Hello fella's........

I know........even though I have stated on this board, (in the past week I might add), that I didn't have room for a mini lathe, I have decided to purchase one.
I'm going to give up my Grizzly and go big time......mini lathe style.

After bidding on 2 Jet mini lathes on @#$%& this weekend, (and dropping out once the price got too high), I did my research here on the Rikon lathe.

I have pretty much decided to get the 70-100. Looks like more features for less money vs the Jet....(if I am mistaken here, please someone set me straight.)

Since I only build bass rods, I will use it mainly for cork.
However, and this is going to be a little off topic, I have an interest in learning to turn and build "pens".
I am clueless on how to start. So, if any of you are building pens, I would appreciate any reading info you might suggest, (pen wise and basic turning wise) and also a recomended tool list.
Please list brand names, ( I dont like buying junk).

I have been looking for a dealer that handles Rikon, and have run across (and I think I saw it mentioned here) Woodcraft on the net. The price is good, and the shipping is excellent, (unless I missed something). However, they are out of stock until Dec 1.
Recomendations on other dealers, (and possible sponsors) would be appreciated. I am in no real hurry though.

Also, I plan to outfit the lathe with a Nova Midi chuck. I could also use recomendations on a quality Jacobs chuck, (should I go key or keyless)?
and a recomendation on a live center.

Sorry for the length of this, but I value the info here very highly.

thank you, and may all of you have a very happy Thanksgiving.
pb

As for live centers, Woodcraft also has some good ones, IMO. My first live center came from either Grizzley or PSI and while it worked, it had a very large O.D. which I did't like. The Nova Precision Midi chuck is an excellent choice - just remember you have to take off the "jaws' to fit it onto various mandrel diameters. You're on the right track, I suspect.

Stan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2006 09:36PM by Stan Gregory.

Hey Pete,

Welcome to this side addiction of rod building.

Penn State Industries and Woodcraft both have pen making kits and the tools you will need to turn wood. As long as you are turning pens, you can make some reel seat inserts as well. They should have everything you need to get started.

I second the good move on the nova chuck. I used the cheapy 3-jaw self centering and wished I would have gone with a better one to start.

Good luck and have a great time making wood dust!

Use that mask.

Terry

If you have a Woodcraft store near you I would recommend going there. In September I bought my first lath, a Jet. The one I got was a demo, used for pen classes and got a great deal on it. I was also going to buy the Rikon but could not pass up this deal.

DR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2006 06:27PM by Duane Richards (DR).

Pete check your e-mail didn't want to tie up the board with Pen making info
John

I have only limited (1.5 years) experience so take this for what its worth. I went to a Woodcraft to buy a Rikon, and was shown one they use for classes. Was told by another customer that it was awful, noisey, etc and required more maintenance than say a Delta or Jet.

I also visited a Rockler store and saw a model that they make, that looks just like a Jet. [www.rockler.com]

The Rikon is nearly the same lathe as the Delta or Jet, sharing many of the same pieces. But, it has a little more swing and a little more bed length. Also an indexing head.

Sammy Mickel purchased one a few months back. I have not noticed his being noisy or requiring any additional maintainence, but that is the only one I have any experience with.

..................

Pete, for the money buy the jet! I have had mine for 4 years and not one complaint. The options are great, they make a stand, an extension bed. the morse taper II is nice to be able to interchange tools from my mini 7x12 and the parts are so easy to get. They are everywhere! Most of the jets are handled locally if you live within a larger city. In my opinion I would stay away from something I could not see, feel or check out personally, I am a hands on person. I like to see what I am getting. Not wait for the mail and get a suprise! Check out Penn state, they have good deals all the time. I only have the 6 speed, but only do wood and cork on mine, and it is a great machine. If they were not, there would not be so many out there being used every day. Just my take on the subject. Galen Briese.

Woodturning/woodworking is my main hobby. I started on a Delta Midi lathe and now use a Oneway 2436. I've turned on the Rikkon your looking at as well as most of the other Mini/'Midi lathes out there (Nova Mercury, Jet, Grizzly, Vicmark, Oneway) and unless you're considering the Vicmark or Oneway I would choose the Jet Mini, either the pully or variable speed model. Our turning club has 8 Jet Mini's and they are all great lathes, heavy, stable, very well aligned. Jet really produced a winner with this lathe. As for a chuck, the Nova is good as is the Oneway Talon (which is the chuck our club uses on all of our lathes) either will do great for bowl turning. For holding Andy's mandrels for turning cork I would go with a 3-jaw chuck as they are designed to hold round stock (4-jaw chucks are not as accurate), the small 3-jaw chucks from PSI or Grizzly will work well. I recently purchases a Grizzly 3-jaw chuck and had an adapter machined for it so I could use it on my Oneway - it works much better than the 4-jaw chucks I use for woodturning. As for tools, a decent roughing gouge (or real sharp skew if you're comfortable with it) is usefull for preparing cork prior to sanding to shape.

Pens are a different animal. You'll need a mandrel assembly and they generally work best with pen kits designed for them. I use a setup from Woodcraft that works well for me (PSI and others have their own which work great too). As for tools, I'm NOT a fan of micro or midi turning tools, I prefer to use my normal size tools for turning pens. The tools I use the most (for pens) are a roughing gouge (1 1/4" Sorby), Skews (Allan Lacer 1 3/8", 5/8"), and Bedan (Sorby) sometimes a Diamond Paring tool (Sorby). I rarely use a spindle gouge on pens. If use turning tools you'll need to keep them sharp so budget for a sharpening system. A popular route among members of our turning club is the low-speed grinder from Woodcraft and the Oneway Wolverine sharpening system - I have that just so I can use my friends set up when I turn at their shop. I prefer to use a Tormek for sharpening and leave the dry grinder for shaping new profiles. The Woodcraft grinder/Wolverine setup is the least expensive good setup I've seen but it will still cost roughly the same as the Rikon lathe.