Recordpower - Woodworking tools

Woodturning Buyer's Guide

Woodturning Buyer's Guide
An overview of tools needed for successful woodturning and what to look out for to make sure you make the right choice.

Author: Record Power

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Woodturning can be an endlessly satisfying and creative pastime; an accessible craft for beginners yet with endless scope for development and artistic expression. Record Power are proud to offer one of the fullest ranges of woodturning lathes and accessories available, catering for the complete beginner right up to the most demanding of professionals. Our experience and knowledge in this area is unparalleled. Woodturning is at the heart of the company’s history, after many years ago incorporating the respected Coronet Lathe Company - Record Power lathes and accessories stand for high quality design and innovation since 1946.
Choosing the Right Lathe
There are a bewildering variety of lathes on the market so choosing a lathe can be a daunting experience. This guide will help in the decision making process by simplifying and explaining the essential features to consider. If you will be mainly turning spindles then capacity between centres will be most important. When turning bowls and platters, a swivel head lathe will be very useful and capacity between centres will be less important. Extra power will also be needed if large bowls are to be turned. For the occasional user perhaps needing a lathe just for turning parts for furniture, a basic model with manual speed change may be sufficient. If the intent is to take up turning as a serious pursuit, there will be great benefit in the extra power, weight and rigidity that a larger lathe provides. In addition to allowing 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 variable speed control make turning more enjoyable.
Lathe Accessories
Record Power offer a comprehensive range of accessories - The choice of faceplates, woodscrew chucks, live centres and long hole boring kits (to name but a few) give the woodturner great flexibility in meeting their needs. These are available in a range of thread sizes to fit not only Record Power lathes but also many other brands. Adaptors are also available to maximise compatibility across a wide range of machines.
Beds
Ideal materials for lathe beds are cast iron or steel bars which provide the strength, weight and rigidity required to help dampen vibration. Bed bars are hard chromed heavy steel and allow the use of kinematic faces to give very accurate tolerances and are very easy to keep clean. The rigidity of this solution provides ample support for heavy duty work and is a tried-and-tested manufacturing method which takes its heritage from the Coronet series of lathes. Cast beds are an alternative design and originate from the largest woodturning lathes which are designed for very heavy duty work, although many smaller machines now feature cast beds too. The bed length will define the maximum capacity between centres when spindle turning so ensure that you buy a machine with adequate capacities for your requirements or with the option to add extensions at a later date should your requirements change.
Variable or Manual Speed Change?
Most turning is done between 500 and 2000 rpm with manual speed change lathes typically offering between 4 and 6 speed choices within this range by changing a belt on a stepped pulley drive. All Record Power lathes feature Poly-V belts which give optimum surface contact, grip and torque. Changing the belt position is a relatively quick job and manual speed change machines offer excellent value for money however, most serious woodturners use variable speed lathes. Whilst you can achieve the same results on a manual machine, having the power to instantly adjust the speed to to your exact requirements not only markedly increases productivity but also enjoyment of the turning process too. Record Power offer two main systems for variable speed control – We use the latest motor technology in our DC drive solution to make it fast, responsive, reliable and very compact. The power and torque on offer, particularly on our innovative Coronet Herald model, are second to none and set a new standard for this type of solution. The second system is widely used in machine tools and industry, using a three phase motor and inverter to convert a single phase supply to drive the machine. The three phase motor provides excellent torque and the inverter provides the control to vary speeds. Both systems are professional solutions and should not be confused with lower cost options such as expanding pulley systems which can suffer from noise, vibration and accelerated belt wear.
Fixed or Swivel Head?
The advantage of a swivel head is to increase the capacity of the lathe so that you are not restricted to the swing over the bed and also to give greater access to the workpiece. Left handed turners in particular will find a lathe with a swivel head essential in order to avoid working awkwardly over the lathe bed. If required, optional bowl rests are available to make the most of the larger capacities that swivelling heads offer. Some lathes feature a fixed headstock and an outboard turning facility (turning from the opposite end of the headstock than is usual, to gain more capacity) but outboard turning requires a host of left-hand thread accessories to be purchased.
Chucks & Jaws
Our exclusive SC range of premium woodturning chucks and jaws have been carefully developed with professional woodturners and keen amateurs to offer optimum quality, effectiveness and value for money. The high standard of this range is unsurpassed - We have engineered out the superfluous features of some of the common designs that are widely available and also combined the functionality of some jaw sets into one jaw design. The condensed range of 14 jaw designs offers woodturners all the functionality they need and all jaws are compatible with both models of chuck. The SC3 is the smaller chuck in the range and offers the same build quality as the larger SC4, which has some extra features including the ability to fit an insert to the rear, ensuring compatibility across a huge range of lathes when used in conjunction with an insert of the relevant thread size.
Build Quality
The build quality of a lathe is critical in producing a high standard of finish to the turned work. Record Power lathes are produced to a high specification across the range - All machines are built from grey iron and steel which gives weight and rigidity, absorbing vibration and allowing for accurate results.
Turning Tools
Chisels are obviously critical tools for the woodturner. Recognising this, Record Power produce a comprehensive range of essential profiles for all kinds of work. The high speed steel blades and ergonomically designed handles make them the obvious choice for professionals and novices alike.
Lathe Fitments
A wide range of fitments are available for all Record Power lathes to enhance the performance and increase capacities. Bowl rests allow the capacities of swivel head machines to be fully realised and all leg stands have been specially designed to minimise vibration whilst providing rock solid support. Bed extensions are also available, giving greater capacities between centres.