TRYING TO TURN AGAIN

[Drcal]

I had been turning for about 20 years off and on...all small stuff, mostly pens. I have never loved a hobby more. I was addicted. Then I developed a very serious, life-altering back problem and quit--then bought a small lathe and built a sit-down set up for it but it never worked for me. It just was not comfortable...probably because I am only 5 foot tall.

I know the lathes that are on the market made for sitting down and they are a lot more than I want to spend.

I am now thinking that many I could JUST DO pens and NOTHING ELSE. I am wondering if there is a quality TINY lathe- maybe a metal lathe, even, that I can buy and make a stand that would almost put it in my lap for turning. I have checked out the Penn Sate pen lathe and it is not the solid quality that I want.

Any ideas?

Carmen

 

[leehljp]

Taig makes a micro lathe that is just the right for pens. I have an older one that I rarely use anymore, but the newer ones have lots more ability. Even the early ones were solid. I turned pens for about 1 1/2 years until I got a Rikon. You have to research and find the right fittings but turning pens on the Taig is easy.

Taig Tools - Desktop Milling Machines and Lathes.

 

[TonyW]

Hello Carmen,

I'm still having treatment on my back, following a fall that I had many years ago, so I know something of what you must be going through. I'm now on first name terms with the staff at my local hospital though, so I might even get a Christmas card from them this year!

On a more serious note, whatever lathe you get will probably be made of cast iron, and so like me, weight becomes an issue, unless you can leave it in one place permanently. Further, why limit yourself to just pens when there is a whole world of miniature turning to be explored ??? I recently bought a Proxxon lathe, a DB250 which like other Proxxon power tools is meant for miniature work, everything from dolls houses onwards. This is the lathe by the way - PROXXON TOOLS: Lathes - which as you can see is very light due to an extruded aluminium bed. Following their instructions, mine is screwed down to a piece of MDF for stability, but it adds little to the weight. The one disadvantage with it for pen turning is that the tool rest is also small, and so you would have to turn each half separately. This is a YouTube review by someone else who wants to turn pens on it though - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBtefIz7j7c

As I said earlier, please look into miniature turning, everything from Christmas tree ornaments to ornamental 'sculpture' work for want of a better name. This chap has a very small workshop, in what looks like a boiler cupboard. Forget the drill press and such like as he uses them for other projects, but he does all of his turning work on a DB250, even to making his own tools. (I cheated and bought a complete kit from Proxxon which came with chisels, chucks etc. as it was cheaper to do so from Germany than to buy just the lathe here in the UK, for some unknown reason!) He also made this though, for which he won second prize in an international turning competition organised over the internet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udCEeOfs7i8 It does show what such a small, light machine can do!

If you do a search on YouTube there are many more videos of miniature turning. I have just looked at my little library and found the following book titles though :-
"Small Woodturning Projects" by Bonnie Klein, which is exactly the same book as her "Classic Woodturning Projects", but one is published in the US and the other in the UK, with different covers as I found to my cost!
"Woodturning in Miniature" by Ian and Nina Wilkie. This has a very good introduction to miniature turning, but several of the projects are for dolls houses and such like.
"Small and Miniature Turning, a complete guide" by Ron Hampton, with a wide range of projects.
And finally "The Fine Art of Small-Scale woodturning" by William R Duce, which has many examples of exquisite decorative 'ornament' turnings and is probably the best book as you are an experienced turner.

Hopefully this will be of some benefit, but please let us all know what you decide please.

Tony.

 

[Curly]

I think the Aussie Vicmarc system is something you should look into. Not so much to buy but to make or get made a version of your own. It doesn't require a special lathe and is height adjustable to suit your needs. I think one made from plywood would work if metal is beyond your skills or means. http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=718

 

[bobleibo]

Hi Carmen
I have a friend who was in the same predicament as you a few years ago. His problem was not the lathe itself but more of getting it into a comfortable position for him. He had a Jet mini which was easy to work with. I had an old drafting table with a hydraulic foot lift that became our experimental prototype.
Long story short, we were able to adapt the table to his liking and he was able to turn small items that did not require a lot of body english. Seeing that this worked, we designed a more solid table with better hydraulics, some locking wheels and a top that he could pull up close in a sitting position and he was once again turning and it really did not cost a lot of money, less than $75 for everything. What he liked was not having to give up the ability of his regular lathe as long as he kept things within reason.
Good luck~
Bob

 

[KenV]

Carmen,

I am a sit down Turner. Stool for most all the turning.

Hard to find, but the Bonnie Klein lathe was made and marketed before the midi altercation over the market. It is based on the Taig head stock and tailstock. Less weight and can be used on a table easily.

If you can get it set up and not have to move it, the Jet 1014 or similar turn pens and bottle stoppers.

Swivel stool or drummer's throne will work pretty well. Use a simple sharpening station you can turn to. Worksharp is small and can use Tormek jigs.