g7g7g7g7
Established Member
Hello all, I'm Gav, I'm absolutely new to the forums, absolutely new to turning but I've just gone given a large sum of money to Yandles in exchange for a lathe + chuck (record DML305), grinder, tools, abrasives, protective gear, finishes, a few very small bowl blanks for practice. My bank account is positively depressed but I'm very very excited and can't wait to get into it.
My first attempt at turning was a total washout, when I made my first proper carpentry workbench last year I left a 2" trench in the middle to use as a rail for a head and tailstock to be wedged into in order to run a rope and bungee to the roof and try to turn spindles, it was a disaster, all my bungee chords were too slack and by the time I got that sorted the stress on the bolts I had used for centres was too much and they bent and wobbled all over the place. It was a bit frustrating but I had plenty of other projects to get stuck into so I decided to can it for a while until I had a bit of spare cash to invest in a decent beginner lathe.
I'm going into this almost blind, I got a quick introductory lesson from a friends dad a few weeks ago, who seemed confident that I would be fine picking it up on my own so that was fairly reassuring, I've picked up a couple of books I found in charity stores and thank god for the internet.
So anyway, most of the advice I've found online so far is from the pages of this forum showing up on google searches for "best beginner lathe UK" and such so I thought I'd introduce myself to the community, looking forward to sharing the complete tat I make until I get half decent with you guys.
Over the winter I picked up a lot of good pieces which I've been saving for turning, I live on the West Coast of Scotland and the storms bring in some fantastic bits of wood but much of it is partly rotted, soft, there's some with excellent Spalting but I'm saving that stuff for when I've got a bit of experience, I've a some of access to wind-fallen beech, birch and tons of sycamore that seems much more beginner friendly.
My first attempt at turning was a total washout, when I made my first proper carpentry workbench last year I left a 2" trench in the middle to use as a rail for a head and tailstock to be wedged into in order to run a rope and bungee to the roof and try to turn spindles, it was a disaster, all my bungee chords were too slack and by the time I got that sorted the stress on the bolts I had used for centres was too much and they bent and wobbled all over the place. It was a bit frustrating but I had plenty of other projects to get stuck into so I decided to can it for a while until I had a bit of spare cash to invest in a decent beginner lathe.
I'm going into this almost blind, I got a quick introductory lesson from a friends dad a few weeks ago, who seemed confident that I would be fine picking it up on my own so that was fairly reassuring, I've picked up a couple of books I found in charity stores and thank god for the internet.
So anyway, most of the advice I've found online so far is from the pages of this forum showing up on google searches for "best beginner lathe UK" and such so I thought I'd introduce myself to the community, looking forward to sharing the complete tat I make until I get half decent with you guys.
Over the winter I picked up a lot of good pieces which I've been saving for turning, I live on the West Coast of Scotland and the storms bring in some fantastic bits of wood but much of it is partly rotted, soft, there's some with excellent Spalting but I'm saving that stuff for when I've got a bit of experience, I've a some of access to wind-fallen beech, birch and tons of sycamore that seems much more beginner friendly.
