New lathe advice please?

[Mr Chips]

Hi all I'm new to this forum and I've been a woodturner since December 2012, I currently use a Clarke cwl1000cf lathe witch I'm finding to be a bit on the rubish side, I'm looking to upgrade my lathe soon as I'm really getting in to my turning and looking to produce better and more detailed pieces. I've been looking into Axminster, Jet or Record lathes but not sure what one to go for, any help and advice or past experience would be truly grateful.
Thanks in advance

 

[wizard]

get a Union Graduate of ebay i paid under £400.00 for mine

 

[heatherw]

Hi Mr Chips, and welcome to the forum

How much space have you got and what is your budget? And what are you likely to want to make?

 

[Mr Chips]

Hi Wizard thanks for your reply, I will look in to the union lathe as I don't know much about them and see if it would suit my needs, thanks again.

Hi Heatherw, thanks for your reply, I'm moving in a couple of weeks so I'm losing my large garage and down sizing my tools to fit in a 6x8 shed ha ha, so I'm thinking about a midi lathe and mounting it on a solid bench to create storage underneath. I've been making bowls, goblets, tea light holders and currently making oak coasters with resin inlay, so won't be making anything too long, Ideally I'm looking for a solid lathe with variable speed control, as for buget the cheaper the better at moment but I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for, I'm also selling my new table saw to get a bandsaw as I would get more use out of it. Any advice you could give me would be truly appreciated, thanks

 

[wallace]

Hi Mr chips welcome to the forum, I started with a mickey mouse lathe and then progressed to a union jubilee the baby brother of the graduate. I then went to other extreme and got a long bed Wadkin RS with 100" between centres. I was going to suggest the RS I have in the for sale section but then I noticed you were downsizing to a smaller workshop. So my only advice would be to get a lathe with the biggest capacity you can fit in your workshop.
Mark

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

If you wont be turning long stuff then the length of the lathe is obviously less important. Be mindful though of the swing of the lathe for turning bowls. My Myford has an 8" (more or less) swing, so bowl sizes are limited.
Whatever I go for next, I'm leaning toward the Record lathes after using one of the small Axi ones at a club, I will be looking for a much larger swing.

 

[Mr Chips]

Hi Wallace, thanks for your help, I think the wadkin rs u have for sale will be a little on the big side for the space I have at the moment but it definitely looks solid and sturdy witch is what I'm looking for. The lathe I have at the moment has 100" between centers and capable of turning a 10inch bowl over the bed, but the biggest downside is the construction, the bed is only made out of angled steel and any piece of wood with a bit of weight just shakes the lathe and is impossible to work with, I've been doing some more searching and I think I'm going to go with a record lathe just not sure witch one yet as I want to make sure it will suit my needs for atleast a couple of years.

 

[Mr Chips]

Hi Tanzaniandevil thanks for your advice and I to am thinking about a record lathe with a swivel head stock for larger items. I've been thinking about doing some segmented pieces and this type of lathe would be perfect.

I will keep you all posted on my future purchase and a big thanks to you all for your help and advice.

 

[heatherw]

Well, yes, you're right, a midi lathe sounds ideal for what you want. Any of the good makes would do, Record, Nova, Jet, there's a CL4 just come up for sale on ebay with chuck, drives, face plate, legs and of course variable speed. Buy it now 500 pounds sounds good to me.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Record-lathe- ... 4ac79be93b

I bought a Nova 3000 on ebay last year with tools and chuck, and it's perfect for what I make so far. Up to 35cm over the bed and swivel headstock ( though I keep forgetting it swivels and I haven't got the outrigger.) No variable speed but I could adapt it if I thought it was worth it. They tend to come up or sale at 300 to 500 pounds secondhand and are heavy and solid with nice cams and 2mt head and tailstock, The thread on the Novas is a bit more chunky than that on the Records at 1 1/4" x 8 tpi and it's one of the standard threads that nearly all manufacturers stock for accessories. If you go for a Record I'd go for the bigger ones, CL3 and CL4 even if it's with the reduced 24" or 36"length bed.

 

[Chrispy]

Hi mr chips you have a PM.

 

[Steve922]

I have a Record CL4 with Bowl turning attachment and stand which I've been intending to put up for sale for the last year. I still use it occasionally but its hardly had any use since new. Not enough time.... :-( 8x6 shed is plenty big enough for this kind of lathe, a grinder and a bandsaw ... but, it depends what else you want to put in it!

Maybe I can be inspired now to actually put it up for sale! LOL

I'm in Derbyshire if you want to take a look at it.

 

[Mr Chips]

Hi steve922 have sent u a pm mate.

 

[gary knights]

i'm selling my big vicmarc and getting a small jet think is that wise