Lathe recommendations

[Renegade]

Looking to buy a lathe (second hand probably unless I see a stunning deal!) but haven’t used one since school and don’t know what to look for in terms of size / power and brand?
Mainly want to use for smaller items - bowls, furniture feet etc and space is limited in my ‘workshop’ eg single garage
thanks in advance!

 

[Fishandchips]

Think I saw one or two in the for sale section
Shameless plug I know!

 

[Jameshow]

Myford ml8 simple old beast.
Record 36/48 good solid machines.
Axi bench top 24" ideal for small workshops.

 

[Rhossydd]

Also worth considering are the old Tyme lathes, Avon & Cub. Simple, reliable and cheap secondhand.
The old Nova belt drive lathes are very good, also the Sorby ones too.

I would avoid direct drive lathes as when they go wrong they're scrap. Also run away from the dirt cheap Chinese nasties from the likes of Lidl/Aldi/Lumberjack etc

Just keep an eye on the specialist forums, eBay or possibly a local club. Some serious bargains pop up quite regularly if you're patient.

 

[alex robinson]

I always suggest that people look at swivel head machines. They mean you get extra capacity without having to take up too much space. I used to have an axminster m900 which was brilliant. Very simple, mechanical variable speed drive, and cheap. 12 inch swing over the bed, up to 18 with the head turned. Same machine turns up with loads of different names.

Be warned, expect the lathe itself to be only about half of the cost of a full set up. Chuck / faceplate, tools, sharpening etc adds up quite quickly.

 

[Blister]

No mention of the spend or a nearest town . sorry can't help.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I find the benefit of a swivel head is you can offset the work slightly and avoid back ache. This to me is more useful than any capacity increase.

 

[Renegade]

No mention of the spend or a nearest town . sorry can't help.

Wanted to know what I’m looking for before I get into budget.

 

[Renegade]

Think I saw one or two in the for sale section
Shameless plug I know!

lol it’s all good. Wanted to see what kind of size and brands before I started to look to buy but now I’ve got some ideas I’ll slide on over to the for sale section and have a look thanks!

 

[Renegade]

Some top suggestions there thank you! Will have a look at what’s around now and what kind of cost. Sure there must be a cheaper hobby

 

[Rhossydd]

Wanted to know what I’m looking for before I get into budget.

Smart move.
You could pick up a decent s/h lathe for less than £100 or £500 could get you something really good if you're lucky.

If you haven't got any tools yet, keep in mind some lathes get sold with extras that can be exceptionally valuable to get started too.

Often being flexible about being able to travel and collect will help secure a bargain. My current lathe was a 400mile round trip to collect, but a massive bargain I've not seen the like of since.
Most smaller lathes, as you seem to be looking at, will fit in a small car. You might need to partially disassemble them, so a little research first and taking a suitable toolkit is prudent.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^^ watch what comes with the lathe, it adds up quickly. My lathe was about £400 but since then I've acquired probaly £800 - £900's worth of chucks, jaws, faceplates and centres.

 

[alex robinson]

Some top suggestions there thank you! Will have a look at what’s around now and what kind of cost. Sure there must be a cheaper hobby

It can be an expensive hobby, but needn't be too bad. Some corners cannot be cut though.

Low tech, old and rusty can be fine, but run a mile from anything that looks like this:

Machines with thin pressed steel bars are just too floppy to ever be satisfactory.

Also, go for a few good quality tools rather than a bumper set of budget ones. You will spend 90% of the time using 2 or 3.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The best advice is to join a club if possible. Your initial ideas may change, you'll get some experience and you might even pick up a bargain - people trade down sometimes as well as up. Oh, and get a copy of this - (the newer ones have a dvd)
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ss...INDMyOWowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Jameshow]

Where are you??

 

[Blister]

Where are you??

Who me