Hi folks...did someone call
The CL4 is something of a classic design....ugly as sin, needs to be oiled, fat lump of cast iron but one of single most popular models ever produced and the reasons are simple, it has very robust bronze bearings which are very different to most lathes and VERY robust. Like most RP lathes it has a swivel head allowing the headstock to be turned away from the bed bars for hollowing work. A little tweak of a turn allows much better access for the bottoms of bowls and there is a complete outboard attachment to facilitate access to a max diameter of 30" platter or bowls when turned through 90 degrees. The outrigger is a separate land for the banjo and toolpost.
The other real plus is the inverter and motor which are industrial strength based on converting single phase to 3 phase. So the variable speed control is smooth as a babys botty! Personally I couldn't live without variable speed now.
The two things people dislike about them are the bed bars are cylinders instead of machined flat and the spindle is MT1, 3/4" x 16tpi and not MT2. Personally, I've found nothing whatsoever wrong with the solid steel bed bars and in fact like the fact that when dismantled its much easier to store or ship. The 1 Morse Taper and narrower bore spindle are fine within a range of work (size and weight) and for all normal sized turnings ie almost all spindle work short of large vases/hollow forms its fine. It's also fine for bowls up to 14-16" if not too out of true at the outset. But it cant really be asked to turn a 20" 5" deep bowl (despite their marketing saying it can turn 30" outboard). In theory it could turn a 30" platter with careful cuts but in my view that's a big ask.
So for the normal non professional turner who wants to do a wide range of spindle and face grain work to a fair degree of capacity its unbeatable. For the turner that wants to start turning the odd rootball or larger salad bowls or generally large, heavy and out of true stock, it's beyond its capacity. Where I think the confusion lies is good old marketing again, where Record Power proudly display Alan Holtham turning a 30" platter. In my view that's misleading.
The RP 5 year guarantee is also something I think is really valuable because of the peace of mind. My own circumstance is that I bought mine from new in November 2012 so its not yet half way through its warranty. I joined a club a while back and one of the members sadly died, leaving a bargain I cant pass up for a much larger lathe although it has a broken inverter which I'm hoping to fix (well hoping 9 fingers will fix it in fact
) So I will be selling mine shortly.
