Thread: Lathe on Sale at ALDI

Originally Posted by DaveTTC

And yet I've seen some prominent YouTuber's turning with ordinary wood chisels

DaveTTC
The Turning Cowboy
Turning Wood Into Art

Don Lee was filling in for Richard Raffin at Mittagong a few decades back and said you can turn with anything.
To illustrate the point he used an axe as a skew.
Don used to play the country bumpkin and boy did he suck the knowalls in.
Off course as he doesn’t have a Facebook or instcringe page he never existed.
H.

Originally Posted by clear out

Don Lee was filling in for Richard Raffin at Mittagong a few decades back and said you can turn with anything.
To illustrate the point he used an axe as a skew.
Don used to play the country bumpkin and boy did he suck the knowalls in.
Off course as he doesn’t have a Facebook or instcringe page he never existed.
H.

Someone filling in for Richard must know what they're doing and are skilled with the most dangerous of wood turning tools and often shied away from due its propensity to cause damage. Yes you could use these tools effectively as scrapers or like a skew but a novice turner that will buy this lathe will not have the knowledge of this and as such will end up hurt. I even avoid the skew sometimes.

its only one smart lawyer and these guys are cactus.

I've never done any wood turning and I have so far avoided the whole area because it is another tool/expense etc.
Plus I have plenty to do and I can learn wood turning in future years. Not to mention that I have a serious shortage of space.
To use it, it would have to be something I could lift onto the table outside for use.

Then the other day, my wife showed me this ALDI sale. Initially the tool rest looked plastic and so I dismissed the idea but looking again, probably it is not plastic.
Would it be worth the price for someone like me?
I guess it would not be good enough for serious work but would it be OK to learn on? Say make a few handles and learn to make small items? Salt and Pepper shakers? Some small bowls? May be some small table legs? It wouldn't be something I would use very often. (unless I get bitten by the bug).
Would this one be OK for pen making for example?
I know nothing about wood turning. As I say, I have avoided even looking into it so far.

For example, my wife would like me to make some napkin rings before Xmas. So I was thinking about how I might do that with the drill press and a sander. But if I had this I would give turning a go.

Also, if I did get this, I have no idea what chisels to buy for a beginner.

I appreciate, I would still need to acquire a much better one in the future if I wanted to get into turning properly. But I'm not looking for that just yet.

P.S. I notice that this lathe doesn't have a chuck. Does that matter?

Originally Posted by DaveVman

I guess it would not be good enough for serious work but would it be OK to learn on? Say make a few handles and learn to make small items? Salt and Pepper shakers? Some small bowls? May be some small table legs? It wouldn't be something I would use very often. (unless I get bitten by the bug).

You will learn something maybe even useful with it but if you like wood I'm pretty certain you will get the bug pretty quickly.
Lathes are also magnets and black holes for accessories.
What you want to avoid is spending any money on accessories that only fit the WorkZone lathe and may not fit a better lathes.
Lathes are also massive wood dust makers so you need good extraction especially if you get the bug because you will spend hours doing it.

Also, if I did get this, I have no idea what chisels to buy for a beginner.

Just to get you started doing small stuff I would look at a basic set like this.
https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/chisels-and-lathe-tools/wood-turning-chisel-sets/chisel-set-hss-3pce-wooden-box.
I still have my set and I use it a lot to turn plastics.

Here is a warning from our pommy friends:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/...us-t99842.html

DaveVman,
my first lathe was a clone of this, from SuperCheapAuto.
You can get an adapter to fit a chuck on it, but....

The biggest fix (apart from buying a better lathe) is to bolt the whole thing down to a sturdy base. Otherwise, as soon as you use the tailstock the bed 'hinges' where it joins the flimsy metal of the head.

If you go ahead, with eyes open and expectations low, it can be a way to test whether you are going to really get into turning, and then you'll really appreciate your next lathe!

OK so I bought one anyway. I wont have time to unbox it for at least a week and probably 3.
Even then I don't have any chisels or face shield. However at some point I will be able to give it a go and I can report my experiences with it.

I did some research and it seems it certainly is limited - both in accuracy and what it can handle. But what can one expect for $150?

I got in just before closing today and there was a stack of them. I suspect that if you go to ALDI often enough you might find these hang around in some stores and at some point you will be able to pick one up for $100.

One reason I eventually decided to get it, was that one of it's weaknesses it also a strength. There are a couple of YouTube videos pointing out how it vibrates dangerously if you put anything heavy or unbalanced in it. It does not have a cast iron frame. Two guys pointed out that this also means it can be stowed on a wall and carried into position to be used. In my little shop that is very important.

I am concerned about the face plate but I'll figure something out.
I didn't even know what a face plate was yesterday.

One quick question I have already - is construction pine OK for testing/learning on?

Originally Posted by arose62

DaveVman,
my first lathe was a clone of this, from SuperCheapAuto.
You can get an adapter to fit a chuck on it, but....

Thanks for your input.
Where can I find an adapter for it?

Originally Posted by arose62

The biggest fix (apart from buying a better lathe) is to bolt the whole thing down to a sturdy base. Otherwise, as soon as you use the tailstock the bed 'hinges' where it joins the flimsy metal of the head.

Initially I'll clamp it to my assembly table with several clamps. I'm not sure I'd really describe that as a sturdy base but it certainly has some mass.
I do have a solid pine cabinet I could bolt it on to. (Incidentally a pine cabinet donated to me by a kind forum member). I have been thinking about reperposing this cabinet due to a lack of space. However I could bolt the lathe to it and put something heavy inside it and see how that goes before I do anything else with the cabinet. So I have some options.

Originally Posted by arose62

If you go ahead, with eyes open and expectations low, it can be a way to test whether you are going to really get into turning, and then you'll really appreciate your next lathe!

Yes - this sums up my attitude to it also.
Without this option it would have been many years before I gave wood-turning a go to be honest.

Free wood is best for learning
Now that you have a lathe, you'll spot free wood everywhere!
Pine is soft, so it'll teach you to keep your tools really sharp, or it will crush and tear out. But yes, I've made mallets, handles and gravels from pine.

If you do the above, or wands, legs, dibblers, custom sized dowels etc., you won't be using the faceplate, so you can postpone that worry until you start thinking of bowls and platters.

I bought a Nova chuck, so I bought the adapter at the same time. Hare & Forbes, I think...

The better proposition would have been to join a local woodturning club where you would get sensible advice on the brand and quality of lathes,
the proper choice of quality chisels and be taught to turn safely and within your limits. Unfortunately, without proper advice and suitable training,
you may have an accident causing serious injury and this would certainly dent your confidence.

I wouldn't bother getting a chuck for it, in fact I would not buy ANY accessories for it till you are well underway.
You can learn heaps of basics just using a drive spur and by the time you have got beyond that you'll be ready to move up.

I'd be getting something like an Armadillo face shield, costs a bit more but is one of the best value face shields around and will be useful for all sorts of use around a workshop.

Hi Dave, I too started with a clone of this lathe, GMC version. The chisels I bought were the Supercraft Woodturning set,
similar to this set. Supercraft-Wood-Turning-Chisel-Set-8pc-350px.jpg

Being a low carbon steel, they don't really hold their edge well, so you'll get plenty of practice sharpening them. Make sure you get a decent grinder as well. The grey stones supplied on most grinders will be OK for this set of chisels.
Later on you'll when you upgrade to a better setup, you'll need a white grinding wheel for grinding the tool steel that the better chisels are made from.
I did quite a bit of turning with this set and the lathe. It really needs to be bolted to something solid, I used some 32mm bench top for mine. To get some extra weight into your cabinet, get some bags of cement, sometimes you can get ones that have gotten damp/wet quite cheaply, or cement bricks, and place in the bottom.
Because the spindle and tailstock aren't hollow, they're not really suitable for turning pens, unless you want to turn them between centres.
The toolrest is a cast unit and a bit long for turning the smaller stuff, you'll need to have about 3mm between the spinning wood and the tool rest, so you'll need to either make some yourself or get a welder friend to help with this.
The Nova chucks are excellent and the best part is that you can keep it for the next lathe, just change the insert to suit the new lathe. Later on you can get different sized jaws for various tenons, which come in handy for the bigger jobs.
As others have mentioned, join a Club, to learn the correct way of maximising the use of the various tools, self taught bring bad habits, which are hard to break and could be dangerous.
My first lathe set up cost me about $150.00, then the bug bit really hard, my next lathe was $1500, but came with a lot of accessories, a decent chisel can be around $90 and upwards.
You'll need some form of Dust Extraction, something a bit better than a Vacuum Cleaner, get the best you can afford, it'll pay in the long run, as you won't be cleaning up shavings and you won't get as much in your lungs etc. Read BobL's reports in the Dust Forum: DUST EXTRACTION

section.
Kryn

Thanks for the good advise. My current idea is to clamp it to my assembly table which gets wheeled out to the car port.
I'll soon find out if this is insufficient.

Hopefully dust in lungs is not too much of an issue out there. The shavings get sweeped up along with the leaves.

I do have a good dust extractor but I don't yet have ducting for it. but in time I'll get that properly implemented.

I like the idea of bolting it to some kitchen bench off cut then clamping that to the table.

I haven't looked into any clubs. I did look into men's sheds but they are all set up for retired guys and not for us working classes so I gave up that idea.



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