Lathe size

[dhall]

Hello, I am new here & just contemplating truing my hand at some woodworking as a hobby. I am wondering if there is anything that can be done on a mini lathe that can't be done on a larger on?

Thanks.

[minorhero]

Hello, I am new here & just contemplating truing my hand at some woodworking as a hobby. I am wondering if there is anything that can be done on a mini lathe that can't be done on a larger on?

Thanks.

I don't have any experience yet with turning. But I have read a lot about it. I have seen people using relatively large lathes to turn pens which are pretty much the smallest things folks are going to turn. So the short answer to your question is no, there is nothing that can be turned on a mini lathe that can't also be turned on a larger lathe. That being said there may be one exception. I do not know if mini lathes come with an indexing head. If they don't then obviously anything you would use indexing for is going to be beyond the means of a mini lathe. Unless you plan to make a lot of wooden gears that is probably not going to be an issue.

There are 2 reasons folks buy the mini lathes. 1) is cost, they are obviously considerably cheaper and 2) size, folks that are short on space like having a machine they can stick under a bench.

Lathes are the only power tool I know of that have gotten better over the years. Older lathes didn't have electronic speed controls and can thus be more difficult to use then many modern lathes. Also older lathes were designed for spindle work. So they didn't have big swings. Modern lathes are designed with an eye towards bowl turning so they have much bigger swings. If you have the money and the space and you like turning then buying a bigger lathe is probably going to be the way to go. If one of those is not true then you are probably looking at a mini lathe or a used lathe.

[AlanZ]

Generally a larger lathe can do anything a smaller one can do.

The same cannot be said in reverse.

The larger lathes have many more capabilities due to their increased size, power and feature set.

I turn on a Nova DVR XP and my wife uses a Delta 46-460... great tools for a small shop.

[jab73180]

you can always do a small project on a big machine, but you cant do a big project on a small machine.

[dhall]

Thanks for the replies.

[windsors]

Thanks for the replies.

Buy what you can afford but,remember you only want to buy it once.

[went_postal]

I don't have any experience yet with turning. But I have read a lot about it. I have seen people using relatively large lathes to turn pens which are pretty much the smallest things folks are going to turn. So the short answer to your question is no, there is nothing that can be turned on a mini lathe that can't also be turned on a larger lathe. That being said there may be one exception. I do not know if mini lathes come with an indexing head. If they don't then obviously anything you would use indexing for is going to be beyond the means of a mini lathe. Unless you plan to make a lot of wooden gears that is probably not going to be an issue.

There are 2 reasons folks buy the mini lathes. 1) is cost, they are obviously considerably cheaper and 2) size, folks that are short on space like having a machine they can stick under a bench.

Lathes are the only power tool I know of that have gotten better over the years. Older lathes didn't have electronic speed controls and can thus be more difficult to use then many modern lathes. Also older lathes were designed for spindle work. So they didn't have big swings. Modern lathes are designed with an eye towards bowl turning so they have much bigger swings. If you have the money and the space and you like turning then buying a bigger lathe is probably going to be the way to go. If one of those is not true then you are probably looking at a mini lathe or a used lathe.

My Jet 1220 (midi lathe) has an indexing head.

There is nothing wrong with starting on a mini lathe and then going up to the big hoss ones... Some people feel more comfortable learning on the smaller units... and if you ever do upgrade you can keep the smaller unit as a dedicated buffer or something similar.

My recommendation... Go to your local woodcraft or klingspore and take a turning class. see if you like it. If you do... then go for it. But I have seen a few of your other threads about getting started and it doesn't sound like you have much of a history with turning. I doubt you won't like it... but it's not everyone's cup of tea... better to find out before spending $300-$3000 dollars.

The size of the unit does not just count for what size product you can make... a larger unit will weigh more and typically will vibrate less while turning. This is important if you are doing very intricate spindle work like on christmas ornaments. If the lathe vibrates too much it's easy to either go out of round on the piece or break it all together. If you are going to do bowls and pens... the smaller ones are just fine... I would suggest you put it on a stand and sandbag the legs though for stability. =)

The one nice thing about turning... You typically buy your chisels once... So whatever chisels you buy for a small lathe.. they can be used on a bigger one (or vise versa) later. I probably have more money in my chisels at this point than I do the lathe.

[went_postal]

I should also add that getting into turning is not just the lathe...

Already mentioned the chisels... there is a plethora of gouges, chisels, scrapers, etc... And as I said... I have more money in that stuff than the lathe at this point.

Another thing to consider... sharpening. If you don't have good sharp gouges and chisels... you will NOT enjoy your turning experience. So you need a good slow speed grinder and I HIGHLY recommend a sharpening jig such as the Wolverine System (there are several variations on this setup).

Also... chucks.... depending on what you want to do with the lathe... there is a wide variety of chucks that can be used as well. MOST lathes come with one live center, one spur enter, and a standard screw on face plate. If you are just in it to goof off with firewood... all those things will work fine to start. If you want to do bowls... you have to get the fancier chucks.

[Lawrence Brown]

...

The size of the unit does not just count for what size product you can make... a larger unit will weigh more and typically will vibrate less while turning.

...

Another good point. I know we're probably overloading you with info now, but with my littler lathes, the first thing I did was get a large, flat board and bolt the lathe to it. Now I can clamp that to the bench so it doesn't vibrate all over the place.

Went_postal is also right about taking a class. Woodcraft has some good introductory classes, plus you can try out the lathes they sell right there. Definitely a good investment.