Wood Bowl Lathe
came across this posting on CL. Seems like a good deal to be able to turn bowls and the such. Opinions greatly appreciated.
I'm in the market for a lathe and i think I'll be don't mostly bowls and small projects. I like the idea of being able to turn larger things in the future. I really don't see myself turning spindles. I think I will be looking at a lathe that the headstock can swing out for larger turning radius.
Also a hmmm from me.
Here's what i see - it looks like a shop made lathe, which if I had the talent, I would put together. But....
- all the drive belts are uncovered - not something I like to see
- as Sam pointed out it is a step pulley system (which I use on my Nova and I am NOT unhappy with for the occasional turning I do, but it is certainly less convenient)
- no tailstock. I am not a big tailstock user, except early on in the bowl turning process. I like to use the tailstock as a backup holding system when doing the 'rough turning' on a new unbalanced blank. I don't see one, so I assume there is not one. I certainly could be wrong.
- I second Sam's view that it likely needs more mass (or to be bolted down) in order to be stable with larger unbalanced pieces
- 16" swing - listed as >16" - My $600 used Nova lathe has a 16" swing, and a swivel head which I have used for larger pieces (not something I want to do a lot of, but do-able). For what I consider big bowls, 16" is not 'very large' (can do a nice salad bowl though).
- Does state 6" chuck, but I think I see a faceplate - a 6" chuck can easily be a $200+ commodity, a 6" faceplate a less than $50 item.
Price is OK, and certain inexpensive compared to large Powermatic or Oneway lathes, or other large bowl lathes; these all tend to keep their value and don't come down much in price from new - certainly not the '50% for used machinery' rule of thumb that many use.
If you are an inexperienced turner, I would think that you are not likely to be able to judge well if the down sides of this lathe, especially the no tailstock, will work for you.