Thread: Starting my Woodturning Journey - Advice/Opinion sought

Hi Mike,

As someone who has only been turning for just over a year, here are some thoughts.

1. It's a short lathe (457 mm between centres). Unless you have gnomes living in your house, any stool/table legs you make won't be practical. Because you aren't buying for a specific need, I would suggest you get something with a longer bed which will give you more versatility to explore what you can do/want to do with your lathe.
2. Auto catch sensing tech. There are other ways to deal with potential catches, such as using a small toothed/toothless driver centre, or if on a belt driven lathe, keep the belt a little loose such that it can slip if required. Though having said all that, you'll learn pretty quickly and catches won't be a common issue. And they're really not that scary, the worst part is messing you your work piece.
3. I would be reluctant to use your lathe as a sharpening grinder. The waste wheel medium if not cleaned up well will wear your bed when moving your tail-stock around. You'll also have to be fastidious about cleaning up any metal dust, as it will induce rust very easily. Far better to buy a separate grinder. Also, you'll frequently need to sharpen during a project, and you don't want to have to unmount your workpiece to do so.
4. That's a lot of money for something you don't even know you'll enjoy doing. If you consider a solid older lathe, it may be all you ever need, and if you do want to upgrade down the track, you won't be out of pocket.

With respect to what else to buy, all you'll need to start is a drive centre and a basic chisel set. Once/if they wear out you'll know what you want to replace each one with. Only buy accessories when you want to start a project which needs it, otherwise you'll end up with a range of do-dads which you may never use.

Good luck with your research though. Having a lathe certainly opens up a whole other realm of woodworking.

Get the bed extension; even if you never use it it’ll add to the resale value. I also wouldn’t bother with the morse-to-morse thingy unless the swivelling head doesn’t have detents to lock it back into alignment with the bed.

I think that choice of lathe will suit you fine; I upgraded from a Carbatec 10/14 mini lathe to a Record Coronet Herald which is fairly similar in capabilities and capacities. As yet I haven’t needed the bed extension but it’s there ready for when I do. Pity you’re not closer; I have a practically new all-singing, all-dancing adjustable lathe stand with an optional 3rd foot for a bed extension taking up useful space that you could have had cheaply!

I REALLY recommend you get some hands on training though; either through a Mens Shed or local guild or an evening TAFE course. Hours of You-Tube videos pale into insignificance compared to just 30 minutes of hands on instruction by a competent turner who can show you how to safely mount the wood and perform the basic cuts.

Lance's comments cover pretty much what I was going to say.

It's a short lathe so it's highly likely you'll use a bed extension.

Disc sander is one thing but to use it as a grinder will be be a PITA. You've just set up a large irregular workpiece on the lathe and then you find you need to sharpen. Its waaaay to dangerous to spin a large irregular workpiece at the speed you need to grind at so you's have to remove the piece to sharpen
Maybe there's a way around this but I cant see it. Seeing as you are prepared to invest $4k you might as well get a 8" grinder and a CBN wheel.

FWIW I bought a Carbatech Economy mini with extension bed in 2008 and I have flogged that thing "hard" over the last 14 years and it's still going.
If I had the $$ I would have bought something like a Nova but as I had limited funds I decided on a basic lathe and put my limited finds towards 3 Nova chucks which I don't regret.
I realize this is not for everyone but I made my own chuck jaws, second banjo, steady, various custom tool posts, replaced the motor with a 3P motor with double the power and added a VFD.
The one thing that has failed in 14 years was the banjo clamp which I was able to fix.
The lathe itself is now getting "tired" and I keep thinking about replacing it but as I now use it mainly to make Bell mouth hoods I can really justify it at the moment. Maybe - someday?

I REALLY recommend you get some hands on training though; either through a Mens Shed or local guild or an evening TAFE course. Hours of You-Tube videos pale into insignificance compared to just 30 minutes of hands on instruction by a competent turner who can show you how to safely mount the wood and perform the basic cuts.

Agree 100% One thing that Utube cannot do is watch you turning and correct your mistakes - especially those you are unaware of.

Originally Posted by LanceC

Hi Mike,

As someone who has only been turning for just over a year, here are some thoughts.

1. It's a short lathe (457 mm between centres). Unless you have gnomes living in your house, any stool/table legs you make won't be practical. Because you aren't buying for a specific need, I would suggest you get something with a longer bed which will give you more versatility to explore what you can do/want to do with your lathe.
2. Auto catch sensing tech. There are other ways to deal with potential catches, such as using a small toothed/toothless driver centre, or if on a belt driven lathe, keep the belt a little loose such that it can slip if required. Though having said all that, you'll learn pretty quickly and catches won't be a common issue. And they're really not that scary, the worst part is messing you your work piece.
3. I would be reluctant to use your lathe as a sharpening grinder. The waste wheel medium if not cleaned up well will wear your bed when moving your tail-stock around. You'll also have to be fastidious about cleaning up any metal dust, as it will induce rust very easily. Far better to buy a separate grinder. Also, you'll frequently need to sharpen during a project, and you don't want to have to unmount your workpiece to do so.
4. That's a lot of money for something you don't even know you'll enjoy doing. If you consider a solid older lathe, it may be all you ever need, and if you do want to upgrade down the track, you won't be out of pocket.

With respect to what else to buy, all you'll need to start is a drive centre and a basic chisel set. Once/if they wear out you'll know what you want to replace each one with. Only buy accessories when you want to start a project which needs it, otherwise you'll end up with a range of do-dads which you may never use.

Good luck with your research though. Having a lathe certainly opens up a whole other realm of woodworking.

Thanks for your input, Lance. You've given me some great advice and food for thought especially about the downside to using it as a grinder. I see Vicmarc has a pic on their website showing the CBN wheel installed on the outboard side of the lathe. I'll have to check to see if this is an option with the Orion. If it is, then that should help with the metal waste and having to remove the workpiece to sharpen.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Get the bed extension; even if you never use it it’ll add to the resale value. I also wouldn’t bother with the morse-to-morse thingy unless the swivelling head doesn’t have detents to lock it back into alignment with the bed.

I think that choice of lathe will suit you fine; I upgraded from a Carbatec 10/14 mini lathe to a Record Coronet Herald which is fairly similar in capabilities and capacities. As yet I haven’t needed the bed extension but it’s there ready for when I do. Pity you’re not closer; I have a practically new all-singing, all-dancing adjustable lathe stand with an optional 3rd foot for a bed extension taking up useful space that you could have had cheaply!

I REALLY recommend you get some hands on training though; either through a Mens Shed or local guild or an evening TAFE course. Hours of You-Tube videos pale into insignificance compared to just 30 minutes of hands on instruction by a competent turner who can show you how to safely mount the wood and perform the basic cuts.

Thanks CT. I think I'll follow your suggestion and get the bed extension especially if I can install the CBN wheel on the outboard side. And I'll look into a training course near my area. Cheers.

Originally Posted by BobL

.....Seeing as you are prepared to invest $4k you might as well get a 8" grinder and a CBN wheel.

Thanks for your reply, Bob. It's not so much the funds (although they do play a factor), but more of space and available footprint. I was thinking of getting the Vicmarc sharpening station, but again, I just don't have the space. Cheers.

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Here's a photo of the CBN wheel installed on the outboard side with a bed extension. I really hope this is an option with the Orion because it will answer some of the concerns raised.

I've just been speaking to Jim from CWS who has raised some more (mounting) issues with my plan to install the CBN wheel on the outboard side of the Orion. He also raised the same concerns regarding metal swarf and dust. It seems the Orion is not designed to have the bed extension installed on the outboard side and I'd have to jerry rig something up to hold jigs etc. In the end, I've accepted that it's not a viable option and there's no way around it, I'll have to look at where in my workshop I can set up a dedicated sharpening station.

Hi Mike. I thought Lance's reply was perfect. One other thing that has proved to be so true was the cost of chisels, chucks, centres, calipers and more chisels all really does start to add up. Turning is a real game changer, especially making knobs, handles, etc and all of this work is small but I have made a few longer items too (stool legs, coat rack shafts, etc). Have you considered second hand stuff?

Originally Posted by Mountain Ash

.....Have you considered second hand stuff?

Hello MA,

Yes, I have, but most of the stuff I'm after doesn't seem to come up on the 2ndhand market. There are a couple of Vicmarc lathes for sale in my area but they're too big and are floor standers. I have had luck with my bandsaw (Laguna BX) and tablesaw (Sawstop 32" PCS) which I bought through Gumtree. The chisels, calipers, etc. I'll probably get secondhand but I'll probably start out with the carbide-tipped tools before getting into bowl-gouges, skew chisel, etc. As for the chucks and stuff, at this stage my knowledge is so miniscule that I don't really know what I will need or if they're compatible with the lathe I end up getting. I will be on a steep learning curve.......but that's nothing new.

G'day Kahoy

I similarly mostly self taught.

I have self-taught all my woodworking. However with woodturning I did decide to try a local association (similar to a men's shed). I would really recommend that for turning. There is a whole heap of basic stuff that is really difficult to self-teach. I mucked around at home and did basic spindle stuff but it wasn't until I did some sessions with experienced turners I picked up things that I just never would have figured out. There is far less on Youtube than you would think on basic set-up, mounting pieces, setting up rests, et cetera. I haven't really seen a good tutorial series (in the way you would get Paul Sellers or Phil Lowe series).

At the risk of stereotyping (I mean this is a fond way) you will often find in those places a lot of the regulars are older and retired men who are quite happy to spend a bit of time teaching and advising a relatively young fella.

Funnily enough, in contrast, the few times I tried a class for regular woodworking I have not enjoyed it and never gone back. After you have done a lot of self-teaching and trying things different ways, my limited experience has been that "flat" woodworkers all seem to be often very dogmatic and very prickly about only doing things their way. I have found turners are far more chilled.

Chris

Originally Posted by Cgcc

G'day Kahoy

I similarly mostly self taught.

I have self-taught all my woodworking. However with woodturning I did decide to try a local association (similar to a men's shed). I would really recommend that for turning. There is a whole heap of basic stuff that is really difficult to self-teach. I mucked around at home and did basic spindle stuff but it wasn't until I did some sessions with experienced turners I picked up things that I just never would have figured out. There is far less on Youtube than you would think on basic set-up, mounting pieces, setting up rests, et cetera. I haven't really seen a good tutorial series (in the way you would get Paul Sellers or Phil Lowe series).

At the risk of stereotyping (I mean this is a fond way) you will often find in those places a lot of the regulars are older and retired men who are quite happy to spend a bit of time teaching and advising a relatively young fella.

Funnily enough, in contrast, the few times I tried a class for regular woodworking I have not enjoyed it and never gone back. After you have done a lot of self-teaching and trying things different ways, my limited experience has been that "flat" woodworkers all seem to be often very dogmatic and very prickly about only doing things their way. I have found turners are far more chilled.

Chris

Thanks for sharing your experience, Chris. Whereabouts in Bris did you do your course?

Originally Posted by KahoyKutter

Thanks for sharing your experience, Chris. Whereabouts in Bris did you do your course?

The Woodturners Society of Queensland which is in Greenslopes / Stones Corner. Fantastic place.

Thank you everyone for all of your wise advice and for stopping me from making a mistake. I've just pulled the trigger on a Nova Orion + bed extension + outrigger + SN2 chuck + Nova Viking + Carbatec 200mm low speed grinder + Carbatec Bench Grinder Tool Rest Kit. My wallet is a lot lighter and it looks like it's 2 minute noodles for dinner for a couple of months for me !!!



Cheers,
Mike