I am buying a lathe and need some advise from all you experienced
turners. I intend on turning some spindles and some bowls and of
course what ever comes to mind. Mainly small projects. I am looking
at the Delta L200, Grizzly 8691, Grizzly 5979, General Maxi and the
Jet Midi. These are in my price range. All will turn about the same
size projects all weigh about the same. General is a bit heavier and
the G5979 is much heavier at 190 lbs. but a good price for what you
get. Two main questions: The Grizzly 8691 has true Variable Speed 0 -
3000 RPM. All the rest have the pulley system which you manually
change the speeds which range from 500 - 2800 . Is it a big
advantage to have the type which goes down to 0 so one can slow the
speed down to 50 or less RPM to finish projects? Is the slow speed
feature worthwhile to have? A turner told me that when he was
painting or spraying his finished project it would be nice to be able
to slow the lathe right down for the drying process. Is this an
important feature? Regarding the head stock: None of them have a
swivel head stock that you use for outboard turning except the
Grizzly 5979, but none of the ones I have looked at that have a swivel
head stock have a true variable speed. Is it possible to modify any
of these lathes that don't have a swivel head stock so that the head
stock with rotate 90 degrees? Is it much of an expense to modify the
5979 which has a swivel head stock to a true Variable speed. In a
perfect world I would like a lathe the size and price range of the
G5979 that has a swivel head, the added weight and true variable
speed, but can't seem to find such a lathe. Do any of you know if
there is one made with these features without going to a large General
at a $1500.00 price tag and even this doesn't have a swivel head
stock? Sorry for the lengthly post and I do appreciate all comments.

My standard recommendation
DON'T BUY ANYTHING!!!!! go to http://www.woodturner.org/ and locate a
local club. Join the club and get some experience first. If there is not a
local club then contact me and I will try and locate you a local turner in
the AAW directory.
Often what you think you want to do changes after you see the many things
possible. Why are so many different lathes sold? Because there are so many
different types of turning.

Hi Bob,
The grizzly 5979 is a knock off of the jet 1236. While some people have been
able to make them work to thier satisfaction I had nothing but bad luck with
this machine. Everything that could break did.
The other infinately variable speed model you mentioned uses a "brush" type
1/2hp motor. Great for a small router motor but no good for woodturning if you
plan on turning things bigger than pens.
A good starter lathe would be a jet mini with a bed extention. If you want a
real good starter lathe the vicmarc vl-100 can't be beat.
If you want a machine with a bit more swing and your looking to not spend a lot
of money look for a used machine.

I am buying a lathe and need some advise from all you experienced
turners.


Bob, Naugatuck Ct.
http://www.outofcontrol-woodturning.com

Always an interesting subject: what should be your first lathe? Art
Ransom is right on the money when he says to find a club first. Then
start asking questions and visit people's workshops to see their lathes.
If you are in a hurry or are determined to go it alone, you have a couple
choices on your overall plan.

Plan 1: Buy a small but solid mini or midi to start learning on, and plan
on adding a bigger lathe when you are ready, but expect to keep the small
lathe. It's handier than you might think to have two lathes, for many
reasons I won't go into here. Find one with a 1 1/4 x 8 spindle with #2
morse taper if you can so your accessories will fit your bigger lathe when
you get it.

Plan 2: Buy whatever appeals to you right now and expect to trade up in a
couple years if you really enjoy turning. Again, look for a 1 1/4 x 8
spindle so you can keep your accessaries when you upgrade. Don't be
swayed by features over quality. Look for massive construction more than
anything. You don't want to face the common beginner quandry of not
knowing if a problem is you or your lathe. The same is true for Plan 1 -
mass equals happiness.

Plan 3: Bite the bullet and spend a ton of money for a lathe you won't
outgrow. The risk here is that you don't know at this point what aspect
of turning will become your main passion in years to come. Even the best
lathes have their pro's and con's, so you may end up with one that is
really not well suited for your purpose.

Drive systems are always a trade off on lathes costing less than at least
a couple thousand dollars. Single speed motors with several pulley speeds
give you the most power and smoothness for your money, they tend to be
trouble free, and they can often be replaced with a bigger motor if you
want. Variable pulley systems tend to be noisier and vibrate more, and
you may have maintenance problems, but the convenience is nice if you are
an impatient type who will be irritated by having to change pulleys to
change speeds. Variable pulleys usually won't go any slower than a
standard pulley system. I think probably most standard pulley lathes can
be adapted with a simple clutch mechanism for very slow speeds and soft
starts (see Del Stubbs' bowl video). You can't do that with a variable
pulley system (or a rotating headstock). Electonic variable speed is a
joy if you get one with enough power for roughing out at low speed, but
you've got to spend the big bucks to get one that's adequate. Art and I
both have 2 hp Powermatic 3520's, which is the cheapest lathe I have seen
with excellent electonic variable speed. The smaller 1.5 hp electronic
variable speed lathes are a compromise - you pay less but you may feel
underpowered at times. Remember, electronic variable speed lathes lose
power at lower rpms, so you need a lot to start with. Variable pulley
systems and standard pulleys keep the motor working at full power when you
gear down.

Power at very low rpms is not needed for slow speed sanding and finishing,
but it's relatively simple to build a separate device for this with a
couple bearings and a shaft threaded to match your lathe spindle. Add a
cheap motor and pulleys to get you down in the rpm range you want. A good
scrounger can come up with all this for free or nearly so at scrap metal
yards or plumbing or heating contractors. Unless you know the right
person you'll have to pay the machinist to thread the shaft.

Since you mentioned rotating headstocks, I will tell you my experience
with this. I have had two lathes with that feature and it is very nice
for hollowing out hollow forms and not much else. If you have a short bed
lathe, you can work from the end, but a long bed can get in the way for
hollowing, especially wider-than-tall shapes, unless you are using a
captive bar system like the Jamieson. You don't need a rotating headstock
for spindle work, and it really isn't that important for bowls. Don't be
mislead by advertising which suggests you can turn really big if you
rotate the headstock. Most machines are sized pretty well over the bed
for their true capacity. They really aren't capable of more if you rotate
the headstock, and you lose tailstock support as well. The exception
would be shallow objects without a lot of mass, like platters or picture
frames, but you may find yourself underpowered and overgeared if you
attempt large diameters on a basically small lathe.

I guess that should give you plenty to think about before making your
first lathe purchase. I hope I haven't confused the issue even more.
Best wishes, turning is great fun.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

"Mike Paulson" wrote in message
...

Always an interesting subject: what should be your first lathe? Art
Ransom is right on the money when he says to find a club first. Then
start asking questions and visit people's workshops to see their lathes.
If you are in a hurry or are determined to go it alone, you have a couple
choices on your overall plan.

Plan 1: Buy a small but solid mini or midi to start learning on, and plan
on adding a bigger lathe when you are ready, but expect to keep the small
lathe. It's handier than you might think to have two lathes, for many
reasons I won't go into here. Find one with a 1 1/4 x 8 spindle with #2
morse taper if you can so your accessories will fit your bigger lathe when
you get it.

Plan 2: Buy whatever appeals to you right now and expect to trade up in a
couple years if you really enjoy turning. Again, look for a 1 1/4 x 8
spindle so you can keep your accessaries when you upgrade. Don't be
swayed by features over quality. Look for massive construction more than
anything. You don't want to face the common beginner quandry of not
knowing if a problem is you or your lathe. The same is true for Plan 1 -
mass equals happiness.

Plan 3: Bite the bullet and spend a ton of money for a lathe you won't
outgrow. The risk here is that you don't know at this point what aspect
of turning will become your main passion in years to come. Even the best
lathes have their pro's and con's, so you may end up with one that is
really not well suited for your purpose.

Drive systems are always a trade off on lathes costing less than at least
a couple thousand dollars. Single speed motors with several pulley speeds
give you the most power and smoothness for your money, they tend to be
trouble free, and they can often be replaced with a bigger motor if you
want. Variable pulley systems tend to be noisier and vibrate more, and
you may have maintenance problems, but the convenience is nice if you are
an impatient type who will be irritated by having to change pulleys to
change speeds. Variable pulleys usually won't go any slower than a
standard pulley system. I think probably most standard pulley lathes can
be adapted with a simple clutch mechanism for very slow speeds and soft
starts (see Del Stubbs' bowl video). You can't do that with a variable
pulley system (or a rotating headstock). Electonic variable speed is a
joy if you get one with enough power for roughing out at low speed, but
you've got to spend the big bucks to get one that's adequate. Art and I
both have 2 hp Powermatic 3520's, which is the cheapest lathe I have seen
with excellent electonic variable speed. The smaller 1.5 hp electronic
variable speed lathes are a compromise - you pay less but you may feel
underpowered at times. Remember, electronic variable speed lathes lose
power at lower rpms, so you need a lot to start with. Variable pulley
systems and standard pulleys keep the motor working at full power when you
gear down.

Power at very low rpms is not needed for slow speed sanding and finishing,
but it's relatively simple to build a separate device for this with a
couple bearings and a shaft threaded to match your lathe spindle. Add a
cheap motor and pulleys to get you down in the rpm range you want. A good
scrounger can come up with all this for free or nearly so at scrap metal
yards or plumbing or heating contractors. Unless you know the right
person you'll have to pay the machinist to thread the shaft.

Since you mentioned rotating headstocks, I will tell you my experience
with this. I have had two lathes with that feature and it is very nice
for hollowing out hollow forms and not much else. If you have a short bed
lathe, you can work from the end, but a long bed can get in the way for
hollowing, especially wider-than-tall shapes, unless you are using a
captive bar system like the Jamieson. You don't need a rotating headstock
for spindle work, and it really isn't that important for bowls. Don't be
mislead by advertising which suggests you can turn really big if you
rotate the headstock. Most machines are sized pretty well over the bed
for their true capacity. They really aren't capable of more if you rotate
the headstock, and you lose tailstock support as well. The exception
would be shallow objects without a lot of mass, like platters or picture
frames, but you may find yourself underpowered and overgeared if you
attempt large diameters on a basically small lathe.

I guess that should give you plenty to think about before making your
first lathe purchase. I hope I haven't confused the issue even more.
Best wishes, turning is great fun.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

I pretty well agree with Mike's analysis with one exception, I don't think
you are going to find a mini/midi lathe with a 1-1/4"x8 spindle. MT2 yes. I
may be wrong but I think in that size and even the larger lathes up to a 12"
swing 1"x8 is the standard for a good machine and even some not so good
machines.

The expensive accessory that is threaded is usually a chuck and if you buy a
chuck with an interchangeable insert like a Oneway then you can adapt it for
a different spindle size for only about $23US.

Good luck,
Billh

On 7 Jan 2004 12:25:21 -0700, (Mike Paulson)
wrote:

[snip]

Plan 3: Bite the bullet and spend a ton of money for a lathe you won't
outgrow. The risk here is that you don't know at this point what aspect
of turning will become your main passion in years to come. Even the best
lathes have their pro's and con's, so you may end up with one that is
really not well suited for your purpose.

[snip]

Art and I
both have 2 hp Powermatic 3520's, which is the cheapest lathe I have seen
with excellent electonic variable speed.

I went through about the same analysis and decided on the 3520 for
myself as a first lathe. Ordered it from osolnikmachinery.com for a
great price and no freight charge (except liftgate add-on by trucker).

Well, it came yesterday in a blinding white-out; the driver missed my
driveway and nearly got his semi stuck going over the hill and the
dispatcher called me to say he wasn't going to risk it again. I wound
up going down to the village to meet him and brought it back myself on
my pickup. A neighbor with a Bobcat came down this morning and we got
it off my truck and down on a dolly on the barn floor without further
adventures. I'll have to disassemble it to get it into the shop and
up on the 6x6 risers needed to get the spindle height up to my elbow
level (I'm 6'5"}, but that's no big deal--the headstock, tailstock,
and tool rest all come off easily.

And I saved the $69 those thieves were going to charge for five
minutes' use of the liftgate...

John Wadsworth, in Delhi, NY

As another newbie that has been at it for several months I can vouch
for Mike's excellent wisdom. I already had a Grizzly 1245 that had
been sitting idle for 15 years, but it was never a good lathe and is
now DOA. Do a search on this site with "Grizzly" and you will get a
lot of info. My friends with the mini Jet's are all tickled pink with
them. Seems like a great starter lathe.

I jumped right in trying to make 8"-10" bowls on the Grizzly. A friend
bought a mini and started making little ornaments, etc. While I cussed
and fussed and tried things way over my head, he has taken it a step
at a time and is progressing much faster than me. Lesson: start small
and work up.

Also, since joining our local group I met a fellow I'm now taking
lessons from and he has 12 lathes--from mini to maxi. What a great
experience to be able to see and try all of them!

Earl