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Bowl lathe

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Maca:
Morning all.  I started turning about 6 months ago and went out and bought a second hand Metabo lathe. Its a good lathe but it has turned out to not be quite right for what I'm doing.  I've found I enjoy turning bowls and my lathe doesn't have a swivel head so a lot of the time I'm leaning over the bed trying to hollow out the bowl. It also has a 1000mm bed capacity which I never use and in my small shed I need all the space I can get.

So, I'll be looking to upgrade to a more suitable lathe in the future but what do people recommend for bowl turning?  Ideally it would have variable speed too but price limit would be £1000.  I don't mind buying second hand too.  Attached is a photo (albeit not very good photo) of some of the natural edge bowls I've been doing recently.

fuzzyturns:
I think you'll struggle a little with this. Most lathes in that price range are aimed at hobby turners, and are built with flexibility in mind (i.e. a decent combination of bed length and diameter). I am not currently aware of any lathe for under £1000 that offers a swivel head AND electronic speed control. And if there was one, I'd probably take a very close look. Swivel heads require a substantial weight in the lathe bed, otherwise your machine will walk all over the shop floor.

Paul Hannaby:
If you are going to turn just bowls, you could go for a bowl lathe but if you want to maintain a spindle turning capability, you will have to go for a general purpose lathe with perhaps either an outboard turning capability or a swivel headstock.
Bear in mind that the smaller lathes are generally lighter and less able to soak up vibration so if larger bowls are your aim, that may not be the way to go.

Off track slightly here but I know of the whereabouts of a couple of bowl lathes. Email me if you're interested in finding out more.

rick_dobney:
The one which springs to mind which may meet your requirements is the Record Coronet Herald https://www.recordpower.co.uk/product/herald-heavy-duty-cast-iron-electronic-variable-speed-lathe#.XMgv6OhKiHs which is just within your budget. Often deals are to be done if you want bench feet or legs so keep an eye on the Record Power flyers. I've used this lathe on a couple of occasions quite happily.

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
Maca with £1000 to spend I would choose a graduate lathe every time.

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