new lathe choice

[trojan62]

hi
hopefully ill soon be getting a new lathe.
the two ive whittled it down to are the 100 axminster and the cl3 record power, both look very good.
at the moment for around 500 you can get the record power with the legs thrown in, but for about the same price i could get the axi 100 and the 100 axminster chuck that i fancy.
what would you do, and if you picked eitther of the 2 what would be the reasons.
id very much like a chuck when i get a new lathe, but if i bought the record that would be more expense.
thanks for you help.......

chris,,,,,

 

[wizard]

What would i do! I would buy a better lathe and buy a second hand union graduate

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Chris,
Wizard's advice may be a bit difficult to swallow but it is sound. You will outgrow both of these lathes pretty quickly IMHO.

If your budget has no possibility to grow then second hand would be a good choice or even a better built smaller lathe. But if you already have a lathe and can wait a bit longer then I'd recommend hanging on until you can afford something better.

My dislike of the outdated Record CL series knows no bounds (!) and as a past owner of a Reeves drive Axi lathe (M950 - noisy and inaccurate but probably better built than the 1000) I feel I speak from experience.

HTH
Jon

 

[woodturnerEric]

do you men the Axminster AWVSL 1000,if so,I had an ealier version called Perform CCVLB 1100 for 7yrs,which I was told by a few certain people was crap and I`d never get a piece of decent turning off,and would be impossible to do thin walled turning,well that was proved wrong made a goblet 1-1 1/2mm thick on itthey also so say they eat drive belts,I went through 2 in 7 yrs and it was used every day when I had it,it now resides with my soninlaw who also thinks its a great little lathe and you could then afford the chuck and accesseries you need to go with it,cheers,

Eric.

 

[paulm]

I would also suggest Jon's strong views on the CL3, are at odds with the majority of users of that machine, certainly with my experience of using one

Cheers, Paul

 

[Woodmonkey]

I would also advise second hand, not necessarily a graduate, most of which will need time & money spending on them, but if you're willing to pay the waiting game you will get a decent lathe for that money. A quick search shows a cl4 on fleabay within your budget.

 

[Eddie M]

I have the Axminster AWVSL 1000 which I bought a couple of months ago. I love it and have turned bowls, mushrooms, goblets and even a wee Christmas tree. Waiting on my pen mandrel to start pens. I find it easy to use and great value for money. The only thing that I would say lets it down is the thread at the head stock is 1" 8tpi which makes it difficult to buy accessories from anyone but Axminster. As a beginner myself I would definitely recommend it. I don't know about the "Growing Out of It" that may happen to me eventually but happy so far and would imagine it will do me for several years.

Cheers
Eddie

 

[Dalboy]

I brought a CL3 this year and it has done everything I have asked of it. So far I am very pleased with it

 

[NickWelford]

Eddie, 1" by 8tpi is not uncommon and you can get accessories readily.

 

[chipmunk]

Paul, Dalboy,
Sorry for referring to your babies as ugly but my view is based upon experience of Record lathes in comparison with more recently designed user-friendly machines.

No oiling of bearings, bored through headstock of useful size and rigid 2MT fittings, proper tailstock quills and camlock banjos, no bed bars to rotate and a proper threadsize with precise chuck registration. You can live with the old Record niggles obviously, but why would you choose to, if you had a choice?

To be fair to Record they do make, or rather import, some good machines as well now. The Novas and the Woodfasts are excellent lathes and so is the DML 305 - although why they chose to use a 1MT and 3/4" 16 TPI spindle on it goodness knows.

I have a Jet mini 1014 and a Jet 1642.
Jon

 

[Phil Pascoe]

At our club the favourite adjective for the ubiquitous CL series is "agricultural".