Arrived this morning from Costco £282 with delivery. £50 to £100 cheaper than advertised elsewhere
Straight out of the box just needed to secure variable speed unit in place with supplied steel rod.
Good solid feel weighs in at 38kg , all made from cast iron and comes with 3 belt speeds ranging from 500 to 3500 rpm.
I decided to keep it on the middle belt which ranges from 900 to 2500 rpm, more than adequate for me to turn pens . It has a 3/4 HP DC motor and felt more than adequate for what i will use it for.
No problem with tailstock and headstock alignment , perfect when first assembled.
I ran the lathe on 1500 rpm for 20 minutes and was surprised how quiet the motor was and with no vibration.
I did not secure the lathe to the bench as i need to use it at shows and schools , the bench i put it on is a large well made solid bench and this helped to reduce vibration as it has a solid base.
I was a little paranoid as i read somewhere that it can be prone to electrical problem on the variable speed unit and was a little paranoid about smelling burning plastic, however i turned my first acrylic pen on 2000 rpm and took my time and used the lathe for a further 45 minutes i did not encounter any such problems, the speed control is very reactive and although on the left hand side of the lathe was easily reached . It also stopped very quickly when turned off.
The lathe did not lose any power or revolutions when turning despite an aggressive use of the 3/4 roughing gouge .
The tailstock was smooth and alignment was spot -on .
All in all , impressed with this little lathe for the price, I understand i have only used it for just over an hour and not really put it under any pressure yet I am more than happy so far. I have previously owned and used an Axminster AWSL and although the Axminster I feel has a better quality motor , i chose this for the equipment compatability with my other 2 record CL3 lathes this lathe felt good quality and I was impressed with its solid feel and it is more than adequate for what i will be using it for and fingers crossed will not cause me too many problems , early days yet though
Straight out of the box just needed to secure variable speed unit in place with supplied steel rod.
Good solid feel weighs in at 38kg , all made from cast iron and comes with 3 belt speeds ranging from 500 to 3500 rpm.
I decided to keep it on the middle belt which ranges from 900 to 2500 rpm, more than adequate for me to turn pens . It has a 3/4 HP DC motor and felt more than adequate for what i will use it for.
No problem with tailstock and headstock alignment , perfect when first assembled.
I ran the lathe on 1500 rpm for 20 minutes and was surprised how quiet the motor was and with no vibration.
I did not secure the lathe to the bench as i need to use it at shows and schools , the bench i put it on is a large well made solid bench and this helped to reduce vibration as it has a solid base.
I was a little paranoid as i read somewhere that it can be prone to electrical problem on the variable speed unit and was a little paranoid about smelling burning plastic, however i turned my first acrylic pen on 2000 rpm and took my time and used the lathe for a further 45 minutes i did not encounter any such problems, the speed control is very reactive and although on the left hand side of the lathe was easily reached . It also stopped very quickly when turned off.
The lathe did not lose any power or revolutions when turning despite an aggressive use of the 3/4 roughing gouge .
The tailstock was smooth and alignment was spot -on .
All in all , impressed with this little lathe for the price, I understand i have only used it for just over an hour and not really put it under any pressure yet I am more than happy so far. I have previously owned and used an Axminster AWSL and although the Axminster I feel has a better quality motor , i chose this for the equipment compatability with my other 2 record CL3 lathes this lathe felt good quality and I was impressed with its solid feel and it is more than adequate for what i will be using it for and fingers crossed will not cause me too many problems , early days yet though
