Soon it will be my turn

[Gary Morris]

I'm due to purchase my very first lathe, later this month, when I take dad to see my sister who lives 5 minuets from Yandles. It's a charnwood 821, a small lathe but is best suited to me due to space I think.
I've been doing a bit of research looking at 'beginner' - posts, googal and youtube.
I was wondering when finishing for example, a turned bowl, what would be the procedure in terms of 'when to use'
I would guess firstly sandpaper, going down the grits, but at which grit would you stop? I noticed a youtube video that showed someone using the shavings, would this be after the final sandpapering? Then would it be sanding sealer, wax and then lacquer?
Sorry for so many questions, any and all advice would be welcome.

thanks
Gary

 

[EnErY]

All I can say is as far as machinery is concerned Yandles Let Me Down Big Time But Thats maybe A personal thing It Was !2 months Ago i called Them Asking To Purchase A lathe big mistake They told Me They Had Stock Along With The Bowl rest And a Super nova Chuck ,This Amounted To quite A big sum Of money Considering i was on a budget.
Upon arrival to collect i was informed that the machine was not available out of stock so with the distance travelling from south wales i was cornered into buying a item off display. Being generous they gave me £25 off the price which i thought was a insult , i took it i wanted it and couldn't wait. upon arriving home i realised there was no manual no toolkit and the mounting bolts was missing ,after a lot of phoning to Yandles with no concern on their part i got hold of record powerthey sorted out the issues ,after a short while i had the screw chuch shear on me quite unusual to happen so i'm told called Yandles again and while i looked on their webpage i noticed they were charging for the 3/4x16 insert separate but looking on records site its part of the chuck they made money from me on that alsogetting back to the screw chuck Yandles charged me For The Screw chuck Although it was Quite New And Under guarantee i informed record About This Who Sorted this out immediately ,after contracting motor problems yandles didn't really want to know and directed me to Record power Whom I can say Sorted Me out This Is My experience And Ill not Buyanything from Yandles again other than timber this is my sorry experience ill not say you will have the same experience but be warned
Regards
Bill

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

Can't comment on Yandles, but Charnwood themselves provided me with a quality product and their service was excellent.
In terms of abrasives I would say buy the best you can afford. The cheapo Chinese made stuff from discount stores tends to leave more marks behind than it removes. I tend to sand down to 600 grit, starting at 100-120 grit. I have some 40 & 80 for soft pine, but on harder wood, just keep taking lighter cuts and make sure your tools are very sharp.
I have a bit of red pine beside my lathe for burnishing wood. That's basically what the shavings are for. I use shavings to burnish after applying a wax or a friction polish. If you use a paste wax when sanding to keep the dust down, use the shavings after your final grit to burnish the finish up. I'm not sure of the science part, but I believe the friction warms the paste wax up and the oil seeps into the shavings leaving the wax behind. I stand to be corrected if that's nonsense though.
I keep an air blower beside the lathe and keep the compressor running all the time when sanding. Blow all the dust away between grits to make sure there is no abrasive left over which will mar the finish. Run the lathe on a slow speed when sanding too. The heat created from the friction can cause wood to crack.

 

[Melinda_dd]

I went through 2 of those lathes in an hr.... Both blow up ... The first in 15mins so i have no confidence in those at all!

 

[CHJ]

.....I keep an air blower beside the lathe and keep the compressor running all the time when sanding. Blow all the dust away between grits to make sure there is no abrasive left over which will mar the finish......

That is not good, vacuum it up, blowing only spreads the dangerous dust into the surrounding air.

If you were in a properly regulated works situation you would probably loose your job for dangerous practise.

 

[woodyturner]

I cant comment on yandles nor the lathe but for sanding I would recommend J flex which is a cloth backed abrasive up to 600 grit a good combination would be 80g, 120g, 240g, 320g, 400g and 600g I get mine from http://www.sandpapersupplies.co.uk very resonable prices or you can get it on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HERMES-RB406- ... 35b6fdaf46
As for blowing the dust sorry Taz but never blow dust you will be just creating a dust storm in your workshop which will be very dangerous one for your lungs and two fine dust in the air can ignite from an electrical spark let alone anything else vacuum is the only safe way

 

[Ian 123]

I normally sand through grits 120 to 400. Then I burnish the piece with shavings before applying sanding sealer and wax finish with 0000 wire wool. Don't know if this is right or not but it works for me.
regards Ian

 

[Gary Morris]

thanks for all the comments, I've taken note Bill, I will get my sister to check on availability issues before I go down. (hopefully) Melinda thanks, I've seen the record Power DML 305 at Yandles also which is around the same price, so it might be a toss up between the two. Thanks Woody, I'll check these sites out ans more than likely get the range you sugest, and agree with Tazmaniandevil to avoid the cheaper ones. Thanks Ian, what you say makes sense and fits in with what the others sugest also. I can't wait to get it, I've got so many ideas floating around in my head at the mo.

thanks all
Gary

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

That is not good, vacuum it up, blowing only spreads the dangerous dust into the surrounding air.

If you were in a properly regulated works situation you would probably loose your job for dangerous practise.

I keep the vac running when sanding. I use the air duster to blow anything sticking to the wood toward the vac hood.
Something I've seen Bob Hamilton doing many times. As Bob is a seasoned pro, I assumed he knew what he was doing.

 

[stevenw1963]

Gary,

Don't discount the Axminster range - AWSL / AWSVL etc. My first lathe was the AWSL & I never had any problem with it, if you're only going to do small things like pens, spindle turning or bowls / platters up to about 10 inch then they are very good.
I bought from Record & unlike Bill, didn't get mine working until I received 4 motors (CL3 lathe). I guess everyone has different experiences with suppliers & lathes.
If you can, try a few out to find the one you want.
Plus, everyone's finishing procedures will be different, find the one that suits each piece of your work best. I sand pens to 600, then sanding sealer & either friction polish or spray lacquer (sometimes both) depends on the piece of wood & what finish you want. Others use Superglue as a finish or superglue & BLO (boiled linseed oil), personally I couldn't get a nice finish with superglue but the spray lacquer is just as good I think.
Bowls / platters are sanded through the grits then sanding sealer, wax or friction polish & buffed.
You see, all types of finishes, just take your time & find one or two that you like & that suits that piece of wood you're working on at the time.
Experiment, but have fun doing it. If it aint right you can sand or turn the finish off & start again (most times anyway lol)

 

[graduate_owner]

I attended a woodturning course recently and they had 2 Jet lathes and a Charnwood, all the same size. The instructor used both Jets but when he wanted to demonstrate something and both Jets were in use, he waited for one to become free. He said he didn't like the Charnwood, and he chose to use the 4 speed (i.e. pulleys to adjust) Jet in preference to the variable speed Charnwood. I didn't see much difference between them personally.There is a good choice of lathes in the Axminster catalogue though, and free delivery when you spend over £50.

K

 

[Sheptonphil]

Having acquired my first lathe on New Year's Eve, an Axi at1416vs before the price hike, (it went up by £120 with the rebrand) there were two contenders. One was the Axi the other was the Jet JWL-1220vs. Reading the advice here I definitely wanted to go the variable route if possible. If I were to buy one of the two today, and much as I love my new girl, it would be the Jet as I'm not convinced the Axi warrants the £145 premium over the Jet. The Jet 1220 non variable is also a really solid machine and has a two year warranty at £420. Also look at the reviews of the Jet JML-1014 http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-jml- ... tomsection

Go for the better quality lathe now, you will soon realise as I have found, that the price of the lathe is only a small part of the total cost and to skimp on this bit is the wrong place to cut corners. Wait a bit longer, do without the extra chuck jaws etc to pay the extra couple of hundred and have a decent bit of core equipment. Decent lathe, decent chisels now, the rest you can upgrade as you go. Dust mask and shield for the airshield pro, Henry up to a proper chip extractor etc.

After the lathe came the chuck, chisels, protective gear, finising compounds and abrasives, sharpening stuff, Oh, and some wood to start. I'm still kitting up now, another trolley of wood and finishes today from Yandles bit into this months play budget, but now well and truly on the slippery slope, the initial pain of spending the extra on the lathe has subsided and it's a pleasure learning to use it.

Just a view from a hooked newbie.

Phil

 

[boysie39]

I think what Phil. has said is a the way to go about starting off in the slippery slope . A good lathe is the most important starter .If after a time you feel you need to upgrade your lathe will not have devalued all that much .Dust extraction should ideally be bought with the lathe ,It is the most important thing in your workshop after yourself .
With a little research and Keith Rowleys book you can manage without all the bells and whistles for a while ,.Good luck and lots of enjoyment .

 

[Gary Morris]

thanks guys, there's plenty to consider, I'll certainly take a look into the Axi and Jet lathes and mabe save up a bit more.

Gary