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mountnman
7th May 2009, 02:12 PM
I went to do some woodturning today on my GMC lathe. Hadn't used it for about a year because it, well, isn't really any good at it. Turned it on, and heard a grinding noise and sparks flying out of the motor housing.

Who thinks it's time to go for a drive up to carbatec and get me a real lathe? :D

watson
7th May 2009, 02:37 PM
I'd vote that a sensible thing to do.....and turn the GMC into a disc sander (after some repair)

Manuka Jock
7th May 2009, 02:46 PM
I went to do some woodturning today on my GMC lathe. Hadn't used it for about a year because it, well, isn't really any good at it. Turned it on, and heard a grinding noise and sparks flying out of the motor housing.

Who thinks it's time to go for a drive up to carbatec and get me a real lathe? :D



I'd vote that a sensible thing to do.....and turn the GMC into a disc sander (after some repair)


I reckon:2tsup:

A couple of years ago , I was out looking for a new secondhand motor for me lathe , which had a habit of killing motors on a regular basis , when instead of turning left , to the tool shop , I turned right , to the bank , borrowed 5 grand , and bought myself a DVR XP with all the trimmings .

No regrets at all .

mountnman
7th May 2009, 03:03 PM
Not sure if I'll spend 5 grand on one! (The missus might have something to say about that) I'm considering either the MC-900 or maybe the MC-1100. Would the MC-1100 be worth the extra couple of hundred dollars?

ElizaLeahy
7th May 2009, 03:51 PM
I wonder what the bank would say if I asked them to lend me 5 grand?

Bank - "Are you employed?"

Me - "No, I'm on a pension"

Bank - "do you own any collateral?"

Me - "no"

Bank - "do you have any rich relatives who might pass away soon and leave you a lot of money?"

Me - "errrr, maybe?"

Bank - "then we suggest you go home and wait until that happens!"

bowl-basher
7th May 2009, 05:11 PM
with my luck they would live to 110:((:((:((


I wonder what the bank would say if I asked them to lend me 5 grand?

Bank - "Are you employed?"

Me - "No, I'm on a pension"

Bank - "do you own any collateral?"

Me - "no"

Bank - "do you have any rich relatives who might pass away soon and leave you a lot of money?"

Me - "errrr, maybe?"

Bank - "then we suggest you go home and wait until that happens!"

Sawdust Maker
7th May 2009, 10:43 PM
Not sure if I'll spend 5 grand on one! (The missus might have something to say about that) I'm considering either the MC-900 or maybe the MC-1100. Would the MC-1100 be worth the extra couple of hundred dollars?

from experience I can say that after about 2 (maybe 3) years the 'lathe dollars" comments start to drop off. You know the comments " thats about 1/100 of a lathe dollar, or that house is only 1,000 lathe dollars" etc
I'd suggest that in about 18 months buy a humoungus band saw - SWMBO will then totally forget about the lathe :D (well that's the theory, let me know if it works!):p

Sawdust Maker
7th May 2009, 10:45 PM
or tell her it cost $5 grand then you'll have $2 grand for the bandsaw and a few chucks and other necessities:D

hughie
7th May 2009, 10:46 PM
Who thinks it's time to go for a drive up to carbatec and get me a real lathe? :D[/QUOTE]

I reckon, you might live longer as well.

Ed Reiss
8th May 2009, 11:33 AM
or tell her it cost $5 grand then you'll have $2 grand for the bandsaw and a few chucks and other necessities:D

...or, after that, you might not have to worry about living :o:C:C:C:C

munruben
9th May 2009, 12:53 PM
Wow $5000 for a lathe, just for a hobby? and I'm scared to tell my better half that I want to trade my Dylnalink for a Midi Woodfast or a Jet.

watsrags
9th May 2009, 02:27 PM
Wow $5000 for a lathe, just for a hobby? and I'm scared to tell my better half that I want to trade my Dylnalink for a Midi Woodfast or a Jet.


Do what I did

tell your bored, offer to cook for her, she soon tell you to get "that damn toy and go to the shed and leave me in peace" it worked for me

Ad de Crom
9th May 2009, 07:28 PM
I wonder what the bank would say if I asked them to lend me 5 grand?

Bank - "Are you employed?"

Me - "No, I'm on a pension"

Bank - "do you own any collateral?"

Me - "no"

Bank - "do you have any rich relatives who might pass away soon and leave you a lot of money?"

Me - "errrr, maybe?"

Bank - "then we suggest you go home and wait until that happens!"
Eliza, wait till the unexpected happens :D
Ad :2tsup:

Skew ChiDAMN!!
9th May 2009, 07:44 PM
Not sure if I'll spend 5 grand on one! (The missus might have something to say about that) I'm considering either the MC-900 or maybe the MC-1100. Would the MC-1100 be worth the extra couple of hundred dollars?

It's worth the extra money if you use it to capacity.

Most people I know with an MC-900 (and who want to upgrade) seem to consider an MC-1100 a "minor" upgrade path... things like new jaws for the chuck tend to be of a higher priortity. :rolleyes:

Instead, they keep muttering something about Vicmarcs or Stubby's... but that is the $5K upgrade path...

Or, to put it another way: if the magical CT fairy came along and sprinkled magic-dust on my MC-900s to turn them into MC-1100s, I'd think that Xmas had turned up early. But I've no intention of paying Santa to make it into a reality... :U

Skew ChiDAMN!!
9th May 2009, 07:53 PM
I wonder what the bank would say if I asked them to lend me 5 grand?

Bank - "Are you employed?"

Me - "No, I'm on a pension"

Bank - "do you own any collateral?"

Me - "no"

Bank - "do you have any rich relatives who might pass away soon and leave you a lot of money?"

Me - "errrr, maybe?"

Bank - "then we suggest you go home and wait until that happens!"

'But with $5K I could make a pointy stick that could potentially convert the last answer from a "maybe" to a "definitely - with no waiting period!"' :D

hughie
9th May 2009, 11:54 PM
tell your bored, offer to cook for her, she soon tell you to get "that damn toy and go to the shed and leave me in peace" it worked for me

Theres a certain amount of wisdom in this comment. but you must know your partner well, for me as a policy it would be a total faliure.





Or, to put it another way: if the magical CT fairy came along and sprinkled magic-dust on my MC-900s to turn them into MC-1100s, I'd think that Xmas had turned up early. But I've no intention of paying Santa to make it into a reality... :U

Yup! thats me also :2tsup:



It's worth the extra money if you use it to capacity.

Most of us here would not be using the lathe to its capacity hardly ever to justify the outlay. After all I could turn a 30' bowl on my modified MC1100. But in general I turn 6-12'' and that covers a lot of lower market lathes of a reasonable manufacture and quality.

RETIRED
10th May 2009, 09:38 AM
After all I could turn a 30' bowl on my modified Brave man.:D

hughie
10th May 2009, 11:12 AM
Brave man.:D[/QUOTE]


:D its possible, but it aint gonna happen........too much of a cardio workout. :U

RETIRED
10th May 2009, 12:19 PM
Thirty feet!!!!! Where ya gonna set up the lathe?:D

Tim the Timber Turner
10th May 2009, 01:56 PM
Brave man.:D

I'll stand behind you and we'll watch together.:2tsup:

Calm
10th May 2009, 02:13 PM
Just a couple of figures for you
a 30 foot diameter lump of wood at 30 rpm = the edge travels at 52 KPH

a 30 foot diameter lump of wood at 50 rpm = the edge travels at 86 KPH

a 30 foot diameter lump of wood at 100 rpm = the edge travels at 172 KPH

a 30 foot diameter lump of wood at 150 rpm = the edge travels at 258 KPH

I'd say fast enough for the bowl gouge to cut suffienctly.

With this size do you bring up the tail stock for support?

As an example a 1 ft lump of wood at 2000rpm has the edge at 115 KPH

I think these figures are right. pi x Dia = circ x RPM x 60 = PH x 0.0003048 KPH

Cheers

hughie
10th May 2009, 04:42 PM
:U you will have to forgive me I dropped out of my last semister of the the typing school and never graduated, You will have no doubt heard of it, its one of the finest schools around. "The Hunt and Peck School of Fine Typing"

RETIRED
10th May 2009, 06:36 PM
:U you will have to forgive me I dropped out of my last semister of the the typing school and never graduated, You will have no doubt heard of it, its one of the finest schools around. "The Hunt and Peck School of Fine Typing"Same one I went to.:wink::D

bellyup
11th May 2009, 11:37 AM
G'day Mountnman,
Sounds like your GMC lathe has trouble with the brushes on the motor.
fairly simple to check - unplug the lathe and along the motor body there will be 2 caps directly opposite each other. These caps can be opened with a screw driver and inside there will be a small coil spring that wants to come out, at the end is a graphite brush ( take note: the brush will have a crescent groove worn in it and will need to be replaced with the same orientation if it is o.k)
If the brush is o.k it will have 2+ mm of graphite visible. If it is not, there will be less than 1 mm visible or worse it will be down to the metal holder ( this is what I think you will find in yours)
Your GMC agent will be able to supply replacement brushes and you can re-install them if you are handy.
If this doesnt resolve your problem then I have heard that the GMC lathe makes a very useful reef anchor :U
Good luck, if I can help further just let me know.
Bruce.

Farnk
11th May 2009, 11:48 AM
G'day Mountnman,
Sounds like your GMC lathe has trouble with the brushes on the motor.
fairly simple to check - unplug the lathe and along the motor body there will be 2 caps directly opposite each other. These caps can be opened with a screw driver and inside there will be a small coil spring that wants to come out, at the end is a graphite brush ( take note: the brush will have a crescent groove worn in it and will need to be replaced with the same orientation if it is o.k)
If the brush is o.k it will have 2+ mm of graphite visible. If it is not, there will be less than 1 mm visible or worse it will be down to the metal holder ( this is what I think you will find in yours)
Your GMC agent will be able to supply replacement brushes and you can re-install them if you are handy.
If this doesnt resolve your problem then I have heard that the GMC lathe makes a very useful reef anchor :U
Good luck, if I can help further just let me know.
Bruce.



Damn!
As a proud past GMC owner I was hoping to get in with a 'boat anchor' reference!
Mate, these things come up all the time on ebay as well, if you have dramas getting a new set of bushes, you could get a whole lathe for pretty much bugger all.

Have a good look around befor you spend too much tho mate. The very day I joined these forums, I was pointed in the direction of an ebay listing and ended up with a perfect Ledacraft badged MC900 that I won for $102! Bargains do come up! :2tsup:

F