So many lathes??

[Elaine]

](*,) Having read lots of your posts all of which are very informative, I still feel like I'm banging my head on a brick wall about which lathe to buy.
I have the very basic SIP lathe which no longer serves my needs. I have been looking at the axminster lathes, my needs are variable speed and a swivel head for doing larger pieces. Could anyone help a lady in distress

 

[Paul.J]

Hello and welcome
What's your budget :?:

 

[jpt]

I am sure lots of suggestions will be along soon, to help us could we have a bit of info please.

What is your budget?

What do you want to turn?

How much space have you got to site it?

john

 

[CHJ]

to the forum tanzaro, the variety of answers/recommendations are likely to be as varied as the number of models you have already found. As has been mentioned an idea of your turning aspirations, budget and available workshop space and type may help narrow recommendations.

 

[WoodAddict]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Which lathe do you have now?
http://www.sipuk.co.uk/tools/sip_workshop_lathes.html

Depending on your location I may be interested in your SIP lathe. A basic lathe would do me for starters and maybe give you a bit towards your budget for the upgrade.

Thanks
Paul

 

[big soft moose]

](*,) Having read lots of your posts all of which are very informative, I still feel like I'm banging my head on a brick wall about which lathe to buy.
I have the very basic SIP lathe which no longer serves my needs. I have been looking at the axminster lathes, my needs are variable speed and a swivel head for doing larger pieces. Could anyone help a lady in distress

you could get buy with something like the axminster M900 / M950 or one of its many clones - for a couple of hundred quid new (Less on ebay) - i had an m900 for 9 years and its a decent machine.

however eventually you will probably want to upgrade again so if you can afford it i'd look at getting a bigger bettrer one now , you could do worse than the hegner mark sangar is selling (£500) edit: oops no he's now saying its sold

or if you want to buy new I'd suggest the axminster ABSL 1200 - which is nearer 800 notes but is a lot of lathe for you money

(course if you are rolling in it you could just jump straight to a real quality machine like the VB36 or the Graduate with variable speed mod )

bottom line is going to come down to how much you want to spend vs how much you want to be able to do

 

[Elaine]

My budget is £400 - £500. Looking to try lots of ideas, bowls, hollow forms etc. Did a course recently with Reg Slack and he was saying to buy a good, solid lathe rather than buy something cheaper, so willing to research it and check out what other more experienced turners think. I'm sure it comes down to individual choice but experience of these things is a good recommendation.
Regards
Elaine

 

[kasandrich]

Have you joined a local club?

You will get a lot of help and advice and hear about lathes others have for sale.

 

[Bodrighy]

Welcome. There have been a couple of excellent lathes in the price bracket going on here where others upgrade, don't know if they are still available. Most lathes in that range swivel but not all have the variable speed.

Pete

 

[big soft moose]

G&M tools have got a graduate bowl turner for £300 ! that said its three phase so you'd also need to budget for an inverter (which would give you electronic variable speed - and probably cost in the region of £150) - also its without tools rests etc so you'd need to budget etc for them

probably be worth it tho - i'd be tempted if i had the space for a second lathe ( one other point of note is that graduates were made originally for school use so if you are tall it would need raising)

 

[Elaine]

Thanks to all of you who took the time to reply, your comments are much appreciated and I will now chew them over . ccasion5:

 

[Tintin]

The SCHEPPACH DMS900 could be added to the list of possibles

http://www.poolewood.co.uk/acatalog/Sch ... Lathe.html

 

[OldWood]

Hi Elaine - and welcome to UKWorkshop and it's forums ('fori' if you old like me and have been 'traditionally' educated!)

I possibly - probably - come from a slightly different stage of development from many of the very knowledgeable and experienced guys contributing here in that I am still (I think) at the novice stage. Lots of grand ideas and I have the kit but still lacking that touch that so many people I watch have - never a catch in sight !!

I come from a background of extensive wood working and also metal lathe use, so regarded my first lathe purchase requirement as being something pretty solid. There are 'solid' modern lathes but they were well outside my price range so I kept an eye for sometime on Ebay possibilities and in the end got a good older machine with plenty of capacity, converted to variable speed plus chuck and faceplates for £550. This is the less common ex-college Wadkins Bursgreen BZL, and partly because it isn't so well known was a bargain. Super machine.

With the knowledge you now have, I would suggest this is a path well worth looking into. There are plenty of people here with older machines and they would give you advice if something catching your eye came up. Also look on Lathes.co.uk for information on older lathes.

Search Ebay using "lathe (wood, woodturning)" and select Auctions Only will give you an easily checkable number of hits - 68 this evening!

The up side of older lathes is just the sheer quality of build, the weight (!), and the ease of maintenance if they do go wrong - the only downside is the length of the belts which make them a bit noisy.



Rob

 

[miles_hot]

where are you? There could be people nearby who can let you try out more than one lathe before you commit to one

Miles

 

[Elaine]

again thank you all so much for your replies and support. I have had hours of fun mulling it over :-k . Have spent thousands of pounds 'window shopping' then reined myself in. I think I am going to go for the Record CL4 that I was given the heads up about here. So really excited, will let you all know the outcome.

 

[Les1693]

Hi tanzaro.

Where are you based. As my neighbour, in Gloucester, has a CL4 for sale. It only 13 months old and comes with a supernova chuck, a number of jaws, 4" & 6" faceplates, CL3/B bowl turning attachment, a homemade stand and a few other bits and pieces I believe. I think he's asking around £770 for the lot. His only reason for selling is he's upgraded to a Hegner. We can deliver also.

Regards, Les.

 

[big soft moose]

('fori' if you old like me and have been 'traditionally' educated!)

*engage pedant mode* technically the plural of forum is "fora" (for those who have been traditionally educated *pedant mode off*

back to the original question - where abouts in the uk are you tan, if you are in the wiltshire etc area i would be happy for you to have a play with my 1200 - and i'm sure there are other members inother areas who wouldd feel likewise

 

[Elaine]

I am based up near manchester. I have lathes coming from every direction at the minute, which is great. Friends dad has an old coronet in his garage. Need something easier because of RA in hands. You are all very kind and helpful.

 

[George Foweraker]

hi Elaine.

I am sure you will get years of pleasure from the CL4 you have just bought from me.
I look forward to seeing the pieces you create with it

Regards George

 

[Elaine]

I finally got it all assembled. Looks brand new, so thrilled with it. Can't wait to use the supa nova chuck. George, have stopped sweating about the stand nearly tumbling through one of your conservatory windows, phew.
To all of you, thanks for your time and advise.
Will put up spme photo's soon of my turning :lol: