Buying a lathe

Wezz

Looking to buy a lathe. I'm a casual woodworker so I don't need anything with too many bells and whistles but so far everything I see seems to be aimed at serious carpenters. Does anyone have any idea of where to get a starter model for not a huge amount of money.

magicbastarder

what's your expected budget, and what size of output do you want? i suspect you'd get a lathe from about €500 upwards new.

Wezz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119795893#Comment_119795893

Thanks for the reply. My output would be small, woodwork is a hobby, I do a bit at weekends and that's about it. I make small items - the odd side table, boxes and so on. €500 would be top end of my budget to be totally honest, I was hoping to find some basic model that is for the home enthusiast.

magicbastarder

just to be clear, what i meant by size of output is the physical size of the items rather than how often you intend to use it. the more you spend, the bigger you can turn

you're not going to get a lathe plus accessories, new, for much under €500 unfortunately. this is one of the cheaper lathes you'd see on the market, but you'd also need to factor in gouges, drive and free centres, possibly a chuck too, etc.

https://www.joemckenna.ie/Lathes/charnwwwd-wwwdlathe-vari-speed-12-x8

what part of the world are you in? the irish woodturners guild have a 'promotion' of sorts on at the moment that you can go to up to three of their chapter meetings for free; your best bet is finding someone there who has a lathe they're willing to sell S/H.

magicbastarder

that charnwood lathe has a max diameter of the piece of 8" - i.e. you'd be able to turn a bowl 8" in diameter, and a length over the bed of 12".

Wezz

@magicbastarder thanks for that, that's really helpful. I'm down in Cork so I can have a look for a local guild meeting - didn't even know such a thing existed!

really appreciate all that info, thanks again.

magicbastarder

The Cork Chapter meet on the 3rd Saturday of Each month at Togher Youth Services, Togher Road. Cork. T12 DR68. Email the Chapter Secretary Michael Bouchier - or visit their blog at http://corkwoodturning.blogspot.com/

The_Scary_Man

Hi Wezz,

I'm not sure if selling second hand gear is allowed on this forum so please delete if it is.

I have a Charnwood W815 (the one linked above) in my shed that I'm not using, I upgraded to a larger lathe and kept the W815 for smaller work but it's just sitting there at the moment.

It's a lovely little lathe, I've done pens, small bowls, twig pots and other bits and it's been great.

If you'd be interested in a second hand one pop me a DM.

bamayang

I’d recommend second hand if you get the chance