Setting up your first woodturning workshop

Resale Value and other considerations
Good quality small lathes are easy to sell in the local free ads should you want to upgrade in the future. If you choose a well known make you will get a good price.
Spares
You must consider the availability of spares and accessories such as chucks which can be difficult to obtain for the more obscure foreign machines which may well disappear from the market after a year or two.
British made or far Eastern?
We have to accept the fact that sadly our U.K. manufacturing capacity is not what it was. Many factories in Taiwan have the best (Japanese!) computer controlled machine tools in the world and the latest and most efficient manufacturing techniques. Lathes have to be looked at on their merits regardless of origin.
Specialist lathes
You may have decided that all you want to do is miniature turning, or perhaps the space available in your workshop is severely restricted. You may want a small and light portable lathe which you can carry round to demonstrate turning at craft fairs. In this case you only need a small good quality lathe like the Axminster M300. This type of machine is fairly portable and can be used on the kitchen table, taking up about the same amount of space and causing no more noise and disruption than a sewing machine. (You will, however, have to sweep up the shavings!)
It may be the case that you are not interested in turning bowls - you may only be using woodturning as an adjunct to your furniture making. In this case you can save money and space in the workshop by purchasing a lathe which is only really suitable for spindle turning i.e with a non-pivoting head.
You might be more adventurous and want to have a go at some really large projects. Bowls bigger than say 14" diameter and 5" deep and hollow "vessels" taller than 10" and wider than 8" come into this category. Turning large burrs, roots and other unbalanced pieces can also be classed as heavy turning.
If you want to specialize in large bowl turning or hollowing of deep "vessels" then you will have to accept that a heavy and expensive machine is required. You will need a strong, rigid lathe with a powerful motor. One horsepower is barely adequate and two horses would be better. A good range of low speeds is a vital attribute and many would say that electronic variable speed is essential. A pivoting headstock is perhaps desirable but many big lathes used for hollowing rely on an extra spacious swing over the bed. There is an argument that a fixed head is more rigid and is better for large turning jobs.

Apart from the lathe what do you need just to get started?
You need to budget for the following extras . . .
Safety equipment.
You will need a faceshield to protect your face as well as your eyes. Safety glasses are not enough.
Dust extraction is very important but there is insufficient space to cover the subject here. As a minimum, wear a mask while sanding.
The Beginners Recommended Toolset Our starter set.

• 3/4" Roughing gouge
• 3/8" Spindle gouge
• 3/8" Beading tool
• 1/8" Parting tool
• 3/8" Bowl gouge
• 1" Square end scraper
• 1" Round end scraper

The tools should be of good quality by a reputable maker and be of high speed steel (usually abbreviated to HSS). The set will not be cheap as it includes the expensive roughing gouge and bowl gouge. This set will do 95% of all woodturning cuts at a realistic price. You can always add to the set later if need be. I have left out the skew chisel because I consider it to be a desirable but non-essential tool at this stage. I use the 3/8" beading tool for my chisel cuts and find it handier but many teachers would disagree and you could always go for say a 1" oval skew chisel instead.
Sharpening equipment
As a minimum you should have a 6" bench grinder preferably fitted with a good quality wheel at least at the left hand end. You will need to buy or improvise an angle guide to help you sharpen the tools at the correct angle. There is lots of extra information on grinding wheels and sharpening jigs in "The Woodturners Sharpening Manual" available from Peter Child. Essential sharpening and grinder setup.
A good grindstone dressing tool is essential to keep the grinder in good condition.
Lathe bench
If your new lathe is not supplied with a bench you can buy one or make one cheaply from chipboard. Plans are available free of charge from Peter Child.
Multi-purpose Chucks
Lathes are not normally supplied with a chuck as a multichuck is an expensive serious investment. A chuck will grip bowls without the need for woodscrews. A chuck will also grip the end of a cylinder of wood firmly so that you can drill and hollow such projects as peppermills, containers with lids and vessels or vase shaped pieces which are difficult to grip any other way.
The best and most costly chucks are scroll chucks with one-handed T bar tightening similar to engineering chucks. There are other types designed for economy of manufacture which will do the job well but with the sacrifice of some features. More on chucks.
Drillchucks
A drillchuck is important and enables you to use different kinds of drill bits to drill accurate and true on the lathe. Our drillchucks.
Faceplate
In my opinion a small inexpensive faceplate is essential. Even if you do not at first buy a chuck make sure you have a faceplate. One 3" diameter is fine. Mini faceplate and optional screwchuck.
Revolving centre
Often called a "live centre", this fits into the tailstock morse taper socket and supports the work. It usually has a conical point which spins in ball races so it does not burn it's way into the wood like the "dead centre" tends to do. You will need one if it is not supplied with the lathe. Our revolving centres.
Useful small workshop tools and materials

• Cheap vernier calipers for measuring internal and external and depth dimensions.
• A pair of strong compasses or a centre finder to help you mount the blanks accurately
• A small quantity of industrial grade cloth abrasive in grit sizes 150, 240 and 320.
• Some webrax for rubbing down polish etc.
• A small tin of cellulose sanding sealer.
• A tin of wax polish of a stick of hard wax.

Wood blanks
You can buy blanks from your supplier but a good idea is to get hold of some small logs for Practice turning. Branches pruned off an apple tree for example would be perfect. Don't try to make anything - just practice your cuts.
Textbook
It is wise to do some armchair woodturning before you switch on in earnest. An excellent book to start with is Woodturning - A Foundation Course. This is written by Keith Rowley and published by GMC.