Still use a wood lathe?

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CKormann

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I am close to pulling the trigger on purchasing a metal lathe and i have a question for those like me who started with a wood lathe and made the switch to metal.

Once you purchased your metal lathe, did you still find a need for the wood lathe?

My space is very limited so I'm looking for ways to maximize the space I have, and not needing the wood lathe would help tremendously, but I don't want to get rid of it if there are legitimate reasons to keep it.

Thank you,
Chris
 
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Dalecamino

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Just my opinion. Keep your wood lathe, and turn your wood blanks on that one. Use your new metal lathe for acrylic/plastic/ebonite/metal or other NON-wood materials. Have fun!

Reason for my comments: You will need to keep your material lubricated while turning on the metal lathe.
 
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CKormann

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Thanks Chuck.

Does turning wood on a metal lathe have adverse effects on the lathe?

Chris


Just my opinion. Keep your wood lathe, and turn your wood blanks on that one. Use your new metal lathe for acrylic/plastic/ebonite/metal or other NON-wood materials. Have fun!

Reason for my comments: You will need to keep your material lubricated while turning on the metal lathe.
 

Dalecamino

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Thanks Chuck.

Does turning wood on a metal lathe have adverse effects on the lathe?

Chris


Just my opinion. Keep your wood lathe, and turn your wood blanks on that one. Use your new metal lathe for acrylic/plastic/ebonite/metal or other NON-wood materials. Have fun!

Reason for my comments: You will need to keep your material lubricated while turning on the metal lathe.
Just makes a mess to clean up. Your cutting tool is mounted in a stationery tool holder on the tool post. There is a tool rest available that can be mounted on the ways so you CAN turn with hand held tools. But why do that? I just don't want wood shavings on my metal lathe.
 

ldb2000

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Why do you want a metal lathe ? are you going to make stainless steel pens ? are you going to make threaded parts or taps and dies ? There are a number of things that a metal lathe will do but be sure of the reason why you want one . They are expensive and there is a learning curve to using them . A metal lathe will get you precision in your depth of cut but you will loose the "handcrafted" part of making pens . Now before you metal heads start beating me up , did your metal lathes make you a better pen turner or pen maker ? did it help you turn a more beautiful pen ? how do you like making a smooth curve or a clean cove ?
A wood lathe is the perfect machine for making pens , you create the beauty with your hands holding a tool . Other then hard metals a wood lathe can turn anything a metal lathe can turn . There are times a metal lathe is needed , like when I need to make a tap for some odd sized nib section but for turning the pen itself I can turn the body faster and easier on a wood lathe then on the metal lathe .
A metal lathe won't make you a better pen turner , imagination will make you a penmaker , hone your skills , work on your designs and get everything you can out of the tools you have .
OK guys flame suit on .... flame away !!!
 

Dalecamino

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Why do you want a metal lathe ? are you going to make stainless steel pens ? are you going to make threaded parts or taps and dies ? There are a number of things that a metal lathe will do but be sure of the reason why you want one . They are expensive and there is a learning curve to using them . A metal lathe will get you precision in your depth of cut but you will loose the "handcrafted" part of making pens . Now before you metal heads start beating me up , did your metal lathes make you a better pen turner or pen maker ? did it help you turn a more beautiful pen ? how do you like making a smooth curve or a clean cove ?
A wood lathe is the perfect machine for making pens , you create the beauty with your hands holding a tool . Other then hard metals a wood lathe can turn anything a metal lathe can turn . There are times a metal lathe is needed , like when I need to make a tap for some odd sized nib section but for turning the pen itself I can turn the body faster and easier on a wood lathe then on the metal lathe .
A metal lathe won't make you a better pen turner , imagination will make you a penmaker , hone your skills , work on your designs and get everything you can out of the tools you have .
OK guys flame suit on .... flame away !!!
No flames here buddy!:biggrin:
 

mecompco

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I started my pen making on my old Craftsman 12x36. Once I got the wood lathe, I just use it for drilling, squaring, CA application and assembly. With all that oil, it gets nasty fast and is almost impossible to get all the wood chips and dust out of. I would never turn wood on a nice metal lathe. Oh, and a wood lathe is much faster, even with a power feed. So, my advice is to find space for both lathes and use them for what they were designed for.

Regards,
Michael
 

PatrickR

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Yes, keep both until you are sure the metal lathe will do everything you want.
I use my metal lathe for wood all the time. Just set up a shop vac for collection but I only cut soft metals with carbide so don't need a lot of oil.
 

mecompco

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Yes, keep both until you are sure the metal lathe will do everything you want.
I use my metal lathe for wood all the time. Just set up a shop vac for collection but I only cut soft metals with carbide so don't need a lot of oil.

My only experience is with my ancient Craftsman--it has oil everywhere. Of course, it has Babbitt bearings, so it really likes the juice. Perhaps a newer machine would be easier to keep clean.
 

PatrickR

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Yes, keep both until you are sure the metal lathe will do everything you want.

I use my metal lathe for wood all the time. Just set up a shop vac for collection but I only cut soft metals with carbide so don't need a lot of oil.



My only experience is with my ancient Craftsman--it has oil everywhere. Of course, it has Babbitt bearings, so it really likes the juice. Perhaps a newer machine would be easier to keep clean.



Good point. The mini lathes actually don't have that many oil points. I worked in a machine shop in the seventies and everything in the building was covered in oil and cooling fluid. I still remember the smell!
 

skiprat

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Burn Chuck, burn Butch and burn the wood lathe !!!:biggrin:

Just kidding...all the reasons above for hanging onto your wood lathe as well as using it for a buffing station.
I think it's also nice to 'keep your hand in' with the skills of using hand chisels. It is also much faster to get a bit of a shape other than b2b on your wood lathe.:wink:

Btw, It's nice to see Chuck and Butch posting again......I thought I was posting less and less but you guys have been very scarce..
 
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Dalecamino

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Burn Chuck, burn Butch and burn the wood lathe !!!:biggrin:

Just kidding...all the reasons above for hanging onto your wood lathe as well as using it for a buffing station.
I think it's also nice to 'keep your hand in' with the skills of using hand chisels. It is also much faster to get a bit of a shape other than b2b on your wood lathe.:wink:

Btw, It's nice to see Chuck and Butch posting again......I thought I was posting less and less but you guys have been very scarce..

I've been waiting for a subject I had a chance to offer up a bit of help on. Then Butch showed up....:redface:....then YOU showed up :biggrin: Just havin' fun Steven.

To answer one of Butch's questions, there are all kinds and shapes of metal files to put coves and curves in a blank.:wink: My heros sent me some :biggrin:
 

ldb2000

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You said it Chuck , all you really need is an electric drill and some files to be a machinist , Skippy's the perfect proof of that :tongue: but if you really want to be a "Penmaker" keep your wood lathe and turn a REAL handcrafted pen . :biggrin:
 

More4dan

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All I've ever used for turning is a mini Metal Lathe. My first modification was to make a tool post to allow hand turning. For pens it works well. I do have to clean and oil it after turning wood when I want to turn metal, but that hasn't been an issue. The ability to adjust and align the head and tail stocks is certainly and advantage with the metal lathe. Drilling is also easier and more precise (IMHO) with a 3 jaw chuck and an larger diameter pass through in the headstock (MT3 >3/4" diameter). If you only turn small items and don't frequently go back and forth between metal and wood, the single lathe would certainly work. But how many times have you gotten rid of a tool and thought back and said that was a great decision?

Danny
 

Woodster Will

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I keep a wood turning Lathe for bowls etc but find a metal turning Lathe much better in most cases for pen turning. An ER32 collet chuck is a very handy addition as well.
 

BKelley

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I use my metal lathe for 75% of the pens I turn. The shavings and dust vacumn or blow off o.k. If I could have only one, I'd choose the metal lathe. If space and money are no problem, go for both.

Ben
 

Gregory Hardy

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Unless you are cutting brass or aluminum for kitless pens, a wood lathe will do an awful lot of business for you. It is also much faster to set up. I started with a Craftsman 109 from the 40s turning wood exclusively. I got a wood lathe when I could afford to do so...and have since purchased a South Bend 9x42 metal lathe as I gravitated toward kitless work. Short version: Don't part with either. (Bad pun. Rephrase: "Part with each of them.") I am back and forth between the two frequently, use each every day - or nearly so - and each is valuable to me. If you can possible find the space, make room for both very valuable tools.
 

ldb2000

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Brass and aluminum turn almost as easily as woods or plastics with a standard wood lathe . All my pens are turned with my Jet mini , brass and aluminum as well . I prefer the jet because the ease of set up allows me the flexibility to design on the fly and any changes are almost instantaneous . I drill on the lathe and turn between centers so the only set up is to change the chuck (4 jaw or er 32 collet ) or the dead center , takes only seconds to do .
 

stuckinohio

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I have been using a metal lathe daily for 6 months or so and I LOVE it. I have been making only kitless pens though. I appreciate it for threading with taps and dies. I have dialed in the tailstock and get very nice results. Drilling is also wonderful on it. I have a Jacobs spindle nose flexible collet chuck which is fantastic. I can't live without a metal lathe.

I have started doing kitless parts using stainless steel. the metal lathe is necessary for that as well.

With that said, I have three wood lathes, 2 of which I use almost daily. I like the speed afforded by the wood lathe at 3600 RPM for shaping of the nose cones, any final sanding I have to do as well as micro meshing and polishing. Then the buffing wheels which I cannot do without either!

You need both!
 

Alan Scrivner

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Sometimes making stuff on a metal lathe is just fun. Go for it. Learn to use a new tool. If you hate it, they hold their value, so you can sell it.

Stupid analogy, but what the heck. I love this Puerto Rican restaurant. For a couple of years, I only at their jerked chicken. Awesome. One day they had mofongo on special so I tried it with pulled pork. Even more awesome. Turns out I love both, but some days I feel more like chicken than pork.

Isn't that why they make both Mounds and Almond Joy. Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't.

Must be lunch time.
 

yaroslaw

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I bought a big good metal lathe, and in terms of pens, I use it only for kitless.
It is good to make some mandrels, custom parts, but all of my "kit" pens are made on an old crappy Chinese wood lathe:) Just because I could never have the same finish on a wood with a fixed tool in a tool holder as with my skew.

Also, my metal lathe is going only 750rpm, which is extremely low for a wood. Chinese mini-lathes are better in that regard, going up to 2000, may be? One more thing to consider.
 

Willee

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I find they complement each other.
I like to use the metal lathe to round square stock, drill holes, and make straight true barrel blanks.
Then they go on the wood lathe for shaping, sanding, finishing and polishing.
Here is a photo of my pen work station.
ws1.jpg
 
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I mostly use a metal lathe. I still like using the wood lathe for sanding and polishing because it's easier to clean and there are less concerns with getting grit in places on the metal lathe you don't want it. I guess I'm one of the odd ones. I don't like the turning part of the process, so a metal lathe suits me just fine.
 

More4dan

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I find they complement each other.
I like to use the metal lathe to round square stock, drill holes, and make straight true barrel blanks.
Then they go on the wood lathe for shaping, sanding, finishing and polishing.
Here is a photo of my pen work station.
View attachment 233363

Do you just collect tools and keep them pristine? Otherwise, they are just way too clean. Really nice set up!

Danny


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