New to Turning

[floody_85]

Hey guys. I picked up my first lathe on the weekend. A used Sherline wtl1024 off ebay for $100 with a set of chisels.
Ive had a bit of a play on the weekend. I started with some mahogany which didnt turn well at all. Then i turned a bit of blackwood and made a wand...an average wand lol.

My main goal is to turn bowls and goblets.
The lathe came with a faceplate wit a camphor bowl blank already mounted but no chucks or anything.

Ive tried searching around for what to buy but there is so many different things, I dont know what im looking at!

Im just after a bit of advice on chucks...Ive looked at carbatec and a few other websites but I really dont feel like spending hundreds lol. At least not to start with.

Im prob going to buy a jacobs chuck from carbatec and also a live center and prob a new dead center as mine is a bit old. What should I be looking for in terms of scroll chucks?? I saw a few cheapies on ebay for around 50 to 80?? I wouldnt expect great quality but would these be ok to start with and to get a better feel for turning?

Sorry for the long post but Im really keen to get going lol.

Thanks guys

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

The Sherline is along the same lines as the Dynalink lathes, isn't it? [shudder] It's not the... best of lathes, but it's far better than nothing, eh?

When it comes to chucks, there are really only 2 brands that are worth spending your money on: Vicmarcs and Teknatools. (And there are those who'd say a certain one of those brands has gone downhill lately... )

Whichever, your Sherline'd only handle one of their small chucks; the Vicmarc VM90 or the Teknatool G3 perhaps.

Either one of those chucks will cost more than your lathe has already cost ... but are well worth the investment in terms of quality and the qty of different jaws & accessories that can be fitted to them.

They also use inserts/adapters which allow them to be fitted to almost any type of thread on the headstock. Which means that if/when you decide to upgrade your lathe (And you probably will) then you can simply buy the correct adapter for the new lathe and keep on using your chuck.

So my advice is don't buy one of those cheap chaiwanese chucks... not even to fit it to a cheap lathe. They're usually false economy. Although there are odd exceptions, but you really need to know what you're looking for to find a keeper.

here's hoping that you get to make many happy curlies on your new toy!

[rsser]

Re chucks, I agree with Skew that Vicmarc is a quality item.

Teknatools are a bit variable in terms of quality.

Vermec make (or made) an excellent chuck.

But a number of us use GPW chucks, either the Gen 3 100 or Gen 3 110 and have been getting a good run out of them. Their jaws are a bit rough but you can fit VM jaws (with a minor mod) or Teknatool jaws to them. More info

[floody_85]

Thanks for the advice guys. Ill stay away from the cheapies then.
I cant seem to find the v90 anywhere though. I see that carbatec and a few other places have the g3 for 170..might have to wait awhile for that i guess. I dont really understand what all the attachments are so I guess ill read up on them til i can afford one.

Whats a must have book for beginners?

[rsser]

Sorry, the GPW Gen 3's are good value to say again.

Not at all like early cheapies.

My GPW Gen 3 110 gets heavy use and hasn't missed a beat.

Nalmo had a prob with his which was rectified quickly by Gary Pye.

Rowley's book on turning is a good starter. Woodturning: a foundation course

[floody_85]

Sorry, the GPW Gen 3's are good value to say again.

Not at all like early cheapies.

My GPW Gen 3 110 gets heavy use and hasn't missed a beat.

Nalmo had a prob with his which was rectified quickly by Gary Pye.

Rowley's book on turning is a good starter. Woodturning: a foundation course

Ive had a look on his site. Looks like quality stuff at a good price.
Would the gpw100 be best for my lathe? His turning tools look pretty good too!

Ill have a look for that book too

[rsser]

Size depends on intended application floody.

Not that there's much between those two chucks.

Can I suggest that you call GPW, and talk about your needs?

I've not had a bad call from that crowd.

Nor from Jim Carroll who stocks some of the same stuff. Click

[floody_85]

Yea thatd prob be the way to go. Cheers for the help mate

[floody_85]

Just after a bit of advice fellas. Im looking to buy a jacobs chuck within the next few days and prob a scroll chuck in a few weeks. Im a bit stumped though. Im not sure if my lathe is a bit weird or wat lol.
I was looking at these from carbatec.
Drill Chucks w/ Morse Tapers : CARBA-TEC
The prob is when i take the center off my tailstock it looks like this


Is this an abnormal tailstock? I cant see how that chuck will go on with the arbour??

Im not sure if it would work on the headstock end either


Is this a normal headstock? It all seems alot diff to what ive seen in videos where ppl have the chuck on the arbour and insert it into a hole??

Any advice would be a big help.

Thanks guys and pardon my ignorance lol

[sturina]

My lathe is pretty similar to yours. I bought a GPW chuck which has been great. It screws to the headstock (when you remove the spur drive-pic 2 of yours). You need to get the correct size insert.

The tail stock is pretty poor and am looking at changing it to something that I can fit differnt centres into.

The chuck I bought was the GPW Gen3 and found it good, if you buy the delux kit you get a few different jaws which has been handy as a beginner.

CWS Store - GEN 3 Deluxe 100 Chuck Kit | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies

[floody_85]

My lathe is pretty similar to yours. I bought a GPW chuck which has been great. It screws to the headstock (when you remove the spur drive-pic 2 of yours). You need to get the correct size insert.

The tail stock is pretty poor and am looking at changing it to something that I can fit differnt centres into.

The chuck I bought was the GPW Gen3 and found it good, if you buy the delux kit you get a few different jaws which has been handy as a beginner.

CWS Store - GEN 3 Deluxe 100 Chuck Kit | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies

Thats the chuck ive got my eye on. At least i know thatll work lol.
So the tailstock is no good and wont suit any other centres??

[RETIRED]

At a guess I would say that you have left the Morse taper in the tail stock quill. Another guess is that you used a too thin knock out bar or rod. Get a piece of steel rod that will just fit down the hole to knock it out and all should be right.

If the tail stock centre is self ejecting i.e. no hole through the quill then you have a bit of work ahead of you.

[sturina]

I havent found anything for that type of tail stock yet but others may know. I use it when spindle turning and shaping the outside of bowls with a faceplate on the headstock end. I have found it ok with chuck and a mandral to do pens but know that this is not the best way to do it. I will eventually upgrade my lathe but have to start somewhere.

[floody_85]

At a guess I would say that you have left the Morse taper in the tail stock quill. Another guess is that you used a too thin knock out bar or rod. Get a piece of steel rod that will just fit down the hole to knock it out and all should be right.

If the tail stock centre is self ejecting i.e. no hole through the quill then you have a bit of work ahead of you.

Yea there is no hole through it. I just had to turn the handle counter clockwise til the center popped out. And wats left is whats in the pic. Is that just the way its made or is the rest meant to come out? I really cant see anyway of getting it out.

[RETIRED]

I am not familiar with the Sherline but it looks as if the morse taper is still lodged in the quill.

I will wait for others to comment. Jim Carroll is probably the best bet.