|
|
|
|
What can you with a lathe?
In article ,
ntiSpam says...
Way back in middle school the lathe was one of my favorite tools in shop class.
I'd love to own one, but I'm having a difficult time convncing my wife that I
need it. We just made candle holders in shop class, and while I'm sure it's
great for things like table legs, lamps, and baseball bats I have to concede
that I really can't think of any practical uses for it since I don't have any
need to make any of those things. Actually making a homemade baseball bat would
be kind of neat but it's tough to justify buying a lathe just for that. If you
can help me convince my wife (and myself for that matter) of the usefulness of
a lathe I'll be eternally grateful.
(with tongue planted firmly in cheek...)
Don't do it. Listen to your wife. Woodturning is an insidious hobby, no,
strike that last- it's not a hobby, it's an addiction. Sure- you'll
start with the inexpensive mono-tube crapsman lathe third-hand from ebay
and a set of $49.96 tools from Harbor Fright. You'll learn to turn
bowls, boxes, cups, pens, scoops, tops, toys, more bowls. Your firewood
budget will go up and then you'll get a woodburning stove for the shop
just to hide the errors. You soon start noticing other lathes calling to
you- the Minis and Midis... so you get one of each, and a set of tools
just for pens, and another set just for bowls, custom tools for mushroom
cap insides or the lip on a box lid... then you want more power to make
bigger bowls- and you begin looking at that Poole, or Vicmarc, or
Oneway... or (insert ominous music) the Stubby!! And another new set of
tools, because you just cannot possibly use a multi-thousand dollar
lathe with a $19.95 gouge. Then as your skills get better and the wife
actually notices on the rare occurrence that you step out of the
shop.... she needs a bigger salad bowl so you get the Osolnik giant sit-
on-it monster and turn a bowl the size of Rhode Island... and then she
wants columns for the porch... so you get yet another lathe, so you can
turn that 10-foot-long, 20" diameter post. Next thing you know you're
building a new shed in the backyard for the collection of lathes, with
it's own power and HVAC plant.
It all starts with one little pen...
Get yourself over to rec.crafts.woodturning and visit for a while- nice
bunch of folks who will actually have excellent reasons for getting a
lathe other than it's relaxing and a boat-load of fun (why I got mine
in the first place).
vic
who manages to avoid the addiction of new tools by being broke.
|