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ajmw89

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Hi guys,

SWMBO is looking into buying me a new lathe for my birthday (not til april). The budget I've got is about £500. Ideally I'd like new, but realise that won't necessarily be possible.
Variable speed is desirable but not essential, a minimum 40" bed length is a must.
What do you all reccomend?
I've had a look around and have a few ideas of my own, but wanted to see what you guys would go for and what I absolutely musn't get!

Thanks in advance,

Adam
 
If you have access to a club, ask around and see if you can have a go on either their machines or those of members. In my experience clubs are run by enthusiasts (pro and non-pro) who are keen to get folk involved and help one another. Try as many different machines as possible before deciding what will suit your needs best.
£500 is a pretty good budget for a hobby lathe. I assume you will also want to invest in some tooling with that budget too?

I started out on an old Myford ML8 and "upgraded" to a Record Power DML36SH because I wanted a larger capacity for bowl turning. (I use the quotes because the motor is much lower powered than before.)
Try to think ahead to what you will be turning. You will probably go off in a completely different direction in any case, but it's good to have an idea of what you want to turn so you can decide on swing, bed length etc.

Good luck

Tom
 
I certainly need the length as I'll be using it for binding cricket bat handles amongst other things. Want to use it for a bit of everything turning wise, so a good allrounder is required.

Was thinking something along the lines of the AWVSL1000 from axminster.

Tools aren't included in the budget, as I have a few new and used ones from ebay/rutlands/axminster
 
When I was looking to change it was a toss up between the RP and AWVSL1000. In hindsight I wish I had gone for the Axi lathe as I'm just not comfortable with the bouncy RP tubular bars and what seems to be a very underpowered ⅓hp motor compared with 1hp on the AWVSL1000. I got the DML36SH at a price I couldn't really afford to turn down though.
I know many folk are perfectly happy with the RP lathes, but it's all horses for courses.
 
Hi

I'd consider a Record Power CL3 with 48" bed bars - the CL series bed bars are solid steel not tubular.

My first lathe was of the same design as the Axi but differently badged - the CL is in a totally different league for quality and performance in my opinion.

Regards Mick
 
Spindle":169irrez said:
Hi

I'd consider a Record Power CL3 with 48" bed bars - the CL series bed bars are solid steel not tubular.

My first lathe was of the same design as the Axi but differently badged - the CL is in a totally different league for quality and performance in my opinion.

Regards Mick

Seconded ! The DML is very much a starter lathe and very modestly powered, the other end of the record range is a very different proposition and a cl3 did everything for me for many years.

Cheers, Paul
 
Not had my new lathe long but am very pleased with it. It is a record CL3 it may not have the variable speed but if you really want it the you will need to up your money and go for the CL4 or buy the CL3 now and at a later date buy the variable speed to add to it.
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

Just a few questions-
Is a cast iron bed better than bars?
I take it the CL3 doesn't come with a stand?
Is there much difference between 1MT and 2MT spindles other than size?

From what I can see, the AWVSL comes with a stand, has a cast iron bed and is 2MT with a 1"x8TPI spindle thread

The CL3 doesn't come with a stand, isn't variable speed, has bars rather than a bed (albeit solid steel) and has a 3/4"x16TPI spindle thread as well as being 1MT.
 
If you are into lamps and standard lamps, sometimes the bore of the tailstock barrel is sometimes bigger on a M2 taper which makes long hole boring easier. Whether that influences a decision only you will know.
CL's don't come with a stand. Look at the Record price list before you consider a second hand lathe - the cost of the rear turning attachment, stand and any rests, chucks etc. can be as much as the basic lathe.
 
All those are very astute questions :) I have the CL4 by the way and personally couldn't live without variable speed now but that's another matter.

The stand issue is a simple one as they're easy to build out of sturdy timber (4x2 etc) though many people simply bolt them to a sturdy bench. Cast iron bed bars versus solid steel bars. The issue here is vibration which is the enemy of the wood turner. A secondary issue is what I call the "shelf factor". Come finishing time its very handy to have a flat surface on to which you place all manner of pots of wax, sanding sealer, cloths, spare chuck keys, grannys underwear etc which have an annoying habit of falling off steel cylinders. I've made a little wooden platform that sits snugly over my bars and that's become my shelf once tailstock is out the way and the work is chucked. So I think square bars are better in that respect. For vibration, its all about mass and stability, my CL4 is pretty solid in that respect.

The spindle thread and MT size are in my view one limitation of the CL series. It only comes into play if you want to turn very large and heavy/out of true work because the larger spec'd machines (MT2 and bigger spindles) can handle bigger pieces. But NOT if the motor isn't rated for them so a small motor'd lathe with a big MT and spindle is rather punching above its weight! In addition, very few novice turners get anywhere near the heavy pieces requiring those larger specs since there is tons of stuff to learn at the smaller end (including up to near 12" bowls) so my view is that if you really need MT2 and a generally bigger lathe then you should know why you're going that way from the off and invest in a much more substantial machine all round with an appropriately sized motor.

Don't forget the CL series has a swivel headstock so you can turn bowls and platters up to 30" diameter if you use the supplementary side bowl tool support assembly.

But it is right and proper I believe to be aware of the differences between the MT and spindle sizes, its just that taken in isolation from the weight of the lathe, power of the motor etc they don't mean much because you wont really get the benefit of being able to turn heavier work without all the factors being considered.

Hope that helps. My advice, get variable speed, you wont regret it. CL4 would be my specific recommendation.
 
Thanks for the info chaps.

THe CL4 will be quite a way out of my budget. Seems like there are several different similar models to the awvsl on the market, which says to me that they are all made abroad and badged up differently.

It really is between the AWVSL type model and the CL3.

Looking at the spec, it seems that the CL3 has a slightly weaker (3/4HP) motor, as opposed to 1HP in the axminster lathe, although they have the same top speed. The AWVSL is also a bit heavier, which I'm led to believe is a good thing? Especially as I'll be putting cricket bats on there, which will almost certainly be out of balance whilst they're spinning
 
Hi

Try and have a look at a CL3 and the Axi and you'll see what I mean about build quality.

Regards Mick
 
phil.p":1u9gxqy5 said:
I use a CL3 or CL4 regularly - if the build quality is better on them than the Axi, the Axi must be dire. The finish on the Records is rough as guts.
Certainly where my DML is concerned, the castings are unfinished and pretty rough. The "banjo" and tailstock don't move as fluidly as on my old myford which had fairly well polished surfaces in comparison.
I will say though, the record castings seem very solid, if not very pretty.
There's a steel stockholder a mile from me. I might consider changing the tubular bars for solid on my lathe and think about a motor upgrade. Bars would have to come first though, because a more powerful motor would destroy the tubes.
 
Having had a chance to look at both tje cl3 anf the awvsl1000 in the last few days, I've made my mind up to go with the axi. Mainly because all yhe extra gubbins to turn outboard and the stand are either included or don't cost the earth at a later date. I feel they will both be more than adequate, but the axi suits me better
 
I had the Axminster for about 8 years - no problem with it. Would get it again.
Axi have a lathe plus chuck offer on at the moment - scroll to the bottom of the lathe page.

Brian
 

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