The practical difference

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

"Joe Blow" wants to buy a lathe. He can't see a current need beyond 16" over the bed. Variable speed is important because who wants to change belt speeds when a turn of a dial is so easy and infinitely variable. Joe wants the thing to be heavy enough and powerful enough he can turn green wood bowls for fun, not profit, as well as the spindle turnings that may embellish furniture.
Joe probably has choices ranging from a $2000 lathe to a $5000 lathe. To a guy like Joe, what is the practical difference between the 5K Plus and lower price range machines. Are we talking quality of materials, alignment of the parts, life of the machine, resale value or What? There seem to be many happy owners of a Jet brand, or the yellow machine for a third more and plenty of European lathe owners. What makes one better within the same size range and HP specs?
Please, I'm not trying to start a "what brand is best" thread. I'm really asking, given a certain skill level, what does one price range do for a turner that a lesser machine cannot?
joe
alias fmr

[Fred Perreault]

Quality of castings..... size and number of spindle bearings..... overall weight of the entire unit for stability..... overall quality of construction..... available options.... customer support... quality of electric components.... all of these things are a consideration, but probably only after the turner asks himself "what do I want to do with this machine..?". Better clubs would surely make the golfer better; better tools can make a craftsman better, and his work would be better. One cannot compare all apples on price alone. Cheaper apples may have some blemishes, but more expensive apples might not be blem free either. If you are gonna' use them for applesauce, then blemished apples would probably work. Why pay more if you are not going to maximize the benefit of better quality?

[David Woodruff]

Speaking from personal experience,the quality and complexity of my work took a quantum leap when I decided to spend $5K + on a heavy, strong, 3hp VFD machine. I was able to go from vision to reality whereas with lesser equipment it was very problematic. I do , however, give the wannabe lathes credit for making me a better turner. When one does with what one has to do with, one finds a way to do it and learns in the process. So when I bought my "good lathe" I was amazed at how well I could turn and execute the vision

[Don Alexander]

tools do not a craftsman make ................ however quality tools do make it possible to more easily produce quality work and conversely poor quality tools make quality work much more difficult if not nearly impossible

[Thom Sturgill]

I will say that in going from a Jet 1220 to a 1642 that my work has improved. Less chatter, I turn at higher speed more comfortably. I seem to remember reading (on this forum) someone that had turned on a Griz for years and defended them, then upgraded and stated that he didn't realize what he was missing.

One can extrapolate that moving up to a Robust, or OneWay, or Stubby would make at least as big a difference.

[David E Keller]

Maybe the only people who can answer this question are the ones who have turned on a lot of different lathes... I can compare the PM3520B to the similarly sized Oneway as I've turned on them both. Between those two, I couldn't tell a difference, but I didn't spend a lot of time on the Oneway. I'll look forward to the impressions of some of the folks with more gray...

[Fred Perreault]

In my previous harangue I forgot to mention that my first lathe, for 15 years and seldom used, was an older donated Craftsman monotube. Not knowing much about anything spinny, I didn't realize that the lowest speed of 875 RPM was a wee bit too high for learning, or most any other work. I did use it for 2 months intensely after I got the bowl bug, but I soon opted for a Nova 16/24. It was priced right, had features that would permit me to advance, and was of adequate quality. In a little less that 2 years, I have sold almost 200 largely utility items, but I don't imagine myself a very advanced turner. I believe that I have a lot more to learn, and the Nova can be the tool to get me there for quite a while. However, I do have a lot of accessories

[John Hart]

Now...my input is soley based on my personality and not on manufacturer or quality. I have learned what I would like to turn for the rest of my life. I've also learned that no one machine, within the given price range can fullfill that need 100%. So, if I had 3 or 4 thousand to spend, I think I would build one. I would research all the features of all the best machines, and create a frankenstein of sorts. Because I don't care what it looks like....only with its functionality...this would provide something that I would never feel a need to upgrade.

...at least...that's what I think today.

[Chris Haas]

Let me just throw this out there, there is someone on this forum that posts a lot, i'm sure youve seen his work, anyways, he turns on one of the new delta vs midi's, that lathe is under 1K, and i would put his work up against most. Its not the lathe, its the turner. now that isnt a 16 inch swing lathe, but if you dont see yourself doing it for money and production work, dont invest 5K in a lathe, also, think about the used market, there are a lot of good buys for the patient turner. oh, one more thing, even better than a high end lathe, would be a mid grade price lathe and the rest of the money in accessores. lets see, 3 chucks, 3 bowl gouges, sharpening station, beal buffs, oneway live center, spindle steady, bowl steady (a must) one of the many hollowing rigs (mines a monster). yep, save some cash for accessories, good luck.

[Brian Greb]

I have a Delta vs Midi that I have been able to turn very nice things on... I just can't go over 12.25" in diameter... or over 96" long. That said the lathe was $600 but that's just a lathe no tools no accessories, I just did a quick tally of how much I have spent on lathe associated stuff and I have realised I could have bought a bigger lathe for what I have spent total. But it would have just been a lathe no tools. So budget is a huge issue when considering your lathe.

My current turning related tool tally is $4,200

All of that said I have turned on a mustard monster and a oneway... If I won the lottery I would definitely get the oneway. The Oneway had a quality and mass to it that is hard to describe. But here is the differences I noticed straight away:
1) Head stocks; the one way felt to have a smaller less confining head stock.
2)feel; the oneway felt like it was an immovable object
3)controls... well convenience is king

OK so I really liked the oneway... but I find myself asking this question:

"Am I a wood worker that happens to turn in my free time, or am I a turner that happens to build some furniture."

Until I answer the latter I see no benefit to having the best most expensive tool out there. If there is an upgrade That I can justify then I will upgrade.

Back to the OP's question... here is a short answer Quality+features=price. That is almost always true, there are some exceptions. Now the second part of the equation how much turning do you seriously see in your future?


One last thing I want to put out there, When choosing a 16" swing lathe pick one that will hold it's resale value... because you know someday your going to want that 20" or 24".

[Neil Strong]

One last thing I want to put out there, When choosing a 16" swing lathe pick one that will hold it's resale value... because you know someday your going to want that 20" or 24".

Not sure if this applies to your side of the pond, but over here quality holds its value, which is unfortunate for those of us who are hanging out for a good secondhand deal on our next lathe....

.....

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Brian,
I hear you loud and clear. I've been using my many year old Delta Homecraft lathe with three speeds: too fast, even faster and stop. I bought it 25 years ago for $150 and that included a ton of accessories and two sets of tool steel tools. Of course, when the desire to turn got me, I began to purchase only the absolute necessities. I bought a safe drive. The I bought a HHS spindle gouge, updated my grinder with balancing system, wheels and dresser, and of course a sharpening jig. Bought a DVD or six including a popular one about using the skew. Of course, I had to buy the skew and a nice wide tool rest to sharpen it. I bought a bowl gouge from Doug Thompson and a handle to hold it. Thank God I already owned diamond hones. Well, no one uses face plates any more so I had to have a chuck and jaws. Meanwhile, I'm consuming every scrap of wood I accumulated over 30 years of this hobby trying to learn to use these things. I fall asleep with famous wood turners on my TV and wake up with them repeating their instructions. We won't talk about how much I've invested into accessories and I must assume from reading all your words, it only gets worse from here.
fmr
alias, joe

[alex carey]

this joe guy sounds like he would enjoy mustard.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Alex,
Funny you say that......
joe

[Mike Minto]

Speaking from personal experience,the quality and complexity of my work took a quantum leap when I decided to spend $5K + on a heavy, strong, 3hp VFD machine. I was able to go from vision to reality whereas with lesser equipment it was very problematic. I do , however, give the wannabe lathes credit for making me a better turner. When one does with what one has to do with, one finds a way to do it and learns in the process. So when I bought my "good lathe" I was amazed at how well I could turn and execute the vision

"wannabe lathes"? so that's the kind me and so many others here must have...