advice needed

[shanea_1967]

hi everyone, I have made "square" things in wood for a while now, and really fancy a go at "round" things. The pen turning really fascinates me.

I have a budget of about £160 for the lathe ( I realise there will be extras to buy). I have been looking at the Axminster AWVSL for £168. Is this a good machine?

I will start with pens then move on to bowls, hopefully.

Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[Bodrighy]

Welcome to the slipery slope of woodturning.

The axminster lathes are good enough as starter lathes and certainly for pens. More importantly they are renowned for their aftersales serviceand are great at dealing with idiots (personal experience not a slur on you :lol: ) Whilst you can get away with a small lathe for pens if you anticipate moving on to larger things then I wold advise getting the bigger one. as you can do small things on any sized lathe but obviously not the other way around. You will need to budget for some tools and a chuck as well ideally. There are a number of avid pen turners ion here who will no doubt give you excellent , more specific advice regarding that soon.

pete

 

[Tony Spear]

You could try looking here! :wink:


https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/view ... hp?t=34138

 

[cornucopia]

hello and welcome

 

[beejay]

Hi there,
The awvsl looks on paper to be a good choice for pens, its got electronic variable speed which you will find almost a 'must' when making and finishing pens and other small items. The thread and MT size are pretty standard which is good if you decide to upgrade or go for 2 lathes eventually.
I don't know how reliable it is mind you but maybe someone on the forum has one and will comment.
You'd probably be able to turn small bowls and boxes etc on it but sooner or later I think you'll get to the stage where you'll want a bigger lathe but if you've got the room and the budget then have two lathes.
Whatever you go for I would recommend it has electronic variable speed.
regards, beejay

 

[jpt]

I have the AWVSL which I brought just after they came out last year and it is a great little lathe.

I use it mainly for small items such as pens, light pulls etc and it works very well.

The largest thing I have turned on it is a 7" out of ballance burr and it coped with it very well.

john