Wanna buy a lathe....

[HappyHammer]

OK I have some money burning a hole in my pocket and I'm thinking of buying a lathe instead of a Jointer.:o

I've trawled through a few posts and I have the following questions..


Sherwood have an MC-900 for $429. Is this a good price and should I be concerned about the flimsy looking stand.
Sherwood also have another lathe MC-660 on special at $575. Anyone know what the differences are compared to the MC-900 they don't have much info on it. It also comes with a "free" set of 6 HSS chisels currently priced at $99 on sale reduced from $119 if bought separately. Lathe is $499 if bought on its own without chisels, so paying $75 for chisels. It seems I'm getting 660mm distance between centres for more money than 900mm between centres on the MC-900 :?
Sherwood also have a MS-1100-B for $799 so apart from the extra distance between centres anyone know the benefit of this over the MC-900? Also if I'm not turning legs why would I need the extra distance between centres?
I'm looking to use the lathe to turn anything from a pen to a reasonable sized bowl. Will these lathes manage this?
Finally, what accessories other than chisels do I need. Chucks etc.
OK this really if the final one, what is a 1/4" mandrel and should I stop right here before proceeding and read a book?HH.

[Sprog]

The MC660 now comes with a bed extension as standard, giving 1170 between centres.

If you put a shelf on the stand with something heavy on it, the stands are quite stable.

These lathes will allow you turn anything from pens to bowls to table legs.

With the 1100 and 660 the headstock can be positioned anywhere along the bed, which may or may not be an advantage for you.

Larger motor for 660 and 1100

The 1/4 mandrel is for pen turning

[BernieP]

G'Day HH

I have had a Jepson MC1100 for 18 months now, and unless I win Lotto it will have to see me out. Have replaced switch and belt on it and only other things required is to tighten every nut bolt and grub screw on it, and take off alloy reeves pulleys and clean up their castings. The difference between MC900 and Mc1100 apart from obvious is Mc 1100 has bigger motor, and a better arrangement for rotating the headstock. I have a complete manual on both, not sure if one comes with it, and I think you can do a better price if you shop around.

Cheers
Bernie

[thefixer]

G'day HH

Check out the carba-tec web site. www.carbatec.com.au (http://www.carbatec.com.au) They have the MC1100 at $499.00 . The stand is a bit flimsy but I made my own from heavy timber and dyna bolted it to the floor, then used the MC1100 stand to house the bench grinder and linisher.( never let anything go to waste). also a reasonable scroll chuck is essential and the "Teknatool G3" at around $150.00 is a good starters chuck. As for chisels, the cheap sets are not worth the trouble. Buy good quality ones and you won't regret it. To keep your new chisels sharp you will also need an aluminium oxide wheel for your bench grinder ( assuming you have one) . After you have purchased all the above you can then start spending some real money on the rest of the essentials for eternal turning.:oo:

Cheers
Shorty

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Read this thread (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=53447) to see what's pretty close to the "ideal" startup.


As for chisels, the cheap sets are not worth the trouble. Buy good quality ones and you won't regret it.

Although I agree with the second statement, I disagree with the first. :shrug: I'll be the first to admit that good quality tools make the whole experience more pleasurable, however this is only true when they're sharp!

I've seen quite a few "hobbyists" lose their enthusiasm once they've blunted the tools and come face to face with... [gasp!] the esoteric art of sharpening! (Actually, silver clouds and all that. They lost interest and I ended up buying cheap(ish) lathes from some of them! :D Ermmm... moi? Tactless? Never!)

A set of those chaiwanese chisels for under $50 make for very cheap sharpening lessons. Why lose 1/3 the length of a $150 gouge just to learn the basics? :no: Use cheapies to practise on first, comparing your results with the untouched (by you) good quality ones that you hopefully bought at the same time. By the time they've ground away only an inch or two of steel from a chisel most learners can manage to get a good edge without too much work. :wink:

A minor side bonus is, if a few years down the line you ever want to experiment with different cutting angles or tip shapes, then you have these cheap'n'nasty things that are good for experimenting on without wasting good steel. :thyel:


To keep your new chisels sharp you will also need an aluminium oxide wheel for your bench grinder ( assuming you have one).

A diamond lap is also nice, so you can touch up the egdes at the lathe between grinds.

And a good 'T' dresser too, so you can square up the Al2O3 wheel once you've worn ruts in it. :rolleyes: Everybody does, sooner or later, and ridged, rutted and out of round wheels make sharpening a nightmare.

[HappyHammer]

Thanks guys.

Skew, thanks for the link but unfortunately I don't have Harrys budget. Thanks for the advice on the chisels, that makes sense to begin with.

I think I'm settling on the MC-660 with the extended bed and free chisels for $575. At a push I might go the MC-1100B as I like the heavy cast iron legs but that's an additional $324.

OK what kind of chuck / faceplate should I be looking at, I want to turn pens and bowls to begin with.

HH.

[HappyHammer]

OK I've looked up mandrels and they seem to be a metal rod with bushes for holding the pen blank between the centres on the lathe?

Any idea where I can get one? Is 1/4" the most common size required and am I likely to need other sizes for different pen and pencil types?

HH.

[arose62]

Where's la-la land?? If we knew where you were, we might be able to give local recommendations...

Have you looked at Hare and Forbes? They usually discount their demonstration lathes after their sale/demo days. That's how I saved a chunk buying my MC1100.

Re: mandrels, if you looked them up, you would probably have found them on various retailers websites. Addictive Pen Kits, Gary Pye, Trend Timbers, Carbatec, Timbecon.

But, you can make your own - my first few pens were done on a home-grown mandrel before I decided to spend the extra on a 'proper' one.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Wongo]

Don’t do it man or you will turn into one of those pen turning monsters. :D

JUST DON’T DO IT

[HappyHammer]

Where's la-la land?? If we knew where you were, we might be able to give local recommendations...
I'm on the mid north coast of NSW.

HH.

[HappyHammer]

Don’t do it man or you will turn into one of those pen turning monsters. :D

JUST DON’T DO IT
Thanks for your support Mr Wong.:q

HH.

[Sprog]

I think I'm settling on the MC-660 with the extended bed and free chisels for $575. At a push I might go the MC-1100B as I like the heavy cast iron legs but that's an additional $324.

The cast iron legs are available seperately $145 from Timbecon $129 from Carbatec. They fit all the MC range

Timbecon (http://www.timbecon.com.au/products/lathe-accessories-377_0.aspx)

Carbatec (http://www.carbatec.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&zenid=195km41khg38sv4slni81im455&search_in_description=1&keyword=mcleg)

[HappyHammer]

Thanks Sprog, I might go the 660 with the cast iron legs I wonder if they'll discount the lathe if I don't want the original stand, I'll ask.

BTW I've started a glossary thread to help newbies like me with some of the turning terminology, see link below.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/showthread.php?t=53657

HH.

[BernieP]

G'Day HH

Don't know where on the mid north coast you are but I'm at Taree so if you want you can come and have a play on my MC1100 to see if you like it you would be welcome
Cheers
Bernie

[robyn2839]

have a look on ebay there are a few good lathes on there for sale,they also have cheap chisels from time to time i just bought a set of record pro range reccomended price of 395 and i got them for 120 brand new still in sealed box,bob

[Harry72]

Dvrxp!

[HappyHammer]

have a look on ebay there are a few good lathes on there for sale,they also have cheap chisels from time to time i just bought a set of record pro range reccomended price of 395 and i got them for 120 brand new still in sealed box,bob
Thanks Bob I'll have a look at the chisels...

HH.