New to the forum

[mmab9]

Hi all new on here my name is Mike .I do green wood carving and want to start some lathe work .budget is small and thinking of getting this one Clarke CWL325V 13inch Mini Wood Lathe With Electronic Variable Speed from Machine mart what are they like or is there anything else to look at

Mike

 

[woodyturner]

Hi and welcome Mike there are several better lathes in you price range on the market take a look I have put a link to just two other members will no doubt give you some more
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod785504/
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ax ... rod781208/

 

[gregmcateer]

Hi Mike,
Welcome to the forum. I have found it an absolute mine of helpful information.
Do a Search on the forum and you will find THOUSANDS of pieces of advice. As a novice, I found that going to the local woodturning club, (go to awgb website to find yours) and just watching and asking, as well as on here, I learned loads and got lots of help before taking the plunge on a lathe - definitely worth it, (though probably will spend more than you planned!).
Then get a lesson from an experienced amateur or preferably a good professional - reduces the learning curve massively.
Good luck and have fun.
Greg

 

[Neil Farrer]

Mike,

Woody is being very polite, to say the least. It has the power of a failing rubber band at an amazing 0.2 horse power, it is a contender for being the first solar power driven lathe. I started life with an axminster awvsl and it did me proud for a while, still use it for pen demos, but even at half a horse power it struggled turning any thing of any size.

I think if you mounted anything other than a slimline pen in the Clarke it would wave a white flag. Buy more power otherwise you run the risk of sinking the ship for a penny worth of tar.

 

[nev]

Hi Mike, welcome.
Have a quick search of the forum (top right) for 'which lathe' , its a fairly common question with 1001 answers. :shock:
alternatively if you want to stick with green wood how about one ofthese?

 

[gus3049]

I go with what has been said generally, stick to Axminster. I wouldn't touch a Clarke lathe with a bargepole. Spares are scandalous prices and help is non existent.

 

[Jonzjob]

I have just had a look at the Clarke site and they don't seen to mention the raw power of 0.2hp? Srtrange that :?

I scrolled down to the bottom and now there IS a bargain

http://www.clarketooling.co.uk/tools/La ... ories.html

Gawd knows what they are made of? 13 quid for 8 chisel/gouges :shock: :shock: :shock: Another good on to miss me-thinks??? :mrgreen:

Nearly forgot, in my excitement on seeing the price of those gouges. Welcome to the forum and a good thing to remember is that the only stupid question is the one you can't find the answer to and you don't ask it :mrgreen: We all started from scratch..

 

[gus3049]

I scrolled down to the bottom and now there IS a bargain
http://www.clarketooling.co.uk/tools/La ... ories.html
Gawd knows what they are made of? 13 quid for 8 chisel/gouges :shock: :shock: :shock: Another good on to miss me-thinks??? :mrgreen:

Yes indeed, real quality stuff. My Clarke lathe came with a set of the things. I tried my first turning, the gouge bent and I binned the lot.

As you can probably tell, I am quite impressed with Clarke's products.

 

[woodyturner]

I got one of there lathes the same as the CWL12D about 15 years ago and took it back the same day all the grub screws were to soft and just sheared it rattled something rotten and that was without any wood on it the motor kept jumping up and down in general a right load of blaa blaa blaa and Iv'e never been back since

 

[Jonzjob]

I scrolled down to the bottom and now there IS a bargain
http://www.clarketooling.co.uk/tools/La ... ories.html
Gawd knows what they are made of? 13 quid for 8 chisel/gouges :shock: :shock: :shock: Another good on to miss me-thinks??? :mrgreen:

Yes indeed, real quality stuff. My Clarke lathe came with a set of the things. I tried my first turning, the gouge bent and I binned the lot.

As you can probably tell, I am quite impressed with Clarke's products.

I thought that you were still using them Gordon :roll: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[nev]

Reading between the lines, and using my almost supernatural powers of deduction I think that Clarke may well be a brand to be best avoided. :-k

 

[Jonzjob]

NEV! I am totally shocked that you could possibly come to that contrusion :shock: :shock: :?

What on this wonderful planet of ours could possibly have lead you there? :?

I wonder what it's like to sharpen plasterscine? :?

 

[gus3049]

I scrolled down to the bottom and now there IS a bargain
http://www.clarketooling.co.uk/tools/La ... ories.html
Gawd knows what they are made of? 13 quid for 8 chisel/gouges :shock: :shock: :shock: Another good on to miss me-thinks??? :mrgreen:

Yes indeed, real quality stuff. My Clarke lathe came with a set of the things. I tried my first turning, the gouge bent and I binned the lot.

As you can probably tell, I am quite impressed with Clarke's products.

I thought that you were still using them Gordon :roll: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

I shall of course, ignore the fatuous attempts at humour that are John's stock and trade.

It is clear that Nev is of above average intelligence and perspicacity. Also, he is in charge this month, nudge nudge.

 

[Noggsy]

Welcome to the forum Mike. I live at the other end of Cheshire and there is an Axminster shop in Warrington, which is an excellent place to start when considering anything to do with turning...their after-sales service is superb. Best thing to do is to have a play on a few different lathes and see what suits what you want to do. You're welcome to come up and have a try at mine if you want to...I have an Axi AWVSL lathe (which may be for sale if you like it) and a large, Apollo lathe, or there are other, similar models around. The best advice is to try first and to shop around. There are loads of bargains to be had, once you know what you're looking for. This forum is an excellent resource as well, so get in here and ask questions.

 

[boysie39]

Welcome Mike, the only time I mention Clarke is when asked for me Mothers maiden name .You will detect a fair amount of sarcasm on this forum mostly from across the water on both sides :lol: :lol:
which you can choose to ignore . You will also find tremendous help for your entry into the turning slippery slope .
Try to find a turning clue close to you ,or if you can take Noggsy up on his offer. You can get DVDs and Books but there is nothing better than the real thing. :mrgreen:
Good luck in your quest.

 

[Jonzjob]

A turning clue? Is that an Irische turnin club Boysie :roll: :roll: :roll: :mrgreen: Gisa clue? :twisted:

 

[Davon]

Hi Mike,

I, like you, was looking for a "budget" lathe to start me off and I bought the Axminster awsl
I have been and still am very pleased with it ( I also bought the extension, a must in my opinion), but if I had my time again I would buy the awsl variable speed, it's too time consuming and " fiddly" changing the belt over.
](*,) ](*,) wish I'd paid the extra.

I have not been turning long and am learning from this forum and youtube videos but for me it's Axminster.

Good luck
Davon

 

[boysie39]

A turning clue? Is that an Irische turnin club Boysie :roll: :roll: :roll: :mrgreen: Gisa clue? :twisted:

Mick ,see what I mean ? that was a deliberate misnake on mi pert.
And Seeing as Devon likes you I would take his advice and go for the variable speed one .

Whatever you decide enjoy your new lathe .

 

[Jonzjob]

I'll go along with the variable speed too. I have a Record CL1, the baby of the series, and it has three speed. A couple of years back I fitted a 3ø variable speed motor and converter. It really made the world of difference and was worth every penny.

It only takes a few moments to change the speed between the pullies, but to have exactly the speed you want is a boon!

 

[graduate_owner]

Just to add my two pennyworth to the issue of Clarke tools -
do they really exist? By that I mean - is there a firm called 'Clarke' that makes tools? I suspect that they (and Power Devil, Nutool etc) are just names stuck on re-painted Far East imports.
I bought a 'Clarke' whetstone grinder some 18 years ago for about £85. I still have it but it leaves a lot to be desired. The tool rest on the slow running whet stone is plastic and doesn't support anything. The wet wheel itself was not running true, and I have since bought a better wheel. Overall, pretty poor quality. I know you get what you pay for, but this was actually quite expensive.

However I have been quite disappointed with some of Axminster's offerings as well. e.g. a £50 automatic darkening welding helmet that I used twice before it stopped working (despite leaving it in sunlight to recharge), a dust extractor system (with 3" pipework) which is way underpowered, and a scroll saw which is really pretty grot - although it was cheap so that's fair enough I suppose. I also bought a battery operated digital caliper which was supposed to be auto shut-off (battery saving), but the battery went flat, as did a new battery, even after switching off. Axminster sent a replacement but it was exactly the same, so now I have to remove the battery after use. I could go on but I'm sure you get the point.

Cheap is cheap, whoever sells it, although I'm certainly not putting Axminster in the same category as Clarke. I'm just saying that you have to be a bit suspicious about buying 'bargains' - unfortunately.

K