Opinion on a first lathe.

bigjoe · 1 Sep 2008

Morning all,
Im hoping to but my first lathe in the next few weeks,i have a budget of £250ish max and have never turned before so dont want to spend a fortune and find out i dont like it.
Ive been looking at the Record DML 24 and 36 at screwfix for £169.99 and £199.99 respectively but are there any better lathes out there in my price range.

Many thanks

Joe

Blister · 1 Sep 2008

bigjoe":3ux3d3j3 said:
Morning all,
Im hoping to but my first lathe in the next few weeks,i have a budget of £250ish max and have never turned before so dont want to spend a fortune and find out i dont like it.
Ive been looking at the Record DML 24 and 36 at screwfix for £169.99 and £199.99 respectively but are there any better lathes out there in my price range.

Many thanks

Joe

Hi and welcome , I can see you are new

, so you are looking to " BUT " you lathe , sounds painful to my whatever way you chose to do it !!! :shock:

on a more serious note , is you £250 max budget including tools / grinder / eye protection / dust protection / sand paper / finishing products / wood etc ?

Best advice is to go to a turning club near you meet some turners , sometimes they have a hands on meeting when you get to have a go on a lathe , or spend a day or half day tuition with a professional turner then you will know if you like it ?

£250 does buy a lathe but not a complete set up , I would look on ebay for a good used set-up , normally offered with some tools , blanks and bits and bobs :lol:

With ANY lathe you need power and weight so the little 375watt motor lathes are in my opinion not worth buying

If you were nearer you could visit me for a go but I see you are the other end of the UK

Allen :wink:

bigjoe · 1 Sep 2008

Hi Allen,
I may end butting it if i cant do it! :evil: , i see your in dagenham which is typical because i was born in greenwich and lived 5 mins from the dartford crossing until 5 years ago!

The £250 is for the lathe ive kept some back for extras,tools etc

regards

Joe

TEP · 1 Sep 2008

Mornin' Joe.

I go along with the above. Join a club if at all possible, talk to the guys, and see if you can go and see their machines, or even have a go on them. Or use the club one under instruction if you can. It's the least expensive and least hassle.

If you do want to 'but' (buy) a lathe, you could buy a small one but only if you can say for sure that you will only be turning small pieces. IMO a small lathe is always a second lathe for your workshop.

One lathe that has found a popular following on the forum as a starter lathe is the Axminster Perform CCL and they even have quite a good offer on at the moment.

Good luck!

loz · 1 Sep 2008

HI,

I have the DML 36 Mk2 - and i LOVE IT !!!! ( my first lathe, and i've only ever used other DML's while on courses etc - SO I AM SLIGHTY BIASED )

Bench mounted, and weighted down with breezeblocks for extra weight, the 1/3 HP motor has been good for turing anything spindlewise, and i have had some decent size bowls turned on it, 9 inch ( can take up to 12 inch ( for a beginner i find this quite big enough ).

did get some stall generating catches in the early days, but down to tool control. - the motor is well able to spin 9 inch ( x3in ) oak blanks at 2k rpm

I got a deal over here, wheer i got the DMLBR bowl turning brocket - basically a tool rest holder, for the swung head - great help. ( as seen in photo )

in a few years when im more experienced, or want to spin 4 foot blanks for wall plaques then i'll proably want bigger,

but for the money ( and the customer service you get from Record - and Alan Holthams DVD's !!! ) - I'm very happy

user 5053 · 5 Sep 2008

In addition to a lathe, you will probably need a band saw, sanding disc, grinding tool, respirator,pillar drill, maybe a planer etc. Check the used market first as you might drop on a complete workshop set up.