Thread: Lathe info/help

The jet will serve you well,practice and learn how to sharpen your cutting tools.
No wood lathe that I have ever seen has reverse,cannot cut in reverse have fun

That's a nice lathe. You should be able to do fabulous things with that one. As for tools, the ones you have should work fine for many years. Just remember to keep and edge on them at all times. You'll find that certain tools become favorites, and you'll use them more than others.

And remember, ride the bevel!


Edit, about the tools. The only difference between good HSS tools and cheaper ones is you'll be sharpening more often with the cheaper. I have some delta ones that are OK, but don't hold an edge near as long as my Sheffield made tools.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

The jet will serve you well,practice and learn how to sharpen your cutting tools.
No wood lathe that I have ever seen has reverse,cannot cut in reverse have fun

Some do, and I wish mine had it. It's for sanding. The delta 46-460 has it and is a very nice mini lathe.

You can sand and apply finishes in two directions.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Harbor fright anything is all crap.JMO

Totally disagree, Harbor Freight doesn't make anything near as good as crap. Turds can be polished :-). I will admit to owning one piece of Harbor Freight gear. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I got it. It was a challenge project for machine work. I didn't have room for a proper dedicated horizontal band saw. There are groups on the Internet where people re-engineer and re-manufacture some Harbor Fright crap for fun.

To get my horizontal band saw to perform well, I did something to all of it except the casting:

1- Lathe turned the blade wheels to true up.
2- Replaced all of the bearings including those in the gear box (could not stand the grinding noise).
3- Pulled the gear box apart and tumbled the worm gear assembly.
4- Pulled the blade tension mechanism apart, replaced the tension rod and knob.
5- Designed and built a hydraulic load cell to measure and control blade tension.
6- Built a lubricant system for the blade.
7- Redesigned the blade tracking system and re-adjusted.
8- Designed and welded up a new stand for the saw.
9- Replaced the joke of a blade with a good bi-metal blade.
10- Built an adjustable hydraulic blade fall system to replace the joke of a spring.

It was a fun project to see if a total piece of &^%$ saw could be made to work correctly. Did I mention this was brand new?

It will cut a four inch blank to within about .004 inches top to bottom. I true it up on a lathe. It does what I need and I knew I was starting with garbage.

Friends don't let friends shop at Harbor Fright...

Best,

Ed

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ thats funny

Originally Posted by PHANTZM

I picked up a Jet JWL-1236 with tools , a drill chuck and a Nova Chuck for $450 off of CraigsList. It has no reverse, but is variable speed and fun to work with. I've been messing around with different pieces of wood from work and the local Wood Workers Source. Bought a bunch of $3-$5 pieces of Maple and Oak.

I also found a nice Maple Burl bowl blank for $15. Haven't decided on using it for something large or cutting it into smaller pieces to turn. It's about 10" wide by 4" thick.

The tools I have now are part of a package deal that Jet had with the lathe, I am looking to buy some better tool eventually , just not sure when yet.

If you want a smaller lathe, there are some 1015's for sale here locally.

You could make yourself a brush and matching bowl with a piece that size. Maple burl has wonderful grain and is not too difficult to turn.

Originally Posted by irish19

You could make yourself a brush and matching bowl with a piece that size. Maple burl has wonderful grain and is not too difficult to turn.

That's a good idea. I'll have to find a way to cut it though , no band-saw ..........yet. 8)

You could use a hand saw. It'll just take a bit longer.

Finially stuck back $500 and was doing some real looking for a good used lathe...a friend calls me up about a gun. Starting over on a great gun deal. Now I am starting my lathe fund all over again

Originally Posted by shooter74743

Finially stuck back $500 and was doing some real looking for a good used lathe...a friend calls me up about a gun. Starting over on a great gun deal. Now I am starting my lathe fund all over again

Well now that we're all so involved, you gotta tell us the specifics on the gun. What kind?