Cyrille,

Get the lathe and the warranty. Buy the HF set of chisels and add buy better
ones as needed. Also get a cheap 6" grinder to sharpen your tools on. You
might be able to check out turning videos at your local library or
woodturners club.

Lots of guys get their start on cheap equipment.

My first lathe was the old Craftsman mono tube model. Not knowing better I
turned the corner posts for my bed out of 6" X 6" fir. The posts at the
headboard are 5' tall turned in two sections. The foot board posts are 36"
long. I used the cheap craftsman chisels when I turned them and not knowing
better only sharpened the chisels once during the whole project! I also
turned a couple hundred pot pipes. I was only 17 and my wife and I still
sleep in the bed 25 years later. I turned a lot of stuff and had a lot of
fun with that piece of crap lathe.

I have a friend who made his own lathe. The tail stock does not even line up
properly. When I first met him he had a 3/4 hp motor on it. He was turning
vessels over 24" He had to spin the bowl to start the motor because the
motor was not strong enough to start on its own with a large bowl blank. He
also had to use a light touch while cutting so the motor would not stall.
The grinder he used to sharpen his chisels was about $25.00 new. Most of his
chisels were home made. No fancy scroll chucks just home built face plates.
At that time he was selling his turnings in the $500 to $4000. range. He is
still using the same cheap equipment except ( I bought him a 3hp motor) and
his turnings have sold as high as $10,000 He is doing Ed Maulthorup(sp?)
type stuff through Galleries in Scottsdale, AZ and other southwest
galleries.

He helped me build a 50" bowl lathe with no tail stock. I turned bowls up to
30" on it from start to finish without a tail stock or any fancy scroll
chucks. I didn't like turning large so I sold it and now have a vicmark mini
lathe.

So my point is you can have fun and learn to turn without spending a lot of
money. You don't need a slow speed grinder, sorby chisels, scroll chucks or
other expensive bells and whistles to have fun turning.

Some people on here have never been poor.

cm

www.vintagetrailersforsale.com




"cyrille de Brebisson" wrote in message
...
hello,

Does anyone have comment on the $200 lathe from Harbor Freight (sale
price)?

I have a limited budget and can not afford a $500 jet lathe, so for me
unless there is a better alternative in the sub $300 range, there is no
woodturning for me :-(

so, the question, is, knowing that it is a HF tool, is it worth it's
price?
Also, what accessory will I need to purchase? I plan to do spindle turning
for furniture and small objects and my wife wants to turn bowls...

thanks, cyrille