Hello. I am so new to wood turning that I have yet to buy my first lathe. I figure that I need to do a little home work before that will happen. I am primarily interested in turning bowls. I have a good size shop with a table saw, band saw, jointer and planer. Looking forward to learning a new skill.
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Steve Kephart
- Thread starter Steve Kephart
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WElcome aboard Steve. Look for a woodturning club to learn and easily as questions. You can fins clubs using the AAW website search tool. We are always here to answer questions and would love to tell you which five lathes you will need
Five lathes or one reaal big one. Many to choose from and offer a lot for turning.
I was reading a back issue of the AAW magazine, American Woodturner, and read the ad for the latest Robust Sweet 16. It has lots of features plus a removable section of the bed, allowing turning of large bowls.
Join AAW and look for a local chapter. IMHO, money well spent. Actually, it's an investment.
I was reading a back issue of the AAW magazine, American Woodturner, and read the ad for the latest Robust Sweet 16. It has lots of features plus a removable section of the bed, allowing turning of large bowls.
Join AAW and look for a local chapter. IMHO, money well spent. Actually, it's an investment.
If you want to turn bowls you want a lathe with a variable speed drive of some sort, the size/capacity of the lathe should be your second concern.
Bowls come in many sizes depending on the wood blanks you have available in your area, or if you get into segmented bowls they can end up being
as large as you want. The larger the lathe the bigger the spindle is another concern you may want to look at. All of your lathe accessories that mount to your spindle
will need to be replaced if you decide to move up to a larger lathe later on. The mid size lathes usually have a 1"x8 spindle thread, the larger lathes vary in size
so you want to pick the size of lathe you need and match the accessories that thread onto the spindle with the same thread pitch. 1-1/4x8 is the next size up for
your spindles on lathes moving up from the mid size ones and the bigger heaver lathes go up in size from there. Knowing how much weight you want to turn is the
third concern, the weight and mass of the lathe and spindle diameter determines how much weight you can turn without issues. Large bowls can start off with large heavy
wood blanks which can be out of balance when roughing them out. The bigger and heavier the lathe is allows turning larger heavier wood blanks with no issues.
Bowls come in many sizes depending on the wood blanks you have available in your area, or if you get into segmented bowls they can end up being
as large as you want. The larger the lathe the bigger the spindle is another concern you may want to look at. All of your lathe accessories that mount to your spindle
will need to be replaced if you decide to move up to a larger lathe later on. The mid size lathes usually have a 1"x8 spindle thread, the larger lathes vary in size
so you want to pick the size of lathe you need and match the accessories that thread onto the spindle with the same thread pitch. 1-1/4x8 is the next size up for
your spindles on lathes moving up from the mid size ones and the bigger heaver lathes go up in size from there. Knowing how much weight you want to turn is the
third concern, the weight and mass of the lathe and spindle diameter determines how much weight you can turn without issues. Large bowls can start off with large heavy
wood blanks which can be out of balance when roughing them out. The bigger and heavier the lathe is allows turning larger heavier wood blanks with no issues.
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Welcome aboard, Steve.
Welcome to the forum!
Welcome Steve.
I wish I had bought a bigger lathe, but for what it is, I really like my Nova comet II for the price. Started with a old craftsman lathe.
I wish I had bought a bigger lathe, but for what it is, I really like my Nova comet II for the price. Started with a old craftsman lathe.
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Welcome,
I encourage you to visit a local chapter. See what other folks are using in your area, take advantage of classes and mentors the club may have. Often clubs have members selling used lathes as the get a bigger and better one.
https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturn...spx?hkey=3ebc2dcf-286d-49a1-9b72-ff55e5523609
I encourage you to visit a local chapter. See what other folks are using in your area, take advantage of classes and mentors the club may have. Often clubs have members selling used lathes as the get a bigger and better one.
https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturn...spx?hkey=3ebc2dcf-286d-49a1-9b72-ff55e5523609
Also you will be afforded an opportunity to use different lathes, and try different grinds and tools before you buy
Welcome!
I want to thank everyone for the advise given. I did find a local club and will join at the next meeting. The club hosted Matt Monaco for a demonstration and I was invited. The club has a couple of loaner lathes so I can use one of those while I try and decide which lathe to buy.