Ryandotdee":2696bg2n said:
I cannot work out whether I need to buy a chuck? ... would be grateful for any advice for someone starting out!
For pen turning you don’t need a chuck and most pens are turned with a mandrel that fits in the headstock e.g. an MT2 fitting. For bigger workpieces you don’t “need” a chuck, but you may find one “useful” later on, when some methods which avoid the need for a chuck become tiresome, when you’ve done them time and time again... in woodturning (and woodwork) there is usually more than one way to do something.
One thing to realise are that lathe “sellers” are not lathe “makers” and you will quickly realise that many of the products are (but for the colour) and a few minor differences all starting life in only a handful of factories in China...
If you live near Tiverton then you have the opportunity to go and “look at” some the smaller lathes that are available. The products e.g. the “red” route (ones) takes you to the Axminster store and the “blue” or “green” route (ones) takes you to Yandles shop - there may be others too. That’s to say there’s Axminster, Record Power and Charnwood and others.
There is mostly a “degree” of compatibility between the lathe and the accessories used. Across the Axminster range of lathes, they mostly all use MT2 in the headstock and tailstock, so the same pen mandrel can be fitted to any of their lathes and the same Jacobs chuck used for drilling holes and for holding small items. Many of the other manufacturers are the same (MT1 is not very common except for really cheap stuff).
Someone starting out might think it’s a “safe bet” to buy “new” but even quite “old” lathes (if well looked after) still work. Three pieces of advice often given are always to buy “up to what you (just) can’t afford” and also always “just a bit bigger than your (immediate) needs” and “never assume you made the perfect choice and won’t upgrade anytime soon”. The woodturning “journey” has many routes and it’s not uncommon to start with one intention and find that your interests change (requiring new tools). New woodturners are keen to make a start, but you absolutely don’t need to buy everything new, or all at once. You also are not beholden to the same manufacturer e.g. a Record Power Chuck will fit on an Axminster lathe.
Look at the For Sale section of the forum (or ask at a Woodturning club) and you will find nearly new or very well looked after products to make your initial spend go further. If nothing else it will show that what’s bought new today has a reduced value to someone else tomorrow! Like cars, you can buy new, nearly new and get almost the same and buy petrol/diesel/electricity elsewhere - (perhaps) not a good analogy.
If products are mostly the same, do you just buy on price and warranty differences? Not always, the new prices vary but not as much as the difference between new and S/H and the warranty lengths don’t always tell everything. Axminster have a 3 year warranty on all their machines and their Service is excellent. Record Power have a good reputation and offer a five year warranty but there may be differences. One advantage of buying S/H is that the seller may (invariably) have other “essentials” to sell on that are much more favourably priced e.g. chisels, grinding, sharpening jigs and other tools - the “essentials” list is unfortunately quite extensive. It’s easy to think the lathe is the thing - but it’s just the start!
Not relevant to the question, in the For Sale forum I recently sold my first bandsaw - you will see a section copied from the manual and also confirmation about transferring the warranty - so for “nearly new” that’s a good thing e.g. peace of mind. It applies to all their machines too. But other manufacturers are different e.g. they might as well say “we give the first owner (only) a XX year warranty (so sell it and all bets are off if you buy S/H)” - you get the idea? Axminster prices reflect their Service (so good, doesn’t come cheap) e.g. both are towards the top end and S/H prices may not hold up particularly well.
For the lathe you are interested in there is one or two “hidden truths” buried in the spec: “Both the headstock spindle and tailstock barrel are bored to take 2MT accessories, with the spindle having the common 1" x 8tpi thread”. For the uninformed, this “truth” also means a degree of “pain”when you (almost invariably) need to get a chuck later or upgrade the lathe later on, as a larger spindle size is almost invariably offered on your next lathe e.g. M33 x 3.5 and buying a 2nd chuck becomes a necessity.
That’s not (absolutely) a problem e.g. the Axminster lathe can be used with a Record Power Chuck, and an RP SC4 chuck can be bought with a kit (very good value too) and it’s mount can be exchanged for a new insert for (only) £15 so far cheaper than buying twice IMHO. Choosing a chuck becomes more of an issue after you buy different jaws for it and soon you are “locked in” to one system - so choose carefully. FWIW, I don’t own a Record Power Chuck and I like the range of Axminster jaws that are available. The “special offer” with Axminster is not quite the bargain it seems (and only one of three specials), because you may later regret the “lock-in” and it’s not “free”. Put simply, if the Record Power Chuck meets your needs, it’s best to look past the small initial price differential. RP also have a smaller SC3 chuck, but like Axminster chucks it has the “problem” of being a specific fit.
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