Metal vs Wood Lathe - Advice on a first machine...

[jacko]

Folks

I'm looking to buy my first lathe. Looking at the used market there are a bunch of your run of the mill wood lathe's in the the $150 - $200 range (sans chucks). I noticed there are metal lathes in the $500 range that all come with chucks. Am I better off getting a wood lathe and buying a chuck or getting a metal lathe with a chuck?

Thanks!

[Taspiper]

I'm biased as a toolmaker and would go for the metal lathe, it's just more versatile and can give you better accuracy.

[taharris]

I'm a biased wood worker and would go with a wood lathe.

The truth is it all depends on what you want to do with the lathe. Do you want to make things out of wood other than pipes? Bowls? Lidded boxes? Pens?

A metal lathe will give you much higher precision and make tenons much easier.

A wood working lathe will give you much more freedom to form the bowl and stem, but make forming tenons a lot more difficult. And the learning curve is a lot more steep. You need to learn tool control and approach angle, etc.

The chicken or the egg.
Nature -vs- nurture.

There are two camps on this issue and you will get two answers to your question.
(I suspect that many high end pipe makers have both.)

Hope this helps.

Todd

[JHowell]

If it is indeed true that a wood lathe gives you more freedom to shape the bowl than a wood lathe, it's freedom you don't really need. I have both, and find no limitation in shaping bowls with turning tools on a metal lathe. Any limitation would be due to not rigging a good tool rest for the metal lathe. I use a steel bar held in a quick change tool holder and can position it at any angle or height I need.

Frankly, unless you get a good deal used, $500 won't buy much metal lathe. And I *would* recommend a metal lathe.

[taharris]

If it is indeed true that a wood lathe gives you more freedom to shape the bowl than a wood lathe, it's freedom you don't really need. I have both, and find no limitation in shaping bowls with turning tools on a metal lathe. Any limitation would be due to not rigging a good tool rest for the metal lathe. I use a steel bar held in a quick change tool holder and can position it at any angle or height I need.

Good point!

I agree that if all you want to do is make pipes, a metal lathe is a better tool.
However, if you ever want to do other wood turning you will need a wood lathe.

Todd

[RadDavis]

If it is indeed true that a wood lathe gives you more freedom to shape the bowl than a wood lathe, it's freedom you don't really need. I have both, and find no limitation in shaping bowls with turning tools on a metal lathe. Any limitation would be due to not rigging a good tool rest for the metal lathe. I use a steel bar held in a quick change tool holder and can position it at any angle or height I need.

Good point!

I agree that if all you want to do is make pipes, a metal lathe is a better tool.
However, if you ever want to do other wood turning you will need a wood lathe.

Todd

Well, the OP did ask this question on a pipe making forum.

Rad

[taharris]

Well, the OP did ask this question on a pipe making forum.

You're always so helpful Rad!

[KurtHuhn]

Well, the OP did ask this question on a pipe making forum.

Yeah, but the OP has all of 3 posts, so who knows WTF he wants to do.

In all seriousness, the answer depends on the intent. If all you want to make from wood is pipes, a metal lathe is a better choice. Especially if you plan to make doodads from metal. If you are looking at making bowls, cups, pens, platters, etc - a wood lathe is a more economic choice.

Or you could go for the Full Monty, and get one of each. But not for $500.

If your budget is $500, and you're looking for a metal lathe, keep saving. That's the entry fee for a beat up mid-century lathe. Add all your reconditioning on top of that, plus a chuck specific to pipe making, various tooling (including woodturning tools), bits and (depending on machine) cogs and gears, as well as tailstock accessories - and you're into it for... well... I guess you never stop spending. Just make sure that what you buy for this lathe will be useful on the one you buy as an upgrade (goes for wood lathes too)....

[JHowell]

It's pretty rare that a beginning pipe maker approaches the craft with anything approaching an adequate budget, but that's just fine. Time, creativity, and persistence can almost always be substituted for money. I started with a drill press and a clapped-out 6" Craftsman lathe, sold a few pipes and saved the money. Then I bought a Delta Midi wood lathe and made a few more pipes, and saved the money. Then I bought a basket case Logan and spent a year restoring it, and so on. There are great pipe makers who started with a hand drill. One think I would NOT do is spend $500 on a new metal lathe. A $200 wood lathe, while limited in some respects, will not be a piece of crap.

[baweaverpipes]

First off, search this forum. It has a wealth of information. Most likely you won't have to ask, the answer will be found via the search function.
My beginnings were with a drill press and a dust collector. A good dust collector is imperative!
Following the drill press, a 9 x20 metal lathe. That made everything so much easier.
BUT, the skies became bluer, the moon more full, the birds songs more beautiful, the flowers smelled sweeter and my IQ rose from Neanderthal to ignoramus after I got a 12 x 36 lathe.
Some time later, everything changed, like having an epiphany, when I began shaping and then drilling free hand.
Bottom line-dust collector and the best metal lathe you can afford.

[RadDavis]

And don't be intimidated by Bruce's use of words like "imperative" and "ignoramus".

He just talks like that.

Rad

[jacko]

I'm fortunate to live in an area that is very high in manufacturing so there are metal lathes aplenty and for cheap if you are quick on the draw. I can still turn tendons on a wood lathe with PIMO tool correct? Just don't have the same tolerances as a metal lathe? I'm thinking I'll go with a wood lathe to start then pick up a mini taig for cutting tendons...

[JeremyV]

I just picked up a cheap POS metal mini-lathe from Harbour Frieght for just under $500 (they had a 4th of July sale). Being new to running a lathe, I don't know yet how bad off I'm going to be, but it's something to learn on. Right now I'm just focused on not getting a shirt sleeve caught in it. :p

[JHowell]

I'm fortunate to live in an area that is very high in manufacturing so there are metal lathes aplenty and for cheap if you are quick on the draw. I can still turn tendons on a wood lathe with PIMO tool correct? Just don't have the same tolerances as a metal lathe? I'm thinking I'll go with a wood lathe to start then pick up a mini taig for cutting tendons...

Yeah, you can turn tenons on anything that spins with the Pimo tool. But if you have a wood lathe the better solution is to use Delrin tenons. I have yet to see a really clean, professional tenon made by the Pimo tool.