pipemakersforum.com

Hey folks! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I have been saving up for a lathe for a little while now and I still have a ways to go. A friend of mine heard I was looking for one and called and said I could have his! It is a small wood lathe made by CarbaTec. It is a 6" wood lathe with a model number of HM - 1V. This is totally a learning lathe until I can get to a machining lathe.

My question is can I use this? I'm really ready to start learning to drill and turn bowls. Thoughts?

I have the exact same lathe that I use strictly for turning pens when the mood strikes me. I don't want to throw cold water but it is really not much use for any pipe related work other than possibly turning material for stem or shank embellishments.

Seems much too small to make pipes with. You really want something that has a decent swing and can accept a self-centering chuck. I'm sure with some ingenuity, you could hack together pieces to make it work. However, you can turn a few pens with it and learn to work with the tools on it. I'm sure for that it will serve just fine.

When you're ready for pipe making, go for a wood lathe with upwards of a 10" swing. Get one as heavy as possible and anchor it to the table so it doesn't wobble all over the place. Or save up a bit longer for a nice metal lathe.

Tough for me to tell just how big/small that thing is. There's ways to do just about everything even on a small machine, but at the same time, tooling that thing up and putting money into part (like chucks) to fit that when they most likely won't fit your next one... is probably not the best use of the money.

I have a tiny lathe(Taig) I use it for turning small stuff and I have all the accessories.The cost of all this, as Sasquach implies, would buy a good 19 inch metal lathe.I have two full size lathes to do the work and the little one is for miniatures.Save your money for the bigger lathe.I have turned some tiny things on a big lathe, but you can only go so far with the tiny one.Remember, tools are an addiction also.This you will see when you set up a big one. Lets face it, a face plate and tape isn't going to get it.Unless you are gifted!!! LOL !!! I ducked for a long time, thinking I was gifted!!!