Thinking about getting into turning wood

[PILOON]

For lathe speeds, if U are handy, U could always do like with a drill press.
Stepped pulley on lathe and the motor and even a second shaft and stepped pulley setup would provide many speed selections.

Another way is a DC motor and variable speed controller.

(Hey I have 3 controllers that I salvaged and they are programmable for various HP's)

 

[crazyal]

Unfortunately Craig's list doesn't have much around here. It's either over priced or gone so quickly that it's impossible to get. A lot of what I find on it is so far away that even if I'm the first to get in contact I can't just jump in the truck and go pick it up. I've read about people finding 14" bandsaws for cheap but after a couple years looking I haven't seen much of anything. I even toyed with the idea of using a meat saw but was worried that the differences would be too much of a pain.

I figure a HF 14" bandsaw with a riser block will meet my needs for several years. I was planning on changing out the tension spring as I would like to like to run Highland's wood turner's blade which is a little thicker than other brands. The other mods I can do as needed. I even thought about how I would make a kiln for drying (down the road). But for now I just want to play around some. There's a local club and you-tube videos so hopefully I'll get a good feel for the hobby. I have lots of hemlock just to practice on that's otherwise going to rot. It might not be the best wood but for just making some chips fly while I learn it'll do. From there I can move onto red maple.

I have plenty cherry, maple (sugar, red, and silver), beech, and yellow birch. I've found quite a bit of curly maple and have some burled cherry (I have a cherry that's about 24" in diameter with an eye burl close to 48").

 

[crazyal]

I've got the Harbor Freight bandsaw working pretty good. Today the woodturner blades I ordered from Highland showed up. I upgraded the motor to an old 2hp Lesson that was 240v only that had been sitting around for ever. It came from an old Sears air compressor (does anyone remember when they were green, not red?). It turns at twice the speed so I was a little worried but with the belts tightened and on the lowest speed it had no problems. I made a circle cutting jig that I can adjust to any dimension from 4" to 24" out of steel. I'm currently using vice grips to hold it in place but I think I'll use bolts now that I'm happy with how it performs. The first time cutting the tension on the blade loosened up so so the blade didn't track true but I think that was just a combination of the new blade and tires seating.

This was my first round blank. It had a crack in the center (the dark line) and I was worried that it was from where the tree split when the wind snapped it off. But once I cut the blank I realized that it's the pith so I don't think it'll pose a problem. I'm still looking for a lathe. I found a used green Powermatic from a school that came with minimal tooling for $750 but it didn't seam like a good lath for making bowls on. It was only 1hp 3 phase so I would of needed to add a VFD (which would of gave me better speed control than the reeves drive) but it only had a swing of 12". I already have some yellow birch that would be too big to fit on it. For a little less I can get a new Grizzly that would give similar range but like Deanocraft did I'm sure I would want to upgrade it to a VFD so I could slow it down further. Once that cost is figured in I'm thinking that I might want to move up to their 22" swing model that shouldn't limit me.

 

[Threepoint]

Crazyal, if you're thinking of the Grizzly G0766 22" x 42" lathe, I have one and highly recommend it. I did not suggest it earlier in the thread as it is beyond the price range you originally had in mind. 3-hp, 220v AC motor, with a Delta Electronics M-Series variable frequency drive. Very well regarded in turning forums. IMO, it is equal in performance to anything else out there at twice the price, and I'm not exaggerating. Doubt you'd ever feel the need to "move up" from it.

 

[crazyal]

Crazyal, if you're thinking of the Grizzly G0766 22" x 42" lathe, I have one and highly recommend it. I did not suggest it earlier in the thread as it is beyond the price range you originally had in mind. 3-hp, 220v AC motor, with a Delta Electronics M-Series variable frequency drive. Very well regarded in turning forums. IMO, it is equal in performance to anything else out there at twice the price, and I'm not exaggerating. Doubt you'd ever feel the need to "move up" from it.

I have a bad habit of setting a price range and then completely going beyond it. The G0462 looks like a nice priced lathe but the 600 rpm got me looking into how to slow it down. The G0632Z looks like the same basic lathe but with a VFD so it can be slowed down to 100 rpm but the price jumps from under $700 to $1350. I could do it myself, like deanocraft did but I'm not sure how much I would save. So stepping up to the G0766 for $1800 isn't that much of a jump in price for the extra power and capacity.

 

[4570Man]

Have you looked used? I scored a Jet 1642 for $500 and a Powermatic 3520 with a truckload of Robert Sorby tools for $1800. Along with the jet deal I got a bunch of other accessories for cheap. I know some people won't have as good of luck, but deals are there. I have a hard time spending money unless I can convince myself it's a good deal. If I convince myself it's a good deal then it doesn't matter if I need it or not. I've got a General duel drum 36" drum sander that I got for $600. I need to part ways with it because I don't like it as much as my Performax 16-32.

 

[crazyal]

I've been looking but most of the good used lathes I've come across have a pretty small swing of around 12". Kind of like buying a tractor, I would rather just get what I think will want now vs go through the work of buying and upgrading. If I do come across something used that's not too far from me I have no problems buying it. I have been keeping an eye on craig's list and a few other places.

 

[crazyal]

I just ordered the Grizzly G0766. It's out of stock but I found a coupon code that dropped the price to just over $1600 including shipping. I only have 3 tools, all Crown, a 1/2" bowl gouge with side grind, a half radius bowl scraper, and a parting tool. I'm trying to decide what to get for a 4 jaw chuck. I'm leaning towards the Vicmarc VM120 as it looks like it has only positive reviews and isn't much more than others. From what I've read the lathe isn't going ot be shipped until the end of next month.

 

[4570Man]

I have no experience with the Vicmarc but my Oneway stronghold is twice the chuck my supernova2 is.

 

[crazyal]

I'm leaning towards the Vicmarc because it's sealed. I did look at the Stronghold. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not. Several people have said to get a good quality chuck as once you get different jaws for it you are going to stick with that brand if you buy a second chuck. Also I'm use to using an allen wrench to tighten a chuck, never used a chuck key. There's a couple clubs about an hour and a half away and I've talked with a couple members but so far the days they have met has been on a day I work so I haven't been able to go. Hopefully I can this month because I would like to see who uses what. There's a woodworking school minutes away that has a beginners and an intermediate course. I'm thinking about stopping over at the end of the day and talk to them. They don't have a beginners class scheduled but they do have an intermediate class coming up so maybe I can stop in and talk to them then.

 

[Threepoint]

I just ordered the Grizzly G0766. It's out of stock but I found a coupon code that dropped the price to just over $1600 including shipping. I only have 3 tools, all Crown, a 1/2" bowl gouge with side grind, a half radius bowl scraper, and a parting tool. I'm trying to decide what to get for a 4 jaw chuck. I'm leaning towards the Vicmarc VM120 as it looks like it has only positive reviews and isn't much more than others. From what I've read the lathe isn't going ot be shipped until the end of next month.

Crazyall, congratulations on the lathe. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

For a large 4-jaw scroll chuck, take a hard look at the Hurricane HTC125, sold by The Woodturners Store. http://www.thewoodturningstore.com/accessories/woodturning-chucks/ It is very well made, with a good selection of jaws, and is a very close clone of the VM120. I have one, as well as the smaller HTC100. I actually prefer them over my Oneway Strongholds and Talons. The Oneways are excellent chucks, to be sure, but they do not have sealed backs, and the access ports for the chuck key are open to the internal gears. Not a big deal at all, but you do have to be a bit more careful about wood chips and debris.

Keep in mind that the HTC125 and VM125 are massive 5" chucks, 8 lbs! Wonderful for large turnings, but you're also going to want a smaller chuck, like the VM100 or the HTC100.

 

[crazyal]

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of things I'll want. Hurricane chucks are one of the brands I looked at. I like the fact that the owner of the company is a wood turner who has his own chucks made (in China). It looks like they were cheaper, about half the price of the Oneway and Vicmarc but have come up in price some. Still less expensive. About the only reason why I was leaning towards the Vicmarc over them was simply because of the number of people who said they had been using them in an industrial setting for decades with no signs of wear. The Hurricane brand appears to be about 5 years old now so it has been around for a little while but not as long as the Stronghold or Vacmarc.

One thing I wasn't sure about is on the Vicmarc the chuck is threaded (M30 I think) and the adapter screws into (mostly inside) it. The adapters for the Hurricane look like they are smooth and must use screws in the face to hold it to the chuck. Looking at the pictures on line they look like small diameter screws. I'm hoping to actually see a couple different brands in person.

 

[deanocraft]

Congratulations on the new lathe, crazyal! I am jealous. A good wood lathe is a powerful tool and can do a lot of things. You will be in learning mode for quite a while. I do mostly face plate turning, so I have not invested in a really high quality chuck. You will need to have a set screw in anything you intend to turn in reverse, so it won't unscrew from the spindle and go flying... Good luck!

 

[crazyal]

The problem is it's on backorder and grizzly is known for taking forever to fill them. I'm hoping that, because almost all of their lathes are on backorder they are pushing hard to get new stock in. I've heard of people waiting up to 6 months. But the price was too good to pass up and if it takes that long I'll wait.

 

[crazyal]

Just an update. The lathe came in a little over a week ago, just before the tariffs kicked in. While I have a number of bowl banks cut up it's too hot to cut down any trees to work with green wood. Looks like I'll have to wait a few more months before I'll be making more noodles.