Buying a lathe (EDIT: Just bought a lathe)

[thedonutman]

Hey guys,

I'm a bit of a hobby guitar builder and I want a little benchtop lathe to turn some guitar knobs on, as well as pens and other little things like that.

My budget is pretty low (~£100 max) so I've been looking at Ebay for stuff.

Anybody have any particular suggestions?

Do I need a really good lathe to do small things like pens anyway, obvious I imagine you'd need something that is properly lined up etc. but there aren't any particular size requirements, right?

Also, do you guys have any experience with this kit?

EDIT: Why can't I post links properly without getting the "Report to Moderator" things?
Cheers.

 

[Bodrighy]

Hi and welcome,

you need to have a few more posats up beforwe you can put pictures in.

There are a number of small lathes on the market that would be ideal but it is a case of finding them 2nd hand as they seem to get held on to.

This sort of thing is probably the cheapest you will gbet 1st hand and personally I doubt if you will see these on ebay going 2nd hand. For the sort of turning that you are talking about these would be fine but don't forget you would need a chuck and some tools as well.

The other alternative is to look for Coronet, Record lathes as they often go cheapr and are good buys though bigger.

Hope this helps, others will come along and add

pete

 

[CHJ]

Welcome to the forum thedonutman.

Look for machines similar to these,

Axminster AWSL

Axminster AWVSL

As Pete says they don't come up often second hand but there are Jet and other brands with similar specs.

If you can run to the electronic variable speed options then they can enhance the turning experience and are much more convenient.

 

[thedonutman]

Thanks guys,

I saw those Axminster in the catalog I have (toilet reading, you know ) but you're absolutely right, they never turn up on ebay!

Here's a list of all the stuff I reckon I need:

Lathe
Chuck
Mandrel +bushings
Some pen kits and wood
One of those end trimming/straightening things
Tools - would a gouge suffice by itself? maybe a skew as well?
Sanding/finishing stuff (which I already have)

Am I missing anything?

What should I do regarding a chuck? Also, a bit of a stupid question, how does the mandrel attach to the lathe? Does it just go in the chuck like a drill bit would go in a drill chuck?

 

[gandy]

i think i can help, bit of a newbe myself

i paid £114 for my lathe (bench top charnwood)
i got the little chuck set from axminster
a roughting out gouge
a small crown set of tools

and thats worked well for what i make

 

[Doug B]

Hi Donutman.

I spotted this a few weeks back, it doesn`t look like it`s been sold yet.

http://www.getwoodworking.com/forums/po ... =28619&p=1

I have nothing to do with it, it just sounded a bargain.[/url]

 

[Paul.J]

Hello and welcome
I would also look at getting some sort of dust extraction/protection.

 

[thedonutman]

I just bought a Record RPML3000 off ebay for £60, It comes with a "Power chuck" and a robert sorby 2 part tool rest (I have no idea what these are )
It was £60 and the guy lives close enough for collection, reckon it was a good deal?

 

[user 5053]

The small record with the cast bed is very good and I got one second hand for £150 with chuck about 15 years ago. You see the little Axminster one about at the shows and looks good. There is loads of used stuff about, try a wanted add in your local paper. A band saw is a must for and turner as well as pillar drill, sanding disc, visor with respirator etc and good place to store wood.

 

[Chrisp]

Have a look on Ebay, you can check within a 10-25-50 mile + radius as lots of them are collection only, I picked up a second lathe on there a couple weeks ago, you can always go and have a look before you bid to check it out.
Chris.

 

[big soft moose]

. A band saw is a must for and turner as well as pillar drill

not if you only want to turn guitar knobs tho :roll: (mind you if the OP makes guitars the chances are he already has a bandsaw).

and forget the wanted ad - thats a total waste of money , just check out the classifieds, and ebay (and this forum)

 

[thedonutman]

Yeah, I've got a tiny benchtop bandsaw and an even smaller benchtop pillar drill, as well as some sanders and hand tools.

 

[thedonutman]

I picked up the lathe today.

My arms still hurt from carrying it up from the guy's basement and then down to the car.....

I need to buy some tools, which ones do you recommend I need to get first, just to turn small stuff to start off with.

Also, is a grinding setup essential? How come nobody sharpens tools by hand like they would with plane blades and chisels?

 

[wizer]

You try sharpening a gouge to exactly the same profile each time on a oil stone :lol:

For sharpening, all you need is a cheapish grinder and a platform. The platform will take away most of the headache. Then eventually you can upgrade to one of the many jigs.

Well done on the lathe. Now get loads of practise in. Don't make the mistake I made and try to make every piece of wood into a finished masterpiece. That can get ver disheartening when you're starting out. Slowly Grasshopper.

 

[Richard Findley]

Hi Donut,

My recommendation for tools to buy are as follows:

Spindle Roughing Gouge 3/4" or 1"
3/8" Spindle Gouge
3/8" Beading and Parting tool (this tool could be replaced by a 6mm parting tool and a 3/4" Skew but I now use the one tool in place of these 2. It takes a bit of practice but then what doesn't!!)

3/8" Bowl Gouge (if you intend to make bowls)

Grinding is the way forward when it comes to Turning tools. There are (in my opinion) 3 levels of sharpness:

1) Carving tool sharpness- like a razor, needs stropping with a fine polishing compound to achieve

2) Carpentry/Joinery sharp- a sharp plane will sing through wood but this need not be as sharp as a carving tool. I find shapened on a medium india oil stone is fine

3) Turning sharp- straight from the grinder with perhaps a touch from a slip stone to remove the burr. Don't be fooled, although technically not as sharp as the other 2, this will easily cut through spinning wood and your finger!!!!

This is my shapening set up:

HTH

Richard

 

[Bodrighy]

Just to get up and running I'd advise a spindle gouge, maybe 3/8th, a skew (a b**** to learn to use but invaluable once learned) and a parting gouge. If you are only doing small stuff with small wood you can do without the bowl gouge. A roughing gouge is useeful if you are going to be using fresh wood or square blanks. If you start doing face work e.g. bowls and platters you will need a bowl gouge as well.

Hope this helps

 

[CHJ]

Also, is a grinding setup essential? How come nobody sharpens tools by hand like they would with plane blades and chisels?

A grinder with a decent white wheel is essential for turning tools, learning to sharpen your tools is as essential as learning to use them on the lathe.

The Grinder motor need not be an expensive one the quality of the grinding wheels is paramount.

Once you start turning you will be needing to sharpen tools regularly, sometimes several times on any individual piece.

HSS turning tools are very hard and although dressing with a diamond file/card is possible in some instances hand grinding is totaly impractical in normal use.

 

[Bodrighy]

Also, is a grinding setup essential? How come nobody sharpens tools by hand like they would with plane blades and chisels?

A grinder with a decent white wheel is essential for turning tools, learning to sharpen your tools is as essential as learning to use them on the lathe.

The Grinder motor need not be an expensive one the quality of the grinding wheels is paramount.

Once you start turning you will be needing to sharpen tools regularly, sometimes several times on any individual piece.

HSS turning tools are very hard and although dressing with a diamond file/card is possible in some instances hand grinding is totaly impractical in normal use.

I agree, I learnt the hard way and my first spindle gouge lasted me about 2 months I think. Fortunately I got the hang of it and also a jig so now they last at least 3 months (well perhaps a bit longer :lol: )

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Take a look in CHJs HOW TOs at the top of the page there is a post there on members preferred tools.

 

[dickm]

My arms still hurt from carrying it up from the guy's basement and then down to the car.....

Know what you mean! I bought one on impulse a few years ago, and nearly wrecked my back getting it to the car. They are super little lathes, solid and quiet, with no vibration at all. They do have one (easily rectified, but serious) fault. Record cut corners, and didn't machine the underside of the bed. This is no problem if you stick to using the spanner-adjustment on the toolrest, but if you try to upgrade it with Kipp handles, the variation in thickness of the bed is a bit of a pain. Fortunately, the metal will scrape easily, so I spent a happy few hours doing this and got to the point where the Kipp tightened in almost exactly the same alignment all along the bed.
I never found having only 3 speeds was a problem, but just to learn how to do it, I fitted mine with a 3-phase motor and cheap inverter, which gave full variation from stationary up to full speed. Ended up with a great little lathe, but had to sell it to pay for the Myford...... :?