Aldi 40" Lathe for 89 pounds

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi all,

Unbelievably, Aldi have a 40" lathe plus three chisels on offer for 89 pounds.

Neil

 

[Baldhead]

Possibly not the bargain that it looks!

Baldhead

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Yes, it's unbelievable.

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Possibly not the bargain that it looks!

That was my first thought, but surely it must do something to warrant a three year guarantee. :lol:

Neil

 

[wizard]

They will last 3 years as most people will use it once and find it hard to use then it will sit in the corner of their shed for the rest of its life or end up on eBay or a car boot sale

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Possibly not the bargain that it looks!

That was my first thought, but surely it must do something to warrant a three year guarantee. :lol:

Neil

Just because it'll last three years doesn't mean it's any good for anything.

 

[Andy RV]

Pile of cr*p!

 

[bourbon]

don't shoot me down. But if someone is unsure weather to try wood turning, wouldn't this lathe do the job? almost nothing else needs to be purchased except for safety gear

 

[Spindle]

don't shoot me down. But if someone is unsure weather to try wood turning, wouldn't this lathe do the job? almost nothing else needs to be purchased except for safety gear

Hi

It's a bit of a catch 22 situation - an experienced turner could probably make the lathe work by using experience and skill to compensate for it's shortcomings and those of the tools. A beginner does not have the skill and knowledge to fall back on and may well become disillusioned with turning as a result.
My advice to anyone considering buying one of these would be to think long and hard before spending the cash - it would make a lot more sense to wait until you can afford a better quality item.

If the bug has bitten you, get along to a turning club to see if you can use their equipment until you can afford your own.

Regards Mick

 

[Phil Pascoe]

+1 to what Mick said.

 

[Mar_mite]

What exactly makes it bad? I have a lathe and I'm happy with it. Although I think it is of the cheaper variety. I don't do a lot of turning so I don't know a lot about lathes. I'm guessing the answer is flex in the bed? Noisy?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

As you've identified, a lack of rigidity is one issue, no morse tapers on either the head or tail stocks is another, but in reality, no one can expect a quality item to be produced for this price - it's a tool built down to a price rather than for a purpose, (other than to take you cash :wink: ).

Regards Mick

 

[wizard]

I was happy with my myford ml8 until i got my union graduate

 

[Spindle]

Hi

It's easy to say and harder to adhere to but:

Buy quality - buy once.

Regards Mick

 

[powertools]

First thing to say is that I am not a serious wood turner but I have been a hobby woodworker for over 40 years.
My first lathe was a Stanley Bridges attachment for my drill it held a piece of wood at both ends and spun it and it did what I expected of it.
For the cost it has to be a good entry level machine for people who want to spin wood and shape it to try there hand at wood turning.
It is cheaper than a good hand held drill.

 

[geordie]

Neil the one thing I will say is if you buy the lathe throw the chiesels in the bin they WILL be rubbish


Geordie

 

[doorframe]

First thing to say is that I am not a serious wood turner but I have been a hobby woodworker for over 40 years.
My first lathe was a Stanley Bridges attachment for my drill it held a piece of wood at both ends and spun it and it did what I expected of it.
For the cost it has to be a good entry level machine for people who want to spin wood and shape it to try there hand at wood turning.
It is cheaper than a good hand held drill.

Finally, a sensible post in this thread.

 

[Fat ferret]

Might be alright. I have a second hand record lathe which is ok for what it is, see quite a few on the bay for less than aldi lathe.

 

[RossJarvis]

Can't comment on the lathe, but I have an Aldi compound mitre saw, morticer and 1/4" router. The saw and the morticer are a bit rough and ready but okay for occasional use. The router is so sloppy it really does tend to ruin jobs and I'd definitely tell people to not buy it. So it can be a hit or miss thing with Aldi.

 

[Woodmonkey]

I would think you'd be much better off spending your 90 quid on a second hand lathe from flea bay, think I paid 80 for my first lathe which I sold for the same price when I upgraded a year or so later. A certain level of accuracy is needed on a wood lathe which I wouldn't expect to find on a machine that cheap, as others have said I think a newbie would get put off turning trying to learn on one of those