Record 'Coronet' bowl lathe

Re: Record 'Coronet' bowl lathe

Bob Hackett

>If you have no lathe and there are no others on the horizon then $300 may be a good deal.

The Record lathe IMO is best used for spindle turning and even then it`s far more work that just about anything else out there.I had one and used it for 5 years before I gave it to another turner(it was given to me).

Things I didn`t like about it;

The spindle is not drilled thru,no way to use a vac chuck with it.

Tool rests were hard to adjust and would not stay put,even after changing the hardware.

The headstock had no detent or lock and took a wrench to cinch it down tight enough to stay put

The conical bronze bearing is hard to adjust and will sling oil on your work till you finally discover how much oil it needs to just stay alive.

#1 morse taper in spindle is next to useless and that coupled with a 3/4" thread doesn`t make for a lathe that is heavy duty in any respect.

My Record had a 3/4 HP motor but it heated up and would kick out on heavy work(anything 14" or better)

Other than that it was a good lathe,definately a step up from the Shopsmith I was turning on before that.Once I got the Conover up and running I couldn`t wait to get the Record out of my shop.Having a real lathe to work with really points out the shortfalls of your old equipment.

The turner I got the Conover from bought a Powermatic and felt it was a step up.I made afew mods to it and am very happy with it.Let`s see him turn a 6 foot post with his Powermatic(although a VFD would be nice on the Conover).

If $300 dollars gets you up and turning then it`s a good deal,especially if some tools or attachments(like a chuck) come with it.If you already have a small lathe and want to turn larger bowls then save your money and buy a REAL bowl lathe,something with a drilled thru spindle and at least a 1" thread on that same spindle.

Just my opinion,worth exactly what you paid for it.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Record 'Coronet' bowl lathe

LMB

>Bob, thanks for the post, some good points. The guy selling this lathe has used it for 2 years to roughout bowls and claims he had no problem with it except the lack of tail stock and having to use a donut to turn off the foot.

I have a Delta Midi now and just wanted capability to turn larger bowls. I think you probably are correct in suggesting I buy a better lathe, $300. seemed high to me but I didn't have a feel for the market, the owner is an acquaintance of mine and I didn't want to lowball him.

Thanks for the input, Larry

Re: Record 'Coronet' bowl lathe

Darrell Feltmate

>Larry

I have one of those CLB22's and use it a lot. It is good for bowls to 16" although that is a pretty fair piece of wood when it turns at close to 600 rpm, the low speed. I know of one guy that regularly uses it for 18" bowls but I think that is pushing the capacity a lot. Frankly, the tripod tool rest is likely worth the $300.00. On the other hand I paid C$500.00 for mine brand new.

Re: Record 'Coronet' bowl lathe

LMB

>Darrell, thanks for the info, I was wondering if larger that 16" was doable, not that I want to try, sounds as if at least for one fellow it is. Thanks again for the report on the lathe.

Larry