MC900 - Must read for new owners

[smidsy]

Hei Guys,
Under the head on the MC900 is a bolt and plate that are part of the swinging head system and these may need fine tuning.
I was just trying mount a peice of timber and as I was winding up the tail stock I noticed that the head stock was tilting up - this was because the bolt had come a little loose - only needs to be a turn or so loose to allow upward movement under pressure.

The main hassle is that to fix it you have to remove the lathe from the base to get at it so it is something that's best checked before you assemble the lathe - I plan on either locktite or a 2nd nut to lock it.

Just thought I'd let you all know.
Cheers
Smidsy

[adrian]

Same goes for the nut and bolt that holds the tool rest to the bed. If the nut comes a little loose, the handle that is supposed to tighten the toolrest onto the bed just spins as if something is stripped.
Have you also noticed that the tailstock has a tendency to slide back on the bed when turning the wheel to clamp in a blank. Same nut problem.
It looks like a design change is necessary. Something like a lock nut or just something like a split pin through the bolt.
I'm also thinking that mine needs a solid bench to sit on. The lathe can get quite noisy sometimes when roughing a blank that's a little out of balance. The metal stand starts to resonate and becomes a real pain.
Other than that...........I like my new toy.

[bsrlee]

Adrian:

See if you can find an old felt typewriter mat - cut some squares of the felt and place then between the bolt heads & a hard place :D

If you have some $$$$ to spare, there is/was a place in Alexandria (Sydney) that sells industrial sound insulating felt pads, as well as the same felt they used to use for typewriter mats. Or if you know an aircraft mechanic, see if he can lose a square foot or so off one of the felt mats they use when working on wings.

[Dean]

Outof interest, I noticed you can buy solid cast iron legs for the MC900 ($129 off memory). I'd imagine these would add considerable weight and sturdiness to the frame.
Anyone have them yet?

[smidsy]

I'm not sure I would want to pay $129 for the legs - I've only turned smallish peices so far and the stock legs seem ok.
Someone posted a pic here (but I'm buggered if I can find it) of a custom bench they built and I think this is the way to go.
25mm chipboard for the top, structural pine for the frame, cheaper than the legs and you can custom build to your height with enlcosed storage underneath.
Cheers
Smidsy

[rsser]

When I had an MC900 I put an MDF shelf on the bottom rails, and then a 40kg bag of cement on the shelf. Worked wonders; cheap too.