Originally posted by Rev
I was thinking i might try and get a cheap lathe
Sorry Rev there is no such thing.
The cheapest cost for a viable lathe is around £100, but you are looking at the very bottom end of the market and for what you would be getting it\'s not worth the effort. You need to be looking at a lathe with a good gear ratio and ease of shifting speed upward.
You\'re forgetting that the lathe is only the first cost, tools are not cheap. A starter set can cost you the thick end of £50 for the cheap and cheerful ones. For a good set like Ashly Isles expect to spend upwards of £100.
Then you have to get a grindstone with which to sharpen the tools, something that I end up having to do 2-3 times a session.
Face mask, dust extraction, lighting, finishing materials it\'s as expensive and time consuming as Model painting.
My wife bought me a Model makers Lathe for Christmas 2004 and it\'s good for small pieces. (Proxxon) and last year for my 50th birthday she bought me a good 36 inch medium size lathe (Just short of £300) and I\'m only just getting to grips with the intracasies of using it properly.
Oh and last but not least getting the timber you want. There are Decent timberyards with in the UK , John Boddy\'s at Boroghbridge in Yorkshire is one that will allow you/encourage you to pour over the woods. But not everyone has a timber supplier who deal with \"Exotic Timbers\" which is what Mahogany is classed as.
Originally posted by DaN
I would think pine is quite good - I BELIEVE for normal timber it\'s fairly cheap
(Not as chepa as MDF or chipboard of course)
Trouble with turning Pine is that it\'s a soft wood and has a tendency to split and feather very easily. It also doesn\'t finish as well as a Hardwood, plus most Pine isn\'t as seasoned as a Hardwood will be.
I have about 10 linear feet of Chestnut cut down from a tree last February which will not be ready to turn for at least another year.
Most woods used for turning are Hard woods such as Mahogany, American Black Walnut or Oak.
I have some Laburnum which is a British Hardwood and had beautiful Figuring within the wood, but like a number of woods it has a problem. It\'s Toxic. In point of fact the whole tree is poisonous from the Pea Pod like fuit to the flowers and the sawdust from the wood itself. Hence the fact I wear a High Filtration Dust mask and barrier cream on my hands when turning it.
MDF CAN be ok, but there is the carcinogenic dust to consider
MDF is no real good for turning in that it to is very soft and can tear like paper. Surprisingly it can also blunt tools like no one\'s business.
Chipboard is very cheap but pants.
and no use for turning in high quality. Again blunts tools like a brick wall.
Dunno what other wood would be cost effective...
I\'d certainly be interested if you DO get your lathe working though Rev - just mind your fingers!!!
Fingers are not really the issue, if the wood come off it\'s travelling at a reasonable rate of Knots. Getting clattered once in the face mask was enough of a warning to double check the tightness of the wood. (Definitley a need to check the underpants that day)
