I am a fairly experienced wood worker and have a decent little shop,
not a lot of room 18" X 24" with a loft. I have the normal tools, some
are still my first buys and some are upgrades. Just got my new
Powermatic Bandsaw but I'm still using my Delta Contractors saw, my 1
speed Delta 12" Planer and my 30 year old Craftsman 6" joiner. Most of
money lately has gone into hand tools, quality chisels, Japanese Saws,
planes, planes, planes, planes and then a couple more planes. I also
bought a Craftsman 6" grinder that I set up with a wire wheel and a
stiff buffing wheel to help clean up some of the old planes I found, a
Delta low speed grinder and water wheel and a new Jet Sharpener.


So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck. 4 Jaw or 3
Jaw? What is best for basic bowls and such as can be done on a small
lathe?

Turning tools, I plan to get a set, maybe the Harbor Freight 8 pc HSS
one or the Woodcraft 5 pc Mini set and adding a bowl gouge. Any
recommendations?

What else to start (besides all the pen stuff, mandrel, press, drill
bits, etc.)?

Thanks
Neil

I just used the Jet Mini in a class, and it's a nice piece of work. The
electronic variable speed was not worth the extra $. You lose a lot of
torque at low speeds. I could easily stall out a spindle with a parting
tool.

For your grinder, you need a pink or white or blue wheel for chisel
sharpening.

Otherwise get lots of cheap wood, (aka firewood) and let the learning begin.
Practice is more important than a huge palette of tools.

You'll love it

Old guy


"Neillarson" wrote in message
ps.com...
I am a fairly experienced wood worker and have a decent little shop,
not a lot of room 18" X 24" with a loft. I have the normal tools, some
are still my first buys and some are upgrades. Just got my new
Powermatic Bandsaw but I'm still using my Delta Contractors saw, my 1
speed Delta 12" Planer and my 30 year old Craftsman 6" joiner. Most of
money lately has gone into hand tools, quality chisels, Japanese Saws,
planes, planes, planes, planes and then a couple more planes. I also
bought a Craftsman 6" grinder that I set up with a wire wheel and a
stiff buffing wheel to help clean up some of the old planes I found, a
Delta low speed grinder and water wheel and a new Jet Sharpener.


So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck. 4 Jaw or 3
Jaw? What is best for basic bowls and such as can be done on a small
lathe?

Turning tools, I plan to get a set, maybe the Harbor Freight 8 pc HSS
one or the Woodcraft 5 pc Mini set and adding a bowl gouge. Any
recommendations?

What else to start (besides all the pen stuff, mandrel, press, drill
bits, etc.)?

Thanks
Neil

On May 7, 9:15 am, "Old guy" wrote:
I just used the Jet Mini in a class, and it's a nice piece of work. The
electronic variable speed was not worth the extra $. You lose a lot of
torque at low speeds. I could easily stall out a spindle with a parting
tool.

For your grinder, you need a pink or white or blue wheel for chisel
sharpening.

Otherwise get lots of cheap wood, (aka firewood) and let the learning begin.
Practice is more important than a huge palette of tools.

You'll love it

Old guy

"Neillarson" wrote in message

ps.com...



Darn, you took the name I was thinking of using. I may not fully
qualify as i'm barely on the edge of 50 but I sure feel like it
sometimes.

Thanks for your info. The Delta slow speed has a nice White wheel for
grinding and an orange for sharpening, tho in my opinion, all but the
white wheel sucks.

18 in. x 24 in. ????? small shop L O L


JR

Neillarson wrote:

So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

Disclaimer: I work part time at Woodcraft.

Both the Rikon and the Jet are nice little lathes. Some here have questioned
the quality of the Rikon but I can only tell you we've sold a lot of them and
the only problem reported to us that I'm aware of is that the pulley setscrew
has a tendency to come loose. A little LocTite makes that problem go
away :-).

But the next time you're in Woodcraft look at the new little General. Swivel
head, variable speed with readout, and will swing 18"-19" outboard. It's not
in the same price range as the Jet and Rikon, but IMNSHO it's worth the
difference.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

"Neillarson" wrote in message
ps.com...

So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck. 4 Jaw or 3
Jaw? What is best for basic bowls and such as can be done on a small
lathe?

Turning tools, I plan to get a set, maybe the Harbor Freight 8 pc HSS
one or the Woodcraft 5 pc Mini set and adding a bowl gouge. Any
recommendations?

What else to start (besides all the pen stuff, mandrel, press, drill
bits, etc.)?


NOVA 16-2444. It'll do just fine in a small footprint, and you don't have
to turn outboard to go 15.75 inch diameter, but can turn with your tailstock
until you develop enough proficiency to go without. If you care to, which
seems sort of silly to me. For another 400 you can go 25 inches or more in
diameter, but you'll want to be pretty proficient with a gouge before you
do. No support from the tailstock.

You can get 6x1" wheels for your grinder, as most lathe tools take more time
than it's worth to hone, and are used from the wheel. I wouldn't buy a
white wheel. They're too soft. I got one and watched it deposit sand under
the grinder at a frightening rate. Sterner stuff for harder alloys seems
advised. I'm using SiC wheels from Woodworkers Supply, have been for the
last five years, and may replace my first one some day. Already bought a
replacement, but with nearly 5" left, can't bring myself to put it on the
mandrel.

Harbor freight is fine after a bit of fiddling to remove the rough edges.
After you learn the tools, you can decide if you or the tool is doing the
job and spend what you like. Basic bowls are well served by any of the name
chucks, with some risk by no-name chucks. Here I'd go with one that has a
large stable of jaws and not bargain-hunt. I'm NOVAs, like 'em a lot, and
turn a lot on them. Not the current models, which may have a convenience or
two over my old ones, but use the same jaws if I ever decide I need
something new and allegedly improved.

I don't do pens, but they seem to be jig-dependant, so don't skimp there.

NOVA 16-2444. It'll do just fine in a small footprint, and you don't have
to turn outboard to go 15.75 inch diameter, but can turn with your tailstock
until you develop enough proficiency to go without. If you care to, which
seems sort of silly to me. For another 400 you can go 25 inches or more in
diameter, but you'll want to be pretty proficient with a gouge before you
do. No support from the tailstock.

You can get 6x1" wheels for your grinder, as most lathe tools take more time
than it's worth to hone, and are used from the wheel. I wouldn't buy a
white wheel. They're too soft. I got one and watched it deposit sand under
the grinder at a frightening rate. Sterner stuff for harder alloys seems
advised. I'm using SiC wheels from Woodworkers Supply, have been for the
last five years, and may replace my first one some day. Already bought a
replacement, but with nearly 5" left, can't bring myself to put it on the
mandrel.

Harbor freight is fine after a bit of fiddling to remove the rough edges.
After you learn the tools, you can decide if you or the tool is doing the
job and spend what you like. Basic bowls are well served by any of the name
chucks, with some risk by no-name chucks. Here I'd go with one that has a
large stable of jaws and not bargain-hunt. I'm NOVAs, like 'em a lot, and
turn a lot on them. Not the current models, which may have a convenience or
two over my old ones, but use the same jaws if I ever decide I need
something new and allegedly improved.

I don't do pens, but they seem to be jig-dependant, so don't skimp there.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Well, I looked at the Nova 1624, but as I said I am low on space
between the table saw w/ router table, chop saw, planer, joiner,
bandsaw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw, 2 work benches and a DC, all in
a 18X24 shop and I also have a stair case going to my loft. This is
also my first try at turning so I'd rather take a chance on about $400
than $1200. From what I can tell, a lot of people keep their mini and
add a full size also. If I like it, maybe I'll turn the loft into a
turning room, nothing there but my drawing board now. The Nova Mini
looks to be the one to buy and I will definatly keep the Nova full
size in mind if I move up.

Thanks for your advice on all of it.

"Neillarson" wrote in message
ups.com...
-

Well, I looked at the Nova 1624, but as I said I am low on space
between the table saw w/ router table, chop saw, planer, joiner,
bandsaw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw, 2 work benches and a DC, all in
a 18X24 shop and I also have a stair case going to my loft.

Tablesaw, Radial arm, planer, jointer, bandsaw, belt/disk, scroll, drum
sander, mortiser, drillpress, oscillating spindle sander, shaper, bench, and
lathe of course, and 13x18.5. I feel your pain!

Coming up on warp speed, towards 70.

Of course you could use the name too, and I'd just wonder "when did I write
that?".
"Neillarson" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 7, 9:15 am, "Old guy" wrote:
I just used the Jet Mini in a class, and it's a nice piece of work. The
electronic variable speed was not worth the extra $. You lose a lot of
torque at low speeds. I could easily stall out a spindle with a parting
tool.

For your grinder, you need a pink or white or blue wheel for chisel
sharpening.

Otherwise get lots of cheap wood, (aka firewood) and let the learning
begin.
Practice is more important than a huge palette of tools.

You'll love it

Old guy

"Neillarson" wrote in message

ps.com...



Darn, you took the name I was thinking of using. I may not fully
qualify as i'm barely on the edge of 50 but I sure feel like it
sometimes.

Thanks for your info. The Delta slow speed has a nice White wheel for
grinding and an orange for sharpening, tho in my opinion, all but the
white wheel sucks.

On May 7, 6:39 pm, "Old guy" wrote:
Coming up on warp speed, towards 70.

Of course you could use the name too, and I'd just wonder "when did I write that?"."

Too damn funny. That was good for a laugh.

I am wondering... would you be saying

a) hey.. that's pretty damn smart. I must have been on my game that
day! Maybe I'm even a little smarter than I think!

or

b) what in the world possesed me to say something like that?

Robert

On 7 May 2007 06:34:40 -0700, Neillarson
wrote:


So, now I am ready to get a lathe. Since I'm a little low on room, I
was thinking the Jet or Delta Mini, then I saw the Rinkon mini at
Woodcraft. All three are 1" X 8TPI so accessory cost should be
comparable. The extra room on the bed of the Rinkon is attractive. Any
experience of words of advice here would be appreciated.

I've never seen the Rikon firsthand, but by all reports, it's a good
lathe. I don't imagine you'd go wrong with any of the three- when it
comes to the Jet or Delta, you could almost go by which color you like
better.

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck. 4 Jaw or 3
Jaw? What is best for basic bowls and such as can be done on a small
lathe?

I have a Grizzly 4 jaw scroll chuck, and while it will never be
mistaken for a Super Nova, it does the job very well- I had intended
to replace it when I upgraded from my Delta Mini to a larger Delta,
but so far, I haven't had $200 worth of complaints about it. It's not
fancy, but it gets the job done.

I've used it to turn bowls up to 12" diameter, and vases up to 8"
diameter x 10" deep. I even did a few vases that maxed out the midi
lathe, and the chuck was fine.

Turning tools, I plan to get a set, maybe the Harbor Freight 8 pc HSS
one or the Woodcraft 5 pc Mini set and adding a bowl gouge. Any
recommendations?

If you go for the Delta Midi, check their website first and see if
they're running any promotions. When I bought mine, I printed off a
coupon from their site for a free 8-pc set of tools with the purchase.
It takes a while for them to show up, but I used a $15 set from
Menards until they arrived. The set goes for about $100, so it's
worth checking into before you decide- I figure with that thrown in,
the Delta Midi was the best deal going, even though the purchase price
was slightly higher than the Jet.

On 7 May 2007 11:57:48 -0700, Neillarson
wrote:

Well, I looked at the Nova 1624, but as I said I am low on space
between the table saw w/ router table, chop saw, planer, joiner,
bandsaw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw, 2 work benches and a DC, all in
a 18X24 shop and I also have a stair case going to my loft. This is
also my first try at turning so I'd rather take a chance on about $400
than $1200. From what I can tell, a lot of people keep their mini and
add a full size also. If I like it, maybe I'll turn the loft into a
turning room, nothing there but my drawing board now. The Nova Mini
looks to be the one to buy and I will definatly keep the Nova full
size in mind if I move up.

That might happen sooner than you think- the lathe is a very messy
tool! I've got mine in a room seperate from the rest of the shop, and
it was one of the best moves I've made regarding shop layout- bits of
wet wood landing on your other cast iron is a real PITA, especially if
you don't get it off right away.

Thanks for your advice on all of it.

On May 8, 3:32 am, Prometheus wrote:
On 7 May 2007 11:57:48 -0700, Neillarson
wrote:

Well, I looked at the Nova 1624, but as I said I am low on space
between the table saw w/ router table, chop saw, planer, joiner,
bandsaw, belt/disk sander, scroll saw, 2 work benches and a DC, all in
a 18X24 shop and I also have a stair case going to my loft. This is
also my first try at turning so I'd rather take a chance on about $400
than $1200. From what I can tell, a lot of people keep their mini and
add a full size also. If I like it, maybe I'll turn the loft into a
turning room, nothing there but my drawing board now. The Nova Mini
looks to be the one to buy and I will definatly keep the Nova full
size in mind if I move up.

That might happen sooner than you think- the lathe is a very messy
tool! I've got mine in a room seperate from the rest of the shop, and
it was one of the best moves I've made regarding shop layout- bits of
wet wood landing on your other cast iron is a real PITA, especially if
you don't get it off right away.



Thanks for your advice on all of it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Never thought about that, great point.

In article om,
Neillarson wrote:

.....

Once a lathe is selected, what else do I need to get stated and do
some pen and small bowl/vase/plate turning. I was looking at the Nova
midi chuck or the Grizzly G9829 4" 3-Jaw Scroll Chuck.

Don't bother with the 3-jaw (I have one, almost never use it), if you
get a Grizzly get the H6265, and the accessories jaws

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

"Neillarson" wrote in message
ups.com...

That might happen sooner than you think- the lathe is a very messy
tool! I've got mine in a room seperate from the rest of the shop, and
it was one of the best moves I've made regarding shop layout- bits of
wet wood landing on your other cast iron is a real PITA, especially if
you don't get it off right away.

Never thought about that, great point.


Couple of things you can do to manage the situation beyond relocation.
First, configure your stand so that your lathe is right up to the front edge
of the top, and leave a bit of room under the lip to place a leaf collection
bag at that point. Anything convex will almost drop the shavings in the bag
as you cut. Second is to put the lathe stand up against a wall, allowing
for full swing of course, so that inside working will drop the shavings on
the top. Rake into the bag periodically.

As to corrosive properties of wet acid woods, cover is the only answer. I
use a waxed cardboard cover over the tablesaw. Check in the produce area of
your favorite market for similar, though you can certainly do with cardboard
and plastic. The water will fling from your wet turning in both directions,
so you might also consider a removable splatterboard behind, attached to the
wall. That way you can still use the wall for storage by removing the
splatterboard.