carba-tec MC900/MC1100 [Archive]

Bruce Micheal

3rd July 2005, 10:11 AM

Welcome to the forums.
I have a MC900 and have had a few problems with it, not major!
Search these forums and you will find heaps of info on these lathes.
I love mine and it does everything I have ever wanted. I use it to make components for other projects other than turnings?
A good entry level lathe that can do lots!!!!!!! :D :D

Dean

3rd July 2005, 12:24 PM

Good entry level lathe.
Think of it as a stepping stone to something bigger and better later if you take a liking to the craft.

My only issues with it is the pressed metal stand (needs stabilizing with weight) and the tool rest assembly could be a little more solid to help dampen vibration etc), otherwise it has served me well so far.

smidsy

3rd July 2005, 01:44 PM

Welcome to the forum.
Check out this thread as it answers a lot of the questions you're asking.
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=18501&page=1&pp=15

Something to think about is that you will also need chisels and a chuck. For chisels my advice would be to go with the generic set from carbatec - these are cheap enough to learn to sharpen on but good enough to do some nice work with.
The chuck will be a matter of budget, Vicmarc or Nova are the way to go, but stay away from the clone clucks unless you can get one for $30 or less.

Cheers
Paul

camphoranzac

4th July 2005, 07:25 AM

Thanks. I purchased a generic set of tools but I keep hearing that I won't be able to do too much with them so it's good to know that they are ok for a novice.The chuck? Are you referring to the economy scroll chuck CAT KR100 in the carba tec catalogue p.177?Can I use the nova chucks with the insert p.177? cheers JR

Dean

4th July 2005, 10:05 AM

adrian

4th July 2005, 10:14 AM

The MC900 does it's job but there are a number of problems with it that may arise.
The headstock, toolrest and tailstock all have problems where they fix to the bed. If you are mechanically minded you can find ways to overcome these problems or you can find fixes for them in other threads on the forum.
A number of us have had problems with belts breaking. I'm on my third belt in a year.
The positioning of the motor behind the headstock means that it will suck in dust which can't be good for longevity.
A few people have had problems with the speed control lever. Mine was almost impossibe to move after I set up the lathe.
As a beginner you should be made aware that the stand is light and causes the centre of gravity to be quite high. If you have a blank that's out of balance you may have to chase the machine around your workshop.

camphoranzac

4th July 2005, 08:21 PM

Good advice. I also have a chance to buy a Teknatool 1000 although compared with the carba-tec it is second hand and what I consider to be a little expensive. What do you think? Cheers JR

gatiep

5th July 2005, 02:47 AM

Those generic tools, if the same as the Carbatec TJ-6, will see you through many years of turning. Admittedly the are not the top best quality, but like with everything, a lot of people use them, just like most people drive Holdems and Fordsons and not Ferraris. Buy better quality like Hamlets once you have completed honing your sharpenings skills on the TJ-6 tools.

Wes Paas

5th July 2005, 11:37 PM

I am 72 years old and had not done any turning in 40 years. Recently I bought a MC900 and I can tell you that this lathe does more than anything we had then. the only thing is , buy a proper chuck.

La truciolara

6th July 2005, 12:59 AM

camphoranzac

To help you choose your chisels and other turning tools you can have a look at the document I give to my beginner students. Though the document is in Italian, as you have the picture of them I guess you will not have any problem recognising and naming them.
The tools suggested for a beginning are marked with a red *.<O:p
I hope it will help you ;) <O:p
http://www.la-truciolara.com/forum.il-legno/Strumenti01.pdf

Hamlet tools are ...Rolls Royces... buy them only when you want an added (expensive) pleasure

smidsy

6th July 2005, 01:29 AM

Hamlett are beautiful chisels and worth every cent.
That said though, sharpening your chisels is as important as turning and the Hamlett are way too nice to learn to sharpen on.
The generic six piece set sold by Carbatec and others is good enough to do some very nice work with but expendable enough to learn to sharpen on.
Cheers
Paul

camphoranzac

7th July 2005, 05:34 PM

Still haven't made a decision on which of these lathes to buy. As most out there would agree one has to start somewhere and cost becomes important, so the carba tec 900 is in front by a ball bearing live centre. This could all change when I attend turning classes manana. Cheers JR

woodb woody

7th July 2005, 05:51 PM

I am leaning toward the Hare and Forbes WL 18. The only difference between theirs and Carbatec is a 1 hP motor.As the dollars are not unlimited I have to choose between their Chinese $100 chuck or a nova midi chuck for $130.I would prefer a Supa Nova or a Vicmark but that will have to wait.

smidsy

7th July 2005, 07:45 PM

If you can't afford a Nova or Vicmarc wait till you can rather than buy a chinese chuck. I got a chinese chuck as a package deal with my MC900 and after about 5 months of light use the holes where the tommy bars go to to tighten the chuck started elongating - fellow members of your turning club tend to get slightly annoyed when you're hurling lumps of timber at them because you can't tighten the chuck properly.

Carbetec were about a year ago throwing in the chinese chuck with the MC900 for the cost of the insert, chase that up but don't pay $100 for one because it simply isn't worth it.
Cheers
Paul

woodb woody

7th July 2005, 08:51 PM

The Nova midi chuck looks like the go .I can upgrade to a supa nova later and jaws are interchangeable.From what I can gather the midi chuck will hold a 12 inch bowl which will be plenty for a while.

Skew ChiDAMN!!

8th July 2005, 05:15 AM

That's the way I went, although I bought the Supernova2 w/75mm jaws as I already had the Midi with a few sets of jaws for a small Ledacraft and thought them a tad undersize for the MC900. The Midi won't stand up to the powergrip jaws for example.

I agree wholeheartedly with Smidsy, the chinese chuck isn't worth it. I bought my MC900 from Carbatec (w/the chuck bundled in) and the hole-ovalling he mentioned only took a week on my new toy:mad:; I bought it to do outboard turning and first thing I tried were some BIG unbalanced logs... I wanted the chuck tight!

It didn't take long to find the lathes' shortcomings; it's good value for what it is but in the end you only get what you pay for... don't expect it to do any extreme stuff! ;)

arose62

9th July 2005, 01:37 AM

I was in H & F at Parramatta today (8th July 2005), and they had about 6 ex-demo wood lathes.

There were both WL-18's and WL-20's, at better prices than the catalogue ones.
WL-18 $299 (down from $369)
WL-20 $399 (down from $489)

My lathe is an ex-demo WL-20 (aka MC1100), and once I cleaned up the innards, it's behaved itself. Definitely worth the money saving in my case!!

Cheers,
Andrew

camphoranzac

10th July 2005, 08:51 AM

can you elaborate on cleaning up the innards?

arose62

10th July 2005, 12:21 PM

When I first used it, the speed change was a REAL effort.
Folks here quickly told me how to clean the lathe, and that it was something to do regularly.

I pulled the cover off, saw that it was pretty simple inside, and pulled it all apart. I cleaned the accumulated sawdust (lathedust??) out, lubricated the bits that needed lube, and put it back together.

The speed change now only needs one finger to flick from slow to fast, or vice versa.

Cheers,
Andrew
P.S. I PM'ed you earlier - if you want to look at my lathe, I'm just up the road at Gorokan, and there's a couple of others from this board nearby. (One who also has a MC-series lathe, and one who doesn't)

chunter

13th July 2005, 11:17 PM

I've had a WL18 for about 3 years - no major dramas, but I have had to strip and clean the speed change assembly in that time. I've taken to leaving the headstock cover off - I reckon the cover only serves to catch and hold the sawdust that the motor fan blows into it. Mine seems to be cleaner inside the headstock without the cover - just remember not to stick fingers in there.

I had a longer live centre point made for it, to give more room between the work and the body of the live centre. I have a Vicmark VL100 with shark jaws on it - brilliant. I also bought a Hafco chinese chuck - already growing oval tommy bar holes after minimal use.

It's certainly the bottom end of the market, but I've got a long way to go yet before I exceed its capabilities.

cheers, Colin

camphoranzac

15th July 2005, 05:05 PM

I'm off to H and F tomorrow. Thanks to all out there for the help.

woodb woody

15th July 2005, 05:56 PM

I made the move. My new WL18 is home and going .I invested the extra and got a supa nova 2 chuck with 50mm jaws.the speed change is a little stiff which can be fixed easily I hope.I have not bolted it down or made a sand box for it yet .I turned a 10 inchx3inch bowl on it this morning.The lathe seemed quite steady and i had no problems.Even though the lathe is about 82 kg I managed to assemble it on my own.

Tornatus

15th July 2005, 06:51 PM

I agree with Smidsy - the MC900 will satisfy all your beginner's needs amply, and will give good service if you keep the drive mechanism clean (see earlier posts), but it is vital to fit it with a good quality chuck.

If money is short (isn't it always?) skimp on tools rather than the chuck - you can practise on cheap tools, then step up to the quality ones, but the el cheapo chucks are not worth the grief. I originally invested in a Vicmarc, with a variety of jaws; then I picked up one of their older "tommy bar" models at a sale, and now I'm saving hard for another "T-bar" one (I hate wasting time changing jaws!)

smidsy

15th July 2005, 08:13 PM

I would call the cheap tools a necessity rather than a skimp.
A part of this game as important as turning technique is the ability to sharpen chisels.
The chinese sets are good enough to do some great work with but cheap enough to (potentially) stuff while learning to sharpen.
Hamlet are beautiful chisels and in my book it's a crime learning to sharpen on them.

Instead of a sandbox for stability I use a blue metal box - I figure that the looser nature of the blue metal will be more absorbing of vibration, and also more tolerant of the fact that I use an air hose to clean my lathe.

In case you guys are after ideas, here is a pic of the base of my lathe - note that the construction is rough, it wasn't a job where looks were an issue lol.

The second pic is for those of you who think you'll be limited by the MC being a "cheap" lathe - the pic shows a 300mm lump of wet jarrah that I roughed out on my MC. Admitidly this was really pushing the limits of the lathe and I wouldn't do it again but it's nice to know what the beast will do.

Cheers
Paul