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Lathes for a beginner

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burywoodturners:
As promised, what lathe would you recomment to a beginner/
Ron

bodrighywood:
Depends on so much. How much can they afford, what space do they have etc. As a basic rule  would recomend the biggest and best they can afford and, if they have guidance, possibly going for a good 2nd hand one. Variable speed, swivel head, etc are all useful but can boost the cost. Personally I would avoid cheap imports rather have an older british make.

Pete

Twisted Trees:
Basic questions:

Budget, can lead to new or second hand
Previous experience, makes a lot of difference
Space, timely reminders that woodturning leads to sharpening, bandsawing, dust extraction, and wood hording all of which takes space
Estimated projects, no good going for great throw size if the object is dolls house furniture

I would aim that a new to turning person gets something that will keep them busy for 5 years, by which time they will be so addicted they will spend any amount  ;)

Derek:
Some of the things I point out to someone.

Cost
What do they want to turn
What features do they want, V/s manual belt change swivel head
Space available
Advise them to go for the most common thread size as well as morse taper
At the early stages, they may only need a small one but will the bug bite and they would want larger.

The Bowler Hatted Turner:
There was one lathe that was always put into schools and that was the Union Graduate lathe. Forget all the fancy stuff you can get with very expensive lathes today and buy a Graduate and learn to turn properly. You should be able to get one these days for less than £1000 and it will do all and more than you need for the next 40 years.

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