PDA

View Full Version : It's not just Australia that's been inflicted with the GMC lathe



smidsy
18th September 2004, 03:32 AM
Hei Guys,
My brother in law in Norway is thinking about getting a lathe (my sister is thinking about getting a medical degree because a handyman he is not) and he sent me pics of the two lathes he is considering.
One is the MC900 in a rather nice yellow, and the other is the attached beast - sure looks like a GMC to me.
Suffice to say he has been told about the GMC and been given the URL for here.
Cheers
Paul

barnsey
18th September 2004, 06:07 PM
My in-laws are Norwegian too! ;)

I imagine the markets are not dissimilar so the likes of these being available doesn't suprise me. Would love to know what the market carries above that and whether our excellent machines represented :rolleyes:

smidsy
18th September 2004, 06:56 PM
Hei Barnsey,
This is what else they have - the Norwegian version of the MC900.
I have to say that it does look a lot nicer than the Carbatec blue.
Cheers
Paul

Dean
18th September 2004, 11:22 PM
Both those lathes come out of China... Neither GMC, Carbatec or anyone else *owns* the model per se, they just have them colored and badged in their own schemes for resale.

:D

gatiep
18th September 2004, 11:33 PM
Smidsy:


That "G*C" contraption seems like it has some sort of copying attachment on the bed. Heaven help us!

The "M* 900" bed looks very similar to the woodfast lathe beds at our turning club mate.

:eek:

smidsy
19th September 2004, 03:58 AM
Hei Joe,
Good to see you up and about, hope everything's going well.

My bro in law did mention that that lathe does come with a copy attachment.
Although to me a copy attachment is of little value and the inclusion of one certainly wouldn't influence my decision to buy a particular lathe.

To me a copy attachment is only useful if you were doing something like table legs and wanted a matching set - even then I would only use one if I had bought some horrendously expensive timber because to me getting the legs to match is part of the fun and challenge of turning.
Cheers
Paul

Alastair
20th September 2004, 12:11 PM
Joe

Good to see you back in the fold.

Hope everything went well.

Alastair

Mikko
20th October 2004, 09:36 PM
Ummmm....Clas Ohlson has a certain rep in these parts of the world.
I strongly advice against him buying this lathe....othervise your sister may REALLY need those medic skills.

Rule of thumb is to buy only known brands from this particular chain.
You should have seen what happened to the axe I bought from them......back to my ole trusty Fiskars after one attemped split.

They sell cheap Tormek's though.:D

My EUR 0,02.

Cheers,
Mikko

EDIT: This may well come too late, just noticed that this thread is pretty old...sorry.

smidsy
20th October 2004, 09:57 PM
Hei Mikko,
Nice to hear from you and great to see that our forum reaches so far.
It's interesting what you say about the Clas Ohlson machine because this machine is sold here in Australia as the MC900 and is considered to be the best entry level wood lathe there is.
Cheers
Paul

Mikko
20th October 2004, 10:15 PM
Are you absolutely sure it is the same lathe??
If so, I need to take a second look at it.
First time I saw it......huh....no thanks.

Naturally I may be wrong here but there are very few items with Clas Ohlson tag in them that I would dare to trust.....this is not one of them.

Records and Cobras are pretty much the basic and most used workhorses around here.

My opinion only......and that of my fellow turners up here.

Cheers,
Mikko

smidsy
20th October 2004, 10:37 PM
Hei Mikko,
From the pic I posted here which I got from my bro in law it certainly looks like the same lathe.
This is a link to an aussie version of the site if you fancy a look.
http://www.woodworking.com.au/cgi-bin/WMS.exe?WMS=item&page=products&cntr=27&title=LATHES&search=Products&type=0

Cheers
Paul

Mikko
20th October 2004, 11:05 PM
Sure looks the same....

It seems to be a cultural difference then.....as no turner I know would go for one here.
That thingy is much cheaper down there!!

Well, each to his own.
I'll stick to my Record.....:-)

Cheers,
Mikko

Mikko
28th January 2005, 08:59 PM
Hey Smidsy,

I need to come and take my words back....
I was to one turning course and there it was......standing amongst all those Records and Cobras.
MC900 (known as Euro900 here)!!!

Was slow and chatting with the authority.
Only lathe left for me.....MC900. Sh&%e!

Well...whatdoyouknow.
Pretty noisy to my taste but sure as nice to use as any of the smaller Records about...actually nicer.
This lathe still had its original stand, but is was beefed up with some wooden components, so it was fine.

It was armed with some cheapo chuck that is often sold with it...had not too many probs with that either. Only thing was the the grip came loose when stopping the lathe often. These chucks go for EUR99 here these days and the lathe itself is just short of EUR300.

With few modifications and good chuck (Nova??) this would offer amazing value!
Compared to this Records are way overpriced (at least here in Finland).

For that price (a good nightout in Helsinki can set you back much MUCH more), I think I'll grab one for sure.

What it comes to the VB36.....
I do not think that I'll ever buy it. DIY bowl lathe is now in horizon and the pricetag is only a fraction of that of VB. Might not work out, but the cost is so low that I'll happily take my chances.

So, my apologies for the bad words. This lathe will be the first "powertool" I purchase from Clas Ohlson....and will probably be the last too.

Cheers,
Mikko

P.S. It's -15C outside here......you guys are having it too good.

ozwinner
28th January 2005, 09:16 PM
P.S. It's -15C outside here......you guys are having it too good.
15c Mmmmmmm, nice
After 4 days of high 30's, I need 15c.

Al :cool:

Toggy
28th January 2005, 09:24 PM
That was minus 15 on the bludy cold register Al.

Ken

ozwinner
28th January 2005, 09:32 PM
Ohhh nooooooooo.

Not -15. :eek:
I want +15

Al :confused:

Groggy
28th January 2005, 10:22 PM
Hey Smidsy,
For that price (a good nightout in Helsinki can set you back much MUCH more), I think I'll grab one for sure.

If you think a night out in Helsinki is expensive - try it from here!:D

Interesting thread on the lathe, I'm clueless on lathes and enjoyed the reading.

Mikko
29th January 2005, 06:59 AM
Sure can not be more than here?

Yes....it's pretty cold here right now......
I need to run the tap every hour to make sure the water pipes do not freeze.
I had serious difficulties in opening the gas tank lid (or whatever it is in english) as it was pretty much frozen shut. Soaking it with spirits used in windshield washer finally did the trick....after 30minutes of intense cursing that is.
Tomorrow, I need to climb up to the roof and showel all the snow down. There is so much of it that there is a risk that the stucture can not hold the load.

There is more, much more, but I'm sure you got the picture.

Have a good one lads,

M "the finnish connection"

Mikko
29th January 2005, 07:05 AM
Oh...there is a positive thing here too.

It is so cold that my outrageous stock of timber is drying nice and slow.
No cracks. Then again...it will be completely dry in 10 years or so if I do not get to turn all of it first.

One of the worst things is that all the women are covered with tons on clothing!!!
Damn I miss summer. And that is actually the only thing keeping me here. Our summer of course, not the ladies wrapped in multiple layers of fabric....what were you thinking.

Cheers,
Mikko

ozwinner
29th January 2005, 07:53 AM
There is more, much more, but I'm sure you got the picture.

Have a good one lads,

M "the finnish connection"
Post some piccys for us.

Al ;)

Grunt
29th January 2005, 08:14 AM
Post some piccys for us.

Yes but not ones with the women with layers and layers of clothes on.

smidsy
29th January 2005, 05:03 PM
Hei Mikko,
No need to apologise, it's good that you had a play with the MC/Euro900 and formed your own opinion.
My sister lives in a suburb of Oslo that I cannot pronounce let alone spell so I know all about your weather - she grew up in Australia where it can hit 44 degress at this time of the year.
If you want a decent chuck you can do no better than the Aussie Vicmarc - beautiful quality (better than the Nova I think) and a large range of accessories.
If they don't have a European distributor you can deal direct with them - check out http://www.vicmarc.com/

Cheers
Paul

Mikko
29th January 2005, 07:10 PM
Hi Smidsy,

I'll see about the Vicmark chuck. They should be available here in EU.
It's just that Supernova is pretty cheap in UK.

I think I'll get a nova for MC900 and Vicmark for the larger bowl lathe...what ever it ends up being.

Cheers,
Mikko

Simon-UK
30th January 2005, 01:16 AM
In the uk the same supplier sells two versions of the xx900 lathe. One for GBP£430 (the M900 - white) and one for GBP£150 (Yellow Model:CCL - (Cheap Cinese Lathe???!!)). The difference is that the motor, bearings, fitments and finishing is to a much higher standard on the dearer machine. The cheap one fools quite a few beginners but is soon filling the free ad papers. Have a look - I think they are what we are all talking about.

http://www.axminster.co.uk//images/products/APTCM900_xl.jpghttp://www.axminster.co.uk//images/products/CCL_xl.jpg

Mikko
30th January 2005, 07:04 AM
I have no clue of these....but the very same model standing in that class has been used by tens and tens of people without a problem.

Need to see what this one has eaten.

Cheers,
Mikko

smidsy
30th January 2005, 12:18 PM
Down here in Australia the chinese MC900 has a good reputation, sure it's not quite as good as a Vicmarc or a jet but it makes a good entry level machine, is reliable and capable of some good work.
Maybe the Q/C guy at the factory is an aussie and sends the duds to England lol.
Cheers
Paul