mailee
Established Member
Aw, come on guys, surely someone knows a little about this B&Q copy lathe before I spend my hard earned on one?
Anyone?
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Colin C
Established Member
Hi mailee
I have not used this lathe but if you do get it, you can give it a try and if it is no good. You can take it back as B&Q are nice like that
.
From what I have seen it does not seem bad for the money.
I hope this helps
I have not used this lathe but if you do get it, you can give it a try and if it is no good. You can take it back as B&Q are nice like that
.From what I have seen it does not seem bad for the money.
I hope this helps
mailee
Established Member
Thanks Colin, Yes I did realise that B&Q have a good returns policy only thing is it's a bit big to be carting back again really. It does look good value for the money and for the amount of turning I do think it would be ideal. I just wondered if anyone had actually had any experience of it. At the moment I have the old Draper/Clarke/ made in Taiwan one with the single bed and it is a nightmare as the bed siezes up on the tail stock and I have already broken one tailstock 'tapping' it free! OOPS! I have a hide mallett especially for 'adjustments' of it. I thought it was about time to renew this piece of junk now. :wink:
Never mind "Come on guys ..." - I'd like to help but wanted to check which lathe you were referring to, so I went to their site. Oh my, what a wonderful experience that was. No matches when searching for "lathe" or "copy lathe" or "Performance Pro" (really!), but "tools" brought up 537 hits. However, after 40 (yes, 40!) pages of doors and dado rails, I gave up.
I've seen a quite sturdy-looking lathe when in their big warehouse in Tunbridge Wells, probably 1 metre between centres and about a 300mm swing, but on closer examination it wasn't up to much - if that's the one you were asking about. If it is the one and you can hold on a couple of days, I'll go back and dig a bit deeper.
Ray.
I've seen a quite sturdy-looking lathe when in their big warehouse in Tunbridge Wells, probably 1 metre between centres and about a 300mm swing, but on closer examination it wasn't up to much - if that's the one you were asking about. If it is the one and you can hold on a couple of days, I'll go back and dig a bit deeper.
Ray.
mailee
Established Member
Hi Ray, Yes I too had a look at their site on the 'Net' what a waste of time I agree. Here is the lathe I am talking about on another site: http://www.diynot.com/shop/PP_Pro_Copy_ ... tand/64325 Not knowing a lot about lathes as I only use one as I need to it looks to me like a good buy. Although there are much more experienced people on here in the turning circles. Thanks Ray.
A
Anonymous
Guest
It's the same as my Charnwood and the same as loads of others.
I simply can't fault it. I have turned bowls, door knobs and dowls on it for the past year and it has been perfect for my needs. Very sturdy too.
Buy and you will not regret in my opinion - I certainly haven't
I simply can't fault it. I have turned bowls, door knobs and dowls on it for the past year and it has been perfect for my needs. Very sturdy too.
Buy and you will not regret in my opinion - I certainly haven't
Right, I thought that might be the one, although the model I saw didn't have the copy facility - at least, if it did have, it wasn't fitted to the floor model.
The main concern I had was the lack of power for the size and the relatively flimsy locking handles. Otherwise, the construction was typical of far-Eastern imported lathes, with slightly rough castings and a bit of a flimsy stand.
The difference between this one and your current model would be considerable, but I'd have a look at this one from Axminster's Perform range, which has a much better power rating. OK, it doesn't have the copy facility, but that's actually no big deal as far as I'm concerned, for most general turning. I don't think the headstock swivels, but it slides along the bed, so you could turn a large bowl off the end. Even this one is a better bet, with swivelling headstock and a bit more power than the B & Q model.
I know that Chas has a Perform lathe, which he's pleased with (you might try a search of his posts for more info, as I can't remember which model he's got).
I'm still prepared to go back and have another look at the B & Q one for you, but it looks like Monday will be the earliest opportunity. Lack of power is still my major concern and I don't think the copy facility is worth trading for more power. HTH
Ray.
The main concern I had was the lack of power for the size and the relatively flimsy locking handles. Otherwise, the construction was typical of far-Eastern imported lathes, with slightly rough castings and a bit of a flimsy stand.
The difference between this one and your current model would be considerable, but I'd have a look at this one from Axminster's Perform range, which has a much better power rating. OK, it doesn't have the copy facility, but that's actually no big deal as far as I'm concerned, for most general turning. I don't think the headstock swivels, but it slides along the bed, so you could turn a large bowl off the end. Even this one is a better bet, with swivelling headstock and a bit more power than the B & Q model.
I know that Chas has a Perform lathe, which he's pleased with (you might try a search of his posts for more info, as I can't remember which model he's got).
I'm still prepared to go back and have another look at the B & Q one for you, but it looks like Monday will be the earliest opportunity. Lack of power is still my major concern and I don't think the copy facility is worth trading for more power. HTH
Ray.
I haven't seen the B&Q lathe but I do have the Axminster CCBL and have found it very good.It does have a swivel head and is quite sturdy. A copy facility is not something you would use very often and turning table legs is relatively easy, they only need to be the same length and have coves etc in roughly the same place to be perfectly acceptable. You can only look at one leg at a time when it is fitted to your table and any slight discrepancies are adjusted for by the eye. The advantages of a copy lathe are in production when you only need to measure one leg of many.
mailee
Established Member
Thanks guys, No need to go have another look Ray Thanks. I have to admit I hadn't realised the power rating was so low on it. I do like the look of the CCBL from Axminster for the same money. As Jaymar stated table legs don't have to be exact and I have made a few in the past with no problems. The bed is longer too which is a plus so I may go for this model instead. Thanks for the replies and the help.
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