I found two shop fox lathes of interest (along with a review comparing them to Jet) the wood lathe is $247 for the 15" between centers with either 7.5" or 10" swing (can't remember... so sleepy) and their metal lathe I #elieve 6 X 10 for just under $500
So, two curiosities; any opinions from using either of these lathes? Second, would the metal lathe be large enough for most all piping needs?
I'm most likely shooting for the wood lathe, because for an extra $108 I can get the bed extension making it 38" between centers.
Just shooting for opinions here.
Oh, and both come with a decent set up (and are more expensive on eBay than elsewhere)
Dixie,
Let me chime in and impart my experiences.
Bought a cheap wood lathe. Gave it away.
Started drilling on a drill press. Now it's rarely used.
Bought a 9x20 metal lathe. Sure made pipe making a pleasure.
Bought a 12 x36 metal lathe. Made pipe making a dream
Use the 9x20 for odd jobs and for delrin tenons.
Use the 12x36 ALL THE TIME. The stability and precision is second to none.
Again, I will impart this advice: save your money and buy the best metal lathe you can afford.
Buy the biggest and best lathe you can afford. If you can't afford, at a minimum, a 10" wood lathe, keep saving.
I love my Jet JML1014. It's a very well built and solid lathe capable of a great deal more than a small pen turner's lathe. It's the star of my workshop. I use it for drilling and shaping pipe stummels, but I also use it for making bowls, cups, plates, vases, candlesticks, pens and pencils, Christmas tree ornaments, and a crapload of other stuff. It's also a buffing station, a roughing in station, and at times the ways are used to flat sand odd bits to adjust fitment. It's one of my better purchasing decisions.
By the way, if that 6" lathe isn't a Sherline or a Taig, it's ass. I tried to warn a friend about those things, but he bought one anyway. He became so frustrated with the thing, even after following the "tuning" for them that's detailed on the Internet, that he took it apart and sold the pieces in an attempt to recoup some of his money. Luckily he managed to find a handful of classic iron - including a Hardinge and a Logan which I am very jealous of.
The bottom line is, wether you choose a metal lathe or a wood lathe, don't cheap out. If you're even a little bit serious about it, you need to buy a good tool.
Okay, thanks for all the advice!
That's why I wa asking if anyone had experience with these particular tools, specs seemed suitable for a good price.
Oh, and the fact that Ol' Bruce is from down home makes his advice that much better
Kurt, I hear ya loud and clear. The metal lathe made me a bit curious, I've found a few different names at times affordable but most are near antiques, Atlas is one that's sometimes fairly priced, but I know nothing about them. I'll keep an eye out fer the Sherline or Taig's available.
What I was looking for was an acceptable lathe that I could afford to buy along with tooling rather than having to spend another 3 months saving to buy any tools
But hey, I trust the judgement of you guys more than my own
Yeah yeah yeah...
Have you ever used one of these lathes?
Shop Fox W1752 mini lathe is the particular model I'm looking at.
Again, yes I know a metal lathe is preferred, yes I know "bigger is better" (in lathes at least) but, with that being said I'm looking at a realistic price range where I can still afford tooling around the same time.
I've heard a few people hate on this lathe, but no reviews that I've found from those who own one are bad.
The lathe world is complicated, I apologize for my ignorance
baweaverpipes wrote:Dixie,
Let me chime in and impart my experiences.
Bought a cheap wood lathe. Gave it away.
Started drilling on a drill press. Now it's rarely used.
Bought a 9x20 metal lathe. Sure made pipe making a pleasure.
Bought a 12 x36 metal lathe. Made pipe making a dream
Use the 9x20 for odd jobs and for delrin tenons.
Use the 12x36 ALL THE TIME. The stability and precision is second to none.
Again, I will impart this advice: save your money and buy the best metal lathe you can afford.
Thanks Bruce! I'll keep that in mind. I'm just skiddish of metal lathes in my price range, if I get an affordable Taig or Sherline lathe, I fear the size will hinder me. If I upgrade the size and settle for a lesser name, I fear quality will hinder me. So many things to consider it makes my head spin.
So in saying get the best metal lathe I can afford, in your opinion would it be worth sacrificing some size for quality? Or vica versa?
Thanks for your patience and opinion!
Even a Taig or Sherline won't help you drill pipe bowls. They're far too small for that bit of work. They can, however, be used to cut tenons on stems.
IF you plan on only having one lathe in your workshop, and if that lathe is a metal lathe you need to spend for a 9" model at a minimum. There are several out there, all very similar. The Jet BD920, and the Grizzly G4000 and G0602 are examples. Again, you can go bigger, but you shouldn't go smaller.
You can also use a wood lathe as your only lathe, as I did for several years. If this is the route you choose, you need one with a 10" swing at a minimum - the Jet and Delta 10" models are excellent lathes. You can cut tenons on a wood lathe if you devote some time to learning how. However, instead of that, I suggest you simply use delrin for your tenons. It's fast, easy, and repeatable.
OR, you can do as a couple folks do, and have a wood lathe and a small metal lathe. In this case, your metal lathe can be a Taig, Sherline, or even an old Atlas 6" - just don't buy any of those crappy 7" teensy metal lathes.
But whatever you do, be sure this is something your going to do for a while, and that you're going to actually enjoy doing. Before dropping serious coin on a tool, I suggest picking up some pipe kits and making them into pipes - there's a couple places to get those (including me, shameless plug). I think it's beneficial for your first few to take advantage of the benefit of having someone do the mundane stuff that is tool dependent so that you can concentrate on the real work of making a pipe.
EDIT:
I took a look at the Shop Fox W1752, and it appears to be a decent lathe. It's identical to the one Grizzly sells of the same size. All of these are basically made at a single factory in China, which is the reason why they're all so similar. My opinion is that this is probably a good wood lathe. But, despite the seemingly low price, don't forget you still need a chuck, good chuck jaws, drill bits, a jacobs chuck for the tailstock in #2 Morse taper, lathe chisels (3/8" fingernail gouge and 1/2" skew at a minimum), and a handful of stuff I'm forgetting. As I said in another thread, the cost of the lathe is just the beginning - you're going to spend at least that much on other crap you need to make the lathe useful for pipe making.
The direction I'm looking to go is only a wood lathe for now. I've always wanted one, so even if pipe making isn't my main hobby it'll get put to use
I've checked your site periodically to see when you post a pipe kit, but haven't seen any posted, I'd like to buy one from you whenever you get some ready to go. You can PM prices or post here, either or.
The size is what turned me away from the metal lathes (for now ) because I do have to consider other expenses with the lathe, and I can't be spendin dollars and makin dimes just yet.
But if I do stick with the pipe making (which I'm 99.9999% sure I will) I may look to add a metal lathe eventually when I can afford an adequate one
Thanks again for all the patience and knowledge shared!
Dixie_piper wrote:The direction I'm looking to go is only a wood lathe for now. I've always wanted one, so even if pipe making isn't my main hobby it'll get put to use
I've checked your site periodically to see when you post a pipe kit, but haven't seen any posted, I'd like to buy one from you whenever you get some ready to go. You can PM prices or post here, either or.
The crazy thing is, those get sold almost immediately as I post them. I try to keep that page stocked, but it's damn near impossible! Send me an email with what you're looking for, and I can get you hooked up.
Dixie_piper wrote:The size is what turned me away from the metal lathes (for now ) because I do have to consider other expenses with the lathe, and I can't be spendin dollars and makin dimes just yet.
But if I do stick with the pipe making (which I'm 99.9999% sure I will) I may look to add a metal lathe eventually when I can afford an adequate one
Thanks again for all the patience and knowledge shared!
That's essentially what I did. When an opportunity presented itself for my metal lathe (a South Bend 9C) I jumped on it, but I had been making pipes at that point for several years.
Ok, sweet. I'll give my plans a once over and hopefully be able to let you know Friday (payday) exactly what I'm looking for.
I hear ya on the lathe thing too, I've always been the guy buying the "old craze" on holidays the year after it's release for a lot less than it was when it hit the shelves
I always keep an eye out for a deal, before the economy went to hell in a hand basket I made decent money on the side "wheelin n dealin," but none such luck these past few years
I'll go ahead and e-mail you m general "plan" for this first pipe to see what you think of it.
) because I do have to consider other expenses with the lathe, and I can't be spendin dollars and makin dimes just yet.