First Lathe Purchase

[Dirk Myers]

I recently took a beginner's course in wood turning and I am interested in buying a starter lathe. I found the attached lathe on Craigslist for $200. It comes with the following. Craftsman 12" lathe with spindle duplicator, 4-jaw chuck, mobile base, two faceplates and a sanding disc, 3 tool rests, a live center and a drill chuck for the tailstock. Is this a good deal? Any help would be appreciated.

[John K Jordan]

I recently took a beginner's course in wood turning and I am interested in buying a starter lathe. I found the attached lathe on Craigslist for $200. It comes with the following. Craftsman 12" lathe with spindle duplicator, 4-jaw chuck, mobile base, two faceplates and a sanding disc, 3 tool rests, a live center and a drill chuck for the tailstock. Is this a good deal? Any help would be appreciated.

Dirk,

You've picked a great hobby!

I have a brutally honest opinion about the Craftsman "tube" lathe based on having bought one new as my first lathe. If I had had forums like this to ask questions I don't think I would have bought it. After a fairly short amount of use I bought another lathe and gave the tube lathe to a friend. To this day, I believe I did him a disservice. If someone offered me one for free, I'd probably turn it down!

I'm not saying it won't work - I turned spindles on mine, learned a lot about tool control, and made some bowls. It just had a some un-fixable issues: One, the tube "bed" would not keep the tailstock in proper alignment. Two, the motor is woefully under-powered. Also, the lathe is pretty flimsy. The whole thing is cheaply made and difficult to adjust. I can't remember, does it have a #2 Morse taper in both the headstock and the tailstock as do most wood lathes today? A spindle duplicator sounds like a nice idea but I know no one who uses one. A four-jaw chuck is a good idea, unless it is the kind that needs two rods to tighten, in which case you need three hands! A mobile base is good if you will move it a lot and it has good locking casters, but otherwise, four feel flat on the floor would be more stable. This might be important since the lathe itself is not very sturdy. It may swing 12" but I would hate to use one to turn a 12" bowl from a big chunk of wood. Basically, I think you would be soon disappointed in that lathe, perhaps even enough to get discouraged.

I suspect if you bought this for $200 you could get some use out of it but if you find you like woodturning you may have a hard time selling it when, not if, you upgrade.

If limited in funds at the moment, I would look instead for something like a used Jet Mini lathe. A few years ago I bought a used one once for $150. These are far, far better than the tube lathe. I keep two in storage just for taking places, as loaners, and for the occasional small class.

If funds are not so limited, there are many lathes out there which would be much better to learn on. If you want some recommendations from the readers here, you might give an approximate budget. Just keep in mind that the lathe is only part of the cost! (BTW, after using my tube lathe for a while I said Enough'sEnough and bought a variable speed Jet 1642. It was so amazing and had so few limitations my turning fun and skills shot up like a rocket!)

What kind of lathe did you use during your class? You don't mention where you live but there may be woodturners around you who would be glad to let you try their machines. I'm in East TN and would gladly let you try out three different lathes here, from a mini to a monster.

JKJ

[Olaf Vogel]

Any help would be appreciated.

Do you have an idea of what type of turning you want to do?

I would not recommend it for roughing out from green wood, or anything that is unbalanced.
And the swing is a bit small for bowls.

However, this type of lathe is perfectly good for spindles, pens, pre-cut blanks (that are balanced), which would be typical for people starting out.
It seems to be in good shape, so $200 is a fair price. Depending on where you are located and the availability of other options.

Personally, I strongly agree that starting with a used machine and not investing too much, until you figure out which direction you want to go. So your price target is very good.

[david privett]

that is what I had for yeeeears before I broke down and got a griz 0766, talk about a upgrade. save some and get a different self centering keyed chuck that will be much easier than the 4 jaw that you have . operate in the slowest speed when gouging, you will find that it will still be to fast. have fun

[Dirk Myers]

Do you have an idea of what type of turning you want to do?

I would not recommend it for roughing out from green wood, or anything that is unbalanced.
And the swing is a bit small for bowls.

However, this type of lathe is perfectly good for spindles, pens, pre-cut blanks (that are balanced), which would be typical for people starting out.
It seems to be in good shape, so $200 is a fair price. Depending on where you are located and the availability of other options.

Personally, I strongly agree that starting with a used machine and not investing too much, until you figure out which direction you want to go. So your price target is very good.

Thanks for the info. Not exactly sure what I would want to get into. I do some other cabinetry wood working so I could use for table legs and also would like to try bowl turning. The seller is only 15 miles from me so I might just check it out. Probably will take another class and keep my eyes open for a possible other used machine.

[Dirk Myers]

Dirk,

You've picked a great hobby!

I have a brutally honest opinion about the Craftsman "tube" lathe based on having bought one new as my first lathe. If I had had forums like this to ask questions I don't think I would have bought it. After a fairly short amount of use I bought another lathe and gave the tube lathe to a friend. To this day, I believe I did him a disservice. If someone offered me one for free, I'd probably turn it down!

I'm not saying it won't work - I turned spindles on mine, learned a lot about tool control, and made some bowls. It just had a some un-fixable issues: One, the tube "bed" would not keep the tailstock in proper alignment. Two, the motor is woefully under-powered. Also, the lathe is pretty flimsy. The whole thing is cheaply made and difficult to adjust. I can't remember, does it have a #2 Morse taper in both the headstock and the tailstock as do most wood lathes today? A spindle duplicator sounds like a nice idea but I know no one who uses one. A four-jaw chuck is a good idea, unless it is the kind that needs two rods to tighten, in which case you need three hands! A mobile base is good if you will move it a lot and it has good locking casters, but otherwise, four feel flat on the floor would be more stable. This might be important since the lathe itself is not very sturdy. It may swing 12" but I would hate to use one to turn a 12" bowl from a big chunk of wood. Basically, I think you would be soon disappointed in that lathe, perhaps even enough to get discouraged.

I suspect if you bought this for $200 you could get some use out of it but if you find you like woodturning you may have a hard time selling it when, not if, you upgrade.

If limited in funds at the moment, I would look instead for something like a used Jet Mini lathe. A few years ago I bought a used one once for $150. These are far, far better than the tube lathe. I keep two in storage just for taking places, as loaners, and for the occasional small class.

If funds are not so limited, there are many lathes out there which would be much better to learn on. If you want some recommendations from the readers here, you might give an approximate budget. Just keep in mind that the lathe is only part of the cost! (BTW, after using my tube lathe for a while I said Enough'sEnough and bought a variable speed Jet 1642. It was so amazing and had so few limitations my turning fun and skills shot up like a rocket!)

What kind of lathe did you use during your class? You don't mention where you live but there may be woodturners around you who would be glad to let you try their machines. I'm in East TN and would gladly let you try out three different lathes here, from a mini to a monster.

JKJ

We used a 16" rikon in the class. Took it at highland woodworking in Atlanta. If anyone is interested in the class it is well worth it. I had read some other forums on the tube model lathes and they match up with what you are saying. I know it was not a power house but didn't know if it was the right option for the first lathe. Or if there was a better entry level comparable in which you provided. Not really a budget in mind right off the bat. Thank you for your help.

[Peter Blair]

I agree with john. Don't buy this lathe. Yes, you will pay more for a better one but put as much money into it as you can. Try not to go cheap on the lathe or your enthusiasm will soon fade . . . .

[Dirk Myers]

I agree with john. Don't buy this lathe. Yes, you will pay more for a better one but put as much money into it as you can. Try not to go cheap on the lathe or your enthusiasm will soon fade . . . .

Thanks for all the great info. I let this one pass but am keeping my eye out for something else.