Wood lathe

[X-crAFt custom ink]

I know this is a pen turners thing, but I am looking for a new lathe that can turn anything from a small pen up to a bowel, or a vase. I have never bought a lathe of this size, Does anyone have any recommendations. I wasn't looking to spend anything more then $2000, I would like a very nice high quality MT2 Variable speed one, but I have no clue what I am doing.

 

[Darrin]

I've been looking at the Record Power Coronet. This also sound like it will suit your needs.

 

[keithbyrd]

I bought the Nova DVR XP - love it!

 

[leehljp]

Several things to look for:

1. Do you "think" you will be doing spindle type of work - i.e. long spindles such as - spindles that are on stair casings or banisters, etc? The point of this question will help decide if you should buy a long lathe, or a regular lathe with an extension. Most bowl and vase lathes do not need a 4 ft bed, but rarely longer than 28" to 30".

2. Bowls and plates: how big? If you are inexperienced, I would say you need a bed clearance of 16" size at the most. Most bowl lathes will allow you to turn the head to the side and do a larger bowl. And some let you use a chuck on the outboard end of the lathe instead of over the bed. This is just a summary. There is a lot, lot more involved. A word of warning, when doing bowls larger than about 8" the lathe needs to be anchored or weighted down, and the larger the diameter of the blank, the more dangerous vibration becomes.

3. 12" and larger, look at the VS carefully. Not all Digital Read Out equipped lathes will go below 400 rpm. Look at the low end speed. 14 inch bowls and larger need RPM to be able to go down to at least 200 RPM. Here is a link that has a diagram of "speed to size" that will help you determine both the size and speed that is safe:

Turning speed?

Hi Folks, I’ve been turning stuff off and on since I first tried it in school about 60 years ago now. What I’m curious about is that most videos I watch seem to run at much higher speeds, even during roughing, than I was taught. Has something changed or is my information as antique as I am?

www.penturners.org

BTW, not all blanks are the same. A round cut blank of 12" may be easy to handle, whereas a 12" diameter short log or small stump are NOT the same as the 12" round cut blank and can be far more dangerous, requiring far more caution.

I am not recommending Grizzly, but I often go to Grizzly because they have a wide variety of lathes from which to compare differences such as short and large, long and large, long and small diameter, short and small diameter, VS of different kinds etc. Look them over, come back later and look them over again. Look lathes over at other web sites and come back to Grizzly. Look at their features. Again I am not suggesting Grizzly per se, but since Grizzly has a wide variety, I do not have to run from one companies site to another to another. This helps me hone in on the type of lathe I want and can afford; THEN I go from site to site looking for the specific one I want.

Lathes - Woodworking - Grizzly Industrial

Grizzly Industrial, Inc. is a national retail and internet company providing a wide variety of high-quality woodworking and metalworking machinery, power tools, hand tools and accessories. By selling directly to end users we provide the best quality products at the best price to professionals...

www.grizzly.com

(I am a little surprised as it seems that I have seen a few higher end and heavier duty lathes on their warehouse floor than what I see in the link.)

OH, Important: There are 3 or 4 types of variable speed, watch that term carefully as you look for lathes.
1. Belt changing, can get monotonous and slow down production. For those that started out with belt changing, it doesn't seem to be a problem, but it sure is nice to be able to dial in a speed with a true VS.

2. Combination electronic VS: Some have 3 belt positions plus VS. To me this is aggravating as I have electronic VS but still have to change belt speed. This type only gives ranges of speed such as: Speed 1: 500 - 1000RPM, 2: 850- 1700RPM; 3. 1500-3000RPM.

3. Reeves Drive: Reeves is a mechanical speed control but usually give a speed of 600 - 3000. It does not go down to low end speed needs for bowls of 15 or 16 inches. This is usually on low end priced larger VS lathes.

4. Electronic VS can be a direct drive or dual pulley. Generally more expensive. One thing to watch for is how your shop is equipped with electricity. When full electronic VS comes into play, many lathes move into 220/240V. VFD variable speed is the best for larger work. If your shop can handle 220/240, go for a VFD VS.
Many/most Pen turning VS lathes do not have the torque needed for handle 12" and larger bowl blanks. VFD will slow the RPM without decreasing torque. Low speed torque is important.

I do believe you can get the lathe with the best features as mentioned in # 4 for under $2000.

 

[David350]

I have the Nova DRV Galaxi and absolutely love it. 100 to 5,000 RPM and no belt changing with the DVR motor. Extremely quiet and smooth. The Nova DVR XP mentioned above has been replaced by the Nova DVR Saturn and I see you can get it for $1,999, at the high end of your budget. I think the Saturn has the exact same motor as my Galaxi ($2,499), but not sure of any differences. I would definitely recommend you check them both out. I also have the Nova DVR drill press and love it as well, again no belt changes and quiet / smooth motor...

 

[monophoto]

Hank's advice is excellent - rather than focusing initially on brands, you should first determine the features that your ideal lathe should have based on the kind of work that you expect to do. But recognize that what you expect to do today may be quite different from what you want to do a couple of years from now after gaining some experience with the lathe. There is a reason why wood turning is often called a vortex - there is a great tendency to get pulled in much further than you anticipate!

You mentioned MT2 and variable speed, with a price ceiling of $2000, and with the expectation that you will be turning spindles and bowls. Lathes are frequently described in terms of XY where X is the throw (maximum diameter that can be turned), and Y is the working length of the bed. Be careful here because both specifications are typically exaggerated by manufacturers. While the specified throw is typically twice the distance from the center of the headstock spindle to the bedways, the practical maximum diameter that can be turned is somewhat less because the banjo inevitably takes up some space. So when choosing X, you should allow for an extra couple of inches - that is, if you expect to turn 12" bowls/platters, choose a lathe with a 14" throw. Sure, there are ways to squeeze an extra inch or so of space out of a lathe, but you are better off anticipating the need and buying a lathe that it big enough up front.

Likewise, the specified bedways length is from the headstock spindle to the tailstock with no quill extension, and most importantly, with no allowance for chucks or live centers. The actual working length of a lathe is typically 5-6" less than the specified bedways length. Again, there are workarounds that you can use to occasionally make things that are longer than the lathe is designed to handle (for example, do a search on this board for posts on making canes), but if you anticipate routinely making canes, stair ballusters, baseball bats or pool cues, you might want start with a longer lathe.

While you can still find lathes where the speed control is limited to switching belt pulleys, most modern lathes are electronic variable speed, possibly augmented by a selection of two or three choices of pulleys. In my experience, its relatively unusual that I need to switch pulleys on my lathe - the VS provides more than enough speed control. I would recommend avoiding a Reeves drive machine - that's high maintenance old technology. However, be aware that lower priced VS lathes typically use DC motors where speed control is obtained by varying the voltage applied to the motor. This is perfectly good technology, but you need to understand that the torque that the motor can develop is proportional to the applied motor voltage, which means that the machine may not generate much torque at low speeds. The may not be a problem for spindle turning, but it can be limiting when turning bowls and platters. The way to avoid this problem is to either choose a lathe with some other form of speed control (variable frequency AC) or where the motor has a higher horsepower rating. In my opinion, attempting to turn bowls with a lathe rated less than 1 HP will be frustrating.

But as you go up in horsepower, the lathe may require higher voltage - 230 vs 115v - which then means special wiring for your shop.