Startup Equipment

This is the original list of equipment I started with:

	Delta Industrial 46-460 12-1/2-Inch Variable-Speed Midi Lathe I chose this lathe after considerable research. I wanted a lathe small enough to move around but large enough to do reasonable sized projects; this turned out to be what is generally called a "midi" lathe.. After looking at the specs and reviews for 3 different midi lathes (Jet, Rikon, and this one) I picked the Delta because it seemed to be the most modern in design and had consistently excellent reviews (one of which is mine at Amazon.com.) This lathe comes in two models: Variable Speed and Fixed Speed. In fact both models are the same and have 3 differently sized drive pulleys, but the Variable Speed model has an additional electronic control that lets you change speeds while running with just the twist of a knob. This seemed like an excellent feature to have so I got the Variable Speed model. Now that I have used the lathe for a while I can't imagine getting any lathe without this variable speed feature.
	Delta Industrial 46-462 Midi-Lathe Stand This was a pretty easy choice because the lathe needed a stand and this one is matched to the lathe.
	Delta Industrial 46-461 Reversible Nova G3-D Woodturning Chuck When turning a piece on a lathe you need a way to hold it. This chuck can grip a piece from either the inside or the outside.
	PSI Woodworking LCENTSS22 No. 2 MT with 1-Inch Crown Super Wood Lathe Drive Center Although the lathe comes with a drive center I thought this was a better one; the center point is spring loaded and the drive points are small. This will result in much smaller indentations beinig placed in the workpiece.
	HSS WOOD LATHE CHISEL SET, 8-PIECE SET BY SAVANNAH TURNING TOOLS You can't turn anything unless you have a set of turning tools. This set seemed like a good compromise between quality and variety. As it turned out the tools were inappropriate for my choice of working material and I have switched to carbide tipped tools instead.
	DELTA GR275 6-Inch Variable Speed Grinder with Tool-Less Change Turning tools get dull with use so I got this grinder to sharpen them. However, carbide tipped tools do not need sharpening. So now I have this nice grinder.......
	MSA Safety Works 817893 Adjustable Faceshield Eye protection is needed when working with any powertool. Since a lathe will throw pieces around I thought a full face shield would be a good idea.
	7'' Double Ended Sorby Calipers Calipers are used to measure the thickness of workpieces as are you are finishing them. This image shows 3 different caliper types, but I only got the one on the right.
	MICRO MESH SANDING SHEETS These sanding sheets are very fine - much finer than regular sandpaper, and they include a nice foam rubber block for holding them. I thought they would allow me to put a very smooth finish on myh pieces, but it turns out regular sandpaper (below) works perfectly well.
	3M 9005NA 9-Inch by 11-Inch Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, Assorted This is pretty standard 3M sandpaper you can get at any hardware store. I should have done that because the cost of shipping exceeded the cost of the paper itself.
	Scotch Exterior Mounting Tape with 1" Core, 1"x60", Clear MMM4011 I bought this double-sided tape with the idea that I might mount a workpiece on the flat faceplate that comes with the lathe using just tape. Doing this would mean no need to make a recess in the piece for the chuck, or no screw holes to hold it on the faceplate with screws. I haven't tried using this tape yet.
	Bioshield Cutting Board & Salad Bowl Finish Since I figured my turned pieces could be used to hold food I wanted to get a finish that was non-toxic. This stuff seemed like a good choice and so far it has worked well.

I ordered everything shown above from Amazon.com and my total cost was just under $1200 (as of June 2011.) In addition to the above items I needed to put casters on the lathe stand so I could move it around easily. Since I did not know what kind of feet the stand had I had to wait for it to arrive. It turns out the stand comes with solid rubber/metal feet that attach to the legs with a single screw thread and jam nut. So I took one of the feet to my local Lowes store hoping to find a caster with the same type of mounting and thread type.

Luckily I did find casters that fit the threaded holes in the feet and I bought 4 of them. This is the caster I found:

caster

It is called a Waxman 3" Rubber Swivel Caster and I got 4 of them for a bit more than $20. The casters were a perfect replacement for the fixed feet that came with the stand and I have been using them since the lathe became operational.

Here is a picture of my lathe during its very first use:

latheondeck

Yes, I do my wood turning outside. Notice the casters which have a locking feature that keeps the lathe sufficiently steady. My deck is only one step high so it is not difficult to get the lathe up and down.

Since this photo was taken I have got a large drop cloth that I put under the lathe to catch the bulk of the wood chips. When I'm finished turning for the day I put the lathe back in the garage and dump the wood chips from the drop cloth on my planter beds. Then I just use a leaf blower to whoosh off the deck. Not shown in this photo is a large deck umbrella that provides shade when the sun is out.

I thought I would be well prepared to deal with the bamboo countertop material, but I was badly mistaken. I knew bamboo was a hard wood, but I had no idea just how hard it was or the effect this would have on the turning tools I selected. The subsequent sections describe my learning experience and how I overcame the problems I encountered.