Thread: Tough woodlathe

i think we need a pic.

welcome to the forums anyway

Yup need pics, plus more of an idea what you plan on doing with your new hobby ie: small spindle work, pens, boxes, bowls, "art"

G'day chipman and a big welcome to our collective wisdom.
Yep, Tough is a good lathe but agree price seems a little high But more info woul help.Eg: What state are bearings in? How worn is the bed? How good is the alignment of head stock and tailstock?
Also consider your particular usage, so you need to know swing over bed, between centre distance, ability to turn outboard. Pics would help.
Now you have some homework guidlines so get to it!!

Originally Posted by Chipman

I am looking to purchase my first lathe (have been using one at work for several years!) I saw a used "TOUGH" lathe for $1250. Is this a reasonable price? Seems a bit high in comparison to one sold recently as noted in these forums. What do you think?

another 250-300 and you can buy a new teknatool nova from carrolls,would be a better option...bob

Do a search of the forum ... there's more useful info in other threads.

G'day Chipman

I think that price is way too high for a second lathe that has not been manufactured for along time, therefore service and parts supply is difficult to attain. For that sort of money you can get a fairly good new lathe with warranty and a few extras as well.
Check out Carbatec web site for a starting point asd go from there.
www.carbatec.com.au
No affilliation Blah Blah Blah. I just like the service I get there.

Cheers
Shorty

Thanks for your replies and advice.

Sorry but I don't have any pictures of the lathe. The bearings seem good, the bed loooks ok but did not get a chance to check alignment. The distance between centre is about 900 mm and it has the ability to do outboard turning. Two face plates but no real extras. It is mounted on a wooden bench with an open motor not particularly well mounted. Saw it at the Woodsmith on Friday but think it might be a bit pricey.

At the moment most of my turning is on the small size.. toys, clocks, finials and columns and bowls etc up to about 300mm max (I have been using a woodfast mc900 at school after hours.) I want to get set up at home but that while this lathe looks good, at that price would I be better looking at something different eg a Nova 1624 is only $250 more new?

I guess in the short term I could get a mini like a woodfast with a bed extension. Are they better than the Jet?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

PS I have tried to upload some pics of some things I do...hope it works!

Is this it?

G'day,

Yep the price is too high for a Tough lathe.

But don't be scared off by it's age, the they're rock solid (I've got one) and new parts can be made by Len at Woodsmith http://www.thewoodsmith.com.au/thewoodsmith/ he owns the rights and has all the tooling to make any new or replacement parts you might need.

Link to my lathe http://www6.cyanide.com.au/~woodwork...7s+lathe+tough

Really nice stuff there Chipman. Well done!!

Thanks for the comments Artme. I really enjoy my woodwork hobby/obsession, especially woodturning, and it makes a welcome change from teaching science and fixing computers!

I still only class myself as a beginner and look forward to getting setup so I am ready for retirement

Cheers