Thread: lathes

G'day Smudger and welcome to the forum

Here's a good place to start

Carba-Tec Adelaide
27 Magill Rd
Stepney, SA 5069
Australia
ph: 08 8362 9111
fax: 08 8363 0271
email: [email protected]

www.carbatec.com.au


cheers
Shorty

Welcome to the "addiction" smudger007

First work out what you want to make.

Bowls - little, big, huge, and from what - great lumps of unbalanced wood or segmented bits all glued together.

or Spindle work - between centres.

This decision will help you decide what to buy and what your requirements are..

Have you got any lathe experience? - are you a first timer? - is this a buy and try lathe? - if not and you cant answer the questions above then i strongly suggest you join a wood working club and that might help.

One point i have found out is that if you intend to do large bowls and turn large unbalanced lumps of wood then EVS (Electronic Variable Speed) is almost a must - for smaller stuff (under 200mm) and spindle work EVS is a bit of a luxury. You can get away with 5 or 6 step speed adjustments from min 500 (350 is better) up too 2000 or even 3000.

You asre from Soputh Aus, think about a chat with Tim Skilton, he is a great bloke (and member here) who also gives lessons

As for a Bandsaw - i wouldnt get anything less than a 200mm cutting depth if this is for blanks etc for turning.

Hope that helps

BTW welcome to the forum

$2000 on a lathe? That's an awkward amount, sort of "in between" the cheap and the great, but still...

I'd be taking a good look at the Nova 1624-44. If outboard turning isn't your thing or low priority, the EVS version of the Vicmarc VL100 is a very nice lathe for the coin. (This isn't the one I'm thinking of... I think this may be he next model up? )

BTW, the above links are examples only and I'm not suggesting that you buy through Jim Carroll. Mind you, I doubt that you'd have any regrets if you did.

$500 and "good" bandsaw? I think you'll find that to get "good" into the equation, you'll either have to buy second-hand or drop the lathe budget to $1500 or so and almost double the bandsaw budget...

Have a look at the vermec site and the beaver lathes. Designed by vicmarc but made in china. Don't know what quality is like as a result but they looked OK when I saw them at the Brisbane show.

Smudger,

all of the advice given above is good.

But it comes from experienced turners that probably have forgotten what it was like when they started out. (So sorry, Calm )

As a novice turner who has spent many $ on lathes, tools and accessories, can I suggest:

- buy a mini-midi lathe to start with. You can turn and practice on it until you finally decide where your preference lies (big bowls or table legs or grinders..... whatever). That lathe will be your "travel companion" in years to come, whatever you later decide.

- buy some decent chisels and a good sharpening system. You won't be able to turn with blunt tools (as Ken W says, learning to turn is hard enough. Learning how to sharpen is harder).

- spend more, as Skew suggested, on your bandsaw. Whatever work you do in the future, bigger will be better.

Play around for a while on say a Woodfast or Vicmarc mini/midi lathe without variable speed. Cost I think for the former is $500, another hundred or so for the Vic.

Buy the best steel you can afford. A roughing gouge, a small bowl gouge (3/8 or 1/2 will do fine) a parting tool, a 1 inch skew plus a round nose scraper. (And a detail gouge if you can afford it.) You can add more later..... And you will.

Buy also a decent chuck. A small one to start with. I like my Vicmarcs, but there are others out there that are cheaper. You'll get a faceplate or two with your machine and all you really need is a hot melt glue gun if you can't afford the chuck.

And don't forget a dust extractor. Or at least a Dust be Gone mask.

Give any of the sponsers of this site a ring. Jim Carroll will talk you out of any unecessary purchases and will look after you I promise (no affiliation etc.).

Once you've been turning for a while, you'll make your decision on where you want to take your turning. Big, small..... it's endless. But at least you won't have spent too much on a $2000 lathe that doesn't meet your needs. (I bought a long bed VL 300 and it's wasted on me. I had visions of turning lots of table legs when starting up, but my good mate - the Axe Wielder - turns them out at a reasonable cost, so why bother?)

And you will gave good steel, a sharpening system (absolutely essential) and the dust side of things covered.

IMHO of course.

(I am a noted tool sl*t, so I do know something about spending money. And wasting it.)

Hi Smudger
I'm on the turning turning turning - loving it - learning curve - inherited my Dad's lathe etc etc - there's lots of stuf u can waste $'s on (as with anything) - Jeff's advice above sounds fine 2 me

I'd echo the above couple of posts.

You will not first up, buy the perfect lathe. It will take quite a while to discover your passions however…you can turn small items on a big lathe, but not big items on a small lathe.

I'd encourage you to look for a 2nd hand lathe of reasonable quality and reputation and you might even get some gear with it.

I started with a MC900 which got me into turning. When I decided it was going to be a long term interest I started looking around for a step up in quality. I was lucky that a Vicmarc VL250 came up for the right price with a heap of gear with it. Sold the MC900 to another learner. Since then I've also bought a little carbatec mini 2nd hand which will be my traveller and for small work.

Apart from the lathe and tools, look to join a club or establish some turning friendships. The learning curve is just a bit quicker and peers can provide a lot of inspiration.

All good info. What you haven't asked but is almost as relevant is what tools to buy.
As suggested by others. Buy a small number (even one 1/2" bowl gouge) very good quality tool/s

IMO buy a Thompson tool ( see posts)

A good Thompson tool will stay sharper longer and with less sharpening, means less chance of getting the shape wrong. More chance of you learning how to use it.
If you decide to stop turning you can always sell a good quality tool. ( the reason why you don't see too many good quality lathes for sale second hand - they get snapped up)

When I was starting out I was told to buy Glaser tools, best advice anyone ever gave me.

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys for all the useful advice given to me on my thread recently, its a great helpful forum ive joined and i am looking forward to my new interest with vigour, i look forward to a long and lasting friendship with everyone involved with this forum, and will report back on my progress.
thanks

smudger

Hi Smudger

I'm thinking about selling one of my Woodfast lathes (older OZ build, but with variable speed) which may be of interest if you decide to go with the secondhand/quality instead of new cheaper build options.

Also happy to talk about local bandsaw sources (including Leda) if you would like to send me an email.

Neil

Hi Neils i am @ if you would like to contact me about your lathe etc

regards brian aka Smudger007

Brian send Neil a PM as it is more secure for you

Originally Posted by smudger007

Hi Neils i am @ if you would like to contact me about your lathe etc

regards brian aka Smudger007

Brian send Neil a PM as it is more secure for you

Brian - I have sent you a Privater Message (PM) with my email address.

Neil

How do you send a PM on this forum.

Fred