greggas
Member
Hello all;
I am having trouble making up my mind on a lathe purchase so I thought I'd hit you all up for your opinion.
My Jet 1236 that I use for pens and other small projects is on the disabled list for a while and my Powermatic is too big for these. Unfortunately this is my busy season and I need a lathe for pens, stoppers and ornaments so I have decided to buy a mini lathe ( since you can never have too many lathes ).
I have looked at several with variable speed in the $ 400-450 range. The Woodcraft near my house is having a one day sale this weekend where a Rikkon mini can be had for $250 ( about $90 under usual price). The catch is that the Rikkon has no variable speed, only a conveniently located door to access the belt and pulleys.
I have never used a lathe without variable speed. Do many of you use manual belt / pulley changing? Will I regret saving 200 now only to rue the day? I guess what I am trying to say is will I drive myself nuts with always having to stop and change speeds or do we really not do it that much with pens?
thanks for the therapy session in advance
I am having trouble making up my mind on a lathe purchase so I thought I'd hit you all up for your opinion.
My Jet 1236 that I use for pens and other small projects is on the disabled list for a while and my Powermatic is too big for these. Unfortunately this is my busy season and I need a lathe for pens, stoppers and ornaments so I have decided to buy a mini lathe ( since you can never have too many lathes ).
I have looked at several with variable speed in the $ 400-450 range. The Woodcraft near my house is having a one day sale this weekend where a Rikkon mini can be had for $250 ( about $90 under usual price). The catch is that the Rikkon has no variable speed, only a conveniently located door to access the belt and pulleys.
I have never used a lathe without variable speed. Do many of you use manual belt / pulley changing? Will I regret saving 200 now only to rue the day? I guess what I am trying to say is will I drive myself nuts with always having to stop and change speeds or do we really not do it that much with pens?
thanks for the therapy session in advance