Do I need a new lathe - if so which one?

BIG MACHINE SHOPPING, Excellent fun :-)

Lathe's are best if they are capable of a lot more than you do today, as you say it is a long term purchase. I upgraded last summer from my Ebay purchase Myford Mystro which served me well with the outboard capability and quite a long bed. I spent a long time looking at options and for a long while I was looking for a second hand Vicmarc VL300, but my workshop is 6m x 3m and I wanted a lathe that I could use across the 3m, which the Vicmarc only sort of did, plus the Vicmarc even second hand was at the top of my budget and a bit beyond it.

I looked at a number of different exotics, Laguna and Wivamac amongst them, lots of money but they are nice, but one thing kept bugging me, they were imported by agents as as at that time the Vicmarc agent had packed up so nothing could be bought unless imported, I decided to go for a bigger UK footprint, eventually I chose the Axminster AT406WL complete with leg kit and extension bed.

Make no mistake there are shortcomings with this lathe:

It is a bit short! I often need to remove the tail stock as it gets in the way. I worked round that by making a chest of drawers (all my workshop is now drawer based, and on casters so I can move it, I kept losing things in cupboards) this one is the width of the tail stock and has a drawer each for MT bit's chucks and faceplates, it is also the height so that when tailstock is on the 2x2 rails I built for it the top of the tailstock is below the lathe bed height so completely out of the way, is I had the room I would just leave the extension bed on all the time. BUT if I had the room I would have the Vicmarc or maybe the AT508... etc...

The inverter fan noise can be annoying, needs a bigger fan at lower speed to quieten it down a bit, it isn't loud when the lathe is turning, and the tool is cutting, it is during those stop and inspect moments it annoys me a bit, I will one day take it apart see if I can improve it.

The tailstock quill seems a bit haphazard it moves OK but not with the same silky-ness I have felt on other lathes.

Other than those gripes, I love it have used it extensively with a bowl-saver so it has the power, and used it to make beads and other small things so it has the speed.

Only problem you have is you can't go around stroking machines in tool shops at the moment, which I find one of the pleasures that must be had when spending money in large chunks.

Yep same product, not even a name change just an imperial / metric over the bed is a 16" or 40cm near enough throw so what is a 40 here is a 16 in the USA and you will see it referred to under either or both name/s in various Axminster product reviews and videos

The main advantage of using the the cast legs is that at extra cost again! you get the extension bed which when mounted to one end of the lathe gives you more swing / other end extends the bed to "full sized" lathe, When you have the cast legs it can mount lower giving you the full 42cm swing i.e. an 80cm platter, bowl or whatever! 

But that is always an option for the future, just keep an eye on things to see if they are ever on discount. 

I suspect that you will find the shorter bed means you will want to remove the tailstock more often, so make a place to put it so that it is easy to do. 

Other than that it is a superb machine, as I said IF I had a bigger workshop I would go bigger again and either have the same model as Martin uses or go for the Vicmarc with the swing away tail stock that I was really keen on but just couldn't justify. But there is nothing I have thrown at this lathe that it has struggled with, in low or high range the variable speed starts at 0rpm and turns up on the dial so out of balance work can be tested for secure mount from the end of the cable! I just need more chucks now... Oh and... damn I need to go to a toolshop and touch stuff I can't afford!!!

That is a head alignment tool, as the headstock can be swivelled and although it has positive click points it can get slightly out of line with the tailstock. to fix that you loosen the headstock insert that into the tailstock and bring the 2 together lock down the tailstock screw it in until that is held tight and tighten the headstock and everything is accurate again.

I’m new, no very new to woodturning and haven’t even got a lathe. I’ve sorted out my workshop to be and I was looking for a British made lathe?
I have scoured the net but have conceded defeat so I am going for the Record Power Coronet at £999, one dealer is actually including the legs for free
any thoughts on this lathe? It does annoy me that Record Power advertise as British but the lathe is made in China.
My question will I be getting a decent lathe for my money, and is the guarantee worth the paper it’s written on?

How about a Nova dvr p latest model...it has it all...check it out. Had one for e years...no trouble, and with the revolving head, I have turned a we” bowl.

I wound up getting the Laguna 24/36 with the bad extension set up it’s a beast but I love the machine .