New posts

Thanks for visiting The Penturners Forum today.

There are many features and resources that currently you are unable to see or access, either because you're not yet registered, or if you're already registered, because you're not logged in.

To gain full access to the forum, please log in or register now. Registration is completely free, it only takes a few seconds, and you can join our well established community of like-minded pen makers.

Reply to thread

Message

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 .

[ATTACH]19974[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19975[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19976[/ATTACH]

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

<blockquote data-quote="johnny5" data-source="post: 194314" data-attributes="member: 284">Arrived this morning&nbsp; from Costco £282 with delivery. £50 to £100&nbsp; cheaper than advertised elsewhere Straight out of the box&nbsp; just needed to secure&nbsp; 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&nbsp; 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&nbsp; revolutions&nbsp; when turning despite an aggressive use of the 3/4 roughing gouge&nbsp; .The tailstock was smooth and alignment was spot -on .[ATTACH]19974[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19975[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19976[/ATTACH]All in all , impressed with this little lathe&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I have previously owned and used an Axminster AWSL and although the Axminster I feel has&nbsp; a better quality motor ,&nbsp; i chose this for the equipment compatability with my other 2 record CL3 lathes&nbsp; this lathe felt good quality and I&nbsp; was impressed with its solid feel and it is&nbsp; 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&nbsp; <img src="http://www.penturners.co.uk/images/smilies/crossed_fingers.gif"&nbsp; class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":fingers:" title="fingers&nbsp; &nbsp; :fingers:" data-shortname=":fingers:" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="johnny5, post: 194314, member: 284"] 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 . [ATTACH]19974._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19975._xfImport[/ATTACH][ATTACH]19976._xfImport[/ATTACH] 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 :fingers: [/QUOTE]

Verification