Record Power has over one hundred years of expertise and experience in the design and manufacture of fine Woodworking Machinery and Tools.

RECORD POWER PRODUCE A WELL RESPECTED SERIES OF LATHES WITH A FINE PEDIGREE AND PROVEN TRACK RECORD THAT CATER FOR ALL LEVELS OF WOODTURNING. THERE IS A WIDE RANGE OF ACCESSORIES AND MANY UPGRADE OPTIONS ALLOWING YOUR KIT TO GROW AS YOUR SKILLS DEVELOP.

CHOOSING SUITABLE WOODTURNING EQUIPMENT
There is a bewildering array of lathes on the market at all sorts of specifications and prices - so choosing a lathe can be a bit daunting. This guide aims to help identify the main areas to consider when planning your purchase.

Application
Firstly consider the kind of turning you think you will be doing. If you will be turning mainly spindles, there may be no need to buy a swivel head machine. Rigidity and capacity between centres will be the most important factors.

If you think you will turn mainly bowls, platters and vessels a lathe with swivelling head or large swing over the bed will be invaluable and capacity between centres will be less important. Plenty of power will also be required if large bowls are to be turned.

If you fall into both categories, decide on the biggest diameter you will want to turn. We cater from 9" to over 30" capacities.

Time
Consider how often you will be using the machine. If you will be an occasional user turning mainly spindles or making parts for furniture making then a basic model may be all that you require. If however, you think you will spend a lot of time at the lathe and your skills and projects will grow - you may well benefit from extra power, extra weight, rigidity and increased functionality provided by the larger machines.

Features & Range
With the exception of differences in capacity, you can accomplish many projects as well on a basic model as a top of the range machine. But as you go further up the range you will find the extra power and solidity of the larger machines enables projects to be carried out more quickly and confidently. Deeper cuts can be taken due to increased power and weight and ease of use features such as electronic variable speed control make turning more intuitive and enjoyable.

Ability To Upgrade
We always operate a programme of continual improvements to our machineas but always try to ensure that wherever possible changes can be retrofitted to existing models. We also offer machines that can be upgraded to the next level (e.g. CL3 to CL4) as requirements and budgets demand.

KEY ASPECTS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING WOODTURNING EQUIPMENT-

The construction of the machine will clearly have a major bearing on its longevity, accuracy and reliability. Record Power lathes are constructed from cast iron throughout the range to ensure maximum performance and rigidity when turning. Listed below are the key aspects to consider when purchasing any woodturning lathe.

MATERIAL & CONSTRUCTION

All Record Power lathes are made with extensive use of cast grey iron, a material noted for its dampening properties, solidity and longevity. This provides the steady and robust platform required for successful woodturning.

BUILD QUALITY

Any woodturner knows that the build quality of their lathe is important in producing a high level of finish to their work piece. Record Power lathes are produced to a high specification across the range.

ACCESSORIES

Woodturning accessories are a valuable aid for getting the most out of your lathe. Record Power offer one of the widest and best range of accessories available including a variety of chucks to mount various types of timber, high speed steel turning tools to shape your work piece and a vast selection of other accessories to enhance your woodturning experience.

Record Power accessories are made from high quality materials on CNC machinery to very tight tolerances.

Below are some excerpts from an article written by respected magazine writer and woodturner Alan Holtham which we hope you may find useful when buying a lathe
 
Buying a Lathe - by Alan Holtham

Are you thinking about buying a lathe? If you are, there is a bewildering array of different models available, and the novice woodturner can easily become confused. If this is your situation and you are confused by the various options, don't worry. Follow this simple guide to buying a lathe and you should end up with a machine that is ideally suited for your needs. But beware, woodturning is a seriously addictive hobby, buying the lathe is just the beginning of an exciting and pleasurable new pastime.

If you study the magazine adverts you will find that you can buy a lathe for not much more than a hundred pounds. But there is a definite distinction here, perhaps more in lathes than any other machine, between price and quality.

At the bottom end of the scale you have machines which seem to represent very good value, but are very much a beginners lathe. They are enough to give you a taste for turning and to get you started, particularly if they include a range of basic accessories which are extra on equivalent better quality machines, e.g. faceplates and revolving centres. Some models even come complete with a stand, Pic 1, and incorporate a mechanical variable speed drive as well, Pic 2, along with niceties such as a cam-lock toolrest,
Pic 3.

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However, all is not as it appears. If you take the covers off the headstock, the spread of the bearings is nowhere near as wide as you think or really need to support the spindle, Pic 4. The pulleys overhang the end of the main headstock casting, so the rigidity of the spindle must be questioned if you want to turn to the theoretical capacity. The variable speed relies on the movement of the two pulleys, Pic 5, an arrangement that is often quite noisy, and seems to wear belts at an incredible rate. Look at the quality of the castings as well, it is often extremely poor, Pic 6, and some are very soft and prone to breaking

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If you want to test the water without spending a fortune and are not particularly fussy about how your machine looks, some budget lathes seem to represent good value. But take care, for despite their seemingly good qualities you will soon outgrow them if your turning develops much beyond the very basic, and you will then need to upgrade, which can be an expensive process.

Other manufacturers such as Record concentrate their efforts on the quality side of the equation rather than simply price. They produce a very comprehensive range of quality lathes to suit all levels of ability and ambition. For serious work you need a machine with plenty of weight to minimise any vibration, this being the woodturners worst enemy. So look for a machine with good quality, heavy castings to damp down vibration. These need to be coupled to a well-made and smooth drive system, and for long turning sessions it is important that the motor is not too noisy.

For not very much more than a cheap budget lathe, you can actually get a much better made machine albeit with a lower initial specification, Pic 7. On the DML24X and DML36SH you get a substantial headstock casting with a good spread between the bearings for maximum rigidity, Pic 8. Pulleys are mounted between the two bearings which are housed in the substantial cast iron headstock providing solid support for the spindle. These machines have a four-step belt change adequately covering the most essential speeds, Pic 9. Always choose a model with a hinged motor platform as this makes speed changing so much easier, Pic 10, without trapping your fingers under belts as you try and force them across. Also look for a motor size of at least 1/3 HP with accessible on/off controls, a very important feature on a lathe.

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The tailstock is another important part of a lathe and should be rigid and simple to lock, Pic 11. One essential feature though is that the tailstock barrel should be bored through, both to allow centres to be knocked out, Pic 12, and also to enable long hole boring.

 
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Whilst we are looking at the mechanical details of the lathe there are a couple more important features to consider. It is essential that your lathe is equipped with Morse tapers in both headstock and tailstock, Pic 13. This is a universal means of installing centres and a range of other tooling, and does not restrict you to the original manufacturers fittings. There is a huge range of Morse Taper kit on the market, but if you buy a lathe with screw fittings you are very restricted as to what add-ons you can use.

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The headstock spindle nose is also threaded to take various screw on accessories, Pic 14. On the smaller lathes 3/4" x 16 tpi seems to have become accepted as the industry standard, which makes upgrading your machine less costly. You can take all your threaded accessories with you, and don't have to renew all these as well as the lathe when you change, an important point as you often have a substantial investment in chucks etc.

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You will be somewhat guided in your choice of machine by what you want to turn. A capacity of 9" over the bed, Pic 15, and 24 " between centres, Pic 16, may appear adequate on paper, but if you actually get into turning properly this will soon become rather limiting. Ideal is a machine with at least 12" over the bed and 36" between centres or a swivelling head to enable larger work to be carried out.

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The next stage up then is a machine with a bigger bowl turning capacity. In the past this was achieved by turning on the outboard end of the machine spindle, where there was no bed to restrict the swing. The main problem with this arrangement is that the spindle thread now has to be left-handed which means expensive doubling up on chucks. You also have to turn left-handed which is awkward, and these lathes also need a lot more space around them.

The modern solution to this problem is to have a swinging headstock such as on the DML36SH and all CL series lathes. This allows you to turn the head out at an angle to the bed, Pic 17. I would rate this as an essential feature in a lathe and would not buy one without a swinging head. The real advantage is not only for bowl turning, but also for any turning where you have to work over the bed. Swinging the head just a few degrees off centre allows you to work with the tool handles clear of the bed, Pic 18. Although you can still work off the standard toolrest with the head swung a little, for full-blown bowl turning you will need a bowl rest to maximise the capacity Pic 19.

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If you are restricted with regards to space, many of the swinging head machines also allow you to move the headstock bodily along the bed,
Pic 20, which is a great advantage if the end of the machine has to be up against a wall. The CL1 lathe has this facility along with much stronger, solid bed bars, Pic 21, the tailstock is also much bigger Pic 22, and has a lot more travel on the barrel, important if you need to do a lot of drilling. At this level you will also get easy to use cam locking handles, Pic 23. These little features may not seem much in themselves, but they all add up to make the lathe more user friendly.

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I have briefly touched on the problems of vibration, this is to a large extent determined by the quality and weight of the machine, but do remember that what you mount it on may make all the difference as well. Most manufacturers provide stands of some sort, these varying from a few simple tubes to more business like affairs. Whilst basically sound these sometimes lack weight, but if you add a few shelves to them and pile these with timber they make quite a decent, rigid base, Pic 24. This is so important for good turning. Whatever stand you use there is little need to bolt it to the floor for lathes in the beginner range. This usually only exacerbates vibration problems, and if it is moving about that much you are doing something wrong anyway!

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As you move up the scale away from the pure beginners lathe into the more professional machines like the CL3, the main features are a more substantial headstock, Pic 25, and greater range of speeds. Most machines nowadays are fitted with the flat poly vee belts, Pic 26, which give a very smooth and positive drive with little slippage. The old lumpy vee belts are definitely a thing of the past. Motor power also needs uprating for a bigger machine, anything less than 3/4HP being inadequate.

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