You would probably get more responses if you didn't request the
removal of this message in less than a week.

Looks like a drive by, which is perfectly OK, but they don't always
get much response.

Start he

http://tinyurl.com/3xxnc2

Then try searching this group with "which midi lathe" and you will get
about 450 hits.

Robert

On 15 Feb 2007 22:47:02 -0800, "
wrote:

You would probably get more responses if you didn't request the
removal of this message in less than a week.

Thank you for your kind advice. I have reset my Newsreader
to archive, to generate more respond.

Looks like a drive by, which is perfectly OK, but they don't always
get much response.

I have been lurking here for years and have never post any
message. I am aware this question and similar ones had been
posted umpteen times. I don't write well and to avoid taking
too much bandwidth, I take hours to compose each message. I
am seeking advices and suggestions from experienced turners,
to avoid pitfalls and to save a few bucks if possible.

I need a good midi lathe for small repetitive turning with
copying attachment. I have no desire to upgrade to a bigger
lathe. The lathe needs to have hollow spindle for turning
dowel or rod end later. I have a budget of 1K. I am trying
to spend $400 or less on the lathe and the balance for tools
and accessories. I do have experienced on a metal lathes but
not on wood lathes other than the Craftsman that I mentioned
earlier. Should I buy from PennState or look elsewhere?
Should I buy a used midi lathe (prefer) and where to find
one? I have not found one in craiglist and I dun trust Ebay.
Your advice will be most appreciated.

Thanks

Start he

http://tinyurl.com/3xxnc2

Then try searching this group with "which midi lathe" and you will get
about 450 hits.

Robert

On Feb 16, 10:30 am, Turner wrote:
I have been lurking here for years and have never post any
message. I am aware this question and similar ones had been
posted umpteen times. I don't write well and to avoid taking
too much bandwidth, I take hours to compose each message. I
am seeking advices and suggestions from experienced turners,
to avoid pitfalls and to save a few bucks if possible.

I sure wouldn't worry about typing skills, spelling, etc. Personally
(I think it is obvious to many here) I sit down at the keyboard and
whack away. As long as you understand what I am saying (or pretty
close!) thats fine. I try to keep an eye on spelling and usage, but
reading an old post of mine will sure let me know I am up way too late
sometimes when I am posting here.

This is a boards of opinions where we come to share out experiences,
not final judgements on brain surgery. Your opinion is quite welcome,
and I hope you post as much as you want.

Welcome, Turner.

That being said, I don't think you could go wrong with the Jet mini
with your $400 price requirement. With a grand in total you would
still have a lot left for new cutting tools, grinder, etc.

You could do the following:

Jet indexing variable speed mini: $269
(lowest price on the web at Amazon!)

4 jaw scroll chuck from Grizzley $100

Start out with Benjamin's best tools from Penn State, budget $100 to
get started. Only buy what you need. You will want other tools
later, and may want to make some of your own.

Slow speed 8" grinder with friable wheels $100
from Woodcraft

That should leave you about $400. You can buy your duplicator
(although on pens, that is a real waste of time as they are not even
close to accurate enough), pen kits, sandpaper, finishing supplies,
etc.

Robert

I need a good midi lathe for small repetitive turning with
copying attachment.

I'm curious why you feel you need a copy attachment.

Unlike using a metal lathe, the way an edge is presented to the wood makes a
tremendous difference. A duplicator presents the cutter in exactly one
way... not exactly optimal for a clean crisp cut or efficient stock removal.

-Steve




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Fri, 16 Feb 2007 15:38:03 -0500, "Stephen M"
wrote:

I need a good midi lathe for small repetitive turning with
copying attachment.

I'm curious why you feel you need a copy attachment.

I will be turning small repetitive parts, symmetric knob,
chess set or key chains, just a few examples. I am glad your
curious encourage me to post more. In PennState's catalog,
you will find many of these examples. You may than ask, why
not buy from PennState or elsewhere? Well, the sizes,
shapes, materials and etc may not be suitable. Further, I
don't have a whole day turning one at a time. In my previous
employment I have a complete tool room designed and making
form tools, churning parts out in seconds.

Unlike using a metal lathe, the way an edge is presented to the wood makes a
tremendous difference. A duplicator presents the cutter in exactly one
way... not exactly optimal for a clean crisp cut or efficient stock removal.

Now that's what I want to hear, maybe I don't need a
duplicator, but if I can turn each parts exactly (almost)
the same size and shape, I could finished it with a steel
wools, wouldn't that be better than slowly turn one at a
time with various tools? I may hold back the duplicator till
I absolute need it.

Thanks Steve. :-)

-Steve

" writes:

Slow speed 8" grinder with friable wheels $100
from Woodcraft

Every so often this goes on sale for about $70.
It's really a best buy as grinders go.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

Turner writes:

Now that's what I want to hear, maybe I don't need a
duplicator, but if I can turn each parts exactly (almost)
the same size and shape, I could finished it with a steel
wools, wouldn't that be better than slowly turn one at a
time with various tools? I may hold back the duplicator till
I absolute need it.

Well, if it's not too complicated a shape, then I think mounting the
blank will be the most time consuming. Cutting to shape can be fast.
You can make a simple outline template to make sure the sizes are
uniform. You can even grind special cutters.

How do you plan on holding the wood in the lathe?

There are various methods that a speed turner can use. Here's a couple
of ideas

The Steb Center system allows you to quickly replace pieces
while spindle turning. You do not need to turh the lathe off
while replacing pieces.

Some chucks allow you to feed stock through the head of the
lathe - as in a large dowel. You loosen the chuck and push the
stock further into the head, and retighten.

Some use vacuum chucks.

Now the last twp may not be possible with the Jet Mini. I'm not sure.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

Turner wrote:

I am looking for a good
reliable, vibration free midi lathes to turn pen and small
variety repetitive parts. I prefer a lathe with a hollow
spindle to turn rods' end later. I have an old PennState
Industries Summer catalog 2006-064. Four midi lathes look
interesting. TurncrafterPro - TCLPOVS (variable speed),
TCLPRO, TCLPLUS and Carba-Tec 4SE.

Not clear if you're planning to become a production
turner for profit. If so, you can't compete with a
guy in India or China making 20 cents an hour. But if
you're getting into turning as a hobbiest dump the
idea of "minutes per piece" and think of turning more
as therapy - great mental problem solving, good exercise
for eye/hand coordination, a delight for tool phreaks
and a wonderful way to use what would otherwise be
scraps or land fill material. And if you're lucky there'll
be Zen Moments when time and space disappear as
you, the tools and machine, and the wood work together
"just so" and the results get you thinking "Now where
and how did this beautiful little object come from?!"

The hollow spindle that'll allow you to feed dowels thru it
is going to be a problem - most mini/midi lathes will only
allow maybe 3/8" diameter. Not big enough to turn anything
other than maybe a pen or hair stick. Also requires
starting with round stock - dowels don't come in Bubinga
or Rosewood, Ebony, Zircote, Padouk or most of the other
beautiful woods to turn.

Can anyone help me? Is a variable speed lathe better than a
fixed speed? Which duplicator should I buy, Vega or PSI
duplicator attachment?

While others will certainly disagree, variable speed makes
life a lot easier when turning. Being able to dial the speed
up or down, rather than playing with belts and pulleys, will
allow quick speed adjustments to the range you're comfortable
with. You WILL, at some point, get a chuck, and start doing
things other than "between centers" - lidded boxes, small
bowls, cups, hollow forms, plates etc. Those often start
with less than perfectly balanced blanks. Dialing in a speed
just below where things are vibrating then roughing to round
is REAL handy.

So - seriously consider the JET variable speed mini/midi
lathe - and a decent chuck with some extra jaws - I've
got two Tecknatools SuperNova2 chucks I'm very pleased
with, though OneWay and a few others are just as good.
The JET VS is going for around $350 US.

The SuperNova2 chuck goes for around $170 US give or
take $10.

Look for
- one hand tightening of the jaws - less expensive chucks
use two tommy bars to tighten the jaws, leaving no hand
to hold the part. A "ball head" T-handled allen wrench
is preferable over a chuck key because you can angle
the wrench when tightening - handy in some applications.
- no sharp edges or corners protruding where they can
bite you. You WILL at times work with one hand VERY
close to spinning steel. Rounded edges and corners
may bruise you, or just get your attention - but won't
remove chunks of meat!
- a full range of jaw sets. One size doesn't fit all and
the more options you have in the future the better.

I will be turning small repetitive parts, symmetric knob,
chess set or key chains, just a few examples.

You're definitely gonna need a chuck.

I am glad your
curious encourage me to post more.

You might want to use Google's "groups" search for
postings on the subjects "chucks", "variable speed",
"midi" etc. in the "SUBJECT contains" field
and
rec.crafts.woodturning in the "GROUP" field

http://groups.google.com/advanced_se...-8859-1&hl=en&

I
don't have a whole day turning one at a time. In my previous
employment I have a complete tool room designed and making
form tools, churning parts out in seconds.

Get off the clock! Time is NOT money, despite what you've
been told over and over again. Time is time. Time "spent"
doing anything you enjoy and that provides a sense of
satisfaction and accomplishement is always a good "investment",
the ROI being something money can't buy.

Turning has so many different paths, most you have no
idea of right now. But in the not too distant future a
neighbor will take down a fruit tree and give you some
of it to play with on your lathe. A box of scraps a wood
working friend has will be given to you and you'll make
neat things out of it. The idea of making EXACTLY the
thing you started out to make will go away as the wood
your turning shows you things you hadn't considered.

You're on the edge of a very slippery slope - woodturning
is addictive - and can, over time, become fairly expensive
- chuckS, jaw sets, live center sets, stebb centers in
varisous diameters, tool rests in a range of sizes and shapes,
gouges and chisels, grinders and jigs, rolls of sand paper,
texturing tools, indexing heads, special hollowing systems,
the list is endless. I don't think there's another woodworking
machine that spawns so many "must have" accessories.

I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMat metal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.
http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Have fun finding your perfect lathe - and accessories!

charlie b

On Feb 17, 12:41 pm, charlieb wrote:
Turner wrote:
I am looking for a good
reliable, vibration free midi lathes to turn pen andsmall
variety repetitive parts. I prefer alathewith a hollow
spindle to turn rods' end later. I have anoldPennState
Industries Summer catalog 2006-064. Four midi lathes look
interesting. TurncrafterPro - TCLPOVS (variable speed),
TCLPRO, TCLPLUS and Carba-Tec 4SE.

Not clear if you're planning to become a production
turner for profit. If so, you can't compete with a
guy in India or China making 20 cents an hour. But if
you're getting into turning as a hobbiest dump the
idea of "minutes per piece" and think of turning more
as therapy - great mental problem solving, good exercise
for eye/hand coordination, a delight for tool phreaks
and a wonderful way to use what would otherwise be
scraps or land fill material. And if you're lucky there'll
be Zen Moments when time and space disappear as
you, the tools and machine, and the wood work together
"just so" and the results get you thinking "Now where
and how did this beautiful little object come from?!"

The hollow spindle that'll allow you to feed dowels thru it
is going to be a problem - most mini/midi lathes will only
allow maybe 3/8" diameter. Not big enough to turn anything
other than maybe a pen or hair stick. Also requires
starting with round stock - dowels don't come in Bubinga
or Rosewood, Ebony, Zircote, Padouk or most of the other
beautiful woods to turn.

Can anyone help me? Is a variable speedlathebetter than a
fixed speed? Which duplicator should I buy, Vega or PSI
duplicator attachment?

While others will certainly disagree, variable speed makes
life a lot easier when turning. Being able to dial the speed
up or down, rather than playing with belts and pulleys, will
allow quick speed adjustments to the range you're comfortable
with. You WILL, at some point, get a chuck, and start doing
things other than "between centers" - lidded boxes,small
bowls, cups, hollow forms, plates etc. Those often start
with less than perfectly balanced blanks. Dialing in a speed
just below where things are vibrating then roughing to round
is REAL handy.

So - seriously consider the JET variable speed mini/midi
lathe- and a decent chuck with some extra jaws - I've
got two Tecknatools SuperNova2 chucks I'm very pleased
with, though OneWay and a few others are just as good.
The JET VS is going for around $350 US.

The SuperNova2 chuck goes for around $170 US give or
take $10.

Look for
- one hand tightening of the jaws - less expensive chucks
use two tommy bars to tighten the jaws, leaving no hand
to hold the part. A "ball head" T-handled allen wrench
is preferable over a chuck key because you can angle
the wrench when tightening - handy in some applications.
- no sharp edges or corners protruding where they can
bite you. You WILL at times work with one hand VERY
close to spinning steel. Rounded edges and corners
may bruise you, or just get your attention - but won't
remove chunks of meat!
- a full range of jaw sets. One size doesn't fit all and
the more options you have in the future the better.

I will be turningsmallrepetitive parts, symmetric knob,
chess set or key chains, just a few examples.

You're definitely gonna need a chuck.

I am glad your
curious encourage me to post more.

You might want to use Google's "groups" search for
postings on the subjects "chucks", "variable speed",
"midi" etc. in the "SUBJECT contains" field
and
rec.crafts.woodturning in the "GROUP" field

http://groups.google.com/advanced_se...-1&oe=ISO-8859...

I
don't have a whole day turning one at a time. In my previous
employment I have a complete tool room designed and making
form tools, churning parts out in seconds.

Get off the clock! Time is NOT money, despite what you've
been told over and over again. Time is time. Time "spent"
doing anything you enjoy and that provides a sense of
satisfaction and accomplishement is always a good "investment",
the ROI being something money can't buy.

Turning has so many different paths, most you have no
idea of right now. But in the not too distant future a
neighbor will take down a fruit tree and give you some
of it to play with on yourlathe. A box of scraps a wood
working friend has will be given to you and you'll make
neat things out of it. The idea of making EXACTLY the
thing you started out to make will go away as the wood
your turning shows you things you hadn't considered.

You're on the edge of a very slippery slope - woodturning
is addictive - and can, over time, become fairly expensive
- chuckS, jaw sets, live center sets, stebb centers in
varisous diameters, tool rests in a range of sizes and shapes,
gouges and chisels, grinders and jigs, rolls of sand paper,
texturing tools, indexing heads, special hollowing systems,
the list is endless. I don't think there's another woodworking
machine that spawns so many "must have" accessories.

I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMatmetal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Have fun finding your perfectlathe- and accessories!

charlie b

Charlie B- You have one of the best and most interesting web sites
I've ever seen- and I've seen quite a few. Makes me want to get to the
lathe and make something. I like the way you have illustrated making
the turned boxes- I'm going to bookmark those pages and probably print
them out. I have seen Chris Stott demonstrate, bought some of his
turnings, and his book. I've made a couple of cocobolo boxes with
ebony finials, but I'm not too proud of them. I think that your
tutorials and the ones you refer us to will be of inestimable value to
me next time I hit the lathe. BTW- I have the Jet Mini without
variable speed and I think it hung the moon. Thanks for letting us see
all your goodies- Donna Menke

On 16 Feb 2007 09:31:53 -0800, "
wrote:

snip for brevity
Sorry, took so long to come back (checking).

I sure wouldn't worry about typing skills, spelling, etc. Personally
(I think it is obvious to many here) I sit down at the keyboard and
whack away. As long as you understand what I am saying (or pretty
close!) thats fine. I try to keep an eye on spelling and usage, but
reading an old post of mine will sure let me know I am up way too late
sometimes when I am posting here.

I really mean it, my English is really bad and if I dun
check and recheck, you wouldn't understand me at all. :-)

This is a boards of opinions where we come to share out experiences,
not final judgements on brain surgery. Your opinion is quite welcome,
and I hope you post as much as you want.

There are many NGs, where posters nick picking every words
and spelling, but not the contents. You know what I mean.

Welcome, Turner.

Thanks.

That being said, I don't think you could go wrong with the Jet mini
with your $400 price requirement. With a grand in total you would
still have a lot left for new cutting tools, grinder, etc.

You could do the following:

Jet indexing variable speed mini: $269
(lowest price on the web at Amazon!)

You are correct, Amazon is the cheapest. Do you know if the
Jet's spindle is hollow, I can't find any description that
say the spindle is hollow? I did came across midi lathe with
hollow spindle. Do you know of any?

4 jaw scroll chuck from Grizzley $100

Yes, I need more than one chucks, will decide later after
I buy the lathe.

Start out with Benjamin's best tools from Penn State, budget $100 to
get started. Only buy what you need. You will want other tools
later, and may want to make some of your own.

Thanks.

Slow speed 8" grinder with friable wheels $100
from Woodcraft

I came across one at craiglist, but missed it as I waited
too long.

That should leave you about $400. You can buy your duplicator
(although on pens, that is a real waste of time as they are not even
close to accurate enough), pen kits, sandpaper, finishing supplies,
etc.

I will take your advice and hold the duplicator. Thank you,
I appreciate it very much. before I buy the jet, do you know
any midi lathe with hollow spindle?


Robert

You may want to look at the new General Maxi Lathe. Sells for around
$530 from Edmond and Sons in Atlanta.
On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 12:26:51 -0800, Turner wrote:

On 16 Feb 2007 09:31:53 -0800, "
wrote:

snip for brevity
Sorry, took so long to come back (checking).

I sure wouldn't worry about typing skills, spelling, etc. Personally
(I think it is obvious to many here) I sit down at the keyboard and
whack away. As long as you understand what I am saying (or pretty
close!) thats fine. I try to keep an eye on spelling and usage, but
reading an old post of mine will sure let me know I am up way too late
sometimes when I am posting here.

I really mean it, my English is really bad and if I dun
check and recheck, you wouldn't understand me at all. :-)

This is a boards of opinions where we come to share out experiences,
not final judgements on brain surgery. Your opinion is quite welcome,
and I hope you post as much as you want.

There are many NGs, where posters nick picking every words
and spelling, but not the contents. You know what I mean.

Welcome, Turner.

Thanks.

That being said, I don't think you could go wrong with the Jet mini
with your $400 price requirement. With a grand in total you would
still have a lot left for new cutting tools, grinder, etc.

You could do the following:

Jet indexing variable speed mini: $269
(lowest price on the web at Amazon!)

You are correct, Amazon is the cheapest. Do you know if the
Jet's spindle is hollow, I can't find any description that
say the spindle is hollow? I did came across midi lathe with
hollow spindle. Do you know of any?

4 jaw scroll chuck from Grizzley $100

Yes, I need more than one chucks, will decide later after
I buy the lathe.

Start out with Benjamin's best tools from Penn State, budget $100 to
get started. Only buy what you need. You will want other tools
later, and may want to make some of your own.

Thanks.

Slow speed 8" grinder with friable wheels $100
from Woodcraft

I came across one at craiglist, but missed it as I waited
too long.

That should leave you about $400. You can buy your duplicator
(although on pens, that is a real waste of time as they are not even
close to accurate enough), pen kits, sandpaper, finishing supplies,
etc.

I will take your advice and hold the duplicator. Thank you,
I appreciate it very much. before I buy the jet, do you know
any midi lathe with hollow spindle?


Robert

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:08:29 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Barnett
wrote:

Well, if it's not too complicated a shape, then I think mounting the
blank will be the most time consuming. Cutting to shape can be fast.
You can make a simple outline template to make sure the sizes are
uniform. You can even grind special cutters.

I am new to wood turning, that's why I include a duplicator
in my shopping list. If you mean "special cutters" like form
tools, use in metal turning? You will need more than 1K to
buy the necessary tool room machineries. :-)

How do you plan on holding the wood in the lathe?

There are various methods that a speed turner can use. Here's a couple
of ideas

The Steb Center system allows you to quickly replace pieces
while spindle turning. You do not need to turh the lathe off
while replacing pieces.

Sound Greek to me, any website with pic to see the
attachment?

Some chucks allow you to feed stock through the head of the
lathe - as in a large dowel. You loosen the chuck and push the
stock further into the head, and retighten.

That's what I am looking for, but before I could do that I
would need a lathe with a hollow spindle with a chuck that
has a hole, right? I am planning to turn a dowel rod about a
max 5/8" dia. Any midi lathes that fit the description? I am
inclines to avoid a full size wood lathe as I have space
constrained.

Some use vacuum chucks.

A vacuum chuck would require a vacuum pump or an air operate
chuck, a constant supply of compress air and these chucks
are by no mean cheap and added additional problems. Nob, I
am avoiding it. I did say earlier I have experienced in
metal lathe plus turret lathes, screws machines....Acme,
Index, Wickman, Davenport, Gildermister, etc.

Now the last twp may not be possible with the Jet Mini. I'm not sure.

Thank Bruce, I appreciate your suggestions.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:41:41 -0800, charlieb
wrote:

Not clear if you're planning to become a production
turner for profit. If so, you can't compete with a
guy in India or China making 20 cents an hour. But if
you're getting into turning as a hobbiest dump the
idea of "minutes per piece" and think of turning more
as therapy - great mental problem solving, good exercise
for eye/hand coordination, a delight for tool phreaks
and a wonderful way to use what would otherwise be
scraps or land fill material. And if you're lucky there'll
be Zen Moments when time and space disappear as
you, the tools and machine, and the wood work together
"just so" and the results get you thinking "Now where
and how did this beautiful little object come from?!"

I am not competing with anyone. I like to believe, I will be
able to recoup my small investment and speed up repetitive
tasks. I really don't want fall asleep or get frustrate and
abandon it altogether. :-)

The hollow spindle that'll allow you to feed dowels thru it
is going to be a problem - most mini/midi lathes will only
allow maybe 3/8" diameter. Not big enough to turn anything
other than maybe a pen or hair stick. Also requires
starting with round stock - dowels don't come in Bubinga
or Rosewood, Ebony, Zircote, Padouk or most of the other
beautiful woods to turn.

Have you came across midi lathe that have a hollow spindle
with slightly over 5/8" hollow dia? I spoke with Rob Lee of
Lee Valley Tools, they have the dowel making tools I need.
(btw Rob, very patient and knowledgeable person and
understands what I need).

Can anyone help me? Is a variable speed lathe better than a
fixed speed? Which duplicator should I buy, Vega or PSI
duplicator attachment?

While others will certainly disagree, variable speed makes
life a lot easier when turning. Being able to dial the speed
up or down, rather than playing with belts and pulleys, will
allow quick speed adjustments to the range you're comfortable
with. You WILL, at some point, get a chuck, and start doing
things other than "between centers" - lidded boxes, small
bowls, cups, hollow forms, plates etc. Those often start
with less than perfectly balanced blanks. Dialing in a speed
just below where things are vibrating then roughing to round
is REAL handy.

That's what I need and intend to do, thanks! I will have to
look around and find one or more chucks that will able to
hold the part and not damage it while turning.

So - seriously consider the JET variable speed mini/midi
lathe - and a decent chuck with some extra jaws - I've
got two Tecknatools SuperNova2 chucks I'm very pleased
with, though OneWay and a few others are just as good.
The JET VS is going for around $350 US.

On Friday, Amazon selling it for $260 plus $39 for shipping.
Elsewhere around $350 and over. If I cannot find a suitable
hollow spindle midi lathe, I will buy it from Amazon before
they increase the price.

The SuperNova2 chuck goes for around $170 US give or
take $10.

By no mean cheap, huh?

Look for
- one hand tightening of the jaws - less expensive chucks
use two tommy bars to tighten the jaws, leaving no hand
to hold the part. A "ball head" T-handled allen wrench
is preferable over a chuck key because you can angle
the wrench when tightening - handy in some applications.
- no sharp edges or corners protruding where they can
bite you. You WILL at times work with one hand VERY
close to spinning steel. Rounded edges and corners
may bruise you, or just get your attention - but won't
remove chunks of meat!
- a full range of jaw sets. One size doesn't fit all and
the more options you have in the future the better.

I will need more than a chuck that is for sure. You should
by now understand why I kept on harping on a hollow spindle
midi lathe. I still believe, turning from dowel rods
(keeping the dowel rod short as possible, prevent it from
snapping). Yes, I will be turning very close to the chuck
and I appreciate you mentioning it. I really dun want to
take any more meat from my hand. Last year, while making a
new garage door before we moved, the router took chuck off
my finger. Spend more than a month recuperating.

I will be turning small repetitive parts, symmetric knob,
chess set or key chains, just a few examples.

You're definitely gonna need a chuck.

Not "a" but a few, which you stated earlier.

I am glad your
curious encourage me to post more.

You might want to use Google's "groups" search for
postings on the subjects "chucks", "variable speed",
"midi" etc. in the "SUBJECT contains" field
and
rec.crafts.woodturning in the "GROUP" field

http://groups.google.com/advanced_se...-8859-1&hl=en&

I
don't have a whole day turning one at a time. In my previous
employment I have a complete tool room designed and making
form tools, churning parts out in seconds.

Get off the clock! Time is NOT money, despite what you've
been told over and over again. Time is time. Time "spent"
doing anything you enjoy and that provides a sense of
satisfaction and accomplishement is always a good "investment",
the ROI being something money can't buy.

I love woodworking, I also need to have foods on the table
and also pay for the mortgage too. Both my wife and I doing
what we can after a hard day at our workplaces. Like
everyone else we are trying hard to survive. life isn't easy
and I am *NOT* complaining. No offence please. :-)


Turning has so many different paths, most you have no
idea of right now. But in the not too distant future a
neighbor will take down a fruit tree and give you some
of it to play with on your lathe. A box of scraps a wood
working friend has will be given to you and you'll make
neat things out of it. The idea of making EXACTLY the
thing you started out to make will go away as the wood
your turning shows you things you hadn't considered.

We moved from the Midwest, during fall and winter we had
tornado and icy storms. The City has a vacant lot where the
residents dispose fallen limbs and cut tree. Free firewood!
Here in the West, free lumbers/woods are hard to come by.

You're on the edge of a very slippery slope - woodturning
is addictive - and can, over time, become fairly expensive
- chuckS, jaw sets, live center sets, stebb centers in
varisous diameters, tool rests in a range of sizes and shapes,
gouges and chisels, grinders and jigs, rolls of sand paper,
texturing tools, indexing heads, special hollowing systems,
the list is endless. I don't think there's another woodworking
machine that spawns so many "must have" accessories.

That's what I came here for, to minimize mistakes. it's not
really a hobby, rather an additional income :-)


I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMat metal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.
http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Thanks, for your website (I Bookmark it). That is almost
what I plan to do but much smaller and shorter stuff. I have
a website under construction. I will be occupied for the
rest of the year. We bought a house and closing shortly. The
first agenda, upgrade the electrical from 40amps to 200
amps. Then completely make, replacing the 50's garage door.
Next will be a new kitchen and a bathroom. In the evening I
can probably spend time on turning, without creating too
much noise and upsetting the neighborhood.

Have fun finding your perfect lathe - and accessories!

It is one of the many new exiting things I will be doing for
the coming year. For now I am looking for a midi lathe and
hope to buy one within the next few days and moves to our
new home shortly :-)

Thanks again

charlie b

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:49:14 -0500, bill
wrote:

You may want to look at the new General Maxi Lathe. Sells for around
$530 from Edmond and Sons in Atlanta.

I am trying to stay away from a full size lathe, space
constrain. BTW, what's the model, doesn't hurt browsing.
Thanks.

Turner wrote:
On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:41:41 -0800, charlieb
wrote:

Not clear if you're planning to become a production
turner for profit. If so, you can't compete with a
guy in India or China making 20 cents an hour. But if
you're getting into turning as a hobbiest dump the
idea of "minutes per piece" and think of turning more
as therapy - great mental problem solving, good exercise
for eye/hand coordination, a delight for tool phreaks
and a wonderful way to use what would otherwise be
scraps or land fill material. And if you're lucky there'll
be Zen Moments when time and space disappear as
you, the tools and machine, and the wood work together
"just so" and the results get you thinking "Now where
and how did this beautiful little object come from?!"

I am not competing with anyone. I like to believe, I will be
able to recoup my small investment and speed up repetitive
tasks. I really don't want fall asleep or get frustrate and
abandon it altogether. :-)

The hollow spindle that'll allow you to feed dowels thru it
is going to be a problem - most mini/midi lathes will only
allow maybe 3/8" diameter. Not big enough to turn anything
other than maybe a pen or hair stick. Also requires
starting with round stock - dowels don't come in Bubinga
or Rosewood, Ebony, Zircote, Padouk or most of the other
beautiful woods to turn.

Have you came across midi lathe that have a hollow spindle
with slightly over 5/8" hollow dia? I spoke with Rob Lee of
Lee Valley Tools, they have the dowel making tools I need.
(btw Rob, very patient and knowledgeable person and
understands what I need).

Can anyone help me? Is a variable speed lathe better than a
fixed speed? Which duplicator should I buy, Vega or PSI
duplicator attachment?
While others will certainly disagree, variable speed makes
life a lot easier when turning. Being able to dial the speed
up or down, rather than playing with belts and pulleys, will
allow quick speed adjustments to the range you're comfortable
with. You WILL, at some point, get a chuck, and start doing
things other than "between centers" - lidded boxes, small
bowls, cups, hollow forms, plates etc. Those often start
with less than perfectly balanced blanks. Dialing in a speed
just below where things are vibrating then roughing to round
is REAL handy.

That's what I need and intend to do, thanks! I will have to
look around and find one or more chucks that will able to
hold the part and not damage it while turning.

So - seriously consider the JET variable speed mini/midi
lathe - and a decent chuck with some extra jaws - I've
got two Tecknatools SuperNova2 chucks I'm very pleased
with, though OneWay and a few others are just as good.
The JET VS is going for around $350 US.

On Friday, Amazon selling it for $260 plus $39 for shipping.
Elsewhere around $350 and over. If I cannot find a suitable
hollow spindle midi lathe, I will buy it from Amazon before
they increase the price.

The SuperNova2 chuck goes for around $170 US give or
take $10.

By no mean cheap, huh?

Look for
- one hand tightening of the jaws - less expensive chucks
use two tommy bars to tighten the jaws, leaving no hand
to hold the part. A "ball head" T-handled allen wrench
is preferable over a chuck key because you can angle
the wrench when tightening - handy in some applications.
- no sharp edges or corners protruding where they can
bite you. You WILL at times work with one hand VERY
close to spinning steel. Rounded edges and corners
may bruise you, or just get your attention - but won't
remove chunks of meat!
- a full range of jaw sets. One size doesn't fit all and
the more options you have in the future the better.

I will need more than a chuck that is for sure. You should
by now understand why I kept on harping on a hollow spindle
midi lathe. I still believe, turning from dowel rods
(keeping the dowel rod short as possible, prevent it from
snapping). Yes, I will be turning very close to the chuck
and I appreciate you mentioning it. I really dun want to
take any more meat from my hand. Last year, while making a
new garage door before we moved, the router took chuck off
my finger. Spend more than a month recuperating.

I will be turning small repetitive parts, symmetric knob,
chess set or key chains, just a few examples.

You're definitely gonna need a chuck.

Turner ... keep looking until you find a 5C (AKA "Bridgeport") or 3C
collet chuck adapter. That will let you pass a dowel through, clamp it
quickly, make your cuts, part it off and advance another ... all without
even slowing down. All other chuck designs that I am familiar with will
require you to stop the lathe to loosen the chuck. That's wasted time
for small, repetitive parts.

There is a handle mechanism that fits behind the headstock. Move the
lever one way to lock, opposite way to open and slide the dowel through
the hollow spindle.
Bill

--
Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one
rascal less in the world.
Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)
http://nmwoodworks.com

Turner - just in case no one answered your exact question to your
satisfaction, the Jet mini has a hollow spindle. This is how you get
your knockout bar into the spindle to knock out the drive spur.

It is also the pathway to hook up a vacuum press if you desire.

But you should be aware that the spindle does not have the same size
hole on both sides. On the spindle side that is over the lathe, it is
about 3/4". But on the handle side which is on the other side of the
spindle, it is only about 3/8" or so. So you won't have a long length
of dowel protruding from your spindle.

And as a side comment, if you are going to make this a project that
generates additional income, look around and see what you can turn
that isn't already covering the market. Pens are a great projects,
and some of them are real works of art, but unless you get in the
right market, they are a really difficult sell.

Like many here, I have sold a lot of things; pencil holders, desk
clocks, desk sets, oil lamps, Christmas ornaments, lamp pulls, etc.
None of them make a lot of money by any means, but together I have
been pleasantly surprised at how much income they can generate.

I make bowls, but I tend to keep them. We don't have a lot of big
timber around here, and none of us have access to the giant logs of
wonderful hardwoods that I see bowls turned out of around here. That
means we have to buy our blanks. If you buy large bowl blanks and
then try to sell the bowls you probably won't make enough (unless you
are really established) to make it worth your while.

"Gimme" items and impulse buys are great. For the most part they
don't take long to turn, and they use little material.

Good luck! I hope you keep up posted with your progress and let us
know how you are doing.

Robert

In article . com,
" wrote:

......

And as a side comment, if you are going to make this a project that
generates additional income, look around and see what you can turn
that isn't already covering the market. Pens are a great projects,
and some of them are real works of art, but unless you get in the
right market, they are a really difficult sell.


Robert has a good point, if you are trying to make a business, you need
to come up with a plan to separate yourself from everyone else.

--
--------------------------------------------------------
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

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 02:07:46 -0500, Bill in Detroit
wrote:

snip for brevity

Turner ... keep looking until you find a 5C (AKA "Bridgeport") or 3C
collet chuck adapter. That will let you pass a dowel through, clamp it
quickly, make your cuts, part it off and advance another ... all without
even slowing down. All other chuck designs that I am familiar with will
require you to stop the lathe to loosen the chuck. That's wasted time
for small, repetitive parts.

I remember Hardinge metal lathe using 5C collets, these are
tools room and 2nd operation lathe. The chuck could be air
or hand operated as you describe below. Now, after reading
what was posted here, I need to forego what I have in mind,
unless I am willing to spend a few grand just for a few
pieces of turn parts. it's just not worth it. I will have to
decide either Jet or General maxi-lathe (fixed or variable
speed). Thanks, I appreciate it very much.

There is a handle mechanism that fits behind the headstock. Move the
lever one way to lock, opposite way to open and slide the dowel through
the hollow spindle.
Bill

On 18 Feb 2007 23:21:55 -0800, "
wrote:

Turner - just in case no one answered your exact question to your
satisfaction, the Jet mini has a hollow spindle. This is how you get
your knockout bar into the spindle to knock out the drive spur.

It is also the pathway to hook up a vacuum press if you desire.

But you should be aware that the spindle does not have the same size
hole on both sides. On the spindle side that is over the lathe, it is
about 3/4". But on the handle side which is on the other side of the
spindle, it is only about 3/8" or so. So you won't have a long length
of dowel protruding from your spindle.

And as a side comment, if you are going to make this a project that
generates additional income, look around and see what you can turn
that isn't already covering the market. Pens are a great projects,
and some of them are real works of art, but unless you get in the
right market, they are a really difficult sell.

Like many here, I have sold a lot of things; pencil holders, desk
clocks, desk sets, oil lamps, Christmas ornaments, lamp pulls, etc.
None of them make a lot of money by any means, but together I have
been pleasantly surprised at how much income they can generate.

I make bowls, but I tend to keep them. We don't have a lot of big
timber around here, and none of us have access to the giant logs of
wonderful hardwoods that I see bowls turned out of around here. That
means we have to buy our blanks. If you buy large bowl blanks and
then try to sell the bowls you probably won't make enough (unless you
are really established) to make it worth your while.

"Gimme" items and impulse buys are great. For the most part they
don't take long to turn, and they use little material.

Good luck! I hope you keep up posted with your progress and let us
know how you are doing.

Robert, you and other posters had been extremely helpful. I
learn a lot. The old craftsman was a starting point. Earlier
Bill suggested that I consider General Maxi Lathe. I did a
search and found General to be much heavier, model 25-100
cost around $299 and the 25-200 VS about $600. I will decide
after I visit the nearest Woodcraft store. I will take a
good look at Jet, ask a few questions and decide within the
next few next days. I will return after I bought the lathe
and ask more questions on chucks, accessories and turning
problems. Thanks again.

Robert

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 07:25:16 -0800, Ralph E Lindberg
wrote:

In article . com,
" wrote:

.....

And as a side comment, if you are going to make this a project that
generates additional income, look around and see what you can turn
that isn't already covering the market. Pens are a great projects,
and some of them are real works of art, but unless you get in the
right market, they are a really difficult sell.


Robert has a good point, if you are trying to make a business, you need
to come up with a plan to separate yourself from everyone else.

Both Robert and your advices are most important for anyone
who intend going into business or earn side income. I have
learned from past experienced that I will never forget. I
poured substantial sums in a BIG way and lost almost
everything. My wife had been selling stuff in the net since
2001 in a very small way, in spite of competition she
survives and helps to put foods on the table. What I will be
doing are completely different from her home business, but
complementary. She had in fact sold a few of my items. I am
trying to increase the qty., variety and improved what I
have made. BTW, I am not making any pens, I'll leave that
to the pros. Thanks a million.

Ralph E Lindberg wrote:


Robert has a good point, if you are trying to make a business, you need
to come up with a plan to separate yourself from everyone else.


And if you're going to do small stuff from dowel stock that
could be a problem. BUT - if you do small stuff in interesting
woods - which aren't available in dowel stock - then you might
have a chance - purple heart, padouk, "snake wood", "leopard
(sp?) wood", "lacewood", claro walnut, bubinga, rosewood, african
black wood, ironwood, yellow heart/ canary wood - none available
in dowel form.

If you want to add another wood, drill a shallow hole in the top
of a drawer pull, glue in a round of a contrasting wood and
turn to flush with the top of the pull. A 1/4" tapered plug
cutter and a drill press could give you a quick way to make
them out of any wood you can find. If want to get fancy,
use the same idea but glue in brass - uncoated welding rod
or aluminum rod turned flush might be interesting. If you
have a chuck with indexing capability you could drill a series
of small holes and glue in silver or even gold wire and turn
it flush to the wood to produce a circle of shiny metal in
the wood.

Still not sure about the need for a quick change chuck
and a 5/8" ID drive spindle. You can mount square or
close to square blanks between centers, rough to round
pretty quickly then turn most of you knob, pull or chess
pieces. Then chuck one end of the resulting work, part
off the left most piece, finish the end, remove it and
chuck up and part off the next part and so on.

Depending on the form of the wood you're starting with
either a bandsaw or a table saw will probably become a
necessity. If you start with firewood or mini-logs, the
bandsaw is a must. If you're starting with 3/4" or 1"
boards, then a table saw would be a must. Neither has
so be Industrial Strength machines, but either one will
run $500+. The wood might be free, but getting it into
a useable shape isn't. I guess I was lucky in that I had
the machines for furniture making BEFORE I got hooked
on turning.

I noted this earlier, but turning is a very slippery slope.
They should give away the small lathes cause they're
gonna make 5 times that on the "accessories" and
tools, sharpening "systems", sanding supplies and tools
and finishes.

Ultimately, it seems that ALL types of woodworking
cost you $5,000 - minimum. The wood then adds to
the price tag. But - in the long run, it's probably the
cheapest form of therapy and mental health maintenance.

charlie b

wrote:

Charlie B- You have one of the best and most interesting web sites
I've ever seen- and I've seen quite a few.

Spend some more time looking and you'll find a LOT more and
better info on the web. But finding the really basic stuff - the
things the people who write books and articles and do videos and
DVDs just assume "everybody knows" - the "common knowledge
stuff not worth mentioning" is a bit harder. THAT's where the
fill in the gaps stuff I put together initially for my own use comes
in. Once I've done my own instructions, the time and effort to
put it on the web is neglible. My hope is that others will go
through some of it, think "If even this guy can do it - well then
I sure as hell can!" - and then do it, succeeding on the first or
second try. It's those first few attempts that can either
turn someone on or turn someone off to a type of woodworking.

Makes me want to get to the
lathe and make something. I like the way you have illustrated making
the turned boxes- I'm going to bookmark those pages and probably print
them out.

That's what I'd hoped. PLEASE add notes and questions as you
use the instructions. If there are holes in the process or
ambiguities note them and e-mail them to me. I'll revise the
instructions as needed in hopes that they'll get better and
make it easier for others.

I'll be revising the instructions to have the hollowing start with
the top of the box because it's curve makes it easy to turn
through the top of the top while hollowing. By starting with
the top, should you blow through the lid, you can either scrap
that box and start a new one or plug the hole and do some
reshaping. No point starting by hollowing the bottom and THEN
blow through the top.

Have started adding a contrasting wood "foot" to my boxes
and am still working out size, shape and proportions. So now
I'm doing 6 part boxes - top and bottom, top finial, inside
lid, inside finial and separate "foot". Have one I'm working
on now that adds a 7th part - making the top's finial in
two different woods, one over the other.

I have seen Chris Stott demonstrate, bought some of his
turnings, and his book. I've made a couple of cocobolo boxes with
ebony finials, but I'm not too proud of them.

I started turning "between centers" so I turned a lot of shapes
and combinations of shapes before I got to turning finials for
my lidded boxes. By making the finials "add ons" I can try
different finials on a piece and see which one looks right - or
what modification of one I've done would work better.

The difference between a nice piece and a technically
correct but Ho-Hum piece is practice. If you finish a
piece and it doesn't look quite right study it a bit and
figure out why. Then do another one - with the improve-
ments. After a while you'll come up with shapes and
proportions that please you and then it's variations
and evolution time. Along the way you'll find tools that
work for you and their use will become second nature.
After a while you'll begin to see when a curve or bead
or cove looks right or doesn't look right for the piece.
Practice both the "eye" and the hand and soon things
will begin to "just happen".

The fun thing about woodworking, and turning especially,
is that "Did I make that!?" experience. I think everyone
has a gift to help bring beautiful things into existence.
If I can help make those experiences happen then I'm
a happy camper.

I think that your
tutorials and the ones you refer us to will be of inestimable value to
me next time I hit the lathe.

Please add notes as you use the instructions. Critique the
hell out of them and send it along. That way the next
person has an easier time of it.

BTW- I have the Jet Mini without
variable speed and I think it hung the moon.

What you use to get there isn't significant. It's getting
there that's the goal.

Thanks for letting us see
all your goodies- Donna Menke

Feel free to "borrow" anything I've done so far. I'm
of the Steve Jobs school - steal ideas and steal from
the best. To put it another way - there's no such
thing as "creativity", it's actually "synthesis" -
combining existing things in a way they've not been
combined before. Whatever IT is, it sure is fun.

Thanks for the feed back- and PLEASE TAKE NOTES!

charlie belden
san jose, ca

On Feb 19, 10:52 am, Turner wrote:
I will decide
after I visit the nearest Woodcraft store. I will take a
good look at Jet, ask a few questions and decide within the
next few next days. I will return after I bought the lathe
and ask more questions on chucks, accessories and turning
problems. Thanks again.


I think I speak for all the guys that responded, "anytime". Unlike a
lot of nwesgroups and forums, this one is a winner with lots of good
folks and talented craft people.

Just post again when you need some help, as someone here always
responds.

Robert

In article ,
charlieb wrote:

.....

I noted this earlier, but turning is a very slippery slope.
They should give away the small lathes cause they're
gonna make 5 times that on the "accessories" and
tools, sharpening "systems", sanding supplies and tools
and finishes.

that's close to my ratio, I think it was more 4:1 though, plus the
$2500 for the "upgrade" lathe

--
--------------------------------------------------------
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

In article ,
Turner wrote:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:08:29 +0000 (UTC), Bruce Barnett
wrote:

......

The Steb Center system allows you to quickly replace pieces
while spindle turning. You do not need to turh the lathe off
while replacing pieces.

Sound Greek to me, any website with pic to see the
attachment?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=5082

--
--------------------------------------------------------
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

General Maxi Lathe25-200
On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:42:26 -0800, Turner wrote:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:49:14 -0500, bill
wrote:

You may want to look at the new General Maxi Lathe. Sells for around
$530 from Edmond and Sons in Atlanta.

I am trying to stay away from a full size lathe, space
constrain. BTW, what's the model, doesn't hurt browsing.
Thanks.

Turner writes:

I am new to wood turning, that's why I include a duplicator
in my shopping list. If you mean "special cutters" like form
tools, use in metal turning? You will need more than 1K to
buy the necessary tool room machineries. :-)

Depends. I haven't actually done this for wood lathes, but cutters for
metal lathes can be less than a dollar. You can shape it with grinding
wheels, tool cutters, diamond rotary tools, files, etc.

If you have a curved profile - say radius curve, you could cut the profile easily.
The you have to hold it in place. You can get drill rod and shape it into a custom cutter.


The Steb center can be expensive. The rotating one is the most
expensive of the set, and necessary for changing pieces while the
lathe is running.

--
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail to this account incurs a fee of
$500 per message, and acknowledges the legality of this contract.

On Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:17:07 -0500, bill
wrote:

General Maxi Lathe25-200

Thanks. I checked General Maxi Lathe25-200 this morning.
Since the package is over 15' it will be ship via common
carrier. For model 25-200, over $600 and $299 for model
25-100. have not decide which lathe to buy.

http://www.general.ca/pagetitre/ang/lathes.html


On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:42:26 -0800, Turner wrote:

On Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:49:14 -0500, bill
wrote:

You may want to look at the new General Maxi Lathe. Sells for around
$530 from Edmond and Sons in Atlanta.

I am trying to stay away from a full size lathe, space
constrain. BTW, what's the model, doesn't hurt browsing.
Thanks.

Turner wrote:

Thanks. I checked General Maxi Lathe25-200 this morning.
Since the package is over 15' it will be ship via common
carrier. For model 25-200, over $600 and $299 for model
25-100. have not decide which lathe to buy.

The swivel head alone is worth the extra money, DAMHIKT :-). And then there's
the variable speed, bigger swing, longer bed, more HP, ...

And I can't believe it requires a fifteen foot long packge :-).

It's also available from Woodcraft for, IIRC, $529.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:41:41 -0800, charlieb
wrote:

I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMat metal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.

http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Have fun finding your perfect lathe - and accessories!

charlie b

Hi Charlie B,

I am amazed at the wealth of information you have at your
website. I will be popping in every spare moment before and
after we move into a 3bds house. I will busy making a
completely new kitchen a bathroom and maybe a year later
adds another bedroom. I got the two cars' garage for my
woodworking , my wife a bedroom for her craft shop and the
living room will be my kid study room.

While planning for the move and shopping for woodworking
machineries, I am also looking for lumbers and plywood in
the SFO and surrounding areas. Do you know any lumberyard
where I could buy "reasonable" price roughed sawn hard
Maple, Oak, furniture grade plywood and rough sawn railroad
tie lumber (6/4x8')?

Thank you.

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:41:41 -0800, charlieb
wrote:

Repost. Oops heading should be Charlieb.

I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMat metal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.

http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Have fun finding your perfect lathe - and accessories!

charlie b

Hi Charlie B,

I am amazed at the wealth of information you have at your
website. I will be popping in every spare moment before and
after we move into a 3bds house. I will busy making a
completely new kitchen a bathroom and maybe a year later
adds another bedroom. I got the two cars' garage for my
woodworking , my wife a bedroom for her craft shop and the
living room will be my kid study room.

While planning for the move and shopping for woodworking
machineries, I am also looking for lumbers and plywood in
the SFO and surrounding areas. Do you know any lumberyard
where I could buy "reasonable" price roughed sawn hard
Maple, Oak, furniture grade plywood and rough sawn railroad
tie lumber (6/4x8')?

Thank you.

Turner wrote in
:

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 10:41:41 -0800, charlieb
wrote:

Repost. Oops heading should be Charlieb.

I fell into wood turning because of a little UniMat metal
lathe. Here's some about where that went.

http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning1.html

Have fun finding your perfect lathe - and accessories!

charlie b

Hi Charlie B,

I am amazed at the wealth of information you have at your
website. I will be popping in every spare moment before and
after we move into a 3bds house. I will busy making a
completely new kitchen a bathroom and maybe a year later
adds another bedroom. I got the two cars' garage for my
woodworking , my wife a bedroom for her craft shop and the
living room will be my kid study room.

While planning for the move and shopping for woodworking
machineries, I am also looking for lumbers and plywood in
the SFO and surrounding areas. Do you know any lumberyard
where I could buy "reasonable" price roughed sawn hard
Maple, Oak, furniture grade plywood and rough sawn railroad
tie lumber (6/4x8')?

Thank you.



Not charlieb, but I'm in the SF Bay Area.

Check out www.pals4wood.com They may have plenty of what you need. I
buy a lot of my stuff from their Oakland yard, and they are quite
helpful.

I missed an earlier post, I guess. Where are you landing?

Patriarch

Turner wrote:

I am amazed at the wealth of information you have at your
website. I will be popping in every spare moment before and
after we move into a 3bds house.

Actually, it's the fact that I spread it out that makes it
look like there's more than actually there. I'm a visual
learner so there are plenty of pictures, diagrams and
illustrations - all of which take up more page space than
a bunch of text. I also include stuff that's probably
"common knowledge" but I'd rather have too much info
than just enough to get myself in trouble.

I will busy making a
completely new kitchen a bathroom and maybe a year later
adds another bedroom.

If you're going to do ply and face frame cabinets with maybe
raised panel doors I'd seriously look into Festools plunge saw
and straight edge guide. Great for dealing with 3x8 sheets
of ply and with accessories will also do miter cuts etc..
That and a good router, with router table and fence will
let you do cope and stick raised panel doors.

I got the two cars' garage for my
woodworking , my wife a bedroom for her craft shop and the
living room will be my kid study room.

You'll find that a 2 car garage can get kind of cramped as
time goes on and tools and wood are accumulated.

While planning for the move and shopping for woodworking
machineries, I am also looking for lumbers and plywood in
the SFO and surrounding areas. Do you know any lumberyard
where I could buy "reasonable" price roughed sawn hard
Maple, Oak, furniture grade plywood and rough sawn railroad
tie lumber (6/4x8')?

That's three distinctly different places. For hardwoods
and exotics there's Global Wood Source in North San Jose.
Baker Hardwoods is in Morgan Hill but he's By Appointment
Only. Specializes in claro walnut but has lots of other stuff
as well - and a big horizontal bandsaw so he can cut to order
- for a price of course.

For baltic birch ply and furniture grade hardwood veneered
ply there's Aura Plywood near downtown San Jose. The
rail road ties - I've no idea.

Welcome to the SF Bay Area - a den of equity

For machines - checkout Tool Land in San Carlos. Funky,
crammed to the ceiling with machines, tools etc. place
but they carry all sorts of machines - including Festool.

Thank you.

No problem.