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Bored and thought my garage could do with a lathe for some wood turning.
Obviously I want a V12 nitros injected lathe capable of spinning entire tree trunks but back down to reality, what do I really need?
Budget £3-400 and will mostly be just playing so it doesn't need huge cycle times (if that applies to lathes).
Not too worried about buying second hand if you can tell me what to look out for (wobbly bearings?) when buying but new might be better as I can get it delivered
I will probably be turning cups, bowls, candlesticks just like everyone else but who knows what else I will think of.
I would like it to be as flexible as possible regarding materials and how you fix them.
How much should I budget for starter tools and which do I need?
who knows what else I will think of.]
Have a look at Frank Howarths YouTube channel.
Can't really advice on a lathe as if I ever bought one all my time and energy would vanish under a massive pile of shavings. But... an advantage with second hand is a chance to buy the lathe along with all the useful nicknacks that have been accrued with it over time.
I had a Record one like this. I actually sold it a few years back when short of cash but regret it now and will get another eventually.
It's a decent one if you can pick up a used one.
If you're looking to turn bowls etc, then what you're interested in is the distance from the centre of the headstock to the bed as this obviously limits diameter. You also want to be getting a decent four-jaw chuck as you'll need it for bowls.
Some lathes include the ability to pivot the headstock to increase capacity. That Record above does that. However, that then means you need some way of getting a tool rest outboard too.
You can get a fair bit for your money though. Remember to factor in a selection of chisels and a bench grinder for sharpening.
It's a really satisfying thing to do. To be honest, most lathes capacity in diameter will do if you're a beginner.
You don't want to be turning massive stuff initially. Face shield important too.
Make sure you budget for tools.
I have a bench grinder.
The remains of £500 after I have bought the lathe is for tools and other odds and sods
I'm a reasonably competent woodturner having taken it up as a hobby several years ago; do make money from it from time to time and when I can be bothered. Started off with bowls but have moved on to more 'technical' hollowforms. I started off with a smaller Axminster trade lathe and within a few years moved on to a much larger Killinger KM1450SE that I was able to get directly from the company in Germany as it was between UK distributors; saved £1K and could never afford one now!
Tools; please, please don't buy a cheap set containing numerous tools as they're more a liability than an investment as the tang will be very short as will the handle - any catch and they'll fail. Start off with a spindle gouge, small bowl gouge, roughing gouge and parting tool. Sorby, Ashley Iles are good names to go for. I'd urge you not to go down the rabbit hole of 'carbide tip' tools as they are technically scraping rather than true cutting tools and you will struggle to develop proper technique.
Sharpening is the key and you could make jigs for your grinder to get uniform, regular profiles. CBN Wheels are excellent for sharpening as they remain cool. I've got a slow speed grinder with 200mm CBN wheels and have various jigs and rests for getting repeatable angles, etc.
Woodturning has become a bit of a reserve of the middle-aged bearded man with a shed that buys blanks off the internet and scrapes away. I'm middle-aged and bearded but have yet to use a blank ordered online; all my wood is sourced locally and that more often not means access to a chainsaw and filling the boot of the car. Do have a sizeable bandsaw at home.
I'me also very serious about dust extraction too; have three stages - dust and chip extractor in corner, Record Power AC400 above lathe and a 3M Versaflo when sanding.
Plenty of used lathes around but collection may have put a damper on the trading; a friend runs a Facebook group for trading in woodturning tools and equipment and has suspended it during lockdown - rightly so.
You'll get a decent second hand Record CL3 for that money, with a bowl turning extension rest and stand if you shop around and have a bit of patience. They've got adjustable headstock bearings and are really quite simple to work on if needs be. A wee bit agricultural but ideal as a starter lathe.
If you're lucky it'll come with a chuck and some tools to get you started, well worth waiting for the right one because the extras can easily cost more than the machine itself.
I'd be wary of buying any of the cloned ones, Axminster, SIP, Draper etc, nothing wrong with them but they do tend to wear out a bit quicker if they're not looked after (variable speed mechanism particularly) and if you're not sure what you're looking at then wait until you've got a bit more experience.
Thanks - I will look around. There is no rush so happy to wait until the right thing comes along. Second hand seem a likely starting point, if only to get any tools and add ons thrown in with the deal
Househusband your workshop is mint 👌😊
I've been buying and selling woodworking machinery for years now and there are some huge bargains to be had if you're ok with travelling a bit to collect, not at the moment obviously. Your location will have a bearing on things to some extent but luck has a lot to do with it as well.
It's a bit of a rabbit hole once you start turning, pretty similar to mountain biking really. The possibilities for spending money are endless.
Good luck with the hunt.
Hotstuff - I might contact you when the plague clears to see if you can find me a bargain as long as it is not hot stuff. Did you see what I did there?
Based in Southampton if that matters
Axminster power tools have a 3 year guarantee on a lot of their products, as well as updating making safe some of the parts on the generic machine tools.They also have large stores to try out lathes.
Sorby and Ashley Isles are good tools look for older pre owned tools usually better steel.Stays sharper longer.
Never ever use an old file sharpened to a scraper /cutter,it may snap, wood turning tools are made to bend.
Dust extraction and a visor,glasses are very important, and never wear a tie.
Structural rigidity of a lathe is important, some are a bit flimsy, look for a solid bed and tail stock, along with solid tool rests.Fix to a solid workbench or a solid stand.
But it is relaxing and so much wood easily accessable
Sharp tools cut and scrape, blunt tools catch, as you apply more pressure to them and eject your work usually straight at you, and it hurts.
If you buy pre owned check for play in head stock and tail stock and that all tool rests locks and others actually lock.
Dont forget inside and outside callipers,dividers, a sharp pencil,
Nothing btobadd. It's a lovely hobby though. Have a basic setup bought second hand. Never bought blanks. Used scrap wood and odd logs I got hold off. IME soft wood likenpine harder to turn. Tool needs to be sharper. Probably showing my bad technique. I had a play with laminating and turning. Nice way to get fun results. First thing I tried turning where mushrooms. First ones looked like dilldos.
Aye, do that. I'll try to help out if I can, even if it's just advice on something you've seen and fancy.
I'm up near Inverness so not very local for you, Norfolk is as close as we get on a regular basis but keep in touch, fate has a habit of helping out when you least expect it.
Househusband your workshop is mint 👌😊
@kayak23 Coming from you that is indeed a massive compliment - cheers!
Whatever you buy, make sure you can extend the bed.
Now stuck trying to plan where to put it. My garage is a busy place. My main work bench is mobile.
That fills most of the centre free space which would mean a fixed bench near the wall which also means near corners. I guess a corner isn't a big issue for positioning a lathe other than for access around it.
Does all the action take place at the front? Do you ever need to get around the back or could I put it on a work surface against a wall in the corner of the garage?
My garage walls from various time points but basically showing the point. It is a double width garage but with a single width garage door so this is the front wall with garage door on the right an a bench on the left along with a lot of storage. Ignore the shelving you can see on the right, that has all gone.
The right wall has more shelves and is where I wheel in and out the car/ work bench so cannot be blocked by another bench
The back wall is rest and relax after the Thursday night ride plus you can't see nearer you the bike storage and garden stuff
Which leaves me with the right side in front of the window. Of you ignore the throne you can see that there is a bench with drawers there already. There is also a window. A glass window. This would be the easiest bench to use or modify for use but
A) Despite the natural light, is setting a lathe in front of a glass window a BAD idea?
B) What is a good height to set a lathe at? That bench, because of the drawers, is a bit higher than I would have thought optimal but does it make much difference?
Mobile work bench isn't small
You'll need access from either for accessory removal. The drive and live centres are a taper fit in the quills and can get really stuck in there, so a knock out bar is used through the hollow centres to take them out.
Most knock out tools are in the region of 300-400mm. long.
Working height is a pretty subjective thing but as a rule of thumb keep the centre of the drives/chuck at elbow height and you won't go far wrong. You need to be in control of your tool so this is quite important as you'll find out.
In front of the window is an excellent place because when you're hollowing out bowls or whatever the more light available to see what's going on inside the better. It'll also take about 5 minutes of lathe ownership and use to realise that a clear space round about it for clearing up is essential. They're on a par with planer/thicknessers in their chip producing ability.
Good advice so far from the others regarding tool choice, face mask etc. as well and although I've tried using a chip extractor when turning the results were pretty mediocre to be honest. Air filtration is good for when you're sanding, either via a dedicated unit or by use of a decent mask. I recently got an air fed face shield which I've yet to try out but that seems to be a popular way of doing things.
If access is needed on both sides then it is probably going to need to be on a movable unit, similar to the one with the table saw. This is stable enough for the table saw but I suspect the lathe unit would want something where you jack up the table to move it on wheels and then lower onto solid legs to work. Does that sound feasible?
For dust and shavings extraction I current use an old domestic vacuum connected to the orange topped siphon bucket (not sure of proper name) so all the dust stays in the bucket and tge vacuum cleaner is always worked at its best. Would this be sificient so you think?
The mobile stand idea sounds ok, the sturdier the better. I usually make steel stands for the ones that don't come with one. A lower shelf can be used to add a bit of weight which helps stop them wandering across the floor.
I've used locking castors which are OK in some applications but a wind down, threaded foot sort of set up gives a more solid base I think, a bit more faff but worth the extra couple of minutes.
The cyclone dust collector will do for sanding and probably take some of the turning chips away but there's stuff flying everywhere when you get going so I wouldn't expect too much from it.
Would this be sificient so you think?
Depends on how much you value your health! People often refer to some woods and wood dust being toxic but this doesn't reflect the fact that all wood dust is potentially carcinogenic and can cause all manner of health issues. I'm very careful when sanding and don my 3M Versaflo.
Extractor with a 4 inch pipe is whats needed any smaller and they block up, with chippings,and a vent axia fan above set into window also helps take out dust,just beware of where it may go, eg neighbours garden etc.
Top Tip, slow and gentle when turning, fast will jam work piece and either premature ejection of work piece or damaged tool, and an injury to body as well, been there many times, it hurts. Happened once with a large chunk of Jelutong about 18 inches long and 10 inch diameter,hit me first then rolled down workshop and hit another workmate on leg.
I am now thinking about putting in a proper dust extraction system ready for the lathe and to replace the 'temporary' system I put in a few years ago.
I plan to use the same 1600w domestic vacuum and cyclone bucket to collect the dust but connect it to some 40mm push fit PVC pipes mounted to the ceiling. There would then be down vents fitted where required over the benches and one on the floor to sweep dust into. Initially the down vents would be blanked off until needed. The moveable bench would be the 1st one and would be a flexible pipe that either connected to the table saw extract pipe or to the chop saw/grinder etc as required.
Any recommendations for easy flow closable vents so when I have multiple vents fitted I only open the one I need? Anything obviously stupid in the design? Do you think a 1600w Miele will provide enough suck - it works fine when stuck under the bench so I am hopeful.
Do you think a 1600w Miele will provide enough suck – it works fine when stuck under the bench so I am hopeful.
In all honesty, no. You'd be better off just using as local suction as and where you need it; by the time you added all the pipe the losses through friction and bends would be immense. As a rule chip extraction requires high flow but low pressure whereas dust extraction is the opposite.
Dust extraction think flour, Chip extraction think all bran or special K on steroids, 40 mm is to small for chip go for drain pipe, or again as above chip extractor for the lathe.
https://www.dm-tools.co.uk/product.php/section/6112/sn/RPWDX1000#.XpIORf1KiUk
Got one in the garage, works well
Okay. what you say makes sense.
For dust, which ins most of what I make a the moment I need high pressure which is what the vacuum under the bench with Cyclone achieves. Moving it to the corner of the garage and having extended pipe would reduce its effectiveness.
Given that it over performs at the moment, the convenience of putting it elsewhere and having the roof vacuum and floor suction may still make it viable. At the moment the vacuum and bucket are under the bench, keep falling over, the pipes fall out and basically need fixing anyway. Reducing the number of moving parts that cause faults seems to make sense even if it is slightly less efficient
For chips I need a different solution.
Vinegar
I have serious workshop envy.
Me too!
Dust extraction now in place but needs some cleverer way of storing the flexi hoses I think. It is currently plumbed to allow 4 separate hoses to cover all areas of the garage but only two in place at the moment as I don't need the other two with the way the garage is configured at the moment.
Plenty of suction as I discovered when the 6 little Humbrol enamel paint pots disappeared up it when I wasn't concentrating. They all made it safely around and into the bucket where I retrieved them. All white piping is push fit so can be opened up if there are blockages or I want to change something. If and when I get the lathe I will do something similar but bigger to cope with chips rather than just dust
If you connect one of the idle hoses to an upside down dustpan sort of arrangement you can sweep the floor up towards it and the dust gets hoovered up automatically. I made one out of ply, works a treat but you can buy ready made ones, can't remember what they're called, might be floor gulpers or something like that.
Great minds think alike.
I plan to make a ply one and fit it near the bucket which is one of the reasons I left the black up hose detachable.