# Woodturning Lathes



## hagerboy (Apr 30, 2010)

:help:Can you help me find a small woodturning lathe that is reasonably priced on the web?


----------



## The Warthog (Nov 29, 2010)

Try your local classifieds. A lot of people seem to buy equipment that is fairly good, then don't bother with it and eventually sell it off cheap just to be rid of it. I got my lathe that way, for less than half price. It isn't a particularly good lathe because I had no idea or help with the purchase, but I see many good lathes for sale at throwaway prices.


----------



## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

Welcome, not sure what Ya mean by small but I have seen 12x20 Jets,Deltas starting around $400.00 and of course the variable speed will increase that price ....GOOD LUCK


----------



## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

What is a reasonable price? Here is a couple that would be good for spindle work, pens, ornaments, mini birdhouses and other small work. I wouldn't turn a bowl or hollow form with the fast low speed of 700 rpm and 650 rpm on the Penn State unit.

Buy Rikon Economy Mini Lathe at Woodcraft

Turncrafter Commander 10" Multi Speed Midi Lathe at Penn State Industries

Excelsior Mini Lathe - Rockler Woodworking Tools

If you want a decent lathe that will do a lot of different turnings such as bowls, hollow forms, etc. this would be the lathe I would get. It is a exceptional lathe with lots of features including variable speed which I won't own a lathe without it. Here IMHO is probably the best of the small lathes. 

Buy DELTA Variable-Speed Midi Lathe 12-1 2 Model 46-460 at Woodcraft

I have this lathe and it has done everything I have asked of it. If the Delta above had been out when I bought this one I would have gotten it instead.

Jet Mini Lathe 1220 - Woodturners Catalog - Woodworking tools and supplies specializing in woodturning.



A decent midi lathe to cover a lot of different turnings is going to run you around $600 or so. 

So it depends on what you want to spend, what you want to turn, etc. then we could probably answer your question a little better. As was said watch Craigs list or the classifieds and you may find a fantastic lathe for half the price. Some good ones come up occasionally but be careful. I have found a lot of them to be junk to. I have seen a few of these Jet 1014 lathes up for sale for half price of $225 to $250. 

Jet JML-1014I 10'' X 14'' Indexing Mini Lathe - Rockler Woodworking Tools

Hope this helps.


----------



## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

wow, Bernie covered it all & very well.


----------



## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks gal. Most times it helps more if we know what they are wanting to turn. I will say this to Jerry. I started with a small lathe thinking pens, ornaments, mini birdhouses, lidded boxes, etc. would be everything I would ever want to turn. Well it didn't work out that way as I absolutely fell in love with turning. I had owned at one time 4 lathes but am down to two. I had a Delta LA200 which was a belt changer. I sold it and got a Rikon because it was bigger. Got tired of changing belts so I sold it. I now have a Jet 1220 Variable speed and a Nova DVR XP 16" VS for the big stuff. After about a year and using the Delta I want to do bowls but would need a bigger lathe. Then I wanted to do big vases and then it was hollow forms. 

So those are some of the things that I would keep in mind. If you start out with a small lathe you will probably keep it to do small stuff on and then go for a larger lathe if it comes to that point you want to do larger turnings. Don't get me wrong in that a lot of turners the first time they buy a lathe big enough that they won't ever need to buy again. But I would say at least 80% of the turners I have known over the years have went thru the process of owning at least 3 sometimes up to 5 lathes before they find the one that they can turn everything they want to for years to come. 

Hope this helps. Just some food for thought.


----------



## hagerboy (Apr 30, 2010)

I have never turned anything. It would be nice to do small spindles and bowls. I though maybe a small lathe that I could take along in my motor home when I travel and set up on a table outside. Is this practical?


----------



## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

yes, very do-able. will you be inverting 12v to 110? or will you have a good regular 110 supply? I ask as I have had my power from the sun & wind for 20+ yrs, and there are a few things that do not work on inverted power. Good luck and hope to see some turnings from you in the future


----------



## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Yes it is doable. I would definitely use 110V and not a invertor from 12V to 110V. I don't think a invertor will provide enough power. A friend of mine used take this lathe with him when he started traveling. Turncrafter Commander 10" Multi Speed Midi Lathe at Penn State Industries Now he has this lathe which he likes a lot. This lathe would do probably anything you wanted to do. He says he just loves it. Turncrafter Commander 12" Variable Speed Midi Lathe at Penn State Industries 

He says even with small bowls the blanks must be pretty round and fairly balanced. Unless you go a little higher in price as the second lathe I showed you with Variable speed it.


----------



## Dal300 (Jul 14, 2011)

Bernie, 
A lot has gone on in the last few decades of inverter tech.
In my RV I have a 2500W MSW (modified Sine Wave) inverter that supplies almost everything in the coach. It's handled the rear A/C and the fridge for the last 7 years with no malfunctions while going down the road.
I also have a 3000W PSW (pure Sine Wave) that I can kick in at any time I need to, which usually happens only when I run the front roof A/C while going down the road.
I incorporated a manual switch to charge either my house batteries, (6 - 8D AGM @ 300Ah each @ 12V), or the start batteries, (2 - 8D LA @ 220Ah each @ 12V). The alternator is a 270A 50DN Delco and supplies enough power to run 2 roof airs while going down the road.
My shop is being set up so I can take it mobile but I will make a small modification.... I'll use a 3 or 4 cylinder Isuzu or Kubota or Yanmar diesel engine and add a belt driven 50DN as the alternator and invert it from there. This will be my prime source for power while not plugged in to a power pole.
BTW, The only difference between MSW and PSW is that the PSW inverter has more 'steps' between a square wave and something that emulates a true sine wave. 
What you have to watch out for is the number of steps your inverter is making to get to AC. I've seen the cheap chinese stuff make four steps, which is still prety square and chopped. My MSW inverter is a low end Pro-sine that makes 21 steps. The Xantrex inverter (PSW), makes 30 steps. (As viewed from an Oscilloscope).
With induction motors, like on a lot of table saws and roof air conditioners, cheap inverters don't work well, heat up and eventually burn up. Universal motors work quite happily, since they are pretty much just a DC motor being run on AC.



BernieW said:


> Yes it is doable. I would definitely use 110V and not a invertor from 12V to 110V. I don't think a invertor will provide enough power. A friend of mine used take this lathe with him when he started traveling. Turncrafter Commander 10" Multi Speed Midi Lathe at Penn State Industries Now he has this lathe which he likes a lot. This lathe would do probably anything you wanted to do. He says he just loves it. Turncrafter Commander 12" Variable Speed Midi Lathe at Penn State Industries
> 
> He says even with small bowls the blanks must be pretty round and fairly balanced. Unless you go a little higher in price as the second lathe I showed you with Variable speed it.


----------



## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Thanks Dallas for the info. I was just going on what my friend told me about his RV and evidently doesn't have a heavy enough invertor. He says he runs off his generator when turning. I know they have changed and came up with a lot of stuff in the last few years.


----------

