My First Pen Lathe - Looking at Turncrafter 10" Commander

[encoreguy260]

All,

I have used a lathe and turned pens, but it's been about ten years. Been looking for a new lathe and want to get opinions on Turncrafter 10" Commander

Seems like a great price and a 3/4 hp motor instead of 1/2 hp motor. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. https://www.pennstateind.com/store/KWL-1018VS.html

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[carlmorrell]

My first lathe was a 1/5 hp Ryobi. I made 1000 wood pens with it 20 years ago. When I restarted this hobby, I got the 12" turncrafter. Probably 1000 pens on it so far. Really has been a good machine. I had to replace the switch. Pennstate sent me one, and I bought a spare.

There have been complaints about the head and tail not lining up. I find it surprising that people think a machine like this would not need some initial setup, which is very easy. YMMV

 

[encoreguy260]

Thanks. I have read one about the tail stock but that one was not the norm. All the rest that it was a great idea.

Thanks again for the fast response.

 

[monophoto]

Like Carl, I have the 12" Turncrafter. It's a bit more expensive than the 10", but for me the key factor was the additional horsepower. If you turn things that require drilling (especially in end grain), horsepower really matters!

One of the undocumented features of the PSI lathes is that it is possible to fine tune the speed control to provide a slightly different speed range - which may or may not be something that is of interest to you.

I've had mine for about 6-7 years now, and I've been quite pleased with it. I found that it was easy to align the tailstock and headstock statically, but there is a little 'wobble' in the tailstock that sets up the potential for the alignment to change dynamically. There is a protrusion machined on the bottom of the tailstock that fits between the bedways to lock in the alignment. On my lathe (and others that I have heard about), that protrusion is very slightly narrow, thereby allowing the tailstock to swivel a fraction of a degree when it is not locked down. Very small, but still enough to change the alignment of the tailstock to the headstock by a millimeter or so when the ram is fully extended. This is mainly a problem when drilling, and if you carefully apply good discipline (align the drill bit to a center dimple in the turning before locking down the tailstock), its a problem you can live with.

In the years that I've had mine, the only 'repair' I've had to do is replace the belt once. PSI sells replacement belts in sets of two, so I'm set up for the next time whenever it happens. And there are aftermarket belt suppliers that you can always go to. I've added a reversing switch -a very minor modification that can be done without actually doing something that voids the warranty.

 

[encoreguy260]

Thanks for the details. I greatly appreciate it.


Jeff

 

[mnerland]

Jeff,
I have been using the 10" Commander for about a year and half. I had no reason to get the 12" as I don't do that large of turnings. Definitely get the variable speed, in my opinion. I started my lathe work on a 1946 Delta Lathe and belt changing is not fun. I also have a Shopsmith, so I know the advantage of having the variable speed function. Clearly, set up is the main thing, but honestly it was pretty good "out of the box". No major issues that I can report at this time.

 

[encoreguy260]

Thanks for the information.

Jeff

 

[TonyL]

I had someone want to give me one...…..they tailstock was flippin; and flopp;(it was his second or third from PSI). However, I was thinking that maybe a Rick Herrell's TS foot plate would cure this. As always, I have seen many use it and make beautiful pens. We have also had turners that have had issues with 2 to 5k lathes. The price and the functionality are tough to beat! Enjoy

 

[monophoto]

The headstock of a Turncrafter lathe is attached to the bedways by means of four screws. Alignment can be checked by advancing the tailstock with a cone live center until its tip touches the point of a driver center in the headstock. My experience was that the headstock and tailstock alignment was bang-on in the vertical direction out of the box. However, since I had to install the headstock, it was necessary for me to check and tweak the alignment in the horizontal plane.

William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) once said "I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it: but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of a science, whatever the matter may be."

So let's put some numbers on the matter of the loose tailstock. As shown below, the tailstock has a protrusion machined on its bottom that fits between the two bedways of the lathe and that aligns the tailstock to the bedways.

The problem is this the fit between the tailstock and bedways is very slightly loose, and as a result, the tailstock can 'swivel' a fraction of a degree when it is not locked down, thereby distorting slightly the alignment in the horizontal plane.

The measurements I made on my 12" Turncrafter are that the protrusion on the bottom of the tailstock is 31.8mm wide, while the spacing between the bedways is about 32.8mm wide. I remembered enough high school trig to calculate that could allow the tailstock to swivel as much as +/- 0.3 degrees (total rotation of 0.6 degrees). That's not a lot, but the issue is how much lateral deviation can this cause between the headstock axis, and the axis of the tailstock, and that deviation increases as the tailstock ram is extended, and even more when a drill bit is installed in a jacobs chuck in the tailstock.

 

[encoreguy260]

I had someone want to give me one...…..they tailstock was flippin; and flopp;(it was his second or third from PSI). However, I was thinking that maybe a Rick Herrell's TS foot plate would cure this. As always, I have seen many use it and make beautiful pens. We have also had turners that have had issues with 2 to 5k lathes. The price and the functionality are tough to beat! Enjoy

Thanks Tony.

 

[encoreguy260]

The headstock of a Turncrafter lathe is attached to the bedways by means of four screws. Alignment can be checked by advancing the tailstock with a cone live center until its tip touches the point of a driver center in the headstock. My experience was that the headstock and tailstock alignment was bang-on in the vertical direction out of the box. However, since I had to install the headstock, it was necessary for me to check and tweak the alignment in the horizontal plane.

William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) once said "I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it: but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of a science, whatever the matter may be."

So let's put some numbers on the matter of the loose tailstock. As shown below, the tailstock has a protrusion machined on its bottom that fits between the two bedways of the lathe and that aligns the tailstock to the bedways.
View attachment 239932
The problem is this the fit between the tailstock and bedways is very slightly loose, and as a result, the tailstock can 'swivel' a fraction of a degree when it is not locked down, thereby distorting slightly the alignment in the horizontal plane.

The measurements I made on my 12" Turncrafter are that the protrusion on the bottom of the tailstock is 31.8mm wide, while the spacing between the bedways is about 32.8mm wide. I remembered enough high school trig to calculate that could allow the tailstock to swivel as much as +/- 0.3 degrees (total rotation of 0.6 degrees). That's not a lot, but the issue is how much lateral deviation can this cause between the headstock axis, and the axis of the tailstock, and that deviation increases as the tailstock ram is extended, and even more when a drill bit is installed in a jacobs chuck in the tailstock.

Thanks momophoto

 

[Jonkou]

Consider the Jets to be superior machines over the Commander. Biggest difference is the Jet tailstocks fit much tighter in the ways, Louie describes above. Overall the fit and finish of the Jets are superior for supporting precision work, and hassle free parts and customer service are readily available if needed. Horsepower difference between them is insignificant when turning pens. Most turners will tell you the quality of the Jets are best in class. Chevy vs Cadillac, they'll both get the job done. The blue Jet has been my mini for about 20 yrs, bought the white Jet VS recently just for pens to replace the Commander for the described reasons.