Woodturning

Sam-

where are you located?

~$600, or you'll be forced to make some significant compromises.

That presumes a 10" swing JET, a NOVA chuck with pin jaws, and the basic seventy buck tool set.

You do have sanding and grinding equipment, I presume?

George did say:

I'd also suggest taking a basic woodturning class, woodcraft has single day things or you can take a more comprehensive class somewhere. You'll get to use a variety of equipment and get a feel for what you like. The safety and technique instructions you'll get will be invaluable.

You may have better luck in rec.crafts.woodturning.

Unless you are highly disciplined, there is no minimum and what you want costs more than what you have.

But, look at some of the threads on the Jet Mini in rec.crafts.woodturning

Be aware, you are on a slippery slope. :o)

LD

You can get into the game for as little as a hundred dollars to ... well the skies the limit. Keep a look out for yard sales and the newspapers want ad's and you could get lucky. Other wise you could look at these:

Sun, Nov 7, 2004, 5:28pm (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@seemyphotos.tk (Sam=A0Berlyn) wants to know: tell me the minimum equipment needed & roughly how much it would cost to set up. Thanks

Lathe, turning tools, wood. Get some cheap/used turning tools, or make some. Get a cheap/used lathe, or make one. Get scrap wood to practice with. You don't even need a motor for the lathe, you can make a human powered lathe. Cost? Depends on how well you are at finding free materials.

That'll get you started. When you get decent at it, then you can buy/beg/steal some decent wood. And, you can eiher make a better lathe and tools, buy, or just stick with what you started with, if it satisfies you needs/wants. No prob.

And, like they said, news:rec.woodturning is the best place to ask.

JOAT Viet Nam, divorce, cancer. Been there, done that. Now, where the Hell are my T-shirts?

It's rec.crafts.woodturning

LD

Sun, Nov 7, 2004, 10:59pm (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net (Lobby=A0Dosser) says: It's rec.crafts.woodturning

I knew that. Aaarrrrrggggghhhh. news:rec.crafts.woodturning

JOAT Viet Nam, divorce, cancer. Been there, done that. Now, where the Hell are my T-shirts?

Crossposted to rec.crafts.woodturning as well, which is probably a better newsgroup to ask in.

What are you trying to do ? Do some turning, or _learn_ to turn ?

You can make useful turnings on almost anything. I've made chairs on a pole lathe made in a woodland from a bendy sapling, and a chisel forged from leafspring. It's not a good way to learn though - so if you can do, try and find a course somewhere. You get a reliable lathe that already works and will do anything you ask of it. Then you can see about affording a lathe of your own, that's enough for what you want yourself. A bowl turner wants one thing, a pen turner another, and a furniture maker needs something long enough to take that table leg or chair post.

There are several useful brand-new lathes in the $250 region, with good features like variable speed, swivelling heads, cast iron beds, their own stands and decent bed length. As always, there are even better deals around S/H. $25 might even get you something usable. Half-a-dozen chisels wil get you started. You'll also need a few accessories, like lathe centres, a faceplate, sanding and finishing materials, and a grinder for sharpening. I don't regard a dust mask as essential for much turning (although some timber and any spalted timber does need it), but I do think a full-face faceshield is.

Other important tools are a big crosscut saw (maybe a chainsaw), axes, mallets, wedges and a froe. If you're learning, you need a large stack of green timber to practice on. You can't afford to buy this, so you have to scrounge it from tree felling work. If you live outside Arizona there's a lot of this going on, so so long as you can turn a log into something small enough to chuck in the lathe, you've a free source of wood. You might even have a woodstove to use up the remnants.

Don't learn to turn on expensive wood. Turning needs to "flow" naturally, so if you make a mess of something it's often best to throw it away and start again. If that timber cost you money, you won't do that.

They don't have trees in Arizona, or at least not so they can spare them for casual garden re-modelling and giving away to passing turners.

au contraire (sp?) my dear Andy. Arizona really has quite a lot of both native and non-native trees that are quite suitable for turning and readily available. Many oaks, nut and fruit woods, pines, cedars and others.

Incorrect, as it happens. In fact turning is one of the few kinds of woodworking where you can collect your material for free in the desert parts of Arizona.

People take out trees all the time for remodeling, storm damage, etc. Of course your species selection is rather limited, but if you like working in mesquite, eucalyptus, olive, mulberry, and a variety of exotic woods, you can get all the material your heart desires just by cruising neighborhoods after a summer thunderstorm.

--RC That which does not kill us makes us stronger. --Friedrich Nietzsche Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin. -- Wiz Zumwalt

Speaking of erotic woods, how about Seguaro? j4

Sam

You would need minimium a lathe, faceplate, turning tools, grinder and a face shield. Good equipment from Axminster tools, for bowl turning the £180 model is better than the one for £136. They both come with faceplate and centres. They also sell a reasonable set of turning tools for £62. Grinders available from Axminster, B&Q or Machine Mart between £20 and £30. Face Shield available from Axminster. You will also need some timber, depending where you live either from the local firewood supplier or ask one of your local park keepers where the council gets rid of trees. Where I live all of the street trees and park trees are cut into short lengths so they can be lifted onto the back of the truck (Wet wood is very heavy) and I've found if approached they will let you have some for free.

Steve

Not for romance, turning or much of anything else.

--RC

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. --Friedrich Nietzsche Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin. -- Wiz Zumwalt