different wood lathes

[rob1992jolly]

Hi there. I am a tree surgeon looking to get into wood turning for obvious reasons haha. I have been doing some research and found there are a lot of different lathes out there. Some around £160 and others into the £1000s. That just seems like big price gap. As I am just a beginner and don't know Wether it will stick I don't want to spend that amount of cash. Any help or advice?

Many thanks Rob jolly

 

[SVB]

Wow, what an open question. To help I'd make the following recommendations:

1) If you're not sure if this is for you, buy a used machine. Lathes (well looked after) tend to lose value from new to second hand and then further depreciation is very slow so if you buy a used good condition machine and look after it the trial won't cost you too much even if you decide it is not for you in the end.

2) It's not just the lathe. I don't know what other kit you have but you will also need a grinder to keep your tools sharp (basic 6" machine with a white Al Oxide wheel is the minimum really, ideally a 40mm wide wheel but not essential). Also you need a set of tools. Prob 5 or 6 to get you going - roughing gouge, 19mm skew, 3/8 bowl gouge, spindle gouge, parting tool and round nose scraper would make a good start. Can be bought used on eBay by package deals from the likes of Axminster almost same price.

3) Type of turning your looking to do. Without stating the obvious, this will really dictate the lathe for you. If you are looking to throw a rough 2' diameter log onto a £160 machine and expect it to perform then sorry but think again. I note you are a tree surgeon and so you will probably be rough turning plenty of wet (therefore heavy / off balance) pieces compared to a 'normal' hobby turner who may purchase dried and prepared blanks commercially. Therefore a degree of heft is of significant advantage, if not inherent in the the machine, needed to be added as part of mounting arrangements.

Having said above, 'type of turning' breaks into two main areas - bowls / vase forms etc and stick / spindle work. Both have lathes more suited than others with many jacks of all trades also avaialble. More info needed really to recommend a specific type.

So, have a think / browse of the type of stuff you would like to do and I'm sure I / we can help some more.

Welcome aboard, I'm sure you'll enjoy your turning, almost all who try it do and stick with it. Feel free to ask anything here, we're a friendly bunch.

BRgds

Simon

 

[rob1992jolly]

Thanks Simon. My dad is a retired engineer and has more tools than you can shake a stick at. Thanks for the information and quick response. Got a bit to think about before I dive in and buy however I will be on the band wagon shortly.

Many thanks rob

 

[marcros]

if you are cutting down any walnut, I could be your best friend

 

[Wildman]

why not ask around to find a local club, go along and learn a bit see what it is all about. Learn a bit about wood grain and turning green wood.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^ as he said. Save yourself a small fortune by learning a little first, then you'll know what direction to go in. You can often pick up tools and sometimes lathes from club members who are upgrading or changing direction. Get the Keith Rowley book - someone* here is selling one.
* Mike Bremner

 

[chipmunk]

Depending where you are in Lancashire this might be your local club...

https://rrwtc.wordpress.com

IMHO it'd be the best way to get started.
HTH
Jon

 

[rob1992jolly]

Thanks for all the advice. Been looking around on the Internet and come across this.
AXMINSTER HOBBY SERIES AWVSL1000 WOODTURNING LATHE
Would that kind of lathe be a suitable starting point? And has anyone any views on this lathe.

Many thanks rob jolly

 

[SVB]

It is a nice lathe and for the money (esp at moment with the sale on) is a good value new machine. They do come up used reasonably often but once you add in the hassle of collection if it is not super local and the value of the 3 yr warranty to you then it makes reasonable sense.

The lathe is a good lump of cast iron and the leg stand, whilst being steel plate, can be made more substantial by the construction of a brick filled box instead of a simple shelf at calf height which will help if you turn out of balance timber. The sliding / rotating headstock is also a nice feature. The mechanical variable speed is a good half way house between constantly swapping belts on 3 or 5 fixed pulleys and true electronic variable speed. The mech systems to benefit from a bit of tlc every now and then, search on here for posts by Chas (CHJ) when he had his lathe made by Perform (Axminster's earlier hobby series pained a bright yellow colour).

Happy turning,

Simon

 

[selectortone]

I'm a relative newbie at woodturning, (but not woodworking), jumped in with both feet about nine months ago when I saw a cheap lathe locally on Gumtree. With hindsight, if I was looking for a relatively inexpensive lathe that will cope with everything a beginner to intermediate turner needs I'd go for the Axminster AWVSL1000. It's not perfect, but what is? If you get into bowl turning you'll find the swivelling headstock really useful, and it's plenty powerful enough. Factoring in the sale price, free shipping, 3-year warranty and the excellent customer service I think that's a very good option.

Of course once you get into woodturning you'll suffer from lathe envy. :mrgreen:

I would strongly recommend that you join a club - I joined my local one and hooked up with one of the committee members who teaches and that has been invaluable.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"I would strongly recommend that you join a club - I joined my local one and hooked up with one of the committee members who teaches and that has been invaluable."
Thank you for backing up what so many of us have said in one thread or another.

 

[rob1992jolly]

Thanks guys I will be sure to join a club then. Thank you for all your help.
Rob jolly

 

[BearTricks]

Record CL3 here. The lathe itself is brilliant but even though it weighs a ton it still bounces across the floor with an imbalanced foot wide bowl blank on it. Make sure whatever you get is heavy, and attached to a heavy stand which is preferably bolted to the floor.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[graduate_owner]

Check out woodturning suppliers and you will soon see how expensive tools and accessories are. Therefore if you are looking at second hand and can find a decent one with extras included then you could end up with a competitively priced set of kit. That's the way I would go.

K