New Hobby Help with choosing a Lathe!

[rich1880]

Hi All

I have spent the last few days looking at some of he great items being produced. I am looking to try and learn how to do some wood turning and as a starting point am looking for a lathe, nothing too big or expensive, just something to get me started. Could anyone recommend anything that would get me started?

Rich

 

[Darren D Breeze]

Hi Rich, what sort of budget do you have, you will also need tools, bench grinder, ideally a chuck etc so budget for those too as a minimum. The AWGB sometimes have an odd lathe that they will lend to newcomers to see if they enjoy the hobby, also some clubs also have a newbie lathe they will lend out, as will some club members. so for starters let us know your budget and location and perhaps you will get an offer of a loan lathe or at least some informative suggestions within your budget range.
Regards Darren
I live on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and have a Record lathe that i rarely use, so would happily loan to someone locally.

 

[rich1880]

Hi

Thank-you for the quick response, I am located near Durham so unfortunately a little distance from yourself. Sounds like sound advice and I agree a loan of one would be great. I have a budget of £500 for everything really!

 

[Wood spoiler]

Hi and welcome

Axminster have two packages which are quite a good place to start if you want to buy gear being:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-aw ... rod833373/
or
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod833366/

It does depend what you want to make. The problem is until you get going you don't really know where this great addiction will take you - so in words of advice:
You can do small things on a big lathe but you can't do large things on a small lathe

regards

Colin

 

[rich1880]

Just had a look and they both look really good, for the price difference would people suggest going for the first one over the second?

 

[jumps]

I can only comment as another prospective purchaser -

the first is a lot bigger physically, has a stand as opposed to bench mounted and 3 times the power......it's also the one in my shopping basket waiting for me to press the button!

 

[Pvt_Ryan]

I have the larger one and it is good, however, imho, although the stand is adequate it feels flimsy and the tray catches everything so needs a lot of cleaning. The solution to the former is when you have time/cash make a new stand, to the latter invest in a cheap tesco £10/£15 vacuum cleaner.

The other this is the motor sits quite near the spinney bit (I am new to this) so may restrict the diameter of items being turned outboard (again don't know the correct term) like bowels etc, however I have not tried so when setup with chuck etc the clearance may be fine.

On the whole I like it though it is heavy 97kg for the lot so make sure you get help setting it up. I did it myself using a lot of rope and roof beams, but that easily took 3x longer than if I'd had a 2nd person to help.

Hope that helps.

 

[Steve Blackdog]

Hi and Welcome

You probably don't want to hear this advice, but don't buy anything yet if you can join a club and find out if you enjoy turning.

I bought a relatively cheap Axminster Perform CCSL. Great little lathe, but extremely limiting. Now that I have it, I can't really justify the expense of a replacement and don't need a spare. I don't regret my purchase because I have found a hobby I love, but knowing what I know now I'd've increased my budget.

Hence my advice. I'm not really a clubby sort of bloke and haven't joined one myself. However, if I had joined a club rather than log on the Axminster, I would have realised how much I enjoy turning and would have bought a much better lathe.

Once you get a few extra scrapers and gouges and perhaps a sharpening jig and a decent chuck, you will find you've spent your budget.

If you are determined, see what you can get second-hand. I agree with the bigger the better. But actually the better the better is probably the rule. Someone on here said you should buy your last tool first, which is advice I should have taken.

For my next lathe, I will definitely get something with an ability to turn bowls off the outboard end - or with a swivel head. Electronic variable speed would be nice too. That might help you make the right decision.

All the best.

Steve