Hello from Pittsburgh PA

[Fast_Lambert]

Hi all,

I'm Mark and I am completely new to woodturning. I don't even have my first lathe yet. That is what led me to this site, researching the "best" starter lathe. I've seen a lot of good information so far and I'm looking forward to soaking up as much of your knowledge as I can.

 

[log2lumber]

There are a bunch. A Jet 1221, the small Vicmarc, Nova Comet.

 

[Jim15]

Welcome Mark.

 

[rholiday]

Welcome from South Carolina.

 

[randyrls]

Mark; Check out local turning clubs. AAW has clubs all over. These clubs are your best source of turning info.

Make a list of say 3 or 4 lathes that fill your needs. Don't ignore Craigslist or Ebay. But if you go these routes, have an experienced woodturner accompany you to check out any lathe you look at. Clubs will know of any lathes for sale in your area. Turners sometimes sell their lathe for a better/larger lathe and want to sell their old lathe.

 

[tomtedesco]

Welcome from Colorado.

 

[leehljp]

Welcome!

1. What ever you look for - make sure you get one with an MT2 taper. Lathes come with different tapers but the MT2 offered the best choice for options. If you don't know what that is, don't worry, just ask or look for MT2 and make sure of that.

2. It is difficult to put a lot of money into something you are not sure about but many people spend $300 - $400 on a pen lathe and then find out they don't like changing belts 2 or 3 times per pen. At this point, They wish they had purchased a higher priced lathe with electronically variable speed.

IF you have the money, an extra hundred dollars or so makes for a better experience down the road.

Something to think about.

 

[chartle]

Welcome from the North Boroughs .

I have the discontinued mini lathe from Harbor and for my needs it works just fine.

One thing I doubt I could live without is variable speed.

 

[randyrls]

Mark; I will add to my earlier post. Seek out the local turning club. Members are often willing to let you try out their equipment. Hands on experience is the best way to decide what is important to you and learn proper technique and process.

 

[Fast_Lambert]

Thanks all for the welcome! I ended up going with the 12" Nova Comet II with variable speed. Your comments were very helpful.

I also found a club in the area on the AAW site called Turners Anonomous.

Cliff - Hello neighbor. I'm also in the north. Hampton to be exact.

 

[Ligget]

Welcome to the IAP Mark, from Scotland!

 

[chartle]

Thanks all for the welcome! I ended up going with the 12" Nova Comet II with variable speed. Your comments were very helpful.

I also found a club in the area on the AAW site called Turners Anonomous.

Cliff - Hello neighbor. I'm also in the north. Hampton to be exact.

How do/did you like Turners Anonymous? I went at least once and my first problem is its a pain finding parking in the Strip District.

The one I went to had a demonstrator making a wood cowboy hat. I thought I was a little early but was really 30 min late so everything had already started, the room was super crowded and I just hung out by the door. It was like I was crashing the party.

 

[Fast_Lambert]

Thanks all for the welcome! I ended up going with the 12" Nova Comet II with variable speed. Your comments were very helpful.

I also found a club in the area on the AAW site called Turners Anonomous.

Cliff - Hello neighbor. I'm also in the north. Hampton to be exact.

How do/did you like Turners Anonymous? I went at least once and my first problem is its a pain finding parking in the Strip District.

The one I went to had a demonstrator making a wood cowboy hat. I thought I was a little early but was really 30 min late so everything had already started, the room was super crowded and I just hung out by the door. It was like I was crashing the party.

I just came across the group online a few days ago and havent been to a meeting yet. I think there is one on the 20th that i may try to get to.

The parking down there is terrible, especially on Saturdays.

 

[chartle]

I just came across the group online a few days ago and havent been to a meeting yet. I think there is one on the 20th that i may try to get to.

The parking down there is terrible, especially on Saturdays.

Oh thought this was from another poster, but get there very early. It takes me only 10 - 15 min to get there but it took me 20 minutes to figure out where to park.

Its at the north end of the long building that I think is called the Flower or Produce building and I had to park all the way at the other end.

One other tip I have heard from people here is they may sort of look down on pen turners.

 

[crunch]

Welcome Mark. As stated above, MT2 is the way to go. I just bought a "Starter package" (even though I'm not a beginner) lathe kit. Good to go right out of the box basically. There was enough included to make 10 pen/pencils.
Weight and HP is something to look for. Mine is 1 HP and quiet. VS is a great thing but not required.It is a fairly heavy machine for an 18". ~ 120 lbs.
I hope this site opens up your enthusiasm.

 

[mtnview wood designs]

Welcome Mark!