Need A New Lathe What Would You Suggest?
 

As you know, I recently started making plugs. Well I went out and bought a new band saw and a disk/belt sander and other tools new. I did not have the extra cash so I found and bought a used drill press and lathe.
The chuck keep falling off the drill press :af: , fixed that. Started turning my second blank on the lathe and smoke started pouring out and the motor went. :wall: This was not a good lathe anyway it is made by Chicago tools. I thought it would get me going until I saved up to get a good one. THIS IS WHY I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT EVERYTHING NEW! :af: Should not have changed the way I have always done things.

What would you suggest as for a new lathe? I do not want to spend more than $500.00.

Vince,

Although I'm new at this also here is my experiance. I bought the Jet 14" mini lathe off Amazon it was something like $260 with free shipping. I am very pleased with the lathe and how well it turns, its heavey and nicely made. I am very pleased with the results. No complaints at all.

Good luck with your choices.

Kevin

Jet mini will last you many many years. It's a very nice machine for the money. There are clones out there too, some cheaper but IMO you can't beat the Jet because you can easily call them and get parts etc for it.

Are there dupi's made that fit the Jet mini lathe? I've spoken with Vince and I know he's hooked big time. I'm sure a dupi is in his future.

I'm also interested in the responses to this thread.

You can mount a vega mini dup on the front. It won't mount on the back due to the placement of the knob on the back of the tailstock.
A Delta midi lathe (same size as the jet mini) allows you to mount the duplicator on the back of the machine. This way you don't have to remove it to work in the tool rest side.

jet mini is a workhorse. the folks at jet are great to deal with, got 4 or 5 jet tools and will buy more.

The professor was nice enough to spend some time with me showing me how he did his. Not set up to work with metal though I made a similar duplicator in wood and it works nicely. I am still trying to get used to it grabbing the workpiece though but as time goes on it grabs less as I get more control with it. They do make commercially produced duplicators for it and the drill chuck for it is easy to come by also (thats my next purchase for through drilling). Heck I figure I'm only at $80 a plug by now oh the addiction at least I don't get hung over this way.

I don't own a duplicator or a Jet or Delta.Mac did a thread a while ago or maybe it was Artisticsensiblities.In it was how to mount the vega on the back.this like mac says allow u to turn on the front an use the backside for dup's.This way sounds Ideal to me.If I where to just buy the lathe i would go with the Jet.U can probably get a replacement motr for the one u have if u just wanna make do for a while.

Got my Jet from one of the members of this board via the Classifieds. It had hardly been used and came with a Jacobs chuck and the bed extension for $200.00. I use it every day. Smooth running and well built.

my 'cave' ain't no show palace, but...it works
 

New is nice, but, I have had some amazing good luck with old.
I have a new drill press, real old lathe, scored a used (like new) band saw, and belt sander from a relative... so far my total outlay, (also I am a cheap bastage :D) is under $300, the gouges and skews came with the lathe...
my lathe might be old, but, I am sure it will outlive me, if the motor craps out, I'll just buy another universal one.

clean karl- how long that take ya? nice shop.

Thanks Don...but
 

I ain't showing the dirty side, Don, :hihi:

the bandsaw came with it's own "dust collector" a mini shop vac built underneath it. I did vac before that pic... Trust me, the basement is a freaking zoo... just took the "good angles" ;)

Yer a neat freak:)

Bring your dust pan my way....

Leapingf Lesbians there Karl! Too clean and organized. I'd be lost!:jump1: That is some collection of tools for the lathe, you scored big time!:wave:

Mini lates are nice, but for little added cost you can get a full sized machine. You'll have the flexibility to do bigger turnings if you ever decide to..

On a different scale (and to show how tools once were made), here's what I got. It is a Garvin, made in NY, bought used (without a tool rest and with a 3 phase motor) for $300. Check out the tailstock. I'm not sure how practical it is, but it sure makes me happy when I touch it.

:rotf3: :bl:

Heck makes me happy just to look at it. Nothing quite like the shape of an older tool thats nicely taken care of.:beat: :beat: :beat:

I have a delta midi no problems bought it at lowes they haved one left for 168.00 got to check out and made some noise (lol) about a part missing and the manager ordered me a new one for 168.00 retail is 299.95 , so I walked into that one. Its a real work horse also bought a vega dup and the advantage to that is u can mount on back.otherwise I have all table top bandsaw, drill press , belt&disc sander all delta.. :huh:

I thank you for all your responses.

So it looks like the Jet and Delta are the two that most recommend.

For the guys that have these two what do you like and what don't you like?

What are the model #'s of the two?

delta is delta midi pennstate cat is #Del 46-250 299.95 but shop around for best price :hidin:

sorry price went up old cat 309.95 go to www.Penn State Industries take a look they have Jet , Delta ,and a few others its whats u can afford and how deep in the addiction u are :wall:

FWIW; Penn State Ind. has a Jet clone they sell under their name Turncrafter Pro. It sells for under $200 and is everybit as good as the Jet or Delta. The Vega mini dup will mount in the same manner.

I own the Jet variable speen mini. I have a vega dup on it. My bench is against the wall so I have to remove my dup when I want to turn manually. I have designed some fixtures that can be atached to the dup that will allow you to put it right back where it was so the changeover is very fast! I just need to make them :splat:

You can get a real nice lathe with a bed extension etc. for under $300.
Good luck.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=...&Go.x=8&Go.y=7

This is the result of a search on amazon for lathes.

U don't need anything extravagant if this is a hobby.
The delta an jet mini's as stated are a good choice.
If u want a good lathe the grizzly 1495? on page 2 is a good one.or u can go with the full size jet.I would try to stay away from variable speed exta cost not needed.

I run a Vega on a teeeney weenie fire engine red carbatech.

Im saving for a jet, as the carbatech struggles with hard maple.

I want numbskull's lathe :kewl:

I scored a Shopsmith at a yardsale. Awesome combo machine. Have a jointer with it too. Worth a search in the local want advertiser, especially this time of year.

I have the Jet 1236 (shown in above link) It works pissa :) can't beat that price either

This is a no name lathe. :D Too old to have a name but still drills true.:D Use the Jet for turnin.

JPI with a pic of BF hanging in his cave......:tooth: