powermatic 3520b. It's around $4000 last time I looked. You could easily spend more on a Robust or others but the Powermatic is a very nice lathe with lots of swing and you'll probably never feel the need to upgrade. I have a Jet 1642 2hp and am very happy with it but I sure would like a 3520b. I started out with a jet 1220vs and just out grew it because I love turning bowls.
You'll also want a chuck or two or three. Oneways and Vicmarcs are very nice. As far as chisels.... there are many manufacturers. I love Doug Thompsons and never heard anything bad about his steel. Let us know what you get.....
Check out the Nova DVR from Teknatool. I've had one for about 5 years and the computer controls are a joy. It actually will stop if you have a bad catch which means great safety. About $2200 these days. Works with either 110 or 220. Woodcraft carries them.
I also would suggest the Nova 2 chuck. A one and an eighth " tap so you can mount a bowl blank directly to the lathe. Look into Thompson bowl gouges. They are the best.A slow speed sharpening grinder and the Oneway Wolvering grinder jig is money well spent.
And be willing to spend some money on ventilation so you don't eat too much dust.
I turned this morning and am going back out to a fairly cold barn now to turn some more!! 8) 8)