Lathe recs?

[B a r r y]

I need some round parts, which is a first for me.

What does the group like for a lathe, capable of a 29" spindle?

Barry

[Doug Miller]

You might have better luck asking this question in rec.crafts.woodturning (followups set to that group).

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[Frank McVey]

Best to talk to our colleagues over at rec.crafts.woodturning.

As for me, I have an ancient Coronet Major which I love dearly (42" bc).

Cheers

[bridger]

my south bend 9x36 "A" works for me....

[BRuce]

i have the Jet 1442 and love it. turned everything from a "square" 9 inch dish to earrings. It has worked without a hitch and so far the legs have proved stable enough that additional weight was not necessary to stabilize.

BRuce

B a r r y wrote:

[George]

One time job?

I like somebody else's lathe.

Taking up turning? Shop for an old Delta/Rockwell/ Powermatic/General iron model.

Want to sample on the cheap and have something later? JET mini or similar, and one bed extension.

[Andy Dingley]

I'm with George on this one.

I bought my Dad a cheap lathe a few years ago. (Axminster's yellow Perform one). He's happy enough with it, and it makes good work. But when I need a chair backpost, or something really long, it's time to go and use a friend's 1950's cast-iron monster (A Coronet, AFAIR). Dad's lathe is no better than it ought to be - but when you start working long pieces, you start to notice the lack of detail in some of the manufacturing; the flex in the bed, the flex in the tailstock clamp-down, the awkwardness ot sliding the toolrest rapidly around the bed.

There's now a long-bed version of the Perform. I like the short-bed (mainly for an excellent price on a variable-speed headstock), but I wouldn't recommend the long bed. It would do the table legs I can't currently turn, and that would be useful, ut I think for pieces that size, I'm really starting to want better build quality.

[BRuce]

yep, I agree, I had the delta MIDI as my first lathe (without the extension) and it was great for items that would fit within the capacity of the lathe. I also agree that the extensions are going to flex but for a one time shot it might be ok. check your area for a college that might have a woodworking program, many times you can buy a pass to use the facilities for a semester/quarter cheaper than buying a particular tool.

I lucked out in that my first bowl on the MIDI looked spectacular to SWMBO and her comment was "can you make them larger?" and my saying that only with a bigger lathe elicited the response that "hmmm, sounds like a good birthday gift idea". gotta love her. so I only had the MIDI for about a year.

BRuce

George wrote: