lathe essentials.

Still cheaper than.....

ChuckS

>A woman (or man).

A Boat. (If you don't have a boat & the experience, stand on the end of a dock with a stack of $100 bills. Use your Ronson, light them one at a time, & throw them to the wind.)

A drinking or drug habit.

A psychotherapist.

Re: lathe essentials.

Raymond Overman in SC

>Not too concerned about the inheritance part, but living to far away to go fishing with him on a regular basis gets to me a little.

I'm starting to think of my little shop as a boat though. A boat is a hole in the water in which you thow money. My shop is just a hole in the back yard in which I throw money.

Ok everyone, get back to turning!

Re: Still cheaper than.....

Doug Leite

>Anyone try Drag Racing? Ironically, the more that you spend the quicker you go, which means that you enjoy the ride for less time. Or is the time working on the car (dragster or rail, as was my case) that is supposed to be the enjoyment. I don't want to even think about how much I had invested in that hobby.

Let's not even bring up shooting/reloading/gunsmithing

Turning is cheap in comparison, plus you get to discover all of the hidden beauty in Gods creations that just beg to be cut up and discovered.And you get to either cherish these pieces forever, see friends do, or swap it for greenbacks. It's better than eating the catch, IMO

Aloha,Doug, going to get covered in as much shavings as I can today, and love it.

Re: lathe essentials.

Joe Fleming

>I tell everyone that asks that it takes about $1,000 - $1,200 to start turning.

$ 300 - mini lathe

$ 150 - grinder with appropriate wheels and dresser

$ 200 - name brand basic tool set (skew, parting tool, spindle gouge, bowl gouge, roughing gouge)

$ 50 - saftety stuff (face shield, NIOSH masks

$ 50 - sanding and finishing supplies

$ 100 - Rowley book, Conover book, Jordan bowl video

$ 220 - Vicmarc or Oneway chuck

$ 30 - AAW membership

==============

$1,110 - rough total

Of course, we can nickel and dime on the bits and pieces here. Of course, this number just continues to go up. However, this set gets a person going and has quality parts that are easily sold if needed. If the lathe becomes inadequate (who hasn't been there?) then everything moves up except, maybe, the chuck spindle adapter.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Re: lathe essentials.

Barry on SaltSpring

>I guess I am double cursed (Blessed?) My other uncontrolable passion (Adddiction?) is GOLF. So lets see, set of calloway irons $1800 Big Bertha Woods $2000. Odyssey putter $200 Deluxe carry bag $400. Did I mention my club dues are payable Jan 30? Oh well, snow on the ground this week, cant play golf. I guess I will go out to the shop. fire up the dust collector, turn on the DVR, grab my new don pencil hollowing set and .......

Thank god I dont own a salmon fishing boat like my friends do. Retired and loving it on Salt Spring !!!!

Re: lathe essentials.

Charlie Anderson in Southern Maryland

>You can catch (and release) all the stripers you want but you may only keep 2 per day.

Re: lathe essentials.

Mike Schwing from Md.

>John - this was fun - but how could you fail to mention your carving tools?

Several Dremels on the way to buying a Foredom $200. Foredom $300. Still need more? (of course) Powercrafter. $400

Compressor too small to run the Powercrafter? Bigger compressor $300 What, it is putting out water? Dryer - $80.

Airbrush, HVLP system.

Symposium hotel and airfare.

Still - as an owner of several $5K+ bicycles, a Ski Nautique, and a leggy blonde wife (actually she probably owns me) this hobby is cheap.

That is very close...

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>... to what I just spent this week for start-up gear. Didn't order the chuck yet, but did order a pen starter kit. Already have a grinder.

Sure adds up quick!

Based on what I am reading here, I will probably be back in a week or two asking for chainsaw advice. I already have the truck. ;-)

do I have the bug?

Chipster

>that is funny about the chainsaw. I got the bug before I got the lathe. I turned on a friend's lathe, and decided I was tired of square wood.

So I finally arrived at a decision about which lathe to buy. Based upon past experiences, I knew I would want a bigger one sooner, rather than later. I made the choice to go with the PM 3520a. I will order that soon.

In the meantime, books are bought, Trends visor is purchased, new grinder is in place. My whole shop gets reorganized. Some turning blanks (bloodwood etc.) were bought at a recent wood show.

Now I'm waiting for my new chain saw to arrive on Monday, so that next week I can go cut blanks out of a Box Elder tree I aquired. Did I mention that I don't even have my lathe or my tools yet??

Re: lathe essentials, but....

Joe Fleming

>OK, so we all have WAY more $$$ invested in tools than any of us will ever tell our significant others. How many of us have our goodies, listed, catalogued, photographed, or other means of protecting ourselves from a disaster like theft or fire?

I'll fess up - not me.

Joe Fleming - San Diego

Re: More lathe essentials.

jim happe

>treatment for cancer is surely in the picture from the dust that got by all of the expensive preventative measures. But this hobby is too much fun and provides too much satisfaction to worry about a little thing like that.

Re: do I have the bug?

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>LOL!

You definitely have the bug!

Re: lathe essentials.

Barry Turner

>Right on! A proper analogy! And your wife doesn't have to worry if you have become the latest drowning victim. Of course, with woodturning, you won't be able to give away fish to all of your friends. Or brag about the one that got away.

But you could always brag about your latest burl. "I had this 24" diameter burl on the lathe.......turned down to a wall thickness of 1/64 of an inch.......and that sumbitch blowed all to Hell!"

And about the books..........wouldn't you read books no matter what the hobby?