Hi Jonathon,
Thanks for the info. I've actually got a set of carbide tools on back order. It was a set of 9? for ~£52 but they came 'free' as part of the Warco lathe bundle, along with bits I was going to buy anyway. I also bought a nice cut off tool for about £30.
Should get me started but I'll look into Aliexpress as well once I know what I really need for tooling.

Hi Doddy,
Sounds like an interesting way to do it! My garage is part of the house so wouldn't want to put load on the first floor joists. I had a look at crane hire and there is a hire place about 2 miles from me at £35 for one day for a 1 tonne engine crane. If this includes delivery (not clear on the website) I'll go for that.