Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Jet Mini Lathe Video Review - 1014i/1014vsi

Jet Mini Lathe Video Review - 1014i/1014vsi
A great video review of the 1014i and 1014vsi from Jet tools. These are very nice mini wood lathes, and this video explains many of their features in depth. I definitely recommend checking it out.

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Monday, March 29, 2010

Wood Lathe Chucks

Wood Lathe Chucks
A list of some great wood lathe chucks, with reviews, specs and pricing information. A Wood lathe chuck is a device designed to grip a piece of wood in order for it to be turned on a lathe. There are many different designs and types of chucks, suitable for different pieces. Three and four jaw chucks are the most commonly used in wood turning. This is a great place to start looking for a good lathe chuck.

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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Buying a Wood Lathe

This blog has a lot of good information about wood lathe shopping, and how to find a good deal online. There's a lot of different places to buy a lathe, and some of them have much better prices and service than others, so it's best to do your research before you make a purchase.

A good lathe will have all the features you're looking for, the right size etc, as well as quality workmanship and materials, and you shouldn't settle for anything less. There are a lot of good tips on the page linked above, and you should definitely consider checking it out.

Lots of people just buy the first, tool they come across and end up regretting it later, but if you do your research properly you can avoid that. Wood turning can be a very satisfying hobby, especially if you have the right tools for the job

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

About Wood Lathes

Wood lathes have been around in one form or anther for thousands of years. Which is really an astonishing fact if you think about it. It is really one of the first examples of what we might call a machine tool, and the same basic ideas are still present in modern day lathes.

So what is the idea, and why is it so powerful? Well the idea is in a word: symmetry. It's very useful for many reason to have objects that have a circular symmetry. Think of the wheel and what an important discovery that was and you'll have some idea of the power of a circle. On top of being useful, circularly symmetric objects have a certain beauty and elegance which cannot be denied.

Throughout history we see evidence of round pillars etc. in architecture and art, and the lathe was one of the first instruments to allow for easily reproducible circular objects. Can you imagine the difficulty in trying to carve something into a perfect cylinder manually, it would require constant measuring an readjustment, however a wood lathe, will do this simply by the nature of how a piece is carved.

As long as your spindle is well centered at both ends, you can't help but produce a piece that is perfectly round. This is the power of the wood lathe. It allows for automatic rounding. The definition of a circle is a shape where every point is exactly the same distance from the center, and this is exactly what a lathe does. By keeping your lathe cutting tool a fixed distance from the center of your turning spindle, you carve the piece of wood such that every point on it's surface is an equal distance from the center.

A lathe by nature is not a complicated tool, although some modern lathes certainly appear to be, with computer controls and variable speeds. At it's simplest, and in it's earliest forms a lathe was little more than one person turning a piece of wood, maybe using some string, and another person carving it with a sharp tool. This simple design manages to get the job done however, and subsequent designs may have improved the speed and reliability of the turning process but have kept the same fundamental idea.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Lathe Cutting Tools | PSI Chisel Set

Lathe Cutting Tools | PSI Chisel Set
A review of the LCHSS8 lathe cutting tools from PSI. This is a good set of wood lathe tools, comes with 8 chisels in the box and overall is of good quality. The set includes a parting tool, spear scraper, two skew chisels, round nose scraper, bowl gouge, spindle gouge and roughing gouge. It's available on Amazon with free shipping, and is comparable to other quality sets at a much better price.

Posted via web from Wood Lathe Updates

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Jet Lathes on Sale | 1014I-1014VSI

Jet Lathes on Sale | 1014I-1014VSI
Jet lathes are currently on sale, check out this post to save 20%-30% on the some of the most popular models of mini wood lathes available. Two of the bestselling models are at reduced prices as long as stock lasts.

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Wood Lathe for Sale

Wood Lathes for Sale
This list of wood lathes available online has been updated. This is a great place to start your search for a wood lathe, and I highly recommend taking a look. You can save a lot of money by shopping online for a wood lathe vs. buying one from a store.

If you buy your wood lathe from amazon you can even get free shipping included, which will save you even more money. Finding the best deal isn't always easy, but it's best done online where you can easily compare different tools and retailers with the click of a mouse, instead of having to drive your car all over town searching for a good price.

Take a look at these listings of wood lathes for sale and you'll be on your way.

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