what beginners lathe?

[joekid]

hello ,im new to wood turning ,in fact ive not got my lathe yet/ can anybody give advice on choice £200 budget,its not much in todays quality tool price range but has anyone had to make do with a budget lathe to start /any other reason, and thought this isnt a bad piece of kit? this is the sort of thing i want to hear about ,not sales patter, thanks

 

[Alf]

Welcome to the forum, Joe. I'm betting the Perform lathes from Axminster are going to get a vote or two; I'd certainly go that route if I was starting again. Actually, even though I'm not starting again, I've gone for a Perform as a small secondary lathe and I'm impressed. Better wait and see what the experts say though.

Cheers, Alf

 

[PowerTool]

Hi there - yes,for £200,the Perform range would certainly get my vote.
Started off with the Clarke 20" lathe from Machine Mart:-

which was about £70 - had fun with it for about a year or so,then (due to an unexpected bonus at work) upgraded to the Perform CCBL:-

which was about £200.
No belt/pulleys to alter to change speed - so I change speeds more often
No spanner needed to move tailstock/toolrests - so I move them more often

Bear in mind other costs,though:-
Chisels - my first HSS chisels were the five-piece set behind the headstock - £50
Chuck - although I made lots of things on the small lathe between centres,or using a faceplate or screwchuck,having a chuck now makes workholding easier - Clubman K10 currently on offer for just under £100

So,for what it's worth,that would be my recommendation for a lathe in your budget - has the capacity and capability to be added onto as and when you can afford it (assuming you get addicted :lol: )

Good luck,and let us know what you decide to go for.

Andrew

P.S. - still an enthusiastic amateur,and not an expert :wink:

 

[colin macdiarmid]

I've SIP variable speed lathe 900mm long with a swivel headstock for outboard turning, find it a good wee lathe costs about £179.00 new, but bear in mind you'll need a chuck and some other tools, to be honest I would check out ebay for second hand lathes this may leave some cash for tools etc

 

[NeilO]

hi joekid.....
you may want to check out our resident maestro of the lathe, CHJ (Chas) he has/had a Perform lathe and supernova chuck for sale....
check down the listing to FOR SALE....

 

[CHJ]

I would endorse the Perform range as well.

There are many clones of this design marketed by other retailers, besides axminster under the white range (900 series).

Whether the increased sales price guarantees better tolerances, bearings etc. is a job to determine, all I know is that if you order spares or enquire about spares the components are supplied from axminster with a 900 pt. no.

If you do go for one of the variable speed (cone pulleys) drives, which I would fully recommend for a newcomer, follow the service advice regarding lubrication of motor shaft and spindle pulley, with my usage I did it about once a month.

EDIT:
Neil that is embarrasing, you type faster than me, I think Lancashire and Gloucestershire are a little too far apart.

 

[NeilO]

Chas, i think you pretty much put evryone to shame with the amount of stuff you turn out (pun intended) your work has certainly encouraged me to have a try at turning.....

BTW is it the CBBL , and is it still for sale??????

 

[CHJ]

...snip..
BTW is it the CBBL , and is it still for sale??????

Neil it is the slightly less flexible CCL

and yes it is still open to offers.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I had a GMC clone of that Clarke for about 18 months. It was replaced with a Jet mini lathe a few weeks ago. I also bought the bed extension. Very sweet lathe, especially if you are turning spindles, handles, etc . The limitation is that bowls can only go up to 10" wide. Do a search/ Google for more information/opinions - it is all very good.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[joekid]

il definately be looking at the perform lathe it sounds a solid buy/waiting for my canoe to sell/ its being replaced with the lathe,is there any chance i could make some tools, ive done a bit of knife making,so could have a bash, thanks a bunch .

 

[CHJ]

...snip..,is there any chance i could make some tools, ive done a bit of knife making,so could have a bash, thanks a bunch .

I would not recommend it for a beginner, the forces applied to a wood turning tool are considerable and any errors in hardening and tempering high carbon steel could lead to accidents.

Most Tools are made from HSS these days and are not heat treatable in a home workshop. The cost of Blank material and the associated grinding wheel usage to shape them would be prohibitive in most instances.

There is little wrong with the cheaper sets sold by the major suppliers as far as quality for a beginner, they may not be pretty or what you would prefer when you achieve knowledge but they will be more than adequate to get you started.

 

[joekid]

hi joekid.....
you may want to check out our resident maestro of the lathe, CHJ (Chas) he has/had a Perform lathe and supernova chuck for sale....
check down the listing to FOR SALE....

thanks will do that

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Joe

...pop into w h smiths and have a browse thought the woodturning mags, send off for the major makers' catalogues (Ashley Iles, Sorby, Crown etc) it will give some insight to tools...

shop around for the best price, it's so easy to succumb to 'shiny new tool' syndrome as many on here can testify :wink:

Avoid sets... it's better to choose your own preferred tools... and cheaper!

Scrapers can be fashioned from ordinary wood chisels ... car boots are a good source. As I've often said on here, the difference between good and poor steel is the number of visits to the grinder :lol:

Silver steel may be used to make a skewchy type and a 3 point tool... pick up some reject handles at the next show if you don't want to make your own (you can often pick up a reject handle for the price of a brass ferrule :shock: ...you could also use copper pipe for ferrules...

 

[joekid]

Hi Joe

...pop into w h smiths and have a browse thought the woodturning mags, send off for the major makers' catalogues (Ashley Iles, Sorby, Crown etc) it will give some insight to tools...

shop around for the best price, it's so easy to succumb to 'shiny new tool' syndrome as many on here can testify :wink:

Avoid sets... it's better to choose your own preferred tools... and cheaper!

Scrapers can be fashioned from ordinary wood chisels ... car boots are a good source. As I've often said on here, the difference between good and poor steel is the number of visits to the grinder :lol:

Silver steel may be used to make a skewchy type and a 3 point tool... pick up some reject handles at the next show if you don't want to make your own (you can often pick up a reject handle for the price of a brass ferrule :shock: ...you could also use copper pipe for ferrules...

thanks again lads/ kind of narrows things down a bit

 

[Scrums]

I started with a Perform CCl - about £130 at the time, later sold for £80 on ebay.

I now have a Wadkin - via ebay for £200.....I think that the actual starter lathe cost is the smallest cost in beginning woodturning, without getting carried away I think you'd better budget another £200/£300 on a basic chuck and some tools - and please don't go down the road of a budget 'set of woodturning tools'.

Oh, and did I mention you need some lumps of wood too ?

Chris.

 

[Scrums]

Just noticed you're Lancashire - If you want to pop into the workshop any time just pm me.

 

[joekid]

ive been offered a record lathe, and been reading good reviews about them, but also going a bit cheaper is a draper lathe for £113 new cant find any reviews on the drapers though, i may go with the record,,got to get sorted for weekend,so i can start chopping down the neighbours trees, he throws his leaves in our garden so im going to make him some bowls,

 

[joekid]

Just noticed you're Lancashire - If you want to pop into the workshop any time just pm me.

where are you i may take you up on that / thanks very much,ps, im in the heywood area

 

[joekid]

Hi Joe

...pop into w h smiths and have a browse thought the woodturning mags, send off for the major makers' catalogues (Ashley Iles, Sorby, Crown etc) it will give some insight to tools...

shop around for the best price, it's so easy to succumb to 'shiny new tool' syndrome as many on here can testify :wink:

Avoid sets... it's better to choose your own preferred tools... and cheaper!

Scrapers can be fashioned from ordinary wood chisels ... car boots are a good source. As I've often said on here, the difference between good and poor steel is the number of visits to the grinder :lol:

Silver steel may be used to make a skewchy type and a 3 point tool... pick up some reject handles at the next show if you don't want to make your own (you can often pick up a reject handle for the price of a brass ferrule :shock: ...you could also use copper pipe for ferrules...

i own lots of rusty tools,ive been playing with some d2 steel,supposed to keep a better edge than o1 tool steel,but not rust,so ive made a knife and will put it through its paces,before making some tools/i send them away to be tempered properly, good tips are always welcome

 

[joekid]

got my lathe coming next wednesday hopefully!ive got some wood on order spindles and a bowl blank of umbruglia,tools well im still looking looks like im going to get one or two then wait till after christmas,