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Neillarson Neillarson is offline
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Default Buying a Starter Lathe

I am a fairly experienced wood worker and have a decent little shop,
not a lot of room 18" X 24" with a loft. I have the normal tools, some
are still my first buys and some are upgrades. Just got my new
Powermatic Bandsaw but I'm still using my Delta Contractors saw, my 1
speed Delta 12" Planer and my 30 year old Craftsman 6" joiner. Most of
money lately has gone into hand tools, quality chisels, Japanese Saws,
planes, planes, planes, planes and then a couple more planes. I also
bought a Craftsman 6" grinder that I set up with a wire wheel and a
stiff buffing wheel to help clean up some of the old planes I found, a
Delta low speed grinder and water wheel and a new Jet Sharpener.


So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck. 4 Jaw or 3
Jaw? What is best for basic bowls and such as can be done on a small
lathe?

Turning tools, I plan to get a set, maybe the Harbor Freight 8 pc HSS
one or the Woodcraft 5 pc Mini set and adding a bowl gouge. Any
recommendations?

What else to start (besides all the pen stuff, mandrel, press, drill
bits, etc.)?

Thanks
Neil