Need Lathe Purchasing Advice

[William Young]

I have been looking at different price ranges of mini lathes and it makes me wonder if a person can spend a lot of extra money by buying a brand name like Delta or Jet.
As I beleive that this is an American based site, there may be many that are not familiar with the Mastercraft line of Tools from Canadain Tire stores across Canada. They come with a three year warranty and in the past I have found many of them came out of the same factory than their brand name counterparts except for color and name. A case in point here was the full size lathe that I previously owned was absoloutly identical (although some dont like to admit it) to it's Jet counterpart and out of the same factory but at a much lower price and better warranty.
Here is a link to a picture (which can be enlarged by clicking on it) and specifications.
I am wondering if this lathe would be suitable for a beginner pen maker.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/assortme...CT<>prd_id=845524442989223&assortment=primary
W.Y.

 

[Daniel]

William,
My lathe is much larger than this. But I have seen smaller ones marketed as penturning lathes. After two years of turning one of my must have features for my next one is the variable speed. So that is a promising feature. But kep in mind. Low priced lathes have low priced electronics that are prone to burning out. I burned up a FET in my metal lathe in the first week i had it. Had the support to get it replaced myslef with a quality one and have had no further problems.
It has a #1 MT head stock so you can get the mandrel in it.
the only thing that came to mind that would be additional equipment is a #1 MT live center. I recomend one for metal work. otherwise it looks like a good sufficiant lathe.
Cast iron. 43 lbs is good and hefty so it doesn't walk away on you while turning. the only other question is the 12" capacity. I would wonder if this causes any problems in putting blanks on and off the mandrel. I can slide my tail stock 3 feet away if I want. need to see what others that actually use a lathe of this size have to say about that.

 

[pecartus]

William,

My first question is what you are going to be doing with the lathe, if its only going to be used for pens and small turning you might want to look at the following link.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00921708000

This is for a Sears Craftsman 8" lathe made for turning pens and minatures, fairly reasonable and if my memory serves me well, the lathes made for Sears Craftsman are by Sherline from Australia. Don't hold me to that, but I know in the past that Sherline made the Lathes for Sears. The Mastercraft looks solid, but like Daniel I am wondering about electronics of the machine and the ability to handle the small blanks required for pens. Other than those couple of questions, it looks like a very solid product and the warranty is good one. But lets face it, all the lathes made by Delta and Jet and a few others are made in China and sometimes I really wonder about QC on products made there from the manufacturers who ordered them.

 

[melogic]

William,
I have a 12" Craftsman Lathe (Full Size). I recently purchased a Pencrafters Plus Lathe from Penn State Industries. I really like this one for the price. It is variable speed also. This is a big help for turning pens.

http://tinyurl.com/28hco

 

[William Young]

Melogic;
Wow ! 1 just checked that Turncrafter Plus lathe that you have and apart from it having a 1/4 HP motor and the Mastecraft having a 1/2 HP motor, I would bet that they are out of the same factory. They look identical.
Too bad the picture and specs didn't come up in the link I provided. Type in my postal code when that page comes up and you will be able to check it out. It is V0B 2N0.
That Turnercraft lathe is $139.95 US which at todays exchange rate comes to $184.33 Canadian plus shipping so it would appear as if I am better off to consider the Mastercraft one at $149.00 Canadian .
W.Y.

 

[Evan]

Hi William,

My brother bought this lathe last year when it was on sale for $100 - he figured why not. First thing that happened was that the fuse blew and the Mastercraft support was apparently very slow to get things done. Finally got a replacement fuse with a better Amp rating, and it has been fine since I think.

Bowls, plates, and pens have been turned using the lathe. He doesn't like how "unsturdy" it feels (not sure what that means)... the tailstock is a bit wobbly. But other than that, the torque is better than the motor I have, and it's variable speed. If you have any questions, I can ask him for you.

 

[William Young]

Thanks Evan;
I'm glad to hear about someone that is actually using that one. Could you please ask him if the head and tailstock centres line up every time by just sliding them up to where they almost touch each other or does it take some fiddling to get them into alignment .
I have been told that the alignment of those parts is critcal for making pens. I am not sure why that is because I have had full size lathes over the years that were out of alignment slightly but it made no difference when the wood was spinning and it made a perfect round out of a square in spite of it.

Perhaps someone here can describe why the alignment of those part when no wood is attached to them needs to be so critical.
W.Y.

 

[Evan]

Hi William,

I notice that you are looking at another lathe (in the other thread).
I think it is a good idea, considering that the tailstock does not line up easily (when it slides it does not stay aligned... hence why he mentions it is wobbly).

So, if you had a bent mandrel, then the alignment to the end of the mandrel isn't really a true alignment.

Anyhow, I got my Taig lathe for $300 CAD (without the motor). Belts though.

 

[William Young]

Thanks Evan;
I had a full size lathe of the same make at one time which had that very same problem. It didn't seem to affect doing larger stuff like lamps etc but I am learning that the alignment of the head and tail stock is more critical for small things like pens.
So I have given up on considering that one.
W.Y.