Lathes under a Grand

Re: Lathes under a Grand

Peter Teubel

>For the amout you're talking, Nova 3000 would give you the most bang for the buck. You can upgrade to a variable speed motor/controller in the future ($385 for a 2hp package from DealersElectric.com)

Re: Lathes under a Grand

Brad

>A couple of years ago Wood magazine reviewed several lathes that cost under $1000, they rated the Jet 1442 as the "best buy" in that price range. I have one, I've been very happy with it.

If you are looking for a Midi lathe, Amazon.com has a great deal right now. They offer $25 off on any purchase of $199 or over until Aug 8. They have the non-VS Jet Midi for $199, shipping included. That means you can pick up a great little lathe for $174!

Home made bowl lathe

Phil Joines Krum, Texas

>Here's a lathe that's still being modified. The headstock consists of a 4 cyl engine block with flat ends to which are mounted 2 pollow blocks. The shaft is 2 1/2" dia. with a 1 1/4" x 8tpi thread. The motor is a 3hp Leeson from an Ebay auction. The guy had a bunch of them. Email me if you want info. The controller was also from Ebay. The stand is 2" heavy wall tube. The tool rest didn't work out, too much play and vibration. I'm going to add a bed and fabricate a banjo. Once it's in it's final position the bottom will be filled with sand bags. So for there's about $500 in it.

Don't Even consider the 1236

Brad Vietje

>I've been struggling with a 1236 for 2 years now. While its beefier and more stable than the 1955 ShopSmith I learned on, and I've had a lot of fun with it, I've also had some incredible frustrations. At first I really appreciated how a full-sized, 1" x 8 spindle was superior to a 5/8" spindle, but after about 2 months, my skills had outstripped the lathe, basically due to bad machining and other cost-cutting manufacturing practices.

Since then I've occasionally chimed in relatively neutral comments about the 1236 to avoid hurting the feelings of the hundreds of happy users out there, but now I've just had it. I've ruined a few very nice, thin wall turnings due to a tool rest banjo that moves as gracefully as a gorilla, and have completely given up on the idea of using the tailstock ram to hold an arbor for horizontal boring -- there's so much play in that puppy that you figure out where the center is by finding the center of the circle the drill bit scores on the workpiece.

If you get good reports on the 1442 or 1642, they may be much better, but the 1236 is a machine that a dedicated turner will outgrow rather quickly. I agree with Peter that the Nova 3000 is perhaps the best value under $ 1,000. I will be looking closely at the 3000 and the DVR in the near future.

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT

Re: Home made bowl lathe

Kudzu

>An engine block! Would not have thought of that one! But I love it!!

I did a search on ebay and was amazed at what I found. I watch a few catagories in Ebay but never fail to find stuff I wouldn't think would be there. Like motors, controlers and pillow blocks.

I am leaning toward buying a Jet Mini and then starting to work on designing a bowl lathe now that I know I find the parts reasonably.

Got to finish up the house before I do anything. Still trying to set up shop enough to build a couple of things for the inside of the house.