Starter Lathe?

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sleevecc

sleevecc

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
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126
Location
Ivor, Virginia
Do you guys find this to be a good deal for $200 for a starter lathe for myself?
 

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Unless there is a bunch of tooling included, it would not be a good one for me at anything near that price. I don't like the drive arrangement and the headstock looks like it may be MT1. I think you can do better for that amount of money.
 
dbledsoe said:
Unless there is a bunch of tooling included, it would not be a good one for me at anything near that price. I don't like the drive arrangement and the headstock looks like it may be MT1. I think you can do better for that amount of money.
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What do you mean by I don't like the drive arrangement and the headstock looks like it may be MT1???? newbie here... lol
 
MT refers to the taper on the inside of the headstock and tailstock sleeve. MT1 mean Morse Taper size 1, MT2 means Morse Taper size 2. MT2 tooling is easier to find since more people use it.
I don't like all those belts flapping around the end of the machine. You can have a really big motor that way, but you don't need it for making pens and it just looks dangerous the way it's set up. May be if you raise the motor up closer to the lathe and put a guard over the belts and pulleys it might be ok.
 
I'm not sure why people necessarily diss these old lathes. I had basically the same one as my first lathe and did lots if turning on it. This one in the pic is a Rockwell 11". between centers is about 3' I think. I don't remember exactly. The headstock and tailstock are mt2 and the threads are 1x8. These are both good configurations and my accessories all carried over. Here are the potential downsides to consider: - in the picture the tool rest banjo requires are wrench that's probably included to adjust it. It's not as convenient as a front lever. I had both banjos in mine but keep this in mind. - the tailstock may not be self ejecting. Mine wasn't some are though. - (biggest possible issue) changing belt speeds. If the motor is set up on some kind of tension system or hinge the the belt can easily be changed. If not it's almost impossible. You can always make this upgrade yourself. The picture is taken from behind the lathe. As you can see the back of the headstock is open so you need to be careful. Obviously not variable speed but any new lathes aren't. Upside - solid cast iron. Made in USA. Price - okay. It's a fair price. Not a steal but far from a ripoff. If it was $100 I would buy it today even though I don't need it. $150 would be a good price.
 
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I don't care for the open/exposed belt & pulley.

I tend to be a bit clumsy...I'd end up cutting something off with that thing. :biggrin:
 
I went ahead after going and looking at it bought for $200,,, it looks brand new for the most part. It is mt2 and the motor purrs like a kitten, its very solid and hardly ever used,, the knives that came with look as if they have never been used. I figured I couldn't go wrong really,,, but we shall see,,, thank you all for the input. And yes I will be implementing some type of cover or something to get that belt a bit out of harms way.. lmao... no biggy though.
 
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Only the back of the pulley is open, but you have to be careful I'd you put your hand in that area.

A couple other things that I forgot to mention. You'll probably have to make a handwheel using a faceplate if you want one.

Also, the gap bed can be frustrating for pens. You have to use a long tool rest to get under the pen and the tool rest often isn't straight along the pen.

Congrats. Your first lathe, right?

Keep an eye on eBay for the other banjo I mentioned. It might cost you a little bit but if you're going to keep the lathe a little while it may be worth it.
 
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I started off on one pretty similar to that. I soon upgraded to one with more features and flexibility. However, I still keep the old lathe setup for buffing with my beal stuff and still occasionally use some of the tools. You'll find a way to get your money's worth out of it --I certainly did! Enjoy!
 
Dan Masshardt said:
Only the back of the pulley is open, but you have to be careful I'd you put your hand in that area.

A couple other things that I forgot to mention. You'll probably have to make a handwheel using a faceplate if you want one.

Also, the gap bed can be frustrating for pens. You have to use a long tool rest to get under the pen and the tool rest often isn't straight along the pen.

Congrats. Your first lathe, right?

Keep an eye on eBay for the other banjo I mentioned. It might cost you a little bit but if you're going to keep the lathe a little while it may be worth it.
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Yeah it is my first lathe I played around on the one in highschool 30 years ago but thats about it,.. Ill post the parts and tools I got with it when I get it setup in a bit. maybe yall can let me know of any must have tools I may need.
 
Cool.

There's a good chance whatever tools you have will be mediocre in steel quality but probably still very usable.

You'll need to consider how you will sharpen.

Obviously for pens, you need other pen specific tooling.
 
Dan Masshardt said:
Cool.

There's a good chance whatever tools you have will be mediocre in steel quality but probably still very usable.

You'll need to consider how you will sharpen.

Obviously for pens, you need other pen specific tooling.
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Yeah I don't think I am gonna start turning pens right off the bat, seems maybe a bit intricate to start with, I got a few things around here I need to make for myself, various handles for things.. knobs. etc until I get the hang of this thing.
 
I never turned before but I got a Pen starter kit from PSI. I was amazed at easy it was. In the 3 weeks I been turning I have turned 10 of the starter kit, 3 deer antler 30 cal bolt action pens, and 3 cancer awareness pens with acrylics. When choosing your blanks make sure you read the reviews. One of the color pinks I selected mentioned they was brittle. It came with a chip broke off but I could get parts I needed out of it. Blew out the first piece I tried to turn. Good luck and happy turning. You found the right place for asking for info.
 
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