New el'Cheap-o

[AndyCJ]

I brought a cheap lathe - and I'm quite excited about it.

I've got bugger all disposable income atm, and I'd been considering a GMC, and scouring eBay for a long while. I managed to pick up this lathe, the bench it's mounted on, 2 faceplates, and a 4 jaw scroll chuck - all for the price of the GMC!! The guy who's selling it was pretty nice - and is also chucking in a couple of cheapie chisels to get me started!!

It seems to good to be true to me?? Thou I think good things come to those who wait?!?

After lurking in this forum for a while, and surfing the web, and reading Richard Raffans book I have an idea that I'll get a friend to weld up a purpose built angle iron frame to hold the lathe, then bolt it to the floor. My assumption is to remove as much vibration under the tube bed as possible from my el'cheapo. I'm also thinking of making the frame suited to a row or 2 of bricks as a shelf to give it extra weight.

Any other suggestions?... appart from get a new lathe! :q

Lathe arrives next Friday... I can't wait.

Cheers,
Andy

[thefixer]

Hi Andy

I think you may got yourself a pretty good deal there mate. What make and model is the lathe. Looks to be a pretty hefty headstock to me and don't underestimate the strength in the bed. Those round section beds are tougher than you think. Also that chuck appears to be a 4 jaw independant, not a scroll chuck. I may be wrong, though thats how it looks in pic. Anyway at that price for the lot you could justify spending $150 odd for a half decent scroll chuck. Good luck with your turning and hope to see pics of the first round bit wood come off it soon.

Cheers
Shorty

[Chumley]

G'day Andy,

I did exactly the same thing a couple of months ago. Shorty is right, that 4 jaw chuck has each jaw moving independently - I was advised that its very hard to set up correctly and can be a bit dangerous. I bought a low-priced scroll chuck from Timbecon - needed to get a blank tapped as the inserts didn't come with a 3/4" inside thread and my lathe is as old as Methuselah. All up cost me around $130 for the chuck. Now I can do bowls!

Hope you enjoy your lathe - it's captivating.

Cheers,
Adam

[Harry72]

Those metal lathe chucks would be good for offset turning!

Andy, did you get the "WT pooh" board in the deal?

[Ad de Crom]

Hi Andy, a good buy, the chuck and faceplates are a bit rusty, but WD 40 is a very good stuff to get it clean.
As it is a table lathe, I would leave it that way, but that's just my opinion.
Hope you have a lot of fun with this lathe.
Ad :)

[ficfac]

hey, that one was on ebay if i'm not mistaken!?

[artme]

If you are that excited, nothing will be a problem. Well done.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[AndyCJ]

Ahh - I get it now about the chuck. I'm glad someone told me about that - at least I know what I've got now.

Seems like an odd design? If it can't centralise things like a scroll chuck then what's the point? Wouldn't you just use a glue block or something like that for the base?? Odd. Will probably eBay it back out on it's own and that'll help pay for a scroll chuck in the future. (yep FicFac - it was on eBay! - good spotting).

I'm going to concentrate on turning spindlework at first to get my technique happening. I'm planning on using the skew as much as possible - and really trying to get that finish that everyone talks about where you only need to start on a very fine sandpaper.

I also hope very much that the Winnie the Poo mousepad comes with the lathe, but I havn't spoken to the guy about it. My daughter is more excited about Winnie than the lathe.

Andy

[Gil Jones]

Congratulations Andy,
Good way to get started!! If the lathe will spin wood, and you keep your tools sharp, you'll soon be turning some nice work. Turning between centers, and with a faceplate will keep you busy for a good while. Try to find a good 4-jaw scroll chuck made for woodturning when you can.:2tsup:

[ficfac]

good luck Andy. I'm new too and it's sooo much fun!!! I also got my lathe off ebay. :2tsup:

[bowl-basher]

<TABLE class=tborder style="BORDER-TOP- 0px" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR title="Post 783325" vAlign=top><TD class=alt2 align=middle width=125>ficfac</TD><TD class=alt1>good luck Andy. I'm new too and it's sooo much fun!!! I also got my lathe off ebay. :2tsup: </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


We are all new Fricfac just some newer than others but we all share the common addiction
enjoy:D:D:D:D

[orraloon]

Hi Andy,
Looks like a good score there. Like the others said the chuck will not be a lot of use and I don,t think you will get much for it on ebay. Later on when you have some turning under the belt you may want to try off center stuff and then drag it out again. Like you most of us started with a small secondhand lathe and they can turn out some good work. I got a scroll chuck early on and it is one of the best aids to turning you can get. There are methods of mounting just about anything like using hot melt glue on blocks, the paper and glue method and wood jam chucks and it is a good learning curve to at least try them but the scroll chuck makes it so easy. The desk it is on now looks like it will do of the lathe is bolted to it. If it makes a lot if vibration noise then screw and glue another sheet of MDF or ply to the top and fill up the desk with your stash of turning wood. As you said start with spindle work to develop a feel for the tools then try a small bowl or two on the faceplate to start with. You have enough there to be off to a good start.

Regards
John