Thread: Advice on first lathe decision

Second hand is very good place to start. If be looking for someth I g that includes chisels and chucks

EVS (electronic variable speed) is a big bonus

I dont favour a swivel head as they can move out of alignment when 'locked' back in place.

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

As Dave said, most of my gear is second hand used and secondhand new which is a score.I would rather a fixed headstock with big swing.
but I do alot of spindle turning. Posts and bals.
Check bearing are ok and tailstock quill isn't to sloppy.also inclusions like chucks and tools. Do your research on prices.
I could of bought a G3 nova Chuck for 240 yesterday but seemed to dear.

Originally Posted by captainkirk

Hi all,

I have recently had the opportunity to try my hand at wood turning for the first time and I enjoyed it a lot. So of course I have been on the hunt for a reasonable lathe to buy. I have the option to purchase a Jet 1442 VSK (I think this is the correct code). It is the belt driven variable speed and this one made in 2006. Do you think this would be a good place to start? At $1,000 it is within my budget. Any comments appreciated.
Cheers.

Being in Emerald CQ does not give you a lot of opportunity to pick up a good S/H lathe locally.

The Jet 1442 was a fairly popular lathe and is certainly a quite reasonable lathe for the dollars. Nice & heavy with a pretty solid banjo & tool post, though personally I never liked the tool post spigott directly over the cam lock design. Much prefer an offset design. My only concern with the 1442 would be the condition of the reeves drive, so if it checks out OK & if its local & at the right price I think you probably have a keeper.

Next thing to keep in mind is that you can easily spend that much again on a basic setup of tools, one chuck, 5 or 6 quality tools, an inexpensive grinder and a basic tool sharpening jig. I believe you guys have a pretty good club in Emerald with some very good turners so you should be able to get some good advice.

They are around good and secondhand but sometimes it is a month or 3 with nothing on offer then its 3 contenders in a week

I bought one of these http://www.garypye.com/Lathe-s-Acces...rive-p769.html

It is in as new condition with chuck incl 3 sets of jaws ; chiesels ; slow speed grinder ; face places; bench ; and more for under $1000

BUT I had to travel over 400 klm to buy it

What have you got for dust extraction?
In case you are not aware woodturning is one of THE most fine wood dust generating activities around.
By fine dust I mean invisible dust which hangs around for days and is the cause of heath issues.
Besides being awful to wear, masks still leave a shed full of dust which in practical terms means wearing a mask every time you enter the are a short term solution for beginners but once your hobby gets beyond occasional use you'll really high volume dust extraction which unfortunately can cost as much as a lathe.

Thanks for your responses.
Regarding dust extraction, I have a 2hp dust extractor unit that should take car of dust.
As I understand, this lathe has had very little use, the only factor towards wear would be age.
It comes with a jawed chuck valued at around $200.
I believe our local club has just invested in tool sharpening jigs and grinder wheels, so that should get me started with sharp tools.
Unfortunately, the lathe is part of a deceased estate so the guy selling it doesn't know much about it so I will need to take a look next and decide after inspection.
Cheers.

If it's a deceased estate there would have to be at a minimum chisels and one would expect a grinder etc.

I would suggest going to see it and try and make an offer on the lot.


Dave

The Turning Cowboy

You are right Dave, there is a set of tools also for sale, but I don't know if they are of decent quality or what brand they are.
Cheers.

can you get pictures we will be happy to help you out. who knows you might even help us out if there is something someone else is interested and you are not

DaveTTC

Turning Wood Into Art

Here are photos of lathe and tools.

Originally Posted by captainkirk

Here are photos of lathe and tools.

Hi cap, t,
Just buy it you will not regret It, jet is a good brand
and with the chuck and tools you will be set to go
Not too sure about the tools,,,,,,,, any name on them?
Anyway....... whatever they are they will get you started
Welcome to the forum and be warned this woodturning
IS VERY ADDICTIVE

Name of chisels would hel but looks like a good start up aet even if cheap steel.

Couple of chisels there i need to get

If the chisels are anything to go by the unit must be near new.

Are there anyother turning related jigs or tools? Try for a bench grinder. If you get serious you could be touching up a chisel at least once a day and may not want to wait till you go to your club.

There's a few sharpening jigs on the market and a lot of merit to them. If i were starting from scratch I'd probably look at the vicmarc but all do similar job.


Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

The tools look to be the better grade of Chinese. They will do you for a long while unless you have gotten a bad batch.

The one not in the box looks like one of the 8 for $19.95 set, which surprisingly works pretty well but not for a long time between sharpenings.

When you check out the variable speed drive be sure the lathe is running before changing speed. If it has been setting a long time the speed change mechanism and the V-belt may be stiff and be hard to change and will vibrate.

Let it run on slow to medium speed for 5 minutes and then go from slow to fast and back a few times to get a feel for how well it works.

The Reeves drive works well when all is right, but is a bit of a pain when not.

I think a grinder is necessary right by the lathe. Even when roughing out a bowl I'm sharpening every five minutes. When doing finish cuts and final scraping I'm sharpening after every two to four passes.

If a grinder does not come with the lathe do some research or ask here. It would be good to get some instruction at a men's shed.

Welcome to the addiction.

So I bought the lathe and I am very happy with the results. Seems like a solid machine and all the parts work as expected. Here is a pic of the first successful project.