Can anyone suggest a great mini lathe to purchase please?

[clare]

Hello Everyone, :)

I'm wanting to purchase a mini lathe to turn some smallish blocks - probably about 10 x 10 cm max into little 'display' stands for small sculptures.

Can anyone recommend a great product? I'm in Sydney and not really wanting to spend more than $400, which is the price of the Carbatec economic mini lathe, unless I really need to. Does anyone have one of these lathes and if so does it perform well and reliable?

Many thanks in advance.
Best, Clare.

[dubrosa22]

The size and specs of the $399 Carbatec minilathe is probably more than adequate for your needs but you'll need plenty of accessories and lathe tools too.

Drive centre, dead or live centres, perhaps a chuck or collet, and chisels of course.

The website doesn't seem to mention the morse taper of the headstock or tailstock just the thread size. Does it have a morse taper?

I personally would not buy any lathe without morse taper capabilities in both headstock and tailstock.

Vaughan

[BobL]

It depends what you and others mean by "great".
I'd say for $400 you will get a lathe "adequate" for what you want to do.

However, the lathe is only just the start - then you will need tools, PPE and dust extraction.
And did you know that wood turning (especially by newbies) is one of the dustiest wood working activities around exposing woodturners to levels on average about 40X greater than old recommended health and safety standards. Hence the need for some form of decent dust extraction.

[Sawdust Maker]

I see a couple of options

buy a lathe and then the associated tools - chisels, grinder to sharpen chisels, dust extraction, probably a chuck, maybe a centre or two.

get someone else to turn the smallish blocks - you might get quite a few for the $400 - but not the enjoyment of turning your own

or you could join the local men's shed and use their equipment ...

[Pac man]

Or you could join Sydney wood turners or Marrickville maker space.

but if it were me I'd take Nick up on his generous offer to do them for you :2tsup:

[clare]

Thanks so much for replying Sawdust Maker :) I have made contact with Men's Sheds in the past, but my understanding is that women are not allowed to join, as it's thought having women around may impact on men sharing their emotions with each other. It's a good point, and I respect that, but perhaps each shed has it's own rules and it's not so locked down these days. I've made contact with a local shed to get an idea of a price for the job, but I'm a maker through and through. I'd MUCH rather make my own :)
Appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

[clare]

Thanks so much for your reply BobL. :) I know $400 is only entry level, but hopefully its enough of a budget to get me a lathe to do the job. I have all the other things you suggest for other forms of woodworking I do, but I appreciate your concern.

[clare]

Thats so helpful, thanks Vaughan. I'll look into all the 'add-on's', do some homework and then the math!! :) Thanks again.

[clare]

Or you could join Sydney wood turners or Marrickville maker space.

but if it were me I'd take Nick up on his generous offer to do them for you :2tsup:

Hahaha - did I miss something here Pac man?!! Maybe I'll look into Sydney Wood Turners. My understanding is that you have to be a reg member to use MakerSpace. Thanks anyway. :)

[hughie]

Clare, you could look at second hand as they often come with various accessories, sets of gouges etc

[clare]

I think I might just do that Hughie- thanks so much.

[BobL]

Thanks so much for your reply BobL. :) I know $400 is only entry level, but hopefully its enough of a budget to get me a lathe to do the job. I have all the other things you suggest for other forms of woodworking I do, but I appreciate your concern.

Yes it should do what you want.
Do you already have the lathe turning tools?

[clare]

I have carving tools and can access some turning tools Bob :)

[ian]

Hi Clare

Turning tools are a whole lot of expense compared to other woodworking tools.

At a guess, a beginner set would include
roughing gouge
parting tool
finger gouge
skew chisel -- possibly in two or three sizes
scraper -- again possibly in two sizes.

all in High Speed Steel (HSS) and a bench grinder to keep them sharp.

All up the cost of the tooling will likely exceed the cost of a $400 lathe.

[Fumbler]

It depends what you and others mean by "great".
I'd say for $400 you will get a lathe "adequate" for what you want to do.

However, the lathe is only just the start - then you will need tools, PPE and dust extraction.
And did you know that wood turning (especially by newbies) is one of the dustiest wood working activities around exposing woodturners to levels on average about 40X greater than old recommended health and safety standards. Hence the need for some form of decent dust extraction.

BobL, don't take this the wrong way but why do you hijack EVERY question about new lathes and starting out with dust extraction systems more expensive than the tool people are asking about. We get it, it's a dusty profession/hobby. Did you work for work cover or are you the forums WHS officer. I have had a $39.95 Vacuum stuck behind my lathe with the nozzle pointed at the job and have never had any issues.

sorry but every time someone asks the question that Clare asks, there you are giving more information about the severity of dust etc instead of what they are looking for.

[BobL]

BobL, don't take this the wrong way but why do you hijack EVERY question about new lathes and starting out with dust extraction systems more expensive than the tool people are asking about. We get it, it's a dusty profession/hobby. Did you work for work cover or are you the forums WHS officer. I have had a $39.95 Vacuum stuck behind my lathe with the nozzle pointed at the job and have never had any issues.

sorry but every time someone asks the question that Clare asks, there you are giving more information about the severity of dust etc instead of what they are looking for.

I won't respond to this as its off topic. f you bring it up in an an appropriate forum I might respond.

[Sturdee]

I won't respond to this as its off topic. f you bring it up in an an appropriate forum I might respond.

Maybe it's off topic but a direct response to your post, which was also off topic, so a further off topic reply is warranted.

[TinyTool]

G'day Clare,
My first lathe was the Carbatec Mini Lathe and it was great. Solid, straight, simple to use. I used it for pens, grinders small bowls, etc. The big cost though is the "accessories". Well worthwhile investing in good accessories because they can be used on just about any lathe, in case you want to upgrade to a larger lathe in the future.
Geoff

[NeilS]

I'm wanting to purchase a mini lathe to turn some smallish blocks - probably about 10 x 10 cm max into little 'display' stands for small sculptures.



Another option, Clare.

Team up with someone who already has a setup. That way you get a jump start, some guidance and extend your network. You will be more informed after that on what you need for your own setup.

There is a Wood Whispering Women forum somewhere on these woodworking forums. It is not very active, but there might be enough active members to link you up with someone in your area.

As already suggested, non-mens shed woodworking/turning clubs could be another way of linking up with established woodturners.

BTW, almost any lathe with minimal tools will do what you are planning to do.


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[clare]

I fully understand what you're saying Fumbler, but I also really appreciate BobL is probably concerned that I might be unaware of the hazards and not safe. This is definitely not the situation in my case as I'm a seasoned sculptor working across a large range of materials and very aware of the various hazards each material/method brings. So I can see it's probably helpful to ask whether someone needs this advice first I guess, so's not to put people off before they've started. However, safety is paramount for us all and the fact someone cares enough to ask if I know how to keep myself safe is heartwarming in this day and age where it seems many folk couldn't give a toss.

Setting all this aside, it's TOTALLY fabulous that so many people are generous with their knowledge and openness to help - and for that I thank you all.

[clare]

Thanks so much NeilS!

[clare]

Thats great advice, appreciate thanks TinyTool

[Sawdust Maker]

NC Archer might still have this little shortbed for sale (go to post no 6)
Here (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f275/3x-woodfast-wood-lathes-212555)

[Lappa]

I belong to a Mens Shed on the north side of Sydney and we have a number of women members - everyone is welcome and encouraged.

[Fumbler]

I fully understand what you're saying Fumbler, but I also really appreciate BobL is probably concerned that I might be unaware of the hazards and not safe. This is definitely not the situation in my case as I'm a seasoned sculptor working across a large range of materials and very aware of the various hazards each material/method brings. So I can see it's probably helpful to ask whether someone needs this advice first I guess, so's not to put people off before they've started. However, safety is paramount for us all and the fact someone cares enough to ask if I know how to keep myself safe is heartwarming in this day and age where it seems many folk couldn't give a toss.

Setting all this aside, it's TOTALLY fabulous that so many people are generous with their knowledge and openness to help - and for that I thank you all.

Your welcome, this site is invaluable to say the least and when I want a good D.E system and set up I definitely know who to talk to, but he probably won't talk to me now. Unless he can see the funny side.

[NeilS]

NC Archer might still have this little shortbed for sale (go to post no 6)
Here (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f275/3x-woodfast-wood-lathes-212555)I'm surprised that one hasn't gone, as that is an excellent price on the shortbed Woodfast. The variable speed is worth that alone. The 30mm X 3.5 thread size is also an advantage.

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[Treecycle]

There is a Wood Whispering Women forum somewhere on these woodworking forums. It is not very active, but there might be enough active members to link you up with someone in your area.

Wood Whispering Women (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f108)

[dai sensei]

I recommend a Woodfast M305 midi, and if you can afford it, the new M305X variable speed model. See https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/category/-woodfast-lathes for more details

The Woodfast is a small and light weight lathe but built far more solidly than most of the other small lathe options. Apart from the usual small stuff it also has the ability to even turn a half decent bowl. I have been to nearly all the Turnarounds throughout Australia and the number of Woodfasts out number other brands 4 to 1.

[Optimark]

I think the Carbatec lathe you have chosen is probably the best bang for your buck, more so when you wish to have a ceiling of $400. This is if you purchase new. Purchasing something second hand, which you have intimated you are willing to do; should mean you can get more bang for your buck, or the lathe you are looking at new, for less.

Things I looked at and still do when considering a lathe, are how low the lowest speed is and what are the speed gradations overall. Closely followed by how easy it is to change the belt for speed changes

When roughing down odd sized and unbalanced timber, you usually need slow speeds, mostly selecting the lowest speed for very out of balance objects. These are usually rough cut logs, which in your case would most likely be tree branches.

Taking your stated request of turning 10cm by 10cm blanks to whatever. Assuming they are squared, you will need to rough cut the sharp edges off first. As these blanks are reasonably balanced the lowest speed of that lathe, which is 300rpm, equates to approximately 1.57 m/s (metres a second) surface speed of your blanks. This is probably a little slow, but as your chosen lathe has 5 speeds from 300 to 3,200, there are only 5 steps, so the next step could be a big one.

Assuming the steps are evenly spaced; they generally are, your steps are probably in 730rpm increments. Meaning your next speed up is 1,030rpm which is 5.4m/s. This speed may be a tad too fast for square blanks, but it would be where I would gently start with a sharp chisel, if possible. You rough the square edges off and reduce the blank to about 85mm. It would probably still have flat surfaces in places.

Once you have blanks around 85mm pick your next speed which is 1,760rpm and your cutting surface is being presented to your chisel at almost 8m/s. This is quite fast, but not a problem with a sharp chisel, in fact about right for many cutting speeds on a lathe. You then reduce your blanks to about 80mm round with a surface speed of about 7.4m/s.

One day I read an article on wood turning and mention was made of the speed of the wood surface that worked well for the author. I did some thinking about the speeds that seemed to work well for me, after some calculations I came to the conclusion that for general work, anything between 5m/s to 8m/s was where I had naturally settled on as about right for me. Obviously as work size decreases as you remove stock, your speed needs to be increased to keep the chisel working as you like.

Most, if not all lathes in the same class I looked at after reading your question and doing a quick search, have minimum speeds of around 500rpm, with some starting at 650rpm. These speeds are alright for small reasonably balanced blanks, but could be a bit iffy with really out of balanced larger rough stock. That said, if you ignore the St Vitas dance of these mini lathes in that initial stage, then fine, but I have been caught out with a mini lathe with too high a low speed with largish (for this size of lathe) very unbalanced blanks.

To put metre per second speeds into place, think of it like this. At 8m/s, your chisel is travelling 8 metres in one second. Picture a room or space known to you that is 8m long, imagine you pushing a chisel that length in 1 second. This is quite a high demand on your chisel, it also shows how technology in the form of steels and machinery has matured to the point that we can discuss and purchase these devices for the cost of a couple of nights in a city hotel. Unbelievably cheap really.

I would suggest if you can stretch your budget, you could consider a Woodfast lathe, the Midi 305 lathe, it has one feature which is to me, its biggest selling point. The ability to change lathe speeds as easy as anything, taking around 15 seconds at the best and 30 seconds at the worst. These changes are done with the operator not needing to change position. One just flips the black left cover leftwards, then move a lever to release the belt (situated in front of the motor). Move the belt to the desired position, then reverse the procedure. You are usually away within 30 seconds.

Wood Lathes (http://www.woodfast.com.au/wood-lathes.html)


Some thoughts.

Mick.

[d.m.s]

What's the ryobi lathe I saw at the bunnies like?

[Sturdee]

What's the ryobi lathe I saw at the bunnies like?

It's a great boat anchor but as a lathe forget it.

Peter.

[pommyphil]

Nice little VM 100 on ebay, here small wood lathe | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/small-wood-lathe/282658366253?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649) Phil

[Midnight Man]

Nice little VM 100 on ebay, here small wood lathe | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/small-wood-lathe/282658366253?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649) Phil

At $355 currently, that is a steal - it's worth a decent chunk more than that (at least, when I got mine a year or so ago, I was pleased to land a 2nd hand VM150 around $800 from memory).

[Colin62]

Looks like it sold for $500.