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

cyrille de Brebisson wrote:

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 :-(


The Rikon minilathe goes for about $250. Not as big as the HF, but a lot
better. And you can get a bed extension later if you want to turn longer
stuff.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Hi Cyrille,

If you are talking about this one,
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706 it's
a nice lathe. My buddy has this one and works great. It has a 1"X8" spindle
thread so it's a standard thread size for acc. like a chuck or face plates.
It works well for spindle work and I have turned a bowl on it to show him
how to turn bowls.
I always recommend the HF tools set
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47066 You
can't beat this set for spindle work. It's the same set several other
dealers carry for about 1/2 the price. For bowls you normally need a bowl
gouge. If you get just one I would recommend a 1/2". Nice general
application sized tool.
Good luck.

Dan


"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

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 20:21:48 GMT, "dan cordes"
wrote:

Oh, man, I hate to get in these discussions. I know there are people
who argue that there are good values to be had at HF--that if you buy
a cheap tool for only one or two uses and get that out of it, then
you've done well. I never have and never could subscribe to that
philosophy, although I suppose maybe I've been more fortunate than
many in that I've usually been able to get better tools for my
projects over the years.

Anyone who thinks that HF is just an outlet house selling the exact
same tools as Woodcraft or Rockler but somehow, magically, at a lower
price, is living in a fantasy world.

If you are talking about this one,
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34706 it's
a nice lathe. My buddy has this one and works great. It has a 1"X8" spindle
thread so it's a standard thread size for acc. like a chuck or face plates.
It works well for spindle work and I have turned a bowl on it to show him
how to turn bowls.

This looks to be a copy of an old Delta gap bed lathe and it appears
to have a Reeves drive. Nothing wrong with either of those, although
an argument could be made that the design is dated. Since Sir Roy
regularly turns with a spring pole lathe, I don't think "dated design"
is a good argument.

Lathes need to hold wood, turn wood, support tools. There's not a lot
of science in that. I made my own lathe once that was able to
accomplish that. The HF almost certainly will, too--to an extent.

HF's problem is always about quality, durability, and reliability.
Let's start with electric motor--you're taking a chance. It's not
going to be a Baldor or a Marathon. Next, bearings--you're taking a
chance. Pacific rim bearings aren't Timkens. How about the quality of
the castings--you're taking a chance. There's a large variation in
casting quality among Pacific rim suppliers. Don't think that HF's
castings come from the same foundry as Delta's.

Do you have $200 to throw away on this experiment? If you do, fine,
but consider it lost money. For a little more than that, you can have
a Jet Mini, which aces the three categories mentioned at the beginning
of this paragraph, and will handle probably 75% of the turning you are
likely to be doing in the first year or so you have it. Then you can
get almost all your money out of it by selling it, and you'll have the
market to yourself, since few Jet owners sell their Minis. That should
tell you something.

One big difference between this lathe and the Delta (later model, very
similar, 46-701, which I have) is that the splay on the legs on the
Delta is much greater. Unless there is a lot of distortion in the
photograph, that stand appears potentially unstable, almost unsafe.

I always recommend the HF tools set
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47066 You
can't beat this set for spindle work. It's the same set several other
dealers carry for about 1/2 the price. For bowls you normally need a bowl
gouge. If you get just one I would recommend a 1/2". Nice general
application sized tool.

Well, they say "famous name manufacturer" which doesn't say a thing
about the quality. Sorby is a famous name manufacturer I would trust.
Pittsburgh Forge may be a "famous name manufacturer" (it's one of HF's
house brands) that I would not.

The ad shows five tools (not a gouge in site), but lists eight. The
box looks big enough for five, but not eight. I have a HF about ten
minutes away--I may run down there and take a look to see what it
actually includes--the ad is certainly ambiguous since it doesn't
really say how many are in the set.

And of course nothing here stated addresses quality. In my view, I
already know the answer to that question, but there are some who may
find them good value. Chisels can be considered consumables, depending
on how much turning you do (and if you do enough to make them
consumables, the HF lathe isn't going to stand up to it anyway), so
perhaps they won't be complete throwaways.

Good luck.

You'll need it. There are very, very few things at HF that I would
throw any money at. I bought some casters from them for my clamp
stand. I don't know what the wheels are made of, but they stink to
high heaven. I can close my eyes and find my clamp stand anywhere in
the shop in seconds. At around $20, I can afford to have them fail
early and replace them with better ones. We'll see how they do. I
wouldn't take that same chance with a piece of machinery.

All you HF lovers may proceed to pile it on.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Hi Cyrille

I'll make it short and sweet as what my opinion is of that lathe in any
color or any name, POS.

Go get the 5 speed Jet/Delta/Ricon/ etc. for $300.-- or less and you
get a decent lathe for the money, and if you want to sell it again you
will axually be able to do that and get your money back, most people
that upgrade do keep their Delta/Jet/etc.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

cyrille de Brebisson wrote:
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

On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:27:39 +0000, cyrille de Brebisson wrote:

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

I own two. Get the extended warranty and make CERTAIN that you jump
through their stupid warranty registration hoops.

The lathe is a good deal.

A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.

The lathe comes with what you see in the picture. That's it. Lathe, stand,
spur and live centers.

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.

I strongly recommend the HF tool set that frequently runs about $40. No
nifty brand name, no cachet, but I've been using mine for nearly two years
and they've stood up to the abuse this newbie has imposed. With practice,
they will turn bowls as thin as any other set of tools. I made two bowls
today from spalted box elder that you could use for lamp shades if need be.

If your wife is going to turn bowls you'll find a lathe-powered sander
very useful.

Get a decent respirator for both of you. PRONTO!
HF also has these for about $25. They are not top end ... top end runs
about $300 ... but they do meet the relevant gov't. standards and a $25
respirator today is worth more than a $300 respirator next year -- when
you can hardly breathe.

You're new to turning. If this lathe is the best you can afford just now
.... start here. To my way of thinking, it is better to make shavngs on a
low end lathe than to wait until you can afford to jump in at the deep end
of the pool only to find out that you don't like making shavings after
all.

I hope this helped.

Bill

Hi All,

As I have watched this thread, my thoughts come to this.

Each of you is right. There really is no wrong answer. But it seems
like most of you have forgotten something.

I will use myself as an example: I have a very cheap, and I do mean
very cheap wood lathe. It is a Grizzly, so cheap that it is the next
thing to nothing, It's motor is a 1/2 inch hand drill which also holds
the drive center. Why? Because that is all that I could afford, it cost
me less than $100 and no, I could not even dig up another $50 for their
mini wood lathe which sells for $149.95. You see, I am on a very fixed
income, and I had to make a choice of either what I bought, or NOTHING.

It is just as simple as that. Being that cheap, it is indeed a piece of
crap, hard to use and very sloppy, with turnings limited to between
centers. I recognize its limitations, but let me tell you what my
alternative is, and that would be to make my turnings for wood gear
clocks and model trains to be what I could make with a saw, chisel,
files, sandpaper and 100 times the work to make each part.

So while I, like many others would love to have that $10,000 lathe and
twice that in chucks and tools, it is something that I will never have
in my life, unless one of you fine gentlemen chooses to donate all of
that to me. But even so, there are others out there who would deserve it
better than me, people who cannot even buy what I have, so give it to them.

I tell all of you out there these things because some of you with super
deep pockets and those with medium deep pockets tend to forget that when
a man tells you that he has only $200 to spend on a lathe, that he just
cannot spend more than that unless he stops eating, or stops buying his
medicine. Some of us do not even have a pocket. It becomes useless to
tell him that he should spend $100 more for a better quality lathe. He
knows, just as I do, that is true. But being that he cannot spend it,
just as I cannot, that it would be kinder to recommend the best that you
can in HIS price range.

As I said at the start, each of you are right, And I do appreciate your
descriptions of your fine lathes, and the problems and fixes for them.
You see, 50 years ago, I too had a fine wood lathe and good tools for a
while, But how could I have that now after I retired 20 years ago on
$400 a month pension?? My pension has not gone up. And SS is a joke. I,
like many who write in asking questions, do the best we can with what we
have, just as all of you do.

All that I ask is that you remember us poor ones when you give your good
answers. Please do not put down the poor guy who built and uses a pole
lathe because that may be all that he could afford. And always it is
better to have something than to have nothing.

Thank you for listening, I do learn much from your answers, even after
all these years. And who knows, perhaps one day one of my sons will
surprise me with one of those expensive wood lathes, and all the tools
that I could only dream of.

Zap





wrote:
Hi Cyrille

I'll make it short and sweet as what my opinion is of that lathe in any
color or any name, POS.

Go get the 5 speed Jet/Delta/Ricon/ etc. for $300.-- or less and you
get a decent lathe for the money, and if you want to sell it again you
will axually be able to do that and get your money back, most people
that upgrade do keep their Delta/Jet/etc.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

cyrille de Brebisson wrote:

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

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 06:46:43 GMT, zap wrote:

I tell all of you out there these things because some of you with super
deep pockets and those with medium deep pockets tend to forget that when
a man tells you that he has only $200 to spend on a lathe, that he just
cannot spend more than that unless he stops eating, or stops buying his
medicine. Some of us do not even have a pocket. It becomes useless to
tell him that he should spend $100 more for a better quality lathe. He
knows, just as I do, that is true. But being that he cannot spend it,
just as I cannot, that it would be kinder to recommend the best that you
can in HIS price range.

Well said, and I can sympathize. Being on the other end of the
relative age scale, I clearly remember eating nothing but potatoes
(the only other viable option was Ramen noodles, and I hate those
things) for over six months when I was 18, and trying to pay the rent
and keep the lights on with a minimum wage salary. I do a lot better
for myself now, but those were days when my only woodworking was done
with a pocketknife and some determination. There were no options,
just the willingness to do whatever I could with what I had- and I
still have some of the things I made back then- they're not any worse
(and sometimes even much better) than what I now make with a shop full
of tools.

I do try to keep it in mind when suggesting ways for other people to
spend their money.

All that I ask is that you remember us poor ones when you give your good
answers. Please do not put down the poor guy who built and uses a pole
lathe because that may be all that he could afford. And always it is
better to have something than to have nothing.

Thank you for listening, I do learn much from your answers, even after
all these years. And who knows, perhaps one day one of my sons will
surprise me with one of those expensive wood lathes, and all the tools
that I could only dream of.

Well, hope your wish comes true- but in the meantime, if you have the
inclination, you could use that little Grizzly drill lathe to try your
hand at making a couple of pulleys, and maybe work your way into a
larger lathe. I know I'm currently working towards adding a machine
shop to my capabilities, but have a budget that will buy scrap, but
won't buy a mill- so learning everything I can, and making them myself
is the name of the game.

Cyrille,
This is the exact lathe I bought 2 yrs ago to do all the work you see
at this site:
http://handturnedbowls.biz

The best feature of this one is the cast iron bed. It is very sturdy
and the spindle housing mount to the bed is secure as well.

I have turned and bored out some fairly large vessels, with my own
heavy duty boring system. Once I even pulled a vessel from the chuck
mountinng when I was boring the inside, and there was no harm at all to
the lathe.

This is an exceptional value for its price.

Of course this directly benefits China, but what are we to do when we
have limited funds? I could not afford an expensive Nova DR like I
wanted, but this lathe has turned out to be very satisfying.

After you look at my art work I think you will be convinced that it is
not the machine and the tools that are the majority of influence, but
the passion and talent of the artist that affect the final outcome of
the work.

I would recommend, you save enough money to buy a Nova 2 chuck, a small
jaw set and a large power grip jaw set. It will save you much grief and
aggravation.

James Holland
cyrille de Brebisson wrote:
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

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

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


A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.
Can you enlighten me here? what is a "Reeves drive"? and how to I test it?

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.
I imagine that I should have a 3 or 4 linked jaws chuck, the HF one, with 4
independent jaws is probably not a good idea, isn't it?
Do you have advices on a cheap OK chuck?

I strongly recommend the HF tool set that frequently runs about $40. No
nifty brand name, no cachet, but I've been using mine for nearly two years
and they've stood up to the abuse this newbie has imposed.
HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so with a
deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear to
be of better quality... which one do you advise?

Get a decent respirator for both of you. PRONTO!
Yep, will do...

Thanks, cyrille

Hi Cyrille,

This tools set is the one to get,
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47066 It's
$35 and you can catch it on sale occasionally at $29. You are correct in not
getting the HF chuck. Penn State has this chuck for sale
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/cmg3c.html , the Oneway and Nova are very
nice chucks as well. But they will cost almost as much or more than your
lathe. http://www.woodcraft.com/depts.aspx?DeptID=2089


Dan


"cyrille de Brebisson" wrote in message
...
hello,
Does anyone have comment on the $200 lathe from Harbor Freight (sale
price)?


A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.
Can you enlighten me here? what is a "Reeves drive"? and how to I test it?

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.
I imagine that I should have a 3 or 4 linked jaws chuck, the HF one, with
4 independent jaws is probably not a good idea, isn't it?
Do you have advices on a cheap OK chuck?

I strongly recommend the HF tool set that frequently runs about $40. No
nifty brand name, no cachet, but I've been using mine for nearly two
years
and they've stood up to the abuse this newbie has imposed.
HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so with
a deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear
to be of better quality... which one do you advise?

Get a decent respirator for both of you. PRONTO!
Yep, will do...

Thanks, cyrille

cyrille de Brebisson wrote:

HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so with a
deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear to
be of better quality... which one do you advise?

When I bought mine years ago, the ugly burgundy handles were the high speed
steel ones - that's the ones you want. In case the color has changed, look
for "HSS" stamped on the blades.

A good first turning project is some replacement handles :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

I've used the HF laths, and as long as you don't expect to use it
everyday, it will hold up. My only grip is that the tolerences in the
bearings on the head and tail stock are sometimes a little sloppy.

My advise, buy what you can afford; put the money away and save up for
a better brand.

Art


On Nov 17, 11:23 am, Larry Blanchard wrote:
cyrille de Brebisson wrote:
HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so with a
deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear to
be of better quality... which one do you advise?When I bought mine years ago, the ugly burgundy handles were the high speed
steel ones - that's the ones you want. In case the color has changed, look
for "HSS" stamped on the blades.

A good first turning project is some replacement handles :-).

--
It's turtles, all the way down

What I have turned on my cheap throw away Grizzly lathe.

for those who may be interested, that much can be done with even the
cheapest of lathes.

Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/TrainEngineSide.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/EngineFrontAngle.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/DriveWheels.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/EngineBack-Tender.jpg

All the round parts were turned on Grizzly's hobby lathe ($44.95) 6 inch
swing, 24 inch between centers. that uses a 1/2 inch drill motor for the
head. (Use your own drill motor)

Just to show that it can be done.

Zap

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:09:40 GMT, "cyrille de Brebisson"
wrote:

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.
I imagine that I should have a 3 or 4 linked jaws chuck, the HF one, with 4
independent jaws is probably not a good idea, isn't it?
Do you have advices on a cheap OK chuck?

I've been using a Grizzy 4-jaw scroll chuck for two and a half or
three years- while it may not be as good as a Oneway or similar chuck,
it hasn't let me down yet.

Here's the link:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/g8786

It uses tommy bars for tightening, and not a key, but as long as
you're careful to make sure the wood is sound and you've got it seated
properly, it does the job pretty well- and it's under $50. They've
got a few different thread sizes to choose from.

A few notes on using a cheaper chuck like this-

Try to make the tenon or recess close to the size of the chuck when it
is closed- the closer it is, the more metal is actually gripping the
workpeice once it is clamped.

Set the workpiece flat on a bench, then set the chuck (unscrewed from
the lathe) on top of it to allow gravity to seat it while you're
tightening with the tommy bars. If you try to do it while it's on the
lathe, you're going to struggle with it.

Make the tenon long enough (or deep enough, in the case of a recess)
to ensure that the end of the tenon seats firmly against the jaws.
This will really help if you need to remove the piece and remount it
later.

Don't crank on those tommy bars too hard- after a certain point,
you're just damaging wood and bending the bars. If you're having
trouble with grip, see the first tip.

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:09:40 GMT, "cyrille de Brebisson"
wrote:

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


A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.

Can you enlighten me here? what is a "Reeves drive"? and how to I test it?

A Reeves drive is a mechanical variable speed system that uses a lever
on the front of the lathe to adjust the speed. When the lever is
turned, the speed is increased or decreased because there is a special
pulley inside that can spread apart or cinch together to change the
pulley ratio between the lathe and the spindle.

Usually, there are two belts with the system- one from the motor to
the Reeves pulley, and one from the Reeves to the drive spindle. The
drive spindle often has a few different pulley sizes so that you can
change the overall minimum and maximum speed to suit your preference.

As far as testing it goes, I'd imagine I'd just try it out under power
to make sure it's working properly. Be advised that you won't be able
to easily change the position of the lever when the lathe is not
running- so don't just try it out on a floor model, and assume it is
broken!

Personally, I really like mine. The newer lathes usually have
electronic variable speed, but I know that if the Reeves drive goes
out, I at least have a fighting chance of fixing it myself.

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:26:02 GMT, zap wrote:

What I have turned on my cheap throw away Grizzly lathe.

for those who may be interested, that much can be done with even the
cheapest of lathes.

Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/TrainEngineSide.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/EngineFrontAngle.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/DriveWheels.jpg
Http://www.barr-family.com/wood/EngineBack-Tender.jpg

All the round parts were turned on Grizzly's hobby lathe ($44.95) 6 inch
swing, 24 inch between centers. that uses a 1/2 inch drill motor for the
head. (Use your own drill motor)

Just to show that it can be done.

That's awfully nice, Zap. Kinda makes me want to make a train...

cm wrote:

Some people on here have never been poor.

cm

I have. I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better ... but poor
is workable.

You gave the young man good advice. Three cheers for a wife who wants to
work alongside her husband in a family venture!

I've used that model lathe for two years now and turned some nice pieces
with it ... with more on the way. It isn't a Oneway ... but if he waits
until he can afford a top-shelf lathe, he may never ever become a
woodturner.

I'd like to have a better lathe ... but I need better shop lighting
first. The lathe can already spin wood ... it would be nice if I could
see it better.

Bill

In article ,
"cyrille de Brebisson" wrote:

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


A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.
Can you enlighten me here? what is a "Reeves drive"? and how to I test it?

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.
I imagine that I should have a 3 or 4 linked jaws chuck, the HF one, with 4
independent jaws is probably not a good idea, isn't it?
Do you have advices on a cheap OK chuck?

I strongly recommend the HF tool set that frequently runs about $40. No
nifty brand name, no cachet, but I've been using mine for nearly two years
and they've stood up to the abuse this newbie has imposed.
HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so with a
deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear to
be of better quality... which one do you advise?

The HF tool set is a good start, but I really like Benjamens' Best
(from places like Penn State). You can get specialty chisels for little
money. Are they as good as $150 one, nope, but for those of use that are
learning.... See http://www.pennstateind.com/store/la...isel-sets.html

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

Hi All,

The penn state benjamin's best is a nice pen turning set. For other work
you'll want something more substatial in length for better control. Penn
State's 8 pc set is identical to the HF 8 pc. set only $25 more. Several
other retailers sell this same set, some are as high as $70.

Dan

"Ralph E Lindberg" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"cyrille de Brebisson" wrote:

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


A point worth noting: If the Reeves drive is stiff, it's bad. A good
Reeves drive operates smoothly.
Can you enlighten me here? what is a "Reeves drive"? and how to I test
it?

You'll want a scroll chuck, tools, and some way to sharpen your tools.
I imagine that I should have a 3 or 4 linked jaws chuck, the HF one, with
4
independent jaws is probably not a good idea, isn't it?
Do you have advices on a cheap OK chuck?

I strongly recommend the HF tool set that frequently runs about $40. No
nifty brand name, no cachet, but I've been using mine for nearly two
years
and they've stood up to the abuse this newbie has imposed.
HF has 2 set of tools, one with a wood handle and one, $10 more or so
with a
deep burgondy red color handle and steel that look thiker.... they apear
to
be of better quality... which one do you advise?

The HF tool set is a good start, but I really like Benjamens' Best
(from places like Penn State). You can get specialty chisels for little
money. Are they as good as $150 one, nope, but for those of use that are
learning.... See http://www.pennstateind.com/store/la...isel-sets.html

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

cyrille de Brebisson wrote:
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
Cyrille,

Get the HF lathe (34706) and their HSS tool set (47066). I
have both and they do the job. The lathe is IMHO under powered but both
$500 Delta and Jet owners complain about the same thing. Sometimes
people complain about the centers not kissing. Get the warranty and
take it back for another one if needed. Better yet come over to
Woodturners resource http://www.turnwood.net/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.pl join
us as several their have or have had this lathe. I go by BAM overthere
and PM me. I would be happy to to go through the ups and downs of this
lathe . But in short I have had to only replace 2 things so far , drive
belt (less than $5 dollars at the local hardware store) and the tool
rest ( a large chunk of wood broke it in 2 but I have heard from
Jet/Delta owners doing the same thing). BTW the tool rest was about $6
dollars (plus shipping) to replace , at the same time I ordered more
6in face plates at $5.35 each ( they come in handy). The biggest
problems with the lathe are the stand (it is too light weight ,entire
lathe only weights 177lbs and the stand does make up for much of it)
and the lowest speed is 600 . Making your own stand with more weight
and a larger foot print would help, right now I have 300lbs of play
sand on it. It will get you started and take you a fair ways. I would
love to have Jet 1642EVS or even better a Powermatic 3520 but it not in
the cards right now.

Being underpowered keeps you from getting hurt if a tool suddenly
'grips'.
A friend had a table saw with a large motor. Without extreme care it
would send a 2x4 through concrete walls. He finally got rid of it and
got a standard power good quality saw. So power is not everything.
jl

It does teach you to take light cuts. Maybe "power" is the wrong word.
It could use more low speed torque when working on larger pieces.