Beginner Set Up

[joel4mo]

Hi All,

Whilst new to the idea of turning, wood and its uses have been a lifetime venture.

I currently PM for a carpentry firm having worked my way up from the benches. I now have far less time on the tools and less time generally. I can't commit to putting 40-50 hrs into a chair but can see myself getting a lot out of the odd hour spent on a lathe.

I am generally good at following through with plans so there is no worry about this being a passing hobby so Id like to properly set up from the outset.

I am obviously after a lathe, grinding set up, tools and ancillaries etc. Want to mainly be doing bowls but no intention (yet) of any huge work.

Not committed to a cost but if I put a £1000 on the table, would anyone be able to suggest a full set up? Id prefer new, but not a deal breaker. Feel free to chime in with any suggestions.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Buy a newer copy of this -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woodturning-Fo ... ion+course
and try to visit a club before you even think about spending that sort of cash.

 

[Jonzjob]

This could help you find a club?

https://www.awgb.co.uk/club-map/

 

[Lazurus]

Go for a used set up you usually get all the little extras that eat your budget. Keep sharpening simple with a slow grinder and a jig. Find a local turner a go pay a visit we are generally a friendly bunch.

 

[Jonzjob]

part of the country are you in Joe?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Click on the avatar or the user name.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

This one if you fancy a drive to Wigan - record-coronet-herald-lathe-t113929.html

 

[finneyb]

Hold on to yer money and join a club - and get a feel of what you may want to do before buying anything.
I took 8 lessons which really moved me up the learning curve -


Brian

 

[joel4mo]

Im near Hertford, but get around a fair it with work.

I have never gone into anything half arsed, so sure of myself in that respect but appreciate where everyone is coming from. Any local clubs/lessons to be had?

I have sent a PM regarding the Coronet, but Wigan is a long old way when I am this busy at work!

Appreciate everyones input.

 

[RickG]

Hi Joel,
There's a wood turning Club that meets I'm Sawbridgeworth.
http://www.easthertswoodturning.co.uk/
I'm new there at the moment. They're a friendly bunch. The next meeting will be in October.

 

[Spence]

To start with I'd suggest a good variable speed lathe, the Axminster AWVSL 1000 or others of a similar pattern will enable you to turn and change speeds as needed without having to turn the lathe off. My first lathe was a Record Power DML24, it was a solid lathe but changing the belts over got tedious.

Some folks will say buy used, you certainly can do that but it can be a real hassle to drive somewhere to collect a lathe and load the damn thing and drive home when some company will happily ship you one.

Once you've got a lathe you should get some tools, you can either go for HSS and learn to sharpen lathe tools as well as butcher the wood or you can opt for some carbide tools and skip the sharpening for now.

If you go the carbide route you should get a set of the 3 from https://www.ukwoodcraftandcarbidechisels.co.uk/ and see how you get on.

HSS tools are much different to use and you should start with a few decent ones. Get a decent 3/8 bowl gouge, a skew chisel, roughing gouge, scraper and parting tool. The ones in the sets can be decent but you really get what you pay for and you'll be using them alot. Sorby are good, Axminster can be hit and miss.

With HSS you'll need to sharpen them, you'll need a grinder if you dont have one already. If you do not then try a Record or Axminster grinder and get a decent white wheel for it instead of the rough abrasive one.

If you already own a grinder then just buy a wood turning grinding jig from Ebay and fit that around your grinder. They cost up to £80 but are worth it.

You might already have a bandsaw, if not you might want a small one to cut bowl blanks or whatever. The small Titan one from Screwfix is pretty good with a Tuffsaws blade or so I'm told.

I'd say the Lathe will be around £350-400 new, tools about £100-200 depending on quality and the grinder and jig up to £150. Then grab some offcuts and turn some awful mistakes, burn those and get better and then show them off. If you end up really enjoying yourself then you can always sell your lathe and upgrade to a larger one or if your a masochist you can try and restore an old union graduate from eBay.

 

[SVB]

Couple of thoughts:

I’d be tempted to go used rather than new - esp for bowls you’ll get more lathe for the money.

If you’re thinking bowl then out of balance is more of an issue than spindle work so I tend to cast iron bed rather than other construction just for kg count.

I’d recommend going for the traditional HSS rather than carbide. Perhaps a little more tricky to learn but you will really learn what you’re doing and why rather than just scraping the wood to shape.

Think about potential for upgrade. Tools etc will all carry forward. Larger lathes are starting to (sort of!) standardise on M33 x 3.5 spindle thread. Keep this in mind when buying a chuck etc - not a deal breaker but if what you buy has either an exchangeable insert / back plate then you can upgrade in the future and keep the money spend on chuck and jaws safe.

Likewise, larger lathes typically have a No. 2 Morste taper - see above re carrying accessories forward (although an order of magnitude less ££££ significant than chuck costs!)

One early post mentioned slow speed grinder. I wouldn’t get too hung up on this as a starter. Nice to have if you can but not essential and don’t go for a tormek style if it is your only grinder in the shop - you don’t need the edge these give for turning, gouges will groove the relatively soft wheel quickly and anything other than touching up an edge (and almost all new Woodturning tools are ground by tool makers not Woodturners) is a long and painful process.

Hope this helps,

Simon