Please help?! Beginners lathe on a budget for bday present!

[TobyDavidson]

You can get some basic blanks from Tool Post or many other places.

I too started about a year ago on a second hand lathe bought from pikeybay for £150.

The blanks of wood are great to start with as they are generally kiln dried so you can use then straight away, and fairly close to round, so the roughing down stage is a bit easier.

Don't forget a dust mask of some sort and some safety specs. You can get a dust mask for anything from a few pence to a couple of hundred pounds, but even one of the 3M brand masks you see the people wearing in biological accident movies.

 

[OldWood]

Rattypuff
Keep an eye on Ebay for wood.

If you use this search :-

(wood turning,woodturning) -(elm,ash,yew,chisels,cd,dvd,pen,magazine,video)

This means that you will get anything with 'wood turning' or 'woodturning' in it and the group after the minus sign gets rid of all sorts of things you aren't wanting - in your case you probably would want the elm, ash and yew so delete them. And then find the button that allows you to save the search, which is great boon.

Quite often there are batches of wood come up from someone who is giving up, and these are nice mixed lots. Otherwise go for the moment with some UK woods.

Two other things - see if you can locate a local wood turning club for your partner to join as the learning curve, though short for simple things, is steep and she'll need all the help she can get so that she too doesn't find it too hard and give up.

And get someone to give her a book - I recommend Keith Rowley's 'Wood Turning'.

And finally be prepared to be sucked into it too - it's really very satisfying starting out with a rough bit of wood and seeing the shavings fly off and shape appearing before your eyes.

Rob

 

[greybeard]

Another thought for you to consider - Shavings management!

When the shavings start to fly they will go everywhere and anywhere, and there will be millions of them! And then there's the dust from final sanding......

Anyone - including non-turning woodworkers who think it'll be a bit like a circular saw or jigsaw - who has never seen the amount of shavings that can be produced from a small blank is always staggered by the volumes. With a bit of practice your partner will fill an ordinary carrier bag in two minutes......you get my drift I'm sure.
Think big shavings management!!
She won't need an industrial set-up, but she will need something rather more robust than a Hoover....again flea-bay may help, or local shopwindow ads. Even a Henry would be a good starter!, but something a bit larger would be better if possible.

 

[Bodrighy]

For the dust you need a dust extractor. Shavings a dust pan and brush are your best bet. Most of the extractors that I have seen clog up with the shavings and you spend more time unclogging than you would sweeping. I have a vacuum as well as a dust extractor but use it to clean up after brushing the worst of it up,.Getting it out of the nooks and crannys as it were.

Pete

 

[OldWood]

By now, Rattypuff, you will be beginning to wonder if this was really such a good idea !! Don't please be put off as you are the initiator and your partner will be thrilled with what you are doing for her - but just be prepared for the fact that she is going to have to continue investing for some months to come (er.. there will be some here who will correct me and say some 'years' to come!!)

There are bound to be hobbies which have a low initial investment cost, but having taken on sub-aqua a few years back and now wood turning, I'm of the opinion from these two that you're committing yourself to £1000 start up costs for any decent equipment based hobby, and if I went into my main interest of mountaineering now that would cost me at least that and possibly double. OK everything can be done for less, but enthusiasm leads to getting better equipment leads to a poorer bank balance.

Any RP, that's not your problem - you're just the catalyst !! Enjoy

Rob

 

[Rattypuff]

Hehe! thanks all....

I have to admit, i had second thoughts where i remembered that the only practical place for the lathe to go, will be our spare room :/ Although its biggish and has a bathroom coming off it (practical i guess?)...i forgot about all the dust etc...ah well, the room has a door and also the room leads off into the garden...!! :shock:

Anyway, im still going to go for it, because i know that she'll be chuffed to bits and thats what matters

£1000 setup - wooh! thats a lot, but we have a few hobbies that have lead to expense, like surfing - i thought that would be cheapish - but no way! £300 for basic board, £200 wetsuit £200 other bits..!! i have to say that neither of us are on wealthy incomes...

Ok - have been offered a machine for £200 which i can collect locally- but have no idea if it is what i want/need?!
Agh, im running out of time 12th Nov deadline!

Bits of wood - great idea and thanks so much for the links...im going to look...
xx

 

[UnicycleBloke]

You don't say what the local machine is. I'm sure the others could advise you on its suitability.

I paid less for my lathe, and am very happy with it. I reckon my initial set up was about £500: lathe, chuck, grinder, tools, wood (nothing fancy), some abrasives and finishes.
I've spent more since - it's very easy - and have my eye on a bandsaw, but you need only get what your partner cannot turn without. Shavings management is a broom. Dust management is a post hoc sweep with an old Dyson.

I've had no courses (yet), and recommend Rowley's book. I've also found Phil Irons's book useful. I prefer to have a go before classes. I find I get more out of them that way by focusing where I'm struggling. You'll know what suits your partner.

Spare room! You might want to consider keeping that door permanently closed, and allow access only via the garden. My workshop is the garage. There is no door directly into the house, for which I am grateful. I have to be really disciplined about changing shoes and removing my jacket even though I'm going via the garden. I'm sure it'll get easier when I have some chip and dust extraction in the garage, but at least Henry devours what does make it into the house.


Al

 

[Rattypuff]

Its a CLO 24 record...? I know nothing about it except that it works!

OH goodness, im starting to have second thoughts again!! it is our spare room, but we use it more like a garage to be honest!! (carpeted though!)...it hasnt got a bed or any furniture - it just has all our rubbish in it...that we are intending to clear out soon.

hmmmm.....ah. Well, there is a chance that my partner may be getting a shop with a basement to work in..so thats a better option..

 

[gnu]

A decent bandsaw is one of the most useful bits of kit as you can make your own blanks as buying in blanks is very expensive and if you have an electric chainsaw you can convert logs. You may wish to get a pillar drill, sanding disc, stove to heat workshop etc. There is a lot of used kit about for sale as people have said and you may get a whole load of accesoriies, chucks, wood and so on. If you go to a club or go to a woodcraft show there are usually a few experienced people working on lathes who can give you a few tips.

 

[gandy]

as a fellow cheap buttocks (no offence) i got into this for as little as i had to spend.

my lathe (the smallest charnwood model, w815 i think) was £115 at the time, but its now had an upgrade and sells nearer £180, its not a bad lathe but its no the best, however having once used the smallest JET lathe, i can say that'd be a best bet, its a few notes more at around £200 but will last you a life time.

theres nothing wrong with 2nd hand too, im sure if you can find someone selling a decent lathe (or even a half decent) you'd get yourself a bargin, luckly most makes and models have common thread sizes, and adapters are easy to buy with chucks.

i started off with a chuck set from axminster, costing around £60, it has 4 sets of jaws, and a screw chuck, so you could turn small bowls, do spindle work and much smaller iteams, its not the worlds best chuck and jaw sets, but its a good starting point.

try not to cheap out on tools, however axminster are selling some under their own name, but they are infact made by a very well known shefield maker and having just purchased one of their tools have found it to be as good as tools that sell for 3 or 4 times as much, or you can buy a set of small turning tools made by crown from axminster for around £60, i started with them and i still use them daily!
and you'll need a roughing out gouge, but if you go with say the axminster ones, you'll have a beefy tool for under £15.

again staying with axminster you can purchase a good grinder with white wheel for around £40, infact i think they are now selling one with a slowspeed wet wheel, something normaly found on grinders costing £100+

so for around £315-£325 or less if you can get a lathe 2nd hand you'll have a basic set up to get her going.

however. please please please please buy a couple books on turning, eye protection (face sheild) and a good resportatior, you can get face sheilds for around £7 and resportatiors for £20+ both very important.

as for wood, i see your not far from brighton, this place is a good look around http://www.woodrecycling.org.uk/

you can normaly find something thats ideal for turning, but the staff are often very helpful and more then happy to help, and you'll be able to find some nice wood for basicly pennys

hope this is of help.

 

[UnicycleBloke]

OH goodness, im starting to have second thoughts again!!

I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to put you off. I think this is an absolutely fantastic gift idea. As for the dust and whatnot, when I'm turning I'm as happy as a pig in poop, and that's what counts.


Al