GMC Lathe modifying

[Beedeejay]

Hi all,
i was given a Gmc lathe and all it came with was the centres and no other attachments, I want to modify it to be able to turn pens, does any one have any attachments or tips to give me an idea of how to do it??
i can get a piece made from an engineer to take a cordless drill chuck to put the mandrel in but it is a bit pricey, I only wan a cheap and easy option until I can save up for a decent lathe,

Cheers Ben

[Mobyturns]

Even the GMC manual doesn't specify the headstock spindle thread size? GMC Motorised Wood Turning Lathe Owner's Manual | ManualsOnline.com (http://powertool.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/gmc_1/ml10001.html?idRes=7538857) I can't even remember if they have a morse taper?? (some suspect advice in the manual to btw)

One option is a Collett chuck that you can mount the pen mandrel shaft into. http://vermec.tripod.com/PDFs/ER32_Page.pdf is one type that will fit to a headstock spindle rather that a morse taper & comes in a range of std spindle threads. You could possible use it on your next lathe or purchase a second body. Also an internet search of ER25 or ER32 Collets will bring up a range of other options from other manufacturers.

I think you could be in for a fair bit of frustration with this little lathe though as turning pen tubes will highlight any short commings very quickly. If you can tweak it to get it running true you should have plenty of rewarding fun.

[Jim Carroll]

The best modification for a GMC lathe is to cut the bars of and turn it into a faceplate sander.

Buy a woodfast midi lathe (http://www.cws.au.com/shop/item/woodfast-m305-midi-lathe) and solve all your problems instead of wasting money on something that does not really do what you want to do.

[Tim the Timber Turner]

The best modification for a GMC lathe is to cut the bars of and turn it into a faceplate sander.

Buy a woodfast midi lathe (http://www.cws.au.com/shop/item/woodfast-m305-midi-lathe) and solve all your problems instead of wasting money on something that does not really do what you want to do.

I'd agree with all of that Jim.

The best way to fix a GMC lathe is with an oxy torch.

Cheers

Tim:)

[Beedeejay]

The best modification for a GMC lathe is to cut the bars of and turn it into a faceplate sander.

Buy a woodfast midi lathe (http://www.cws.au.com/shop/item/woodfast-m305-midi-lathe) and solve all your problems instead of wasting money on something that does not really do what you want to do..

If I had the money I would!

I have seen videos of mandrels mounted into chucks and spun that way, but I don't have the chuck to use!.

I have Spun a piece of timber between centers that was turned on a Better (Vicmarc) lathe and it seems to run quite true. Again Im not aiming for perfection just a solution,

Thanks

[Beedeejay]

Even the GMC manual doesn't specify the headstock spindle thread size? GMC Motorised Wood Turning Lathe Owner's Manual | ManualsOnline.com (http://powertool.manualsonline.com/manuals/mfg/gmc_1/ml10001.html?idRes=7538857) I can't even remember if they have a morse taper?? (some suspect advice in the manual to btw)

One option is a Collett chuck that you can mount the pen mandrel shaft into. http://vermec.tripod.com/PDFs/ER32_Page.pdf is one type that will fit to a headstock spindle rather that a morse taper & comes in a range of std spindle threads. You could possible use it on your next lathe or purchase a second body. Also an internet search of ER25 or ER32 Collets will bring up a range of other options from other manufacturers.

I think you could be in for a fair bit of frustration with this little lathe though as turning pen tubes will highlight any short commings very quickly. If you can tweak it to get it running true you should have plenty of rewarding fun..

Thanks Moby,
Very helpful! although a little pricey. Im not too keen to spend more than like 40-50 bucks to get it to run as any more than that would definitely be a waste of money,

Looks like i might have to put the dream away for a few more months to try to save for a better lathe

[jimbur]

One thing, you'll learn a lot as you try to get the best out of it.

[Mobyturns]

.

Thanks Moby,
Very helpful! although a little pricey. Im not too keen to spend more than like 40-50 bucks to get it to run as any more than that would definitely be a waste of money,

Looks like i might have to put the dream away for a few more months to try to save for a better lathe

Another possible solution is to go to your local bolts supply place and buy a couple of nuts to match your spindle thread. Recess a nut into a small face plate block with epoxy and carefully drill a hole to match your pen mandrel spindle & go from there. Again possible but fraught with frustration getting it accurate.

[Beedeejay]

Yeah it looks as though I won't be turning anything For a while, it would have been good if there a was simple option, so at least I could play around with different shapes and finishes while trying my hand at different styles of pens... Oh well, one day :(

[ian thorn]

As Moby says get a nut to fit the spindle and have it welded to the centre of a disc of steel say 150mm dia by 6mm thick get it put in a metal lathe and trued up for balence and the face the cos should be in the range of what you want to spend .Now you have a faceplate for your lathe to make a fitting for the pen mandrle srew a block the length of the taper plus a bitt to the face plate and turn your own taper into it,no cost just a piece of hard wood ,pays to have a locating mark on the faceplate so you can remove you jig and use it to turn lots of other things ,small bowls or platers hope this makes sence .

Cheers Ian

[dai sensei]

Best bet would be to go down to your local wood turning club, the Gold Coast Woodturners at Mudgeeraba Gold Coast Woodturners Inc. - Night Club | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gold-Coast-Woodturners-Inc/408060939226654)

They can help you learn how to turn, even have a decent cheap lathe for sale from time to time.

Cheers

[Beedeejay]

[QUOTE=ian thorn;1599818]As Moby says get a nut to fit the spindle and have it welded to the centre of a disc of steel say 150mm dia by 6mm thick get it put in a metal lathe and trued up for balence and the face the cos should be in the range of what you want to spend ].

Only problem is I don't know anyone with a metal lathe, would a piece of hardwood do for a face plate if it was turned flat? And then then turned flat

.[Now you have a faceplate for your lathe to make a fitting for the pen mandrle srew a block the length of the taper plus a bitt to the face plate and turn your own taper into it,no cost just a piece of hard wood ,pays to have a locating mark on the faceplate so you can remove you jig and use it to turn lots of other things ,small bowls or platers hope this makes sence .
Cheers Ian]

[Beedeejay]

Best bet would be to go down to your local wood turning club, the Gold Coast Woodturners at Mudgeeraba Gold Coast Woodturners Inc. - Night Club | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gold-Coast-Woodturners-Inc/408060939226654)

They can help you learn how to turn, even have a decent cheap lathe for sale from time to time.

Cheers


Yeah, I am already a member and attend regulary, but 3hrs a week isn't long enough to do what I want to do, I like to use that time to learn about other types of turning rather than just doing pens!!! I will get a decent lathe one day, then I can turn the gmc into a sander, but for the moment that isn't an option!

[_fly_]

from memory its a 3/4 x 16 tpi thread. And the Record lathe I use is also 3/4 x 16 tpi so everything just moved over attachment wise.
Go looking for UK Record stuff, it should all fit,

[Beedeejay]

from memory its a 3/4 x 16 tpi thread. And the Record lathe I use is also 3/4 x 16 tpi so everything just moved over attachment wise.
Go looking for UK Record stuff, it should all fit,


Ok I will, thanks,

[_fly_]

here's a new face plate on ebay
Record Power CWA70 Face Plate 4in | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Record-Power-CWA70-Face-Plate-4in-/350632681747?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item51a3562113)

the 1 inch 10 tpi is US
the 3/4 16 is UK.

You can buy collars to fit into 1x10 chucks to give you a 3/4x16.

Screw chuck Record Power CWA61 Woodscrew Chuck 2 1/2in | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Record-Power-CWA61-Woodscrew-Chuck-2-1-2in-/350632877297?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item51a3591cf1)

and Here's records website, you can see what you might want. I got the record chuck set, gave me everything Recordpower - Woodworking tools (http://www.recordpower.co.uk/)

Peter

[artme]

I would not buggerize around with that lathe, believe me!

I was in Brasil for a time and took pen kits and tools with me with the idea of turning pens there.

Ha1

Only lathe I could get was a clone of that. Despite much chasing up of local macinists and so on
I simply could not get any degree of accuracy or satisfaction with the machine.:no::no:

Cunvert the thing to what has been advised above.

[_fly_]

If you've never used a lathe and this is what you have then you can always have a go.

Why spend 900 bucks on a midi and then find out you don't like it.
I agree I probably wouldn't do pens on it, But practicing is ok, I made magic wands for kids on one and they came out fine
(no worse than on the record or the jet).

And a few other things I also made on it when I needed things, all came out fine.

And you can always take the insert out of a chuck to make it fit a 1x10tpi lathe when he decides to get one, or if he gets a record they will all go over directly.

[RETIRED]

To a certain extent I am with all the above comments, however, when it is all boiled down a lathe only has to spin wood. Some do it better than others.

Whilst the GMC and its clones are probably at the bottom end of the market they could get you started and with a few tweaks will probably do light work ok.

Mount it on the strongest bench or stand you can. You may be able to strengthen the headstock with some angle iron bolted to it.

If things go awry, ask yourself this: Was it my technique? Are the tools sharp? Did I exceed the lathes capacity? Is it the lathe that is causing it?

I have seen some people that give up turning because they bought cheap equipment that was just so frustrating. At least you have the opportunity of using the better stuff at the club. Use this time to advance your technique.

For what it's worth, my first lathe was wooden using 2 bits of 4x2 as the bed. The spindle was a machined pin that ran in bronze king pin bushes and the tailstock was a bolt with a point ground on it. The tool rest was a piece of 2x1 hardwood that clamped to the head and tailstock. It had 2 speeds, 1440 (motor speed) or stop.

If I wanted accuracy I used my metal lathe, but it taught me good techniques.:D

[ian thorn]

As Robo said use it till you can get somthinng better I started with one like Robo, and made tools from screw drivers and carpentry chieles dont recomend you do that but i had a lot of fun and made some good stuffwhen i was 15 have fun and learn lots at the club we all do
Ian

[Beedeejay]

Hey guys, I'm not too sure how to post numerous quotes to reply individually
as I am on an iPad at the moment and can't work out how but thanks moby, Ian, Fly and for all the helpful tips,

for those who are saying to get rid of it and upgrade I appreciate that but when I have the means and money to do so believe me I will, but at the moment that is not an option,
I am a wood machinist, so I have a better understanding than most as to what difference a quality piece of machinery can make, but as an apprentice I was also taught to use and make do with what ever you have on hand,

I am not out turn show stopping items or to try to make a living selling things I make. I just want to make use of what I have, I have already turned some nice handles and things on lathe.

So again thanks for the helpfull tips I have an idea of what I will do to proceed and i might Just post some pics of stuff I make,

[arose62]

I did my first pen on a GMC lathe.

A lathe's job is to turn things round, so I stuck a bit of wood between centres, and turned it round.
Then turned it smaller and smaller until it fit inside the pen tubes.
(Just like making a mandrel, hey??)

Unfortunately, it was a bit too small, so I enlarged it by wrapping masking tape around it until it was a snug fit in the pen tubes.

I think I did a couple of pens using this turned wooden mandrel, so don't think the only solution involves pieces of metal, engineers, or throwing money around.

This link (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/my-first-efforts-43352/#post440321) shows the "upgraded" version of my made pen mandrel, which *did* involve a piece of metal (but no engineers, and no $$)


Cheers,
Andrew

[Beedeejay]

I did my first pen on a GMC lathe.


This link (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f69/my-first-efforts-43352/#post440321) shows the "upgraded" version of my made pen mandrel, which *did* involve a piece of metal (but no engineers, and no $$)


Cheers,
Andrew


Very interesting concept Andrew,

Like I said before, sometimes you just make do!

[Paul39]

Hi all,
i was given a Gmc lathe and all it came with was the centres and no other attachments, I want to modify it to be able to turn pens, does any one have any attachments or tips to give me an idea of how to do it??
i can get a piece made from an engineer to take a cordless drill chuck to put the mandrel in but it is a bit pricey, I only wan a cheap and easy option until I can save up for a decent lathe,

Cheers Ben

These: Newegg.com - Boltmaster Steelworks .88in. Right Hand Threaded Rod Coupler Nuts 11850 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA02V0C59667&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA)

are used to put together threaded rods - allthread.

If you could find one to fit on the lathe spindle, turn a piece of hardwood just a whisker larger than the female thread of the nut, screw it in the nut 2/3rds of the way in, put it on the lathe and face off the front flat, then drill out the hardwood to fit the pen mandrel.

You might also try to find a spindle adapter from a chuck manufacturer. Here is a list of Vicmarc: Vicmarc - Woodturning Lathes, Chucks, Jaws and Accessories - (http://www.vicmarc.com/default.asp?contentID=721)

I have one from Penn State Industries, made in China, $19.95 that adapts my 33mm X 3.5 metric spindle to a 1 inch x 8 tpi thread that has a #2 Morse taper in the end. This was a pleasant surprise as my Hegner has a female 16mm thread in the spindle. I got the lathe used and it did not come with a 16mm drive center.

This might have a Morse taper hole in the end:

3/4" x 16 tpi Headstock Spindle Adapter at Penn State Industries (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/LA3418.html)

This is a US company, but the stuff is made in China and may be found locally.

I am in agreement with others that say use what you have until the bug has sufficiently bitten that you can justify more expenditure on equipment.

Most chucks have inserts so you can buy a chuck to fit your existing lathe and when you upgrade, change insert to fit the new lathe.

[Mobyturns]

For what it's worth, my first lathe was wooden using 2 bits of 4x2 as the bed. The spindle was a machined pin that ran in bronze king pin bushes and the tailstock was a bolt with a point ground on it. The tool rest was a piece of 2x1 hardwood that clamped to the head and tailstock. It had 2 speeds, 1440 (motor speed) or stop.:D

So they did have electricity then! :roflmao2:


I am in agreement with others that say use what you have until the bug has sufficiently bitten that you can justify more expenditure on equipment.

Me too! Better to have something than nothing. You will learn a lot about (cheap) lathes as well, & how to tweak what you have. They may test your mental resolve though. As an aside I know a very good turner who uses a GMC as a base for an ornamental lathe and plenty of cobbled up accessories to go with it. His work is pretty good! So it can be done, if you want / need to.

[_fly_]

So they did have electricity then! :roflmao2:

Nope, he used to get Captan Cook to peddle the lathe for him. :))

[Mobyturns]

Nope, he used to get Captan Cook to peddle the lathe for him. :))

At 1450rpm, Cook was one fit guy then! :cool:

[jimbur]

At 1450rpm, Cook was one fit guy then! :cool:

No just a good salesman:D