I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tclpro.html or is it just a glorified
Harbor Freight machine. I don't see myself turning anything larger but
who knows. I'd like to get something that has a bed extension
available just in case.

Should I stick with a Delta or Jet or is the Penn State model a decent
piece of equipement?

TIA,

Steve

In article .com,
wrote:

I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tclpro.html or is it just a glorified
Harbor Freight machine. I don't see myself turning anything larger but
who knows. I'd like to get something that has a bed extension
available just in case.

Should I stick with a Delta or Jet or is the Penn State model a decent
piece of equipement?


Steve, I've never used or seen the Penn State lathe, but all the Penn
State equipment I have seen was fine.

That being said, I thought the same thing (except for pens). Only now
I am shopping for a large lathe to replace the midi-lathe.

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On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 18:30:31 GMT, (Chuck) wrote:

On 5 Nov 2005 06:12:15 -0800, wrote:

I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this

Stave,

Don't muck about with "I wonder if..." equipment, spend a few extra
bucks and get a "tried and true" piece, like the Jet. There was an
informal survey here a few months ago, and Jet came out on top, hands
down, by an overwhelming majority.

Glad that YOU said that, Chaz..
I was ordering a (gasp) captive ring chisel from the Penn State just yesterday
and noticed that their "pen/penn lathe" or whatever looked a LOT like a Jet Mini
knock off...
Another advantage (for me, at least) of Jet is that all the stuff that I bought
for the mini works on the 14" Jet... same spindle size, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

On 5 Nov 2005 06:12:15 -0800, wrote:

I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this

Stave,

Don't muck about with "I wonder if..." equipment, spend a few extra
bucks and get a "tried and true" piece, like the Jet. There was an
informal survey here a few months ago, and Jet came out on top, hands
down, by an overwhelming majority.


--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


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wrote:

I'm thinking about getting into turning

Yep! Pick a vendor and just have your paycheck direct deposited with
them.

- just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc.

That's what we All said.

Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tclpro.html or is it just a glorified
Harbor Freight machine. I don't see myself turning anything larger but
who knows. I'd like to get something that has a bed extension
available just in case.

Should I stick with a Delta or Jet or is the Penn State model a decent
piece of equipement?

Buy the Jet.

TIA,

Steve

I was looking at that little Red penn state lathe the other day. I
could be wrong but it looks just like the Jet mini that I already have.
Makes you wonder if it's built by the same company that makes the Jet
in China or something. Anyone out there have this Penn state mini
lathe?

"snakeriver" wrote:


I was looking at that little Red penn state lathe the other day. I
could be wrong but it looks just like the Jet mini that I already have.
Makes you wonder if it's built by the same company that makes the Jet
in China or something. Anyone out there have this Penn state mini
lathe?




Pretty much all the Chinese companies sell "knock offs" of the products
they manufacture for the Names. I've got a $23.00 plunge router that is a
Makita 3612 Clone - so much so that the parts are interchangeable and I
downloaded the Makita manual because Makita hired better translators. And,
after a bit of tune up, it works just fine. What you do not get is the
better motor and the tighter specs required by the Name. What you do get is
a tool useful for occasional use or rough work and lots of dollars saved to
spend on other stuff.

wrote:

I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tclpro.html or is it just a glorified
Harbor Freight machine. I don't see myself turning anything larger but
who knows. I'd like to get something that has a bed extension
available just in case.

Should I stick with a Delta or Jet or is the Penn State model a decent
piece of equipement?

TIA,

Steve


No, it would not be a mistake. By the same token my first lathe was not a
mistake either (vertical on my drill press and cost about $4.00).

That being said, there is a question that has to be asked, "Can you control
the addiction?" You will know you are being controlled by it, rather than
visa versa, when you wonder who those big kids are who spend a lot of time
at your house (after all the last time you looked, yours were small).

And, yes, the direct deposit option is a good one. :-)

Deb

Controlling it shouldn't be a problem - with a 16 month and 5 year old,
daycare running twice what our mortgage runs, and a wife who won't put
up with the kids calling me Uncle Daddy. :-o

I've always wanted to try my hand at pens, etc. and a mini is small
enough to set up in the basement. My main shop is in one bay of the
garage but there's still not a ceiling and just a kerosene heater so it
gets too chilly to do much in the winter.

If/when it does become an obsession, I can always move up in lathe size
like I did with tablesaws - Pro-Tech direct drive to Craftsman
contractor to Powermatic 65 cabinet saw that I restored from the ground
up. ( http://www.musial.ws/woodworking_and_old_iron.htm ) I've been
keeping an eye on the classifieds, Ebay, etc but old lathes don't seem
to come up for sale in St. Louis for some reason - maybe that speaks to
the obsession part...

Thanks for all the answers everyone. What books would you recommend
for a beginning turner?

Sure looks like my Jet midi but with red paintG. I suspect this lathe
will do everything you want. You may need something smaller for pens
but you wn't know w/o trying. Go 4 it!
John

wrote:
I'm thinking about getting into turning - just small stuff, pens,
ornaments, wine stoppers, etc. Would it be a mistake to get a Penn
State midi lathe like this
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/tclpro.html or is it just a glorified
Harbor Freight machine. I don't see myself turning anything larger but
who knows. I'd like to get something that has a bed extension
available just in case.

Should I stick with a Delta or Jet or is the Penn State model a decent
piece of equipement?

TIA,

Steve

Chuck wrote:

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 13:15:10 -0700, John DeBoo
wrote:


Sure looks like my Jet midi but with red paintG. I suspect this lathe
will do everything you want. You may need something smaller for pens


"Smaller for pens?" How so?

You can turn pens on a Stubby if you're out of 30" bowl blanks.

You're right, I was having a brain fart and somehow thought of space
constraints which were not an issue in this thread. My mistake.
John

On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 13:15:10 -0700, John DeBoo
wrote:

Sure looks like my Jet midi but with red paintG. I suspect this lathe
will do everything you want. You may need something smaller for pens

"Smaller for pens?" How so?

You can turn pens on a Stubby if you're out of 30" bowl blanks.

--
Chuck *#:^)
chaz3913(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Anti-spam sig: please remove "NO SPAM" from e-mail address to reply.


September 11, 2001 - Never Forget

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"Steve" wrote:

Controlling it shouldn't be a problem - with a 16 month and 5 year
old, daycare running twice what our mortgage runs, and a wife who
won't put up with the kids calling me Uncle Daddy. :-o

I've always wanted to try my hand at pens, etc. and a mini is small
enough to set up in the basement. My main shop is in one bay of the
garage but there's still not a ceiling and just a kerosene heater so
it gets too chilly to do much in the winter.

One of the many advanteges of mini lathes is you Can set them up In the
House!

snip

Thanks for all the answers everyone. What books would you recommend
for a beginning turner?

Keith Rowley - 'Woodturning: A Foundation Course' and his video, to
start.

Lobby Dosser wrote:


Pretty much all the Chinese companies sell "knock offs" of the products
they manufacture for the Names. I've got a $23.00 plunge router that is a
Makita 3612 Clone - so much so that the parts are interchangeable and I
downloaded the Makita manual because Makita hired better translators. And,
after a bit of tune up, it works just fine. What you do not get is the
better motor and the tighter specs required by the Name. What you do get is
a tool useful for occasional use or rough work and lots of dollars saved to
spend on other stuff.


Ultimately, ALL power tools cost $1,400 (use to be $1,100 but due
to globalization and the dropping value of the dollar ....). Get
four
Dewalt plunge routers over 20 years - $1,400. Get 50 $23 ones,
include the down time while waiting for the next one to get here
after the last one fries a bearing on a critical part of a project
due this afternoon, the cost of tranquilizers required to keep you
from blowing up the crapped out $23 "deal" ....

Don't know what the equivalent is with turning, but in furniture
making - you can never have enough clamps - even if you did
blow $1,400 on the ones you do have. I'm guessing the turning
equivalent is "You can never have too many chucks."

Note: this TRUTH was put into print in Fine Woodworking several
years back - probably by Walt Akers.

charlie b

charlie b said:

Lobby Dosser wrote:


Pretty much all the Chinese companies sell "knock offs" of the products
they manufacture for the Names. I've got a $23.00 plunge router that is a
Makita 3612 Clone - so much so that the parts are interchangeable and I
downloaded the Makita manual because Makita hired better translators. And,
after a bit of tune up, it works just fine. What you do not get is the
better motor and the tighter specs required by the Name. What you do get is
a tool useful for occasional use or rough work and lots of dollars saved to
spend on other stuff.


Ultimately, ALL power tools cost $1,400 (use to be $1,100 but due
to globalization and the dropping value of the dollar ....). Get
four
Dewalt plunge routers over 20 years - $1,400. Get 50 $23 ones,
include the down time while waiting for the next one to get here
after the last one fries a bearing on a critical part of a project
due this afternoon, the cost of tranquilizers required to keep you
from blowing up the crapped out $23 "deal" ....

Don't know what the equivalent is with turning, but in furniture
making - you can never have enough clamps - even if you did
blow $1,400 on the ones you do have. I'm guessing the turning
equivalent is "You can never have too many chucks."

Note: this TRUTH was put into print in Fine Woodworking several
years back - probably by Walt Akers.

charlie b

But the ultimate truth is that "You can never have enough money."
All else falls into place... ;-)
(Nice theory, anyway...)


Greg G.

charlie b wrote:

Ultimately, ALL power tools cost $1,400 (use to be $1,100 but due
to globalization and the dropping value of the dollar ....). Get
four
Dewalt plunge routers over 20 years - $1,400. Get 50 $23 ones,
include the down time while waiting for the next one to get here
after the last one fries a bearing on a critical part of a project
due this afternoon, the cost of tranquilizers required to keep you
from blowing up the crapped out $23 "deal" ....



Or, Keep a few in reserve. )