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Up a creek without a paddle

neiloboe

Apprentice Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
21
Location
West Yorkshire
Or even, majorly intrigued in a potential new hobby, but without a lathe!

Complete newbie here, as I'm sure you've gathered. I've been lurking on here for a while, as I'm looking to use pen turning as practice before moving on to more expensive projects...woodwind instruments!

Quick question...Are any of the sub £200 lathes on the market worth even a second glance? I realise that one of these wouldn't be the lathe of choice for most people on here, but I need to start somewhere and can't afford much more.

All advice greatly appreciated. From looking around the forum there seems to be an amazing knowledge base and a really friendly atmosphere!
 

neiloboe

Apprentice Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
21
Location
West Yorkshire
Thanks. The Axminster one was actually the one I'd been looking at anyway. What else would I need as an absolute minimum to start out with pen turning ?
 

Grump

Grand Master
Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Posts
10,504
Location
Stevenage
First Name
Brian
Hi Neiloboe and welcome to the friendly forum.
Personally I would look at second hand, local ads, ebay etc, you would get a better buy and maybe some extras IE: chuck and chisels.
Get some kits and away you go, the rest will build as it does naturally.
There are plenty of snobs who won't touch anything you could look at with that budget but its a hobby and a learning curve.
As far as I am concerned if it spins a log somewhere near center I can work on the rest of it.
Good luck to you mate.
 

silver

General dogsbody
Executive Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Posts
6,301
Location
Somewhere in Staffordshire,
First Name
Eamonn.
A cheapie lathe would do simple pen turning, look around and second hand you should get one for less than £100, a variable speed one would be nice but TBH you don't need it.

As for wood turning tools a basic 1/2 bowl gouge would do you, but again if you look around flea bay you could find some cheapie secondhand sets.

That is literally all you need if you already have a workshop to out it in of course ...:winking:
 

L200arg

Graduate Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Posts
460
Location
Huddersfield
Welcome Neil record do some good starter lathes around the £300 range. I see your from West Yorkshire same as me, I'm in Huddersfield if your near and fancy some pointers on pen turning your more than welcome to drop round sometime.
 

PhillH

Little Grandad
Registered
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Posts
3,436
Location
Solihull - A Tyke in Exile
First Name
Phill
Thanks. The Axminster one was actually the one I'd been looking at anyway. What else would I need as an absolute minimum to start out with pen turning ?

Apart from the obvious like chisels, you'll need a mandrel something like this Univeral Woodturning Adjustable Pen Mandrel 1MT PM1 Pen Blanks Taper | eBay

Depending on if you get a secondhand lathe which may come with some bits and pieces, the other thing would be a chuck for the tailstock to drill blanks.

You'll need something to sand with (check out abranet for wood, micromesh for acrylics) and some finish maybe friction polish.

You can start really cheaply, I did, and then build as you get hooked (obsessed).

Oh and welcome, let us know when you get fixed with a lathe and no doubt a few of us will bombard you with some pen blanks to start you off.
 

Neil Lawton

Longlocks
Fellow
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
Posts
3,115
Location
York
First Name
Neil
Welcome neiloboe.
If you can get to York, you're more than welcome to try the Union Jubilee I have for sale:bwink::whistling:
 

neiloboe

Apprentice Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
21
Location
West Yorkshire
Thanks for the replies. Not sure when I'll be taking the plunge and buying a lathe. Personally I'd love to go and buy one tomorrow and start turning some scrap wood for practice, but SWMBO will have the final say on when (and whether) funds are available! I started buying blanks a few months ago and already have a nice little collection, including cocobolo, lignum vitae and desert ironwood. The bug's got me already...is this normal?
 

paulm

grave manibus faciendum
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2013
Posts
12,046
Location
Sandford
First Name
Paul
I'd take him up on that !

It's a very nice piece of kit, if I could I'd have had that in my car the other week. :sob:

I'd definitely take him up on that, its a super lathe and cost a fortune when new.

Don't worry at all about buying second hand just get an opinion on here about it first. Some of the older people on here have had a lot of experience and know about the majority of stuff you'd possibly need. I bought a second hand lathe off ebay as my first lathe and it come with a set of Robert Sorbey Chisels, sharpening system, A chuck, several jaws and it was all virtually brand new albeit several year old. I have since purchased another Axminster lathe but still use the original to make the pens and still knocks them out ok. And I paid £150 for it
 

Paul

Fellow
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Posts
1,053
Location
Kent
Neil

I went for new as I had no mechanical knowledge or anyone around to guide. So I brought a record power. However if you have been lurking oh here you will note that neil( the one with a lathe) is extremely professional and likely to throw in a master class of assembly and usage. Thus if you are near I would take him up on it, it kind of comes with a waranty...... His reputation.
 

Penpal

Grand Master
Joined
May 26, 2013
Posts
25,340
Location
Canberra AUSTRALIA
First Name
Peter
Morning Neil Peter over here like the idea of picking up timber but beware mate Desert Ironwood looks great but is a real Tiger to turn harder than and the other two Lignam and Cocobolo come with reservations for beginners. In the last while I renewed a friendship with a close mate who made woodwind and still does he taught for a long run at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music his wife also is a muso in Flute etc he lives 200 miles from me, this is awhole ball game. No musical instrument is a pushover and requires precise measurement the most careful choices in timber and turning, holding equipment to match. Pens on the other hand use very little timber and the requirement personal. My mate has what is called in the business perfect pitch so there are many attributes needed in Woodwind Instruments, maintenance and tuning, reeds etc. I note you throw in Oboe on your tag if you have mastered this instrument all of my ramblings may mean nought to you.

In the music world here in Canberra there are many makers of instruments I have talked with over the years you look like you have chosen an expensive pathway. All the best in your Quest for your Holy Grail. Keep rowing you will need a good paddle mate.

Kind regards Peter.
 

Jim

Grand Master
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Posts
15,617
Welcome neiloboe.
If you can get to York, you're more than welcome to try the Union Jubilee I have for sale:bwink::whistling:

Welcome to the forums Neil, if you are looking for a lathe at low cost then i would be looking at the one Neil Lawton is offering as personally he is giving this away .. And it will hold its price for sure .. :thumbs:

The bug's got me already...is this normal?

Certainly not my friend, you may need to see a psychiatrist if it persists .. :pray: :ciggrin:
 

neiloboe

Apprentice Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Posts
21
Location
West Yorkshire
Morning Neil Peter over here like the idea of picking up timber but beware mate Desert Ironwood looks great but is a real Tiger to turn harder than and the other two Lignam and Cocobolo come with reservations for beginners. In the last while I renewed a friendship with a close mate who made woodwind and still does he taught for a long run at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music his wife also is a muso in Flute etc he lives 200 miles from me, this is awhole ball game. No musical instrument is a pushover and requires precise measurement the most careful choices in timber and turning, holding equipment to match. Pens on the other hand use very little timber and the requirement personal. My mate has what is called in the business perfect pitch so there are many attributes needed in Woodwind Instruments, maintenance and tuning, reeds etc. I note you throw in Oboe on your tag if you have mastered this instrument all of my ramblings may mean nought to you.

In the music world here in Canberra there are many makers of instruments I have talked with over the years you look like you have chosen an expensive pathway. All the best in your Quest for your Holy Grail. Keep rowing you will need a good paddle mate.

Kind regards Peter.

Hi, and thanks for the reply.
As you've gathered from my username, I'm an oboist. My eventual plan is to make my own oboe, or at least the bell section, from cocobolo, but I realise that this will be a great number of years down the line. In the meantime, I want to start practising the necessary skills, starting with pens and then moving on to slightly bigger things. The first thing I'll be doing that bears any relation to musical instruments will be a barrel section for a clarinet. The one for my clarinet has always been marginally too long, meaning that the instrument has always wanted to play slightly flat. I learned to live with it by applying more lip pressure when playing to sharpen the pitch as necessary, but whilst the instrument was in storage for about 6 months the barrel cracked, so it needs to be replaced. I've always wanted a cocobolo barrel and with the barrel being a fairly small section of the instrument and not needing any tone holes to be drilled, I had the idea of making it myself, to my own specification. When I started doing research on turning cocobolo I was led towards the pen turning forums, and I'll have to admit I'd never thought of turning pens before, but from what I've seen it looks like a really satisfying hobby, with a great online community to bounce ideas off and the possibility of selling some of the work.
 

Neil

Fellow
Joined
May 21, 2013
Posts
3,132
Location
Hitchin, Hertfordshire
First Name
Neil
Thanks for the replies. Not sure when I'll be taking the plunge and buying a lathe. Personally I'd love to go and buy one tomorrow and start turning some scrap wood for practice, but SWMBO will have the final say on when (and whether) funds are available! I started buying blanks a few months ago and already have a nice little collection, including cocobolo, lignum vitae and desert ironwood. The bug's got me already...is this normal?

Sounds as if you have a mild case but you are definitely infected
 

paulm

grave manibus faciendum
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2013
Posts
12,046
Location
Sandford
First Name
Paul
Pens is and disease that you'll never be rid of. Oboes... you won't even remember what they look like after you start on pens :funny:
 
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