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Prometheus

On 31 May 2007 13:48:22 -0700, wrote:

All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

My suggestion is still the best one for your budget, IMO. If you can
find a Delta midi or Jet mini lathe on sale, and buy a bed extension
or two, you should be able to keep it at or near $300- $450 at the
outside. That might mean you need to postpone getting the lathe for a
time to save up a little money, but it will be worth the wait. It's
also a good idea to stick with the little ones *because* you're a high
school freshman. It wasn't so long ago that I was that age myself,
and I moved around a lot in the years after I graduated. A little 70
pound lathe with extensions that can be removed for easy transport and
compact storage will probably work a lot better for you than a 400
pound monster, unless you happen to be in a position where you're
going to be buying a home right away.

There *are* less expensive lathes at most hardware stores as well-
Menard's has a Wilton lathe that is big enough to turn a bat for just
over $100, but considering the cost of your average decent lathe, I'm
more than a little suspicious of the cheap knockoffs- $100 would
hardly buy the materials for a lathe that size, to say nothing of the
labor and design process that goes into developing and making it.
They might work fine, but you're gambling. The Delta and Jet are both
solid, good machines that are nice to use, and will accept standard
accessories- most of the folks who turn have one, even if they've got
a bigger and fancier one in the shop.

The other thing to consider and budget for is chisels. Since you're
interested in making bats, you won't need a chuck right away, but
you'll need at least a couple of cutting tools- and they're not all
that cheap- accessories cost more than the lathe itself in the long
run. Plan to invest $50 at least to get started.

I don't say any of this to turn you off from it- it's well worth the
money to do, I'm just trying to let you know what you're in for so you
don't get hit with sticker shock. Good luck, and let us know what you
decide on.