AW1416VS

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Lodds

Established Member
Joined
6 Apr 2011
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Old Basing, Basingstoke
Hi, look for some advice and hope you guys can offer some.

Thought I would start off by saying I am new to Turning, I can create a Bowl and basic pot puree bowl, the finishing is rubbish so need to work on that.

I currently own a Record DML24 and have upgraded it with a DML36 swivel head. I would like to upgrade this machine and am considering the Axminster AW1416VS. I do have concerns on two fronts, the first being due to the 41Kgs this machine weighs how it would deal with off-set timber, I imagine i would have to chase it round the workshop, not that I would have to chase far as I only have a small shop (7X12). Does anyone have experience of this machine with out-of-balance logs?

The second concern is the maximum over bed diameter of 13 1/2 inches, not really sure if I will need anything greater than that really but just something else to consider.

How many turners turn bowls/platters that are in access of 13" and how frequently, is this type of turning specialized.

:? :?
 
I imagine i would have to chase it round the workshop

Hi , Does your shed have a wooden or cement floor ?

As for jumping around it depends how and what you mount the late on , You will need to put it on a sturdy bench preferably bolted to the shed frame , and bolted to the floor if possible , also adding ballast inside the bench will help the more weight the better

You can get a bed extension for the lathe you mention

Personally I now think the Axminster AW1416VS is over priced they did a massive £150 price rise this year probably because the lathe was popular , I cant see that's a reason to bang up the price :roll:

If you are not in a rush good quality used lathes turn up on ebay , keep an eye out :mrgreen:
 
Thanks for the comments Blister, I have a concrete floor in the shed. and I'm not in a particular hurry. I have seen lathes advertised on ebay but I really don't have a clue what I'm looking at.
 
Lodds":2jcn7iyx said:
How many turners turn bowls/platters that are in access of 13" and how frequently, is this type of turning specialized.

:? :?

not me! I have a Record CL2 36x18, which gives me 36 inches between centres and 18 inch diameter faceplate (bowl) possibilities.
The largest bowl i have turned was about 14" and that was made from layers of ply. the largest real wood one was about 10" in ash. the main reason for this is big bowl blanks are quite pricey and quite thin on the ground (just have a quick gander on fleabay).
I would suggest if you are not going to be happy to be spending upwards of 20-30 quid on blanks, or dont have ready access to said timber you need not worry tooo much about the ability to turn such sizes.
If turning such monsters is what you really want to do i think you may be heading into the heavyweight (read also pricey) lathe section.
first_cut.jpg
:mrgreen:
 
I share a lot with you on this one, I am relatively new to turning, have a DML24 with a swivel head upgrade, but went one step further and bought the 1416 before the price hike. I am lucky that I have the space to keep both but I use the 1416 much more than the DML24. I don't think that you should be concerned with the height over the bed, more the distance between centres, will you need to acquire the extension bed and if so is the combined price worth what you want it to do?

I know that the 1416 is used by many as a demo machine, my back is fine at the moment and that's the way I want it to stay! - Mine's bolted to the worksurface and to that end its no better or worse than any others on the vibration stakes but if you are going to turn odd shaped lumps then this or similar sized machines are not what you're after. The things that appeal to me about the 1416 is the power, the noise level (low) and the engineering, especially after the DML which is after all a bit basic.

I use a 1416 with a super precision chuck and it's a dream to work with and I'm glad I bought it. Or should I say I'm glad I bought it when I did - would I buy it at the new price? Don't know is the honest answer, I can't remember what the Jet 1220 is now which was another contender at one point.

If you're not going to renew your stair spindles, make standard lamps or take a liking to mishaped off centre blanks then the 1416 is a great machine and I am really pleased with mine!
 
Neil, that is very useful information, thank you.

Axminister advised me on a AWVSWL1200 at around £800 looked good on their site 1.5hp motor with reverse. Sinse being given that info yesterday the lathe has disappeared off their site?

I doubt if I will be turning long spindles but would like to turn Table Lamps at some stage, so a bigger HP motor would be handy. I don't want to keep upgrading and buying a different lathe every couple of years so I thought I would invest in something that is reasonable priced and can cope with everything my growing experence can put to it.

The record 24DML was a great starter and introduction to the craft, but as you say very basic.

I'm not in any rush, as long as I get it before Sat I'm ok... LOL

I'll take my time and make sure what I choose is within my price range and suitable for my needs now and the foreseeable future.

Great site this for getting advice, so much experience out there.
 
I started on a clarke lathe which is very similar to the axminister awvsl900- this wasn’t bolted down and did walk about with an out of balance blank on it!! but I made a shelf and put a 100kg of bagged ballast on it and that helped- I then had a couple of poolewoods before buying my current lathe a vb36- I've had the vb for nearly 11 years and its brilliant but it spoilt me as every lathe I try is compared to it!! I had a jet1014 to do pens on but tried it with little boxes and the belt changing annoyed me too much so I bought a 1416 last year- I only had it a for a few weeks and didn’t get on with it very well.. eventually returning it for a full refund, I didn’t rate the construction and it rattled/chattered really easily- I tried a jet1220 at the shop and that was just as bad. I've now got a jet3520b as a second lathe and its o.k. but it really needs bolting down or some low down weight as it too shakes and judders with any slightly out of balance wood( I have had to lift it up 5" though which also hasn’t helped the top heavy-ness!!)
I did try a vicmarc 175 which was brilliant and I taught a chap for a few days on a awsvl900 and it was surprisingly good even with wet roughly chainsawed round bowl blanks.
My advice would be to try all lathes before you buy-as I say though I am spoilt having the vb as it is so smooth solid and vibration/chatter free it’s amazing.
 
=D> =D> =D> =D>
Thanks to all that gave their opinions, really appreciate it. and it has help me make up my mind, coupled with the fact that Axminister has
made an error with their pricing and withdrawn the lathe from their website and will be re-introducing it at the new price. Couldn't find out what the new price will be
but one thing is for sure the price will not go down. So I have done the deed and ordered a AWVSWL1200 for £834, considering the price of the AW1416VS at nearly £700
I think I got in there just at the right time. It may well be more machine than I need but I have the capacity to really F*** up big bits of wood now instead of little bits.

While i'm at it perhaps someone could tell me what the red button is for at the front of the machine, you know the one next to the green button :D :D :D :D :D

Thanks again, I'll keep you posted on how I get on, it might be from a hospital bed as it weighs 186KG, still not getting till next month so have time to make some new friends :wink:
 
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