All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

wrote in message
oups.com...
All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

Use the one at the HS or the local junior college?

In article .com,
wrote:

All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

Used, local. Shipping is impractical for a lthe of this size. I picked
up a monster (20X60) for $250 a few years back - it was old, used,
dirty, came with tools and accessories, and had belonged to a guy who
died - the heirs considered it a blight upon the house they were trying
sell, and set the price low. This is not so uncommon - try asking real
estate agents if you don't find any in the classified ads, the
classified ad paper (as separate from the classified ads in the regular
paper), the website associated with the classified ad paper, or
craigslist for your area.

I don't recall if you've ever mentioned where you're at, but in upstate
eastern NY, You have an overpriced nearly new Sears at $495 on offer
from the classified ad paper, and a right-priced:

40", mounted w/turning tool set,*$225***Neg*Westport, NY*

Craigslist for that area offers:

Electric Lathe bought new hardly used has some tools and is mounted on
portable base. $200 or best offer.

Also an estate sale with lathe that is over now. Estate sales
(converting the assets of the late departed into cash) can be a great
deal, as the family would normally have retained the tools if anyone
wanted them. If lots of people that want tools show up, it may not be
such a good deal - on the other hand, if you are the only person there
that wants a lathe it becomes a matter of sell it to you cheap and get
it out of their hair, or hang onto it and try to sell it later.
Personally, I've always found the price of lathes set low enough I have
not bothered to dicker, and have had much associated tooling thrown in
"to clear out the space". The one exception (but I did not dicker, I
just walked away) was a smaller lathe, disfunctional, rusty, and priced
far too high as it was perceived as being easily portable, rather than
being priced based on condition (poor).

Craigslist for Vermont offers someone selling a cheesy harbor freight
special (the sort you've been warned away from) for $75.

Unlike a dealer, you do have to either wait for one to come along, or go
find it. Unlike a dealer, prices tend to be low. Have a pickup or
trailer and 3-5 friends lined up for moving the thing.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Hi,

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but...

I just recently bought my son a Jet Mini Lathe. I'm afraid he will not be
as happy later as he is now. Because every lathe needs some toys...

Like gouges, a choice of tail stock centers, a face protector, and before
long a scroll chuck. Before long he's going to have more invested in toys
for the lathe than I spent for the lathe itself. To say nothing of the wood
needed to feed it.

So, even if you do find your dream/cheap/used lathe, you've only started to
spend money. Maybe you will need TWO summer jobs to make this work.

Good luck on your quest. Wood turning is a blast.

Old Guy


wrote in message
oups.com...
All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

wrote in message
oups.com...
All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

Only one: use your high school's wood lathe. That's what I did at your
age.

Max

You have been given some good advice by others. I am throwing in a pennies
worth of information.

I bought the Harbor Freight (HF) lathe #34706, it retails for $279 and goes
on sale periodically for about 200 dollars. I bought a 8 piece gouge set
from HF, I believe I paid $42 and it now sells for approx. $36.

The lathe will serve me well for some time. Time, interest and my skill
growth will tell if I need to Invest in a second and larger lathe.

I bought some bowl gouges, a chuck, roughing gouge and skew chiesel from
Wood Craft.
I have done some spindle turning and have done 4 bowls (about 10 inch
diameter). You will not need these items in the beginning if you are going
to turn bats, that is you can get by with the HF tools. I was fortunate to
buy the Wood Craft items on sale.

If I were more interested in turning spindles the HF Gouges would work fine
as a starter set. This will give you a chance to practice sharpening on a
cheaper gouge, at least for me it is less intimidating.

On 31 May 2007 13:48:22 -0700, wrote:

All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

My suggestion is still the best one for your budget, IMO. If you can
find a Delta midi or Jet mini lathe on sale, and buy a bed extension
or two, you should be able to keep it at or near $300- $450 at the
outside. That might mean you need to postpone getting the lathe for a
time to save up a little money, but it will be worth the wait. It's
also a good idea to stick with the little ones *because* you're a high
school freshman. It wasn't so long ago that I was that age myself,
and I moved around a lot in the years after I graduated. A little 70
pound lathe with extensions that can be removed for easy transport and
compact storage will probably work a lot better for you than a 400
pound monster, unless you happen to be in a position where you're
going to be buying a home right away.

There *are* less expensive lathes at most hardware stores as well-
Menard's has a Wilton lathe that is big enough to turn a bat for just
over $100, but considering the cost of your average decent lathe, I'm
more than a little suspicious of the cheap knockoffs- $100 would
hardly buy the materials for a lathe that size, to say nothing of the
labor and design process that goes into developing and making it.
They might work fine, but you're gambling. The Delta and Jet are both
solid, good machines that are nice to use, and will accept standard
accessories- most of the folks who turn have one, even if they've got
a bigger and fancier one in the shop.

The other thing to consider and budget for is chisels. Since you're
interested in making bats, you won't need a chuck right away, but
you'll need at least a couple of cutting tools- and they're not all
that cheap- accessories cost more than the lathe itself in the long
run. Plan to invest $50 at least to get started.

I don't say any of this to turn you off from it- it's well worth the
money to do, I'm just trying to let you know what you're in for so you
don't get hit with sticker shock. Good luck, and let us know what you
decide on.

On 31 May 2007 13:48:22 -0700, wrote:

All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

Almost forgot- you'll need a grinder as well, to sharpen tools. Lots
of guys like variable speed models with white or pink friable wheels,
but I use a regular old delta fast speed grinder with the stock wheels
bolted to an old stool, and it works fine for me- you just need to
have a light touch and some practice.

If you look around a bit, bench grinders are everywhere- even the
least handy guys seem to have one in the garage somewhere. Mine cost
about $50 new, but I would imagine that if you look around a bit, you
can find one for almost nothing at a garage sale or a junk shop.
They're hard to wear out, so don't be afraid of buying a used one.
That's a useful multi-purpose tool that will serve you well for many
years as well- even if you decide turning isn't for you.

In article ,
"Angelo" wrote:

You have been given some good advice by others. I am throwing in a pennies
worth of information.

I bought the Harbor Freight (HF) lathe #34706, it retails for $279 and goes
on sale periodically for about 200 dollars. I bought a 8 piece gouge set
from HF, I believe I paid $42 and it now sells for approx. $36.
...

What he said

--
--------------------------------------------------------
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 again,

I think I completely missed a trick here.

Go the American Association of Woodturners site, and look up the local
chapters.
http://www.woodturner.org/community/...t=Chapter+List

Find one near you and contact them.

Most turners would be delighted to mentor someone like you who was
interested, eager and young. Might even let them use their lathe. You
could offer to sweep the shop in return. (If you are from around southern
Minnesota, give me a call.)

This would let you spend your money on your own chisels. Maybe they would
have a few they aren't using or have replaced, and would give you. That way
you wouldn't have to use theirs. (Using someone else's chisel is like
using their toothbrush, only more personal.)

This might be more practical and fun than learning on your own machine.

My $.02, good luck on getting set up.

Old Guy


wrote in message
oups.com...
All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???

you have to look around locally - a few years ago I picked up a crafstman
monotube lathe for $5, it needed a motor but was otherwise complete and it
came with some tools - you don't need a lot of swing and you don't need a
lot of horsepower to make a bat - 4 inch swing will do, and 1/4 hp will do.
If you can't find a lathe, just make one - you need a something for the
headstock - an old saw arbor will do, you can use a nail in a 2X4 for the
tail stock, and notch the other end of the 2X4 to fit over a 2X4 you use for
the ways - and you are set to go - another scrap 2X4 sitting on the floor
can make your tool rest. I'd guess you could make a lathe like I am
describing for a maximum of $10, probably less if you dig around and get the
motor and pulleys for free from a broken washing machine rather than paying
for them.


wrote in message
oups.com...
All of the suggestions i have been getting are great. Theres just one
problem. All of the lathes that are being suggested are alot of money
for a hihg school freshman to pay. I need a lathe that is big enough
to make a 33'' bat and be around 250-300 with everything i need to
start (except the wood). Anymore suggestions???




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

William Noble wrote:
you have to look around locally - a few years ago I picked up a crafstman
monotube lathe for $5, it needed a motor but was otherwise complete and it
came with some tools - you don't need a lot of swing and you don't need a
lot of horsepower to make a bat - 4 inch swing will do, and 1/4 hp will do.
If you can't find a lathe, just make one - you need a something for the
headstock - an old saw arbor will do, you can use a nail in a 2X4 for the
tail stock, and notch the other end of the 2X4 to fit over a 2X4 you use for
the ways - and you are set to go - another scrap 2X4 sitting on the floor
can make your tool rest. I'd guess you could make a lathe like I am
describing for a maximum of $10, probably less if you dig around and get the
motor and pulleys for free from a broken washing machine rather than paying
for them.


Bill Noble has a made a good point: except for the length, you have
described a need for a truly minimal lathe. Use your imagination. You
need to safely spin a fairly skinny piece of wood at a few hundred rpms.
You need a way to support a cutting tool while it is engaged in the
wood. And you will need both a tool and a way to sharpen it. Scrounge,
adapt, modify and re-purpose well enough and you should be able to hang
on to nearly ALL of your nestegg.

Consider the project an engineering challenge. If you are near Detroit,
I might have a small electric motor to donate. In fact, if you are near
Detroit, contact me at billat googledot com. I may be able to help you a
LOT further along than that.

Oh ... and congratulations on getting started so young. Many of us were
already wheezers and geezers before we got our start and any chance of
us attaining serious stature as turners is limited by the number of
hours remaining in our lives ... far too few, for the most part, for
that goal.

But you - you are starting young enough to actually take the craft of
woodturning forward a notch or two. I hope you make not just a bat or
two ... but history!

Bill


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