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My father-in-law is giving me a wood lathe that he has had in storage for years. I have not seen it yet. The good news is that it is a 2hp 38" unit. The bad news is that it is a ~ 1990's Craftsman. But, for free I don't see any harm in dragging it home, cleaning it up and seeing if it will work.

I am not sure how useful it will be for pipe making and I've never used a lathe before. I'm sure I will have a lot of questions about technique as well as chucks and tools etc.

Will update once I have hauled it home and checked it out.

I really hope I'll be able to use it to some extent for pipe making.

The owners manual says it uses "2MT" bearing center and spur center. I'm assuming this tells me which chucks will fit on the head stock and tail stock.

George

Lathes are an entire separate hobby. Terminology, concepts, best practices, etc. Enjoy!

WARNING: They are deceptively powerful and capable of inflicting serious injury. Do NOT just jump in and "start playing." Watch some tutorials and read some books first.

I agree with George. Lathes are powerful and can eff you up if the proper respect/safety protocols aren't observed. There are tons of videos on YouTube regarding lathe operation that will point you in the right/safe direction. That being said, they are a definite game changer with regard to making pipes. The fact that you don't have to buy this machine will allow you to focus your $$$ on tooling. A good chuck, some jaws and some good turning tools are a excellent place to start. Oh yeah... you'll wanna mount the lathe to your work table. An unbalanced chunk of briar will make an unmounted lathe dance like the quarterback on one of those old vibrating football games.

Thanks guys. It is my understanding that it comes mounted on its own floor stand so that part should be taken care of.

A friend of mine who makes duck calls on a vintage lathe sent me a picture of himself in the emergency room missing a tooth and upper lip flayed open, black eyes. Not sure what happened but it looked bad enough. Will be visiting him soon to find out the details and how to avoid it.

I have started wearing a face shield when using an angle grinder, etc. Probably a good practice with a lathe too but visibility is not perfect with one.

Will update once I have the unit home. It is variable speed which is good. Direct drive. Not sure if that is good or not.

Direct drive and variable speed are fine - a lot of lathes, even if they're not direct drive, are essentially so because the pulleys for motor and spindle are the same size. It's not 100% ideal, but it's perfectly fine.

2MT for the head and tail stock would seem to indicate 1"-8tpi threads - bog standard and there are tons of accessories, both in that taper and thread size.

I know lots of folks with vintage Craftsman lathes of all stripes. They're very capable machines, and have a huge following. I suspect you'll be pleased.

If nothing else it will make a great sanding or buffing setup.