# Value Craft wood lathe model 8232 info needed



## Musclenut

Does anyone know anything about a Value Craft wood lathe model 8232, 5 speed? I googled it but did not find any thing. I found it for sale for $150. Would this be a good beginers lathe?
Thanks!


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

Musclenut said:


> Does anyone know anything about a Value Craft wood lathe model 8232, 5 speed? I googled it but did not find any thing. I found it for sale for $150. Would this be a good beginners lathe?
> Thanks!



Musclenut I have to warn you that woodturning is highly addictive and what might seem like a good deal now will actually cost you a great deal of money later. That being said I think a lot of it depends on what you want to turn. I think this lathe may be alright for spindle work but not so good for bowls. A long with the lathe you are going to need tools and a bench grinder to keep your tools sharp among other things.

It is very important to always be working with sharp tools that are ground consistently the same. This will shorten the learning curve if the tools are cutting like you accept them to cut and is much safer then cutting with dull tools.

I started turning in January of this year and I am on my 3rd lathe. I would say you are better of with a jet mini or midi. They come up used every now and then. Do some research and you'll save money in the long run. Also if you find turning is not for you the jet will have much better resale value.

Good luck, have fun and be safe.

Mike


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## trimmmed

Musclenut said:


> I googled it but did not find any thing.



I would say you have your answer right there, if it ain't on google, how safe a bet is it? Do you have any specs on it, like swing, length, TPI on the headstock and what tapers it uses both head and tail, and what the bed is constructed from and what the total weight is?


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## Musclenut

When it comes to buying equipment I don't know much about I prefer to go towards the used and cheap end of the specturum. I do try and stay away from the junk that was junk the day it was made. I have no problem buying an older used piece of equipment that may take longer to accomplish the task at hand but will accomplish the task properly. My dad told me once you can drive to Cal. from Ky in a new Cadillac or an old truck. Either way your going to get there it just depends on how comfortable a ride you want. When I learn enough to decide exactly what I like and what I want I will buy acordingly but until then I'm not willing to spend lots of $ on a piece of equipment I'm not sure I is right for me. I prefer to figure out what I need on something less costly. 

I have a little more info on the lathe. The previous owner made cabinets and chairs. It has a 12" swing 48" between centers. It has 5 speeds 575, 980, 1560, 2520, 3580. The rest you can learn from the pictures. The table it's mounted to comes with it.

Thanks!


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

You can absolutly get there in a beat up old truck.

My first lathe was a 1950's Craftsman. It was just to small to turn what I wanted. My second lathe was a Rockwell that dated to the early part of the 80's. I did a lot of work to it and sold it for a nice profit. After selling the rockwell I only had to pay another $150.00 to get the Jet 1442 that I am turning on now. (also used)

Good Luck,
Mike


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## TraditionalTool

Musclenut said:


> When it comes to buying equipment I don't know much about I prefer to go towards the used and cheap end of the specturum. I do try and stay away from the junk that was junk the day it was made. I have no problem buying an older used piece of equipment that may take longer to accomplish the task at hand but will accomplish the task properly. My dad told me once you can drive to Cal. from Ky in a new Cadillac or an old truck. Either way your going to get there it just depends on how comfortable a ride you want. When I learn enough to decide exactly what I like and what I want I will buy acordingly but until then I'm not willing to spend lots of $ on a piece of equipment I'm not sure I is right for me. I prefer to figure out what I need on something less costly.
> 
> I have a little more info on the lathe. The previous owner made cabinets and chairs. It has a 12" swing 48" between centers. It has 5 speeds 575, 980, 1560, 2520, 3580. The rest you can learn from the pictures. The table it's mounted to comes with it.
> 
> Thanks!


Hard to see your pics, so it's hard to tell what the machine is.

Doesn't seem that good of a deal for $150, you can find decent small lathes all day long on most craigslists.

Maybe it would be ok, but your pics are so hard to see, it's hard to say.

The bench looks good though, is that included in the $150 price?

Cheers,
TT


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## dustytools

I have an old Craftsman mono-tube lathe which is identical to the one that you just posted pictures of. Im not sure what they are worth now a days but all in all not a bad lathe to start out on. Parts are still available for them as well through Sears and maybe elsewhere. Ridgid also makes a copy of this lathe. Best of luck to ya. http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-12-Wo...0?hash=item27aa3604a1&_trksid=p4999.m20.l1116 Here is a link to a used one on the bay. Mine uses a #1 MT on both the head and tail.


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## trimmmed

The old mono tube design. it's been around a while and I know more than a few guys who have had them. It will work for a starter, but I'd want to spend more like $50 than $150 for it. 
For what you said you wanted to turn in the other thread, I would look for one of the older delta's. Cast iron bed, common size spindles and morse tapers. If you hunt around long enough you can find them for $150 and they are a much better lathe.


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## Musclenut

Thanks! Thats alot of useful info. I was thinking the price might be to high.


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## hazard

Highly addictive. I am on my second large lathe.


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## Musclenut

Other than a lathe and hand tools what do I need to turn bowls and spindles? I must need some kind of special chuck. What are the normal accessories needed? 

I beleive I'm going to let the Value Craft lathe go on buy and keep watch for something better.


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## hazard

I use a supernova chuck. You need a grinder and jig for sharpening. A caliper for checking thinkness. Supply of wood

Chris


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## wavefreak

I know nothing of lathes so feel free to ignore me, but personally, any tool brand with the word "value" in it can't be that great. But for $150? Why not?


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## MAKEITOUTOFWOOD

Musclenut said:


> Other than a lathe and hand tools what do I need to turn bowls and spindles? I must need some kind of special chuck. What are the normal accessories needed?
> 
> I beleive I'm going to let the Value Craft lathe go on buy and keep watch for something better.



A chuck is invaluable but you don't need right away. Your pick-up will get you there with time to spare.

Check out these links.

http://bobhamswwing.com/Articles/No Chuck Bowl/No Chuck Bowl.htm

This is Bob's you tube video of the article from the first link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPUw...e.com/user/bobham5&feature=player_profilepage

Hope this helps.

Mike


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## Mowgli

Did you get a lathe?

I'm going to pick up a Walker Turner with the cast iron cabinet(cracked cabinet, good lathe) tomorrow for $200.

I had an older Delta/Rockwell #1460 that I traded a 1937 or so Delta scrollsaw for.
Thatt was a good medium duty lathe.
I sold it when I started my furnituremaking shop.

The tube lathes are ok (I had a Crappman) but go with flat bed and save yoursellf a step.
Or you can find decent cheap Crappman lathes on CL for $50-$100 to learn on.

Or just get a Powermatic 90 if you're Mr. Moneybags Jr.
Or a Vega model# 1553 if you're Mr. Moneybags Sr.

I'll get a Powermatic 90 when I can afford a good one from the 60s or so vintage.
Then I'll sell the WT to get my $200 back.


1st post


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## discounthunter

Musclenut said:


> Other than a lathe and hand tools what do I need to turn bowls and spindles? I must need some kind of special chuck. What are the normal accessories needed?
> 
> I beleive I'm going to let the Value Craft lathe go on buy and keep watch for something better.



musclenut,the computer is your friend, youtube wood turning,there are some really great videos,but beware there are alot of complete waste of time videos(you'll quicky pick those out) there are also several well known turners with some good videos. as far as tools , there are some good companies such as penn state industries,wood turners catolog,several others,they carry just about all you'll need to start up,also try to see if you have a hobby wood club in your area or a fellow turner close to you,most wouldnt mind at all opening their shop up to show someone new.
ive only been turning about three years and like you i started off cheap,since it was just a hobby,but as it got to be addictive i slowly realized that ther is a huge difference between cheap stuff and good stuff,mainly with the tools,i think that is the main thing not to be cheap on .

feel free to ask questions.


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## Mowgli

I saw a 1965 Delta Rockwell #46-111 in mint condition w/tools on CL.
He phoned me in time so away we go.
I just drove the 175 miles round trip to Mystic, Connecticut and have a pretty lil Rockwell lathe.
Just needs headstock bearings and that's it.

It came with a set of Wards Powr Kraft turning tools in nice, barely used shape.
I see a trip to Woodcraft for some Sorbys in my future.

The W-T lathe that I was originally going to get was on the way so I checked it out but didn't buy it.
The lathe itself was salvageable but the cabinet was broken and was barely held together.

Moral of the story is shop around.
I could have bought a new chinese Delta, HF, or whatever for 5 bills or so but got a great, classic Ama Rican piece of machinery for $220 :rockn:


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## CathyH

*Paintergirl*

Regarding Musclenut's conundrum, I picked up a ValueCraft 8232 at a tag sale recently. Looked to be in great shape. No extra tools and no stand. But for $40 (! I know!) I couldn't go wrong. But now that I'm trying to set it up I still need a stand. The workbench is too high and I don't want to bolt it to that anyway. I may bolt it to 2x8's then I can clamp it to horses when I use it. We'll see how that works. I've picked up a lot of info just reading Musclenut's questions and all of your responses. Checked out the mentioned video's and thought they were excellent. Any advice? I'll take it. I'll let you know how the stand goes.


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## dustytools

CathyH said:


> Regarding Musclenut's conundrum, I picked up a ValueCraft 8232 at a tag sale recently. Looked to be in great shape. No extra tools and no stand. But for $40 (! I know!) I couldn't go wrong. But now that I'm trying to set it up I still need a stand. The workbench is too high and I don't want to bolt it to that anyway. I may bolt it to 2x8's then I can clamp it to horses when I use it. We'll see how that works. I've picked up a lot of info just reading Musclenut's questions and all of your responses. Checked out the mentioned video's and thought they were excellent. Any advice? I'll take it. I'll let you know how the stand goes.



Good luck with the set-up Cathy. For forty bucks I think that you did well. If you encounter a lot of vibrations with your set up you may want to look into weighing the sawhorses down with some sandbags for extra weight.


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## CathyH

Thanks Dustytools. Good advice.


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