A wanna be new turner needs advice.

[keith ouellette]

the only thing I actually got to do in wood shop class in High school was use the lathe. I made some base ball bats and a few bowls and I loved it.

I would like to get a lathe and I really want one that has a swing head so it can swing off the bench for making large dia. bowls.

And I had a few questions I'd like to ask please.

With a 20% off coupon I can get this for $200 and it does what I want it to.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706

What do you think of that lathe?

If that lathe is bolted to a heavy bench would I be able to turn a 20" bowl on it? If not about how big could I do.

What does it cost to get a 20" by 10" block of maple or walnut to turn a bowl that size and who has that kind of stock?

is there a draw back to having a lathe which is only 33+3/8 between centers? What I mean is would I often need more length than that?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Keith,

Two things come to mind when I looked at that lathe:

1. 600 RPM is way too fast for even a small 10" unbalanced bowl blank. My first lathe had a low speed of 500 RPM and it would make my eyes widen when I first spun up an unbalanced bowl blank.

2. A number of people here have had lathes that have an articulating banjo on the tool rest. They have a tendency to break.

JMHO.....

[John Keeton]

Keith, I have that lathe, and I am enjoying using it. However, it does have its limitations and I knew that going in. I had owned two cheap Craftsman lathes in the past and didn't enjoy the experience. In fact, my total lathe time on them was less than 30 minutes. I know now that there were many factors involved in my first experience, the biggest being dull tools and a lack of knowledge about how to use them.

The 34706 is a pretty neat little spindle lathe, and I think I will do OK with bowls up to maybe 8" or so, as long as I am dealing with a blank that is fairly balanced. Even then, the speed on the perimeter of the bowl blank is probably too fast.

The length shouldn't be an issue as table height is 30", so it will do most furniture work. If you do ladder back chairs, then you would have a problem.

You shouldn't count on pivoting the head and doing any heavy work on it. It simply is not strong enough for that. I feel certain it would crack the base of the headstock. It is a lightweight machine, and I would not recommend trying to do anything like you are talking about on that lathe.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I know some that have them but IMHO it is not a good bowl lathe if you are going to do large stuff as you pointed out. The banjo is weak and the low speed of 600 rpm is way to fast to be turning the size bowls you want. I would not even attempt to do a 20" bowl on that lathe. Maybe 8 to 12 inch if it was cut round and fairly balanced. You are talking maybe a Nova 1624, Jet 1642, Nova DVR and up. I have a DVR with 300 lbs of sand in the base and when turning a 18 to 20 inch bowl outboard at 150 to 200 rpm it will still make the lathe shake. I also bought the swing away tailstock for more length as it comes in handy when coring or doing hollow forms with a captured unit. I almost bought the Jet 1642 in which the headstock slides to the end of the lathe to do large bowls, platters, etc.

[Jim Kountz]

Variable speed is what you need for larger bowls. By that I mean electronic variable down to 0 or at least 200 or so. I have the Jet 1642 EVS and when I mount up a large 15"+ bowl blank Im going at like 250-300 MAX until I get it somewhat round, then I can crank it up. Even with that however I rarely turn a bowl that size much faster than 500 or so. It just feels safer to me that way. A 20" bowl would require even more precautions. I wouldnt not recommend the lathe you're looking at for such large items.

[keith ouellette]

OK, This is great info. Thanks for the contributions. Hopefully they will keep coming.

Now I have a better idea of that lathes limitations and a better idea of what I'm looking for, if I can afford what I'm looking for.

Maybe this will be a good starter lathe.

[Kenneth Whiting]

I also have that lathe. I do NOT recommend it for what you are trying to do. Yesterday I put an out of round blank of mesquite on mine that just barely cleared the ways. OMG It shook so much the legs came of the ground the second I turned it on. I had to take off the blank and do everything I could to get it more balanced then added about 100 pounds of ballast just to get it steady until I could turn it round. Once it was stable it ran OK as long as I didn't try to take too big a bite.

I'm still new to all this so I can't really point you in the right direction except to keep asking questions here. This is a very helpful and knowledgeable group of guys that are always willing to give us uneducated newbies advise.

[alex carey]

You said you've done some turning in high school, what was the biggest bowl you turned in high school. Turning 20" bowls is not something most turners do and for several reasons.
1, larger lathes are needs, like Bernie said, a nova or 1642 is probably what you need. 2, getting wood that big and being able to handle it is quite difficult. It is not easy to get a hold of trees and handle wood that size. You either have to be able to cut massive logs on site or you have to be able to pick up massive logs and haul them home with a truck to cut them up. If you plan on doing a 20" that means a 20" log which is going to weight over 200# easy, and thats before being cut up to 20x20x5.
3, selling them isn't easy either, the market for such big work is rather small.

Just some food for thought, make sure you know what your getting into. So yes, the HF might be a good starter lathe, you could try looking on craigslist as well, join a local guild if you get a chance because often people there are upgrading their lathes and will be willing to part with it for cheaper if you are in the guild.

[cody michael]

i have that lathe. haven't made any big bowls yet. made 8-10 max. yes it is to fast. but i think it is an awesome starter lathe. if you don't have a couple thousand dollars to spend on a big lathe that could handle your 20in bowl. buy this make sure you like using the lathe and won't lose interest you'll spend way more money on tools and accesories then on lathe. then some time in future go and buy the big.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Keith - I started out with a 1954 Craftsman mono-tube lathe and experienced the same limitations that you have noted. The slow speed - at 875 rpm - is way to fast to turn a bowl but I didn't let that stop me, although looking back I realize just how UNSAFE and risky that was! I spent a lot of time hand shaping the rough blank to get it close to balanced and I also added 7 bags of concrete to the lathe stand to help hold the lathe to the floor! Exciting was usually the word of the day when turning bowls and to launch a bowl a few times before getting it balanced become a regular occurrence! You really pay attention when something doesn't sound right and you develop some really quick reflexes!

After 2 years of the Craftsman I decided it was time to move up to a better lathe and ended up getting a Jet 1642 EVS 2hp! While the Craftsman lathe served it's purpose - I am still amazed at the difference a quality lathe can make when turning! I no longer fight the lathe to turn something and love the ability to dial in a speed to reduce vibration from out-of-round blanks.

So, to address your issue with to much speed, you can install a Jack-Shaft to reduce rpm or spend some time trimming the blanks to get them as balanced as possible before turning. Best of luck with this as I remember just how frustrating it can be!

[Dave Ogren]

Keith,

I have turned 20" dia. bowls from green wood (Maple, etc.) The blanks were about all I could lift into my lathe. I have only seen the HF lathe in the store. My guess is no way. I would think 8" maybe 10" would be the max.

See a receint post from Leo Van Der Loo, it shows him with a 29" dia. bowl, as I remember it said RPM 73 and it needs high torque.

But the HF lathe is a place to start, of start to look for a better, used lathe, you might be happier.

Good luck,

Dave