Hi Im thinking of trying my hand at wood turning, I was thinking of buying a cheap lathe first just to see if I like the hobby. These go for about £100 on ebay...
BoB
For £109 you can get a new Jet mini-lathe, the discontinued model before variable speed. MUCH better quality, and resale value.
Hi Bob, I have cheap lathe that I paid £100 for from my local hardware store !! Its branded "Faithful" . I bought it to see if I liked turning before spending a lot more money. That was five years ago and yes, I do like turning! However, a word of warning - you will spend more money on your chisels and also a sharpening sysytem/jig. It is essential that you are able to sharpen your gouges satisfactory.
If I was buying a starter lathe now, I would go for ther Axminster Perform CCL at £170.
Bob, The one you reference on Ebay has some serious drawbacks. While it may OK for lightweight spindle turning, it lacks the torsional rigidity to turn bowls of more than minimal diameters (though one member of this group has a sinilar unit and likes it). It also has a high minimum speed. around 800 RPM on 50 HZ (UK), and 1100 RPM on 60 HZ lines (USA). This is too fast for unbalanced blanks the size that the specs claim for this lathe.
There are some low end lathes that are adequate for beginners. The Sears monotube lathe clones are available from several suppliers. Harbor Freight in the US has it for $129 USD. The next size up from this configuration is the Jet 1236 clones. They are available from several outlets also. Harbor Freight and Grizzly in the US and Axminister in UK. The HF version is put on sale periodically for $169.00 USD. The Jet 1236 has some draw backs, but it is used by many turners across the country, and turn out good work with it. It has cast iron bed, and adequate tail stock, and a swivel headstock for outboard turning or swivelled outward for better access for bowl turning. I'm not sure what the exchange rate is now for pound vs dollars, but I think you can find a better lathe than the on in your post for the sane price (100 pounds) or slightly more. Just my opinion. YMMY
Ken Moon Webberville, TX
IMHO save your money. i bought one of these at a traveling tool show a couple years back. a few things i found. no morse taper. odd threads on the head stock. all set screws are too soft to be properly tightened.they strip out and some will be striped out when you get it. the bed flexes a lot. the motor is way under powered for anything larger than pens.all turn knobs are realy cheap plastic and break with very little effort. the spur center is a screw on thing that may be crooked and.is poorly cast. [ at least mine was] a jet mini or delta midi or fisch would be much better choices. i got rid of that anchor before i finnished the second piece i tried to turn on it. bought the fisch turning center and have been very pleased with it. YMMV.... skeez
Well, some sage advice has been given on this site in the past on this subject and I will repeat it here : I recommend you go to the AAW site;
I don't know why, but I have found woodturners to be the most friendly bunch of folks of any organization I have ever belonged to. Could be the "absorption process" from all the different woods we work with, or it could be from getting hit in the head during the learning curve!
Regards Lewis
As you refer to Ebay UK and quoye in pounds sterling I think you may be in the UK. The Association of Woodturner of Great Britain can give you the location of a local club which may have a lath available for loan or the association itself may be able to help rather than spend money now. Try
Hi Lots of good advice, I will go away and rethink my plan of action. I was doubtful that they would be any good. I do like the look of the Axminster Perform as suggested by Woodshavings. Thanks again to everyone for the advice, off now to the woodturners.co.uk site.
BoB
One thing I try to remember from my Grandfather is "Don't waste your money on something you wouldn't sell to a friend." Or something like that. In other words, invest in a better lathe. If you find you don't like it (but I doubt it) you can always sell it to someone else, as long as you take care of it. But if you buy something junky you probably wouldn't want to saddle someone else with it.
Certainly. For learning that you really need a better lathe. Barry
My wife gave me a grizzly for my birthday a couple years ago. Within a week I had spent twice what she spent just so I could sharpen my chisels etc. Since then I purchased better chisels. Shoot even the chuck that I purchased cost more than the lathe.
However, I'm now hooked and waiting for my Nova DVR to arrive. I have several hundreds of dollars of wood stacked up in my study waiting for a better lathe and spring (I also have more than several hundred dollars of exotic hardwood boards stored in my study also).
A learning lathe is just that a lathe that you learn on. Like most hobbies. If you want to try it do you buy the best and most expensive? Some people do but I would not recommend it. I've seen too many people spend lots of money on real expensive equipment that never gets used. It ranges from fishing gear, camera equipment, boats, tractors, and what ever you can think of. Its like sending a kid to the best university if your not sure they are ready for college. It likely to be a big waste of money.
Ofcourse it is up to you to decide what is too much to spend just to see if you like it. For some it is $100. For others it is $500 (or pounds if your a brit). How much would you fell OK putt>Hi
Mark. (CCL = Cheap Chinese Lathe?)
My only additional comment would be that if you buy a cheap lathe to try out woodturning, at least buy one with standard threads. I had a cheap Grizzly with 1"x12 threads. When I finally bought a decent lathe I had to get rid of the 4 jaw chuck, face plates, screw chuck, sanding disk, etc because they were such weird threads. As you buy more tools, you can still use those, but you can't use many of the lathe attachments.
Earl
Sorry, I am not sure who started this thread, but I think an observation is in order. Most of us who turn a lot started on cheaper lathes. They turns wood around and let us attack it with sharp tools. Now I have a better lathe than when I started. It lets me turn wood around and attack it with sharp tools. I still have and use that first lathe, a Canadian Tire monotube with 3/4" x 16 spindle. It turns a lot of pens and spatulas these days not to mention the occasional bowl for old times sake. People complain about the monotube. It is not a $5000.00 heavyweight but it is a lot of fun.
Darrell, when did you replace your "Craftsman"? (wink-wink)
James I still have the 15" Craftsman. It is my main lathe and I am very happy with it.
These "cheap" lathes you look at in the flyers at a nice reduced price and say "hey I'd like to try that" and you do and it becomes a valued part of your life.
How many people would never ever turn a piece of wood if these lathes started at $2000-$3000-$5000....
I turn as a hobby and get great enjoyment out of my "Canadian Tire" lathe. Of course, I'd love to have a nice expensive lathe....but I can't afford it.
I suspect that these cheap lathes are equally responsible for aborted avocations in turning as well. Two stories: #1, My father-in-law bought a cheap lathe with two thinwall tubes for a bed many years ago. Both the headstock and the tailstock flex outward under even light pressure, and the motor bogs under light application of a roughing gouge. He turned one or two pieces of firewood and gave up. The thing sits in a corner of his shop, collecting dust. Last weekend he tried my Jet 1442 and spent over two hours turning a fairly intricate spindle. Now he's talking about getting one for himself. Story #2: Mine. I began turning as a middle school student in Woodshop. The lathe was competent, and I made several items, two of which I still own and use. Subsequently I talked my father into a cheap lathe, and to promote brevity, I gave up soon after failed attempts to use the POS. Now with a decent lathe, albeit a relatively inexpensive one, I'm having a ball and my learning curve is steepening.
Fortunately they don't. My Jet 1442 cost me $767 with another $200 in tools. A Delta 46-715 is even less. A Jet, Fisch, or Delta mini is far less. Cheap lathes are simply that: cheap. A beginner probably needs a competent lathe as much as does an experienced turner--perhaps even more.
Max
Cheap is a relative term.
What is expensive for one person is cheap to another.
When I menti>>say "hey I'd like to try that" and you do and it becomes a valued part of >>your life.
Bob, as Max points out, if by cheap you mean shoddy, it's not OK(ish). If it honestly performs to its advertised specs (no matter how limited) then you can make an informed decision as to what level you can reasonably afford to begin. That is OK. Lots of adequate & affordable lathes are available these days. A pile of metal that looks like a lathe but doesn't function like a lathe (unless its user is very expert) might be OK as affordable metal sculpture, but it isn't a lathe.....and isn't OK(ish) for a aspirant turner. IMHO! Arch
Fortiter,
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