Is this a good deal? sears spindle lathe

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railrider1920

railrider1920

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Nov 8, 2007
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Location
NW Fla Panhandle, USA.
Hi everyone,
A man I met at a turners club meeting and he is selling a sears spindle lathe.

Some info about it:
-It has about 3 feet between centers.
-#1 Mt on both head stock and the tail stock.
-Variable speed with pulleys, not electronic.
-Just the lathe, no legs (not a big deal to me).
-It has a single tube for the rail, about 3 inches in Diam. The tube
has a keeper on/in it to keep the tail stock, mounting block and tool
rest from swinging side to side.
-The head stock has new bearings in it.
-He said that he has turned pens and bowls on it.

It is an older lathe, but the age is not known. I don't have a picture or know the model number. The model before this one had twin tube rails that were about an inch in Diam. He is asking $125 for the lathe and accessories (face plates, tool rest and a couple others, I don't remember what they are).

I have met this man a few times. He is an experienced turner and very knowledgeable. One of the leaders in the turners guild where I met him. I asked him if he would hold it for me till next week if I was to give him some cash on sat (no "new tool money" in budget right now).
He said that he would be happy to work something out with me if I decided to buy it, even offered to make a deal on a handshake. That right there says alot to me about the man.

So with the limited amount of info I have here, does this lathe sound like a good deal for $125? Sound like a decent lath?

Thanks for any input
 
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Sounds just like the lathe that I have been using for several years. I got it used and it came bolted to a worktable. There are not as many accessories available for the #1 MT (3/4 x 16 thread), but there are adapters that will allow you to use accessories made for the 1 x 8 thread spindle.
 
I don't think this lathe is much of a step up from from what you have now. Might be best to hang on to your cash until you can afford a better machine.....especially if you are only interested in pens and other small projects.

If you want to get into bowls and such, it might be an inexpensive way to start off depending on the swing of the lathe and the size of the motor. Attachments can be fairly costly so a good selection coming with the lathe would be a plus. It is a bit difficult to evaluate the quality of the deal without knowing all of the details.

Another plus is that the attachments will probably fit the HF lathe since the headstock spindle threads are probably the same.
 
At one time sears sold a re-badged version of the Ridgid lathe and that is what I suspect he is selling:

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/WL1200-Wood-Lathe/EN/index.htm


BTW: One of the best turners in my woodworking club has a craftsman lathe that is similar to what you are describing and he turns out some phenomenal work. He's been turning on that lathe for many, many years and I doubt anyone could say that his machine is inferior.


Only you can be the judge of how well this lathe will fit your needs. If your only going to make pens, stoppers, boxes, and small bowls then I think you might be better off with a Jet mini (I suspect that you could find a used one for around that price)
 
Originally posted by Mudder




BTW: One of the best turners in my woodworking club has a craftsman lathe that is similar to what you are describing and he turns out some phenomenal work. He's been turning on that lathe for many, many years and I doubt anyone could say that his machine is inferior.
Click to expand...
Very good point Mudder. The first really high quality turner I saw used a Shopsmith and his hollowing tool was made from black pipe, and black pipe fittings.
 
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