lathe upgrade

[kingfisher]

Morning all. I'm thinking of upgrading my woodturning lathe from an Axminster 370 to something heavier built with a more powerful motor. I'm looking at the Laguna 1836, Record Power Maxi 1 and the Axminster 406wl. Does anyone have experience of these lathes please? Especially any with problems that I would need to avoid. Any other lathe suggestions would be welcome also in this price range. Many thanks.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

I have the 406WL. It's a better lathe than I am a turner. I've not used any other though so can't offer any useful comparison. I can say that I've not found any deficiencies though.

 

[kingfisher]

I have the 406WL. It's a better lathe than I am a turner. I've not used any other though so can't offer any useful comparison. I can say that I've not found any deficiencies though.

Ok thank you for that.

 

[gog64]

is used an option? There was a Vimarc VL300 for sale recently in Brum for 2.4K ono and I seem to remember a VL200 for sale recently as well. A 5k lathe at half price is a wonderful thing if in good condition! I recently bought a used Stubby and after about 20 hours of cleaning and fettling it’s a thing of beauty and a pleasure to use.

 

[kingfisher]

is used an option? There was a Vimarc VL300 for sale recently in Brum for 2.4K ono and I seem to remember a VL200 for sale recently as well. A 5k lathe at half price is a wonderful thing if in good condition! I recently bought a used Stubby and after about 20 hours of cleaning and fettling it’s a thing of beauty and a pleasure to use.

Thanks for your reply. In principle I haven't anything against a used lathe other than the fact when I was originally looking for a lathe I couldn't find a decent one so I bought new.

 

[JBaz]

If you are in the market, I would certainly have a look at the Stratos FU-230 as well as the ones you mentioned.

I have been using one for a couple of years now and find it excellent. I bought the bed extension and leg as well, though I haven't had cause to use them yet.

I actually bought mine from Austria, as nobody had them in stock in the UK, but we were still in the EU then (please don't anybody start another rant thread about the pro's and cons of Brexit!). I don't know what the situation is now, but it was a fair saving over the UK prices being offered.

 

[kingfisher]

If you are in the market, I would certainly have a look at the Stratos FU-230 as well as the ones you mentioned.

I have been using one for a couple of years now and find it excellent. I bought the bed extension and leg as well, though I haven't had cause to use them yet.

I actually bought mine from Austria, as nobody had them in stock in the UK, but we were still in the EU then (please don't anybody start another rant thread about the pro's and cons of Brexit!). I don't know what the situation is now, but it was a fair saving over the UK prices being offered.

Thank you. I have had a look at the Stratos on Simon Hope's website and it looks impressive too. It seems to be a few hundred pounds more than the others and I'll have to draw a line somewhere regarding cost.

 

[gregmcateer]

I've just put my Nova DVR 3000 on the For Sale page at £500.
You're welcome to come and have a play if you wish. I've been delighted with it, (but I would say that, I know).
Only selling as a fellow club member has a thumping great lathe I'm unable to resist.

 

[kingfisher]

I've just put my Nova DVR 3000 on the For Sale page at £500.
You're welcome to come and have a play if you wish. I've been delighted with it, (but I would say that, I know).
Only selling as a fellow club member has a thumping great lathe I'm unable to resist.

I've just put my Nova DVR 3000 on the For Sale page at £500.
You're welcome to come and have a play if you wish. I've been delighted with it, (but I would say that, I know).
Only selling as a fellow club member has a thumping great lathe I'm unable to resist.

Thanks for the reply but I'm looking for a heavier lathe (around 200kg) and a 2hp motor. A warranty on a new machine feels the way to go too considering I'm going to have to to pay around £2500.

 

[Wood&StuffLtd]

I've just put my Nova DVR 3000 on the For Sale page at £500.
You're welcome to come and have a play if you wish. I've been delighted with it, (but I would say that, I know).
Only selling as a fellow club member has a thumping great lathe I'm unable to resist.

Morning all. I'm thinking of upgrading my woodturning lathe from an Axminster 370 to something heavier built with a more powerful motor. I'm looking at the Laguna 1836, Record Power Maxi 1 and the Axminster 406wl. Does anyone have experience of these lathes please? Especially any with problems that I would need to avoid. Any other lathe suggestions would be welcome also in this price range. Many thanks.

I bought the Axminster AT406WL in 2019 as new. It is the same model used at Axminster's training centre in Devon. I am very pleased with its faultless performance. I did buy the legs, and the extension piece but have not used that yet. You will need help to assemble it has it heavy but easy to put together. I also bought the SK114 chuck with an array of jaws. If you do go down this route do buy the chuck with reverse chucking as I do a lot of reverse sanding and unless the chuck is tight up to the spindle it can unwind up there is no tailstock support. The maximum diameter over the bed is 406mm or 16." diameter. To date I have not needed to use the extension in its dropped position which would give 508mm or 20" diameter. If you needed to do very long spindle work a second extension can be fitted the other end. Without the extension the spindle length is about 30". The variable control works well and you can put the control unit anywhere. I looked at most lathes in the price bracket and made an Excel spreadsheet comparing the Record Max1 against the Axminster. In early 2019 there were supply issues with the Maxi 1 and Laguna. I hope this is of some use in your decision making.

 

[Lakeburch]

I bought the Axminster 406wl a few weeks ago and although it's early days I really can't fault it in any way. Axminster have it on sale at the moment so if you're quick you can save £365 !

 

[wallace]

Why not go old school, for that money you could get a very nice wadkin RS with plenty of change. I have restored loads of them for pro turners. The last one I did had variable speed and a carriage and was £2800. That went to a guy in Vienna.