I am ready to purchase a wood lathe and would like to ask of all the lathes out there which ones would you stay away from? Looking mostly at a jet , but also needing additional options. thanks

I have a Jet 1014i with extension bed, pulley speed change, don't mind that but wish I had gotten bigger with the variable speed. Thinking about selling mine and getting bigger.
I would get JWL 1220 /VS, with bed extension, if funds permit.

If you do a search here on LATHES you will have plenty of information for several days of reading. This has been talked about in much detail. I own a JET 1220VS with the bed extension and love it. It also depends what you plan on doing with the lathe. Are you going to turn wood handles or shape cork and EVA?

SK Custom Rods
American Tackle Pro Staff

Fish now, cause you'll be dead for a long time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/27/2009 03:24PM by Scott Kleppe.

The grizzly lathes are good machines and very affordable. They also make any kind of chuck you could want for it. Mine is MT#1 i think. Very good customer service also.

Regards,
-Justin

Just checked out grizzly. They seem very good for the price. Has anyone used the G8690? It should be sufficent for turning wood handles for rods.

Brad do a search, and read. The thing that you have to remember is that 20" between centers is not what you can work with, that is cut down by the chuck and tail stock and any live centers you use.
Like I said earlier the length is more important than any thing else, the grizzly is a good machine, but no bed extension.
You will find that after a while you'll be talking to yourself saying, I should have gotten the bigger one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Brad. I have just gone through a similar research project. A couple of machinist buddies have told me to a) buy more lathe than I think I need in terms of swings, center to center length and HP, b) get variable speed, c) buy a metal turning lathe that accepts a wood turning tool rest and d) buy one that will last. I am strongly considering the Sherline 4400 (Made in USA) with a starter kit of accessories. Good luck.

For the distance between centers, about 16 to 18 inches is the minimum you should be looking at for being able to do a wide variety of rod building chores. The chuck and tailstock center will eat up about 4 inches. If the distance given is pure bed length, then the tailstock support will eat up another 4 inches.

You can buy bed extensions for many lathes these days, but it you'll buy a lathe with an 18 to 20 inch bed, an extension isn't really needed. At least not for turning grips and most handles.

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