Record Power DML305-M33 Cast Iron 5 Speed Midi Lathe

"When making purchase such as this our decisions cannot ever be fully informed. More informed or less informed but never completely informed. This is why it is very difficult to give truly objective star ratings - we can only judge whether an item meets our expectations or not. Many competing products may also meet or even exceed them. However, as a fairly experienced hobbyist woodworker (over a few decades) but as a rookie woodturner I have found this lathe most satisfactory. It is solid and stable, it is quiet in operation, speeds are easily adjustable and its power and capacity is more than adequate for hobbyist and small workshop use. I have mounted my lathe on a specially made timber bench with a 57mm top and 50mm x 75mm legs. In use there is very little noticeable vibration even when roughing down heavy and not fully balanced stock. I say this after about six months use. The finish and design of the machine itself is fairly standard and certainly not enough to impress. Plastic (in this case ABS) does not dominate but the pully access cover would be better in metal. Also, the screw holding it in position is best replaced with male threaded knob in order to make speed changes quick and comfortable. In order to prevent accidental damage it is as well to remove the indexing knob and close of the hole with a short bolt. The knob is only rarely used and can easily be put in position as and when required. It will come as no surprise to know that the lathe is manufactured in the PRC. This is not a criticism for there are many good products manufactured in China and Record Power seems to have sorted the wheat from the chaff. Yandles run a two-day introductory woodturning course which I attended long before I purchased the lathe. I found this course invaluable and strongly recommend beginners to take part in order to decide whether turning is for them, to acquaint themselves with the lathe and tooling and to learn what is safe and what is not. Furthermore, it enables one to make a more informed decision as to any purchase. Beginners should be made aware of the fact that the cost of essential tools and accessories rapidly mounts up and, in this case, a decent kit will exceed the price of the lathe. Of course, many of these can be transferred if an upgrade is later considered. Yandles have a selection of Record Power chucks and jaws which are compatible with a similar though more upmarket range from Sorby. Last, but not least, a satisfactory sharpening system is an absolute essential. The price of this alone may exceed that of the lathe but a good system will serve to sharpen a vast range of workshop tools. There were one or two minor glitches with my lathe but both Yandles and Record Power were immediately helpful and put matters right within a very short time. I am giving the product four stars for reasons outlined above but nevertheless I am very happy with the product and with the service from Yandles and Record Power. "

"I am an absolute novice woodturner. This was bought to replace a cheep supermarket bought lathe which I used to learn the basics. Within the space of a week I'm now producing bowls, tea light holders and turned pens. Absolutely delighted with this purchase. I'm now totally addicted. The stand although not absolutely necessary was a great purchase as I have been able to adjust it to an correct height for me to work without bending over."

"As a very new turner (about 3 months), I haven't used this to its full potential by any means. Looks and feels well engineered. Nice and heavy (40+ kilos). Nice and stable bolted to workbench. This certainly feels very different to the home-made tools and lathe(!!) I was using in the couple of months prior to recent purchase (2 or 3 weeks) of lathe, tools, extraction, grinder and finishing package. I had a very small issue which was sorted very easily. This was the little black sprung tightening levers for quill, toolrest and motor tensioner. These are made of soft aluminium alloy(?) with 12 points inside. The bolts they tighten are steel hex bolts. These 12 point levers wear very quickly on the hard steel hex bolts (a matter of days on the toolrest one). They really need to be hex like the bolts instead of 12 point, or, made of harder metal. Anyway, rang Yandles (very helpful throughout all stages of order/purchase) and was directed to Record Power (also very helpful) who sent a couple of new ones out within about 3 days. Back to the lathe, very easy to adjust speeds and use in general. Having only had this for about 3 weeks, I realise there is a lot to learn! "

"Excellent lathe fast delivery. Record Power equals quality products and Yandles equals quality service "

"My husband and I collected a lathe from you on may 19th , service was excellent on getting the lathe in on time , the gentleman of which I don’t recall his name ( he was short with a dark beard ) was exceptionally helpful , the lady on that day lacked some PR skills , the lathe is really good for its price and my husband is really impressed x would use yandles again, in fact we have , "

"This is a great machine. Smooth, quiet, easy to change speeds (takes me about 20 secs). Very positive locking of toolbar and tailstock. perfect for my needs and highly recommended."