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View Full Version : Buying a lathe( no dont leave please answer)



black1
17th April 2006, 01:50 AM
i have reached the age (42) where the war office has grant me permission to go out and buy a lathe and stuff (tools). being a chippy i have a fairly good understanding of what is crap and what is not. Would just like a little advice as i have wanted one for years and the War office has always said only old men use lathes. thanks for any advice given as have read lots on the subject and woundnt buy a gmc on any way.

ss_11000
17th April 2006, 01:59 AM
young people use lathes to, tell the war office that!

whats your price range? a good beginners lathe is a mc900 ( $300-400 odd), then you can get expensive ones like vicmarcs that are really good quality....

rodm
17th April 2006, 03:27 AM
The best way to tackle any machinery purchase is think about

What is the biggest item you are going to make?
What is your budget?
What space is available in your shed?
Power requirments - single or three phase?

All to often a choice is made on price alone and after a few months it is either too small, too big, not accurate enough or insuffient power to do the job properly. If you match the machine to your requirments then you will not loose interest or be trading it in on another model down the track.
Remember that most machinery requires tooling other than standard accessories so allow for chucks and chisels and an endless selection of must have items.

If you are not sure where to start then MC900 is a good choice for entry level but be prepared to upgrade if you get addicted. Also if you do get the bug then a dust extractor and bandsaw will be on the list of must have items.

As you are a chippy and obviously have a good knowledge of timber you will be able to turn out projects with a short learning curve but all the same a good book or video might be worth the go.

dazzler
17th April 2006, 09:46 AM
I reckon SS1100 is spot on.

There so cheap if you take it up big time you can always upgrade to a vicmark or similar later on .

go for it.:D

arose62
17th April 2006, 10:25 AM
I started with a GMC, and moved up to a MC1100 from Hare & Forbes.

My 2c is that the old bodgers made heaps of really nice stuff, usually on a pole lathe, or something equally unsophisticated.

So, if I can turn something nice on a unimpressive lathe, then I know it's my skill. OTOH, if I spent gazillions on the fanciest lathe, there's still no guarantee that I would produce anything worthwhile.

Having said that, in hindsight, I wish I had known to bolt the GMC down securely to something HEAVY, so's it didn't dance about so much.

You'd be hard pressed to go wrong starting with a MC900 / MC1100 in one of the various colours.

Cheers,
Andrew

ozwinner
17th April 2006, 10:28 AM
i have reached the age (42) where the war office has grant me permission to go out and buy a lathe and stuff (tools). being a chippy i have a fairly good understanding of what is crap and what is not. Would just like a little advice as i have wanted one for years and the War office has always said only old men use lathes. thanks for any advice given as have read lots on the subject and woundnt buy a gmc on any way.

Check out Timbecon (http://www.timbecon.com.au/products/woodlathes-375_0.aspx), they are in you part of the world.
Shame about the colour choice, but spray paint will fix that.

Al :)

fred.n
17th April 2006, 10:56 AM
I think you'll find an MC 1100 is a great starter anywhere?
remember you can always sell it at a later date as a "beginners lathe"
that way attracting people who just might need that little push to get them started??
As with all things, the price comes in with all the accessories (sorry about the spelling), but be warned...........turning is REALLY addictive (which is good) so the on going cost will continue:)
All the best with what you get, (give us an update and a pic??) and go for it

Gil Jones
17th April 2006, 11:36 AM
Somewhat off topic question...what is a "Chippy"? I looked it up online, and the answer does not remotely resemble any kind of woodworker. No offence, but this was what I found>>
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010524

ozwinner
17th April 2006, 11:45 AM
Somewhat off topic question...what is a "Chippy"? I looked it up online, and the answer does not remotely resemble any kind of woodworker. No offence, but this was what I found>>
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010524


Its anyone who makes wood chips.
Usualy applied to an on site carpenter/joiner.

Al :)

soundman
17th April 2006, 01:10 PM
Take the advice of Terry O'Keefe ( senior aka Big Terry ).
"DON'T wait till you retire to buy a lathe."

Sadly Big Terry is nearly blind from diabeeties now & can't see enough to turn safely.
At one stage he was at his lathe every day.

If turning interests you. Now is the time to buy a lathe.

The jett mini lathe is a big hearted machine and any of the good brands will give you a lot of satisfaction.

cheers

black1
17th April 2006, 01:26 PM
thanks for the info, will look at the mc900/1100 from timbecon also the mc660. are these the same as what carbatec sells. only ever used a woodfast at school about 20 somthing years ago.

ps are the any woodturning clubs in the freo area or somewhere i can go to have a look at what is what? or in perth metro area?????

journeyman Mick
17th April 2006, 02:22 PM
Somewhat off topic question...what is a "Chippy"? I looked it up online, and the answer does not remotely resemble any kind of woodworker. No offence, but this was what I found>>
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010524

Just checked out that link and it seems that I'm not a carpenter after all, but a promiscuouis woman:eek: .

Mick the chippy

coastie
17th April 2006, 03:20 PM
I thought it was what the Pommies called a fish and chip shop!!:rolleyes:

JackoH
17th April 2006, 03:21 PM
Go for it! Spend about twice as much as you can afford. You can run up the white flag later! Getv a Woodfast or preferably Vicmarc. You are never too young to start anything. I wish I had had the time and money when I was 42.I didn't start 'til I was 60, but boy have I made up for it since. It is also quite surprising how a nicely figured and finished salad bowl or suchlike will buy peace and harmony at the war office!

dazzler
17th April 2006, 03:22 PM
Take the advice of Terry O'Keefe ( senior aka Big Terry ).
"DON'T wait till you retire to buy a lathe."

Sadly Big Terry is nearly blind from diabeeties now & can't see enough to turn safely.
At one stage he was at his lathe every day.

cheers

Good Advice!

I'm off to get me some smack, pick up some ho's and party down:eek:

No time like the present I reckon:D

Dazzler

Buzz
17th April 2006, 04:22 PM
Have a look at the WA Woodturners Association web-site: http://www.wawa.com.au

Go to the "groups" link on their Homepage and you find that there is a group at Melville. I would suggest going along and meeting a few people, you will certainly be made welcome and get as much good advise as you want. There may even be some leads on good second hand gear.

Chris

macca2
17th April 2006, 04:24 PM
Hi black1
Check out WAWA.com.au This is the web site of Woodturners Association of Western Australia. You will find a list groups there. Melville would be your closest.
Go Eagles

Macca

skot
17th April 2006, 06:01 PM
Has anyone got any advice on the Nova DVR 3000?..Is it worth buying

Skew ChiDAMN!!
17th April 2006, 06:29 PM
I've only taken one for a test drive, played with it for about 4 hours after helping set it up at a mates' place. I was suitably impressed. Very, very nice.

Is it worth the price tag? I'll wait until they've seen a few more years in the market before I'll say yes... but I will say "probably." I'd be more than happy to have one in my shop. ;)

Wood worrier
18th April 2006, 02:54 AM
:rolleyes: Just been through the upgrade route myself (on retirement from the military). Her indoors was remarkably unconcerned about price so I looked at everything. Came down to a Wivamac 1200 or a Vicmark 300, the Wivamacs swivel headstock swung it. In use it's a fantastic machine, superby engineered and immensly stable with big, heavy lumps of green timber presenting no problems. Not sure if you can get Wivamacs in Aus (they are Belgian).

rsser
18th April 2006, 02:36 PM
Vicmarc 175 for sale in Melbourne:

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=294143#post294143

Toasty
20th April 2006, 09:55 PM
Has anyone got any advice on the Nova DVR 3000?..Is it worth buying

I believe so! Check out this thread (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=30876) I posted yesterday about the 15kg burl I turned, my DVR3000 didn't even break a sweat. I'm not a lathe expert as the DVR3000 is only the second lathe I have ever owned and used (very worn out 10" Durden before that) but I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

skot
20th April 2006, 10:39 PM
Thanks,
I read that thread....mighty beefy machine. I am down to the DVR 3000 or the Vicmarc VL175..decisions..decisions. Might have to wait till the Timber Show in Brisbane in 3 weeks time and see if I can compare them a little better.

Toasty
20th April 2006, 11:25 PM
Yeah I did the same thing last year at the Canberra wood show, except I intended to go kick the tyres on a Jet 1642. Due to the 1642 not being available at the time I ended up with the DVR3000 (thread (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=20930)).

The Vicmark VL175 would make a mighty fine lathe I think, but it was still out of my price range & well beyond the DVR in $'s (but there is the new DVR XP now which has a hefty price tag). Anyway, even if I gotten the VL175 I would have always be wondering about the VL300 which was my dream lathe on spec and I would have hated to spend that money only to be left wondering what might have been. Yeah, stoopid I know.

Depending on what you are after I think you would do well to have a close look at rsser's lathe for sale mentioned in this thread.

DavidG
21st April 2006, 02:51 PM
Since getting my VL300 I have never felt the need to change to anything else or felt that it was lacking something.
Been very happy.
Love the single knob speed change where you can go from 30 to 3000 rpm in an instant.
Love the forward and reverse at the flick of a switch for sanding.
Love the long red bar which means you do not need to look for the off switch in a hurry.:D

Baz
21st April 2006, 04:17 PM
To add to DavidG's post
Love the soft start, particularly with a bloody big bowl, and
the indexing head.
Cheers
Barry

CameronPotter
21st April 2006, 04:24 PM
These kind of luxuries make me wonder about my Woodfast MC900...

Mind you, while it is pretty basic - it works. :D

Cam

skot
21st April 2006, 04:29 PM
Toasty,
I have made a complete breakdown of costs between the VL175 & the DVR.
Due to having to add on the Outrigger, Stand & Bed extention on the DVR and increasing the motor size of the VL175 to a 1 1/2 hp so as to compare comparable machines, there is only about $100 difference.

So now it comes down to performance or which dealer is going to give me the best deal at the show.

Taffsmania
21st April 2006, 05:41 PM
Toasty,
I have made a complete breakdown of costs between the VL175 & the DVR.
Due to having to add on the Outrigger, Stand & Bed extention on the DVR and increasing the motor size of the VL175 to a 1 1/2 hp so as to compare comparable machines, there is only about $100 difference.

So now it comes down to performance or which dealer is going to give me the best deal at the show.

Bought dvrxp from Jim and got a supernova 2 as a bonus, as for one lathe being better than an other I will leave that to the experts this being my first lathe.
Keith

Toasty
21st April 2006, 06:54 PM
I have made a complete breakdown of costs between the VL175 & the DVR...
...there is only about $100 difference.So now it comes down to performance or which dealer is going to give me the best deal at the show.
I suspect you would be happy with either!

I think the Vicmark would be better if you intended to do long spindle work, but with that said, the DVR can accept bed extensions as you have noticed.

For me the length of the bed didn't factor as I planned on only doing bowl work, spindle turning doesn't interest me. So while you do want to compare apples with apples, try to make sure you aren't unnecessarily overspending for things you won't utilise, rather look at them as a bonus if that is the case. Also be sure to take into account the space you will be using the lathe in, it has to fit!

The DVR-XP definitely has some upgrades I would love over my DVR3000 including twice the bottom end torque, but the main one is the 5 preset "favourite" speeds, that would be super handy to have.

Definitely hold your water until the show if you can as they usually have specials such as free chucks etc, like me you might also be able to talk the price down further on the display model (if you are so inclined). This is unless you want to take rsser's VL175 of his hands :p

CanFly
22nd April 2006, 02:45 PM
Buying a lathe?

There's only one way to go - a Oneway lathe!

lola
23rd April 2006, 09:27 PM
g'day BLACK1
just been through the same process not that long ago
ended up with the 1100 from carbatec (on special at the time)
am fairly happy with it although for the price you are always going to find faults in workmanship
can not fault it for a great starter lathe
as for clubs/courses
i think carbatec still run courses and the melville rec centre run a pretty good course
give me a pm for any other info
am just over in bicton,your welcome to come over and have a go on the 1100 and see what you think
cheers
SCOTT

LuckyDuck
23rd April 2006, 10:21 PM
I can really identify with your comment about using Woodfasts in highschool. I did as well and when it came time to purchase my lathe I bought a Woodfast. While I am delighted with it, the Vicmarks have better specs for a similar price. Remember that you have to purchase a significant number of "accessories" in order to really have "fun" with your lathe. There are plenty of better "lathers" out there who would be able to compile a list of essentials.

regards

Skew ChiDAMN!!
23rd April 2006, 10:45 PM
The only "essentials" are a lathe, safety glasses, a suitable turning blank, a turning chisel and something to sharpen it. Everything else are just improvements: better safety, better tools, quicker results and a wider repertoire of things you can turn.

To be honest, I think a lathe about the quality of an MC-900 with a drive-spur, faceplate and a 1" spindle gouge is all that a total newby should start with. Oh... and a 6" grinder and white wheel. Once they've got a handle on roughing down and basic beading and coving spindles, then start thinking about other tools.

Chucks are nice to have, but definitely not essentials. I've seen a few blokes start off kitted out with a nice, new chuck and they're absolutely stuffed when it comes to items that just won't fit in a chuck. (Eggs, etc.) Suggest a jam-chuck to 'em and they look at you blankly... having never needed to make one before. :rolleyes: On the other hand, I started with just a drivespur & faceplate and was making jam-chucks well before I could afford my shiny new scrolly. :) Still make jam-chucks, too!

The same applies to other things. What does a newby do if he's always used a top-o'-the-line lathe (a nice Vicmarc for example) and is suddenly confronted with an MC-900 with a tailstock that doesn't align with the drivespur? Usually it seems to be stand around wondering when the next train leaves, saying "but the lathes no good." Pshaw! :rolleyes:

black1
23rd April 2006, 11:27 PM
The same applies to other things. What does a newby do if he's always used a top-o'-the-line lathe (a nice Vicmarc for example) and is suddenly confronted with an MC-900 with a tailstock that doesn't align with the drivespur? Usually it seems to be stand around wondering when the next train leaves, saying "but the lathes no good." Pshaw! :rolleyes:

has this happened to you and if so how did ya fix it, did ya shim cause it was low or machine down as too high?. just curious.:cool:
or did ya return it and get another one?

Skew ChiDAMN!!
23rd April 2006, 11:35 PM
At the beginning I fixed it by ignoring it. When turning long spindles, it doesn't really matter. ;) But once I started turning shorter spindle work more frequently, like my goblets, it became more of a nuisance. At first I simply used a rounded dowel in a jacob's chuck when using a chuck/faceplate to hold the blank, but that soon becane an annoyance too... so I eventually bit the bullet and did some serious fixing.

Firstly, the tailstock need a bit of shimming (just brass shims araldited on) to raise the centre to match the headstock. I also noticed that it wasn't really planar so I had it machined flat first, but that wasn't really necessary; I could've just packed each side differently for the same result and saved myself some coin. Frankly, I wish I had. :rolleyes: I was lucky in that it didn't have any side-slop along the bed, so I didn't have to shim it that way. :)

Secondly, I noticed that when I swivelled the MC900's headstock and returned it for bed turning, it didn't always locate in the same spot. :( A friend had a workaround for this: line it all up squarely then drill 1/4"ish holes in the top of the bed, hard up against the headstock, to fit a couple of locating pins. Well... junk bolts I had lying around. I remove the pins when turning outboard, then when I swivel it back I simply replace the pins before tightening the locking clamp. It works for me. I've been considering building up some welds on the inside surfaces and remachining, but to my mind that's a lot of work for little real gain...

TTIT
23rd April 2006, 11:35 PM
The same applies to other things. What does a newby do if he's always used a top-o'-the-line lathe (a nice Vicmarc for example) and is suddenly confronted with an MC-900 with a tailstock that doesn't align with the drivespur? Usually it seems to be stand around wondering when the next train leaves, saying "but the lathes no good." Pshaw! :rolleyes:

has this happened to you ifso how did ya fix i. with shims if low or machining if high. just curious:cool:
or did ya just get a dodgy one
Black1 - My MC900 was a little out so I fixed it as per this thread...
http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?p=244667#post244667
Apart from that I've got no complaints about the MC900 - great starter lathe. When funds are available, I intend to upgrade to something with electronic variable speed and a bit more swing but for now, the MC suits fine!:) Skew's run down was pretty well spot on - start out with the basics to learn the basics - makes sense!;)

black1
23rd April 2006, 11:44 PM
cool thanks for the advice. will check out at shop before i lay down the bucks. :cool:

Maurice
30th April 2006, 03:59 AM
I have a sherwood m660 with stand 12 mths old $420.00 had arround 3 hours use. also supernova scroll chuck with face plate never used $250.00
set of 5 hamlet chisels +3/8 bowl gauge , only 3 have been used $200.00
reason for sale,a 6 letter word begining with C

Maurice
30th April 2006, 04:05 AM
I have a sherwood m660 with stand 12 mths old $420.00 had arround 3 hours use. also supernova scroll chuck with face plate never used $250.00
set of 5 hamlet chisels +3/8 bowl gauge , only 3 have been used $200.00
reason for sale,a 6 letter word begining with C

Toasty
27th May 2006, 10:48 AM
Just wondering if you picked up something at the show, Black.

black1
30th May 2006, 10:34 PM
Just wondering if you picked up something at the show, Black.

have to wait till about august for the show over here. we are a bit behind you easterners.:cool: