Thread: Help with Lathe Identification

B, this is a low end generic lathe sold under many trade names through various hardware stores. Chasing parts and manuals will be hit & miss. Many turners started off with one of these but unfortunately they are lightly constructed which means that they have significant capacity limitations.

Thanks Guys, I have posted in another section too. I realise it is nothing special, however, it was a nice gift from someone trying to help me out. It will give me something to practice on and help when I am teaching highschool kids. I didn't want to turn up to classes with very limited knowledge. Luckily, when I am in the classroom I will have access to high end equipment.

They are similar to the GMC type that you see for sale in places like Gumtree. Unfortunately, because the lathe bed is extruded metal, not cast-iron, you will get frustrated with this very soon - because of the movement in the bed, it will be difficult to get a good finish. Also, the spindle thread size is different to most lathes, so if yo buy a chuck or faceplate, you won't be able to use them later on a better lathe. If you plan to continue with woodturning, I can suggest that you invest the money and buy a better quality lathe. Even the Carbatec MC900 or Machineryhouse WL18 is a better alternative and sell for around $500. Otherwise for about $400 you can buy a Carbatec mini lathe, or the next step up would be the midi lathes (Jet or Woodfast) for around $750. And that is if you buy new - there are often 2nd hand lathes for about the same price as these, but a much better quality... (2 cents - that's what my opinion is worth, hope it helps).

Originally Posted by Zeeber

. Also, the spindle thread size is different to most lathes, so if yo buy a chuck or faceplate, you won't be able to use them later on a better lathe.

I had one like that and I agree that if you continue wood turning you may want to upgrade to a better type.

However all chucks have a removable insert between the chuck and head stock to enable chucks to be fitted to all types of lathes. From experience I can assure you that a suitable insert was available when I bought a chuck for that lathe and replaced it with a new insert later.

Similarly with the Vermec range of face plates, so no great loss will be incurred.

I found that if you filled the square tubes with compacted sand and bolted the unit to a solid bench it wasn't too bad to start learning on.

So I suggest you start on it first and see if later you want to upgrade.

Peter.

With an insert you can go from bigger to smaller, but some chucks are for the smaller spindles without an insert. I have one, and several faceplates that I can't use because of this. But by all means, go ahead and use this, just don't become discouraged when you get less than satisfactory results - magic not in lathe, magic in you...

Originally Posted by Zeeber

some chucks are for the smaller spindles without an insert. I have one, and several faceplates that I can't use because of this.

That may have been the case in the past but is no longer the case with chucks made by Vicmarc, Vermec, Gary Pye or the Nova chucks. No reputable turning shop would have those old style chucks.

However you can buy a spindle adapter from Vermec that would fix your problem.


Peter.

This would probably be as close as you need to get. It's for a GMC lathe, but as Moby says they are a generic lathe made under many names.

That is a Dynalink 1440.

I've had a several identical lathes (paint job, plates & all) pass through my hands. As has been said, they can be found under quite a few brand names but I suspect that Dynalink was first... the Chinese got their hands on one and a flood of rebadged copies of various quality quickly ensued.

Either way, it's not a bad lathe to learn basic spindle-work on but once you get to the stage where you want to expand and buy accessories, it's far better to buy another better quality lathe, strip the bed off that one then bolt on a faceplate & sandpaper to turn it into a linisher.

Honestly, they work far, far better as linishers than they ever did/do as lathes.