Lathe advice

[StevieB]

So I know very little (ie pretty much nothing) about lathes, and what has generally put me off even a cheap one is you have to add to the price of a lathe the price of tools, chucks etc and a £200 entry level lathe suddenly becomes closer to 4 figures if you add sharpening kit. As such, keeping an eye on 2nd hand is sensible but I do not really know what I am looking at. Would any of you knowledgeable chaps be able to tell me whether this isa good deal or not please?:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 1b5e1a5d23

Any thoughts appreciated - I am just after dipping a toe into the water to see if it is for me, and can probably sell on for this price if it is not, so not expecting professional quality, but as long as this is not going to be so rubbish as to put me off due to quality of equipment then it might be worth a punt perhaps?

Many thanks!

 

[Woodbloke]

Looks quite a good deal Steve and similar to my Record lathe that Andy P now owns. I'd be a little wary of Charnwood stuff as an ex-colleague at Ax who dealt with machinery told me that this particular company use the lowest quality bearings etc in their kit. Caveat emptor - Rob

 

[StevieB]

Thanks Rob - I presume it is relatively simple to replace bearings in a lathe from a quick search on YouTube, so hopefully not a deal breaker.

 

[StevieB]

Meh - too late, sold to someone else - hope it was not someone here! :lol:

 

[Lurker]

Ok it’s gone, but just to continue the discussion.
That would have been a reasonable deal even if the lathe packed up soon after it was acquired.
As you have already worked out the stuff that you need beyond the lathe itself is going to cost.

It’s generally a retired man’s hobby and people get old and stop using them. This one looks fairly typical, someone fancied the idea, and after initial enthusiasm decided it wasn’t for them. Added to that was the lockdown lifestyle changes that were just flash in the pan.
Just keep looking as kits like this pop up all the time, because of the weight involved, they don’t ( relatively) fetch much. Eventually one will appear locally.

Charnwood isn’t rolls Royce, but it’s reasonable value and their technical department is helpful if you need them.

 

[StevieB]

Thanks Lurker - I will do just that (and hope that something comes up while I still have some spare cash )

 

[Lons]

Hi Steve

You have to first ask what you want to try turning e.g. only pens, small boxes, bowls etc or larger items. If the fomer then one of the little lathes is perfect otherwise you'll find yourself changing before too long.

I've been turning on and off since I was about 14 but started again with a little Jet 1014 specifically to make pens and it worked very well indeed, so much in fact that I sold loads and the profit paid for that and another larger Axminster lathe a few years ago.

I sold the little Jet via facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 9387622735 ), only listed it yesterday and could have sold it several times over, though I got back the £175 I originally paid I clearly underpriced it as it was sold to a dealer. I didn't know that until he came to collect or would have let it go to one of the others.

Lathes complete with accessories come up regularly so keep looking. If I was looking I would only buy one of the better makes but that's just personal opinion.

 

[AndyP]

If you can find a decent small record lathe second hand there is much fun to be had. The one Rob refers to is the DML305.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

It might pay to keep an eye on larger lathes, the P&P is often prohibitive and influences the sale price.
I picked up a Poolewood 28 - 40 basically because the chap offered delivery from 60m away for the cost of the diesel.

 

[StevieB]

Thanks all. To be honest, I blow hot and cold on a lathe. Every so often though I feel one would be useful - I have no great desire to make multiple bowl's or pens, but the latest reason was that I was making a jewellery box and couldn't find any handles/knobs I liked - turning some as a simple inverted cone with the tip cut off would have been perfect and I couldn't find any for sale on the usual sites, and certainly not in walnut. Once that need has passed however, it would likely be just another tool that gets dragged out occasionally so not worth spending a fortune on. I have just got rid of a drum sander and am trying to save for a decent planer thicknesser, (albeit with quite some way to go!) so it is also likely that having some cash for that is influencing my decision making process!

 

[Lurker]

Have a look for a local wood turning club, might be a way to decide if it’s for you. Try before you buy, and a source of advice if you buy.
And you would make contact with folks who would happily run up small bits for your projects.

 

[Lons]

You'll likely find other uses if you have one Steve, before I got a disk sander I had one made up from ply screwed to a faceplate, I often turn wood, metal or nylon to make up parts as well as tool handles and sometimes mount a wire wheel or polishing mop between centres. There's the fun bits as well, I've just turned up some very simple Christmas trees for my granddaughter and made loads of toys for her when she was little and of course pens as mentioned elsewhere are easy, make great gifts and very commercial if you want to raise some money, always a great justifacation if you can make a new tool pay for itself.

However if all you're wanting are a few handles you could use a power drill or drill press with a little outside the box thinking.