Beginners question regarding lathe purchase...

[Dave Leishman]

Hi all,

I've decided to purchase a woodlathe, but am getting a little bogged down in the bewildering range and attachments.

I thought I'd outline here my requirements and one of the offers I've seen and see if someone can make any suggestions

I haven't touched a woodlathe since leaving school over 25 years ago, but I have very fond memories of how satisfying it was, albeit with the ever-hovering presence of a strict-but-fair teacher to come to my rescue when things went wrong!

I primarily want to use the lathe to make wall clocks, barometers, etc, although it would also get some more general use when I feel the need to make sawdust on rainy days.

I've just bought this months The Woodworker & Woodturner magazine, and inside was a thin catalogue from Record Power in which they advertise a few lathes as special offers.

The one that caught my eye is a DML36SH-MKII, Swivel Head Lathe and is offered at £219.99 including an RP3000X chuck.

Does anyone have an opinion on this lathe/chuck?

Incidently, the catalogue offer lists the chuck as RP3000X, but the chuck that's pictured as part of the offer is separately listed near the back page as the RP3000XI. There is also no RP3000X, only the RP3000XI on the Record Power website, so I'd guess this is a simple omission of the I, although I'd check that before buying, but does anyone know if there is (or every was) an RP3000X chuck as opposed to an RP3000XI? I'm just wondering if they're offloading old stock?

I'd guess for clock making I'd also need the optional DML-BR Bowl Rest?

I suppose the CWA93 Live Centre is always useful to have, but they also advertise a set of turning tools, RPCHS6, comprising a roughing gouge, skew chisel, 3 spindle gouges and a parting tool. Would this set be adequate for a beginner?

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[PowerTool]

Hi Dave.

Although I have no experience of the Record Power lathe,they always seem to get good reviews.(In a recent article in Woodturning magazine,Alan Holtham's whole workshop was a very green-and-yellow theme )
I would also look at the Perform range from Axminster - they do a variable-speed one for just under £200.
The live centre will depend on your choice of lathe,but,yes you need one (my Clarke lathe came with one)
And the starter chisel set is fine - I started with the Screwfix equivalent,and have added to it as I have found need for others.

Andrew

 

[Dave Leishman]

Thanks Andrew. I did consider the Axminster range, but I kinda like Record. Maybe some psychosomatic imprint memory of the brand of the machines I used at school. The power of advertising!

I phoned Yandles today and they have everything in stock, so I'm off there tomorrow for a look

I may still be there this time next week drooling over all the goodies 8)

Dave

 

[Wanlock Dod]

Dave,

I have both the lathe and chuck that you mention. I have found it to be pretty good (considering the money) and made a variety of fairly useless artifacts with it.

Mine came with a stand, which is pretty poor - I am thinking about building a better one, but probably not all that soon. I don't have a bowl rest, but I think that it would only be used when the head is swivelled 90 degrees to the side. I believe that it replaces the "lump" that holds the ends of the bed bars together. With the current stand I have had some vibration issues with large diameter bowls that need to have the head turned to avoid hitting the bed. I suppose that the advantage of the wobbly legs is that I can manoeuvre it about if I need to.

The chuck is quite limited in its movement range, so some precision is required. Mine came with options for a screw chuck, face plate, expanding jaws, contracting jaws and a pin chuck - I have used all apart from the pin chuck so far in my limited adventures. So far only one bowl with the base too small to grip I'd have to agree that the chuck is limited, but I also think that for the price it is probably not that bad (mine was 50 notes) considering that the big boys ones are probably three times that.

I had good customer service from Record when the first had some kind of electrical issue (condenser?) after a couple of weeks, not great that it didn't work but they swapped the headstock straight away.

I also have that set of tools, and have found them to work quite acceptably. I don't have much by way of comparison for most of the above, but I do also have a couple of Sorby tools. Its fair to say that I struggle with sharpening, but I don't find the Sorby ones that much better. Maybe I have removed any performance advantages with poor sharpening though

So, in conclusion, I don't think that you would be desperately disappointed with the Record set up.

Cheers,

Dod

 

[Dave Leishman]

Thanks Dod. I have to confess to getting cold feet when I otalled up the cost of buying everything and ended up not going to Yandles in the end

It's definitely something I want to do, but I just need to get over the psychological pain of the initial cost first :roll:

I've waited 25 years...maybe I need another couple of months to think about it...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave

I've waited 25 years...maybe I need another couple of months to think about it...

Very wise! Meantime, check out your local club and see who has which lathe... and what they think about it...

record used to have a very good reputation but since sourcing castings etc from the far east i have my doubts... a friend bought a CL 4 ... and returned it because of alignment problems and 'lumpy' variable speed...

look twice or thrice and buy once... preferably a lathe and chuck system which will suit your needs... both today and next year!

 

[phil bowles]

Thanks Dod. I have to confess to getting cold feet when I otalled up the cost of buying everything and ended up not going to Yandles in the end

It's definitely something I want to do, but I just need to get over the psychological pain of the initial cost first :roll:

I've waited 25 years...maybe I need another couple of months to think about it...

I was in almost the exact same position as you - apart from the fact that its more like 35 years! Also, Im on a very tight budget!

The axminster / perform beastie with the swivelling head was on special offer recently...so i took the plunge. I have to say Im happy wiith the lathe...until I get a LOT better it does everything I need. The stand is OK, but I reinforced it waith a large lump of plywood as a shelf on the lower rungs...which I keep 32kg thicknesser and two bags of cement on. There is very little vibration. Being 6'2" - I found it a little low, so its bolted to two lumps of 75x75mm beech front-to-back

I also got the Dakota starter tools set (tho eveyone else seems to do a rebadged version too..shop around!)

I started with the supplied faceplate and 4-prong centre that came with the lathe...and beleiev me they are plenty good enough to get you back into the swing before making the jump to a "fancy" chcyk...and this will keep the price down

As for a chuck....see my other threads re the RP4000 / Dakota XT700...i believe they are exactly the same and I have an XT700 which does the job. The Dakota is £30 - £60 cheaper though!

Hope this helps!

 

[La Truciolara]

Record is still surviving thanks to its past reputation...
I would certainly stay away from it. It might be worth waiting a little more, may be save a little more and buy something you won't regret.

 

[docusk]

Ref the Record CL 36 etc. D & M Tools, Twickenham have them on offer much cheaper (£199.99)and free carriage. All the accessories are also available. I went there and it's like Aladdin's cave. My friend had to drag me away in the end.
BUT, now having vibration problems with the lathe. Not the lathe but the bench on which it's mounted I think.


docusk

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Docusk

Welcome to the forum.

Cheers
Neil