Thread: THose Midi Woodfast Lathes.

Originally Posted by issatree

Question;
Has anybody else Had this problem.

I haven't.

Jim

Nor me.

Allan

Hi to All You Yellow Lathe Owners, & some Green now,

So is this the only Lathe to have had this Problem.
Hard to believe.
I have noticed also, if you have a piece of wood out of round, between centres, sometimes the Banjo will come loose, because of the Vibration.
Yes, the Bolt is done up to a reasonable tightness. A bit terrifying, when you realise what is happening.
Oh, for my small Ledacraft.

Originally Posted by issatree

...
I have noticed also, if you have a piece of wood out of round, between centres, sometimes the Banjo will come loose, because of the Vibration.
Yes, the Bolt is done up to a reasonable tightness. A bit terrifying, when you realise what is happening.
Oh, for my small Ledacraft.

G'day Lewis! I'm not a Woodfast owner, but just a thought, give the bedways and the banjo a good clean with a solvent as it may have some residual grease from manufacture. Clean particularly underneath the bedways.

Originally Posted by Mulgabill

G'day Lewis! I'm not a Woodfast owner, but just a thought, give the bedways and the banjo a good clean with a solvent as it may have some residual grease from manufacture. Clean particularly underneath the bedways.

Check also for shaving, dust etc. between the washer and the under side of the bed.

Jim

Hi Chaps,
Had play late today, Chuck, 2 1/4in. x 4in. piece a little out of Round, not worth worrying about. Yeah, think again.
Twice that ruddy Banjo came loose. Just as well I was aware that it could happen again.
Tool Rest almost went into the Chuck, stopped in time, thank heavens.
When Closing with the Handle, it is very Springy, so have to put a lot more pressure on the handle, not liking what I had to do.
To me that was a lot more pressure than I should have had to use.
So how do I fix this, as I've already done what you have both said.
Really starting to think, should have never bought this make of Lathe for the Boys.
Trying not to be cocky, but my Ledacraft wood leave this thing for dead.
The Good Things about the Woodfast,you can get to the belt easier, & that's about it.
I'm not trying to put anyone off from owning a Woodfast, as I think just this one is a bit of a lemon.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi Chaps,
Had play late today, Chuck, 2 1/4in. x 4in. piece a little out of Round, not worth worrying about. Yeah, think again.
Twice that ruddy Banjo came loose. Just as well I was aware that it could happen again.
Tool Rest almost went into the Chuck, stopped in time, thank heavens.
When Closing with the Handle, it is very Springy, so have to put a lot more pressure on the handle, not liking what I had to do.

Issatree,

That small a turning should not make the banjo / tool rest move.

I have been thinking about your problem for several days. The possibilities that occur to me are; banjo sliding on the bed, pull on the eccentric off of top dead center enough to make it loosen from vibration, the nut at the washer loosening from vibration, when the banjo is tightened the eye bolt not having a straight pull and vibration causing it to loosen, or a combination of the above.

A few thoughts:

Take the banjo off and with 100 grit on something flat - wrap around a flat file or skew- make scratches at right angles on the surface that contacts the bed.

Look at the eccentric rod and position it where it in the farthest position from the washer pulling against the bed. See where the handle is pointing. Assemble the banjo on the bed and put the handle in the position above. Using a new nylock nut tighten snugly plus 1/2 turn.

When positioning the banjo and tool rest to make a cut scoot into position and go back & forth about 6mm and then tighten. This is in case the eye bolt is a bit slanted, and should make it more up and down.

The object of the above is to get the eccentric rod at top dead center so it is pulling straight down. You may have to adjust the nylock nut to get enough pressure to hold in position. If a nylock nut is not available two regular nuts with a washer between will work as well.

Clean oil off the bed with solvent. You want lots of friction between the banjo and bed. Oil up after you are through if your atmosphere is prone to rusting. A light coat of rust adds friction.

My 20 inch swing old, old Woodfast has that type of fixing for the banjo and tail stock and even with an interrupted cut on a big out of balance blank everything stays in position.

I hope the above helps. If my explanation is not clear, ask, and I will make drawings.

I will agree that older lathes where the maker was not afraid to put some iron in the mold are better than the modestly priced new ones. No substitute for 2 - 300 pounds of cast iron.

Issatree, I assume the lathe is fairly new; when did you buy it and how much did you pay?

Have you tried contacting Woodfast? The parts coming loose seem dangerous and they (Woodfast) should be told.

Depending on the age of the machine and cost you may also have some recourse through Consumer Affairs.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi Chaps,
Had play late today, Chuck, 2 1/4in. x 4in. piece a little out of Round, not worth worrying about. Yeah, think again.
Twice that ruddy Banjo came loose. Just as well I was aware that it could happen again.
Tool Rest almost went into the Chuck, stopped in time, thank heavens.
When Closing with the Handle, it is very Springy, so have to put a lot more pressure on the handle, not liking what I had to do.
To me that was a lot more pressure than I should have had to use.
So how do I fix this, as I've already done what you have both said.
Really starting to think, should have never bought this make of Lathe for the Boys.
Trying not to be cocky, but my Ledacraft wood leave this thing for dead.
The Good Things about the Woodfast,you can get to the belt easier, & that's about it.
I'm not trying to put anyone off from owning a Woodfast, as I think just this one is a bit of a lemon.

yep had the same problem fixed it it fine with a spring washer under the adjustment nut no more problems.
one of the lathes at our club had the same problem which I fixed with this method also.

Hi Gary,
Happy New year to you & Family.

There are 2 Woodfasts, 1 is Woodfast Australia, that is made?? & sold in SA, The other is sold by quite a few Dealers, but I bought this one from Jim Carroll.
Sat in it's box for 12 months, has had very little work.
I've filed the Washer & it is moving freely now, but as I've said, it comes undone. I may get to tonight, & will Tighten that nut up a bit, so just as long as I can slide the Banjo along. Thanks for your concern.
Going to be 41 Deg. here. Google Maps. Bassetts Lane, Muckleford Vic.

Originally Posted by Kidbee

Issatree, I assume the lathe is fairly new; when did you buy it and how much did you pay?

Have you tried contacting Woodfast? The parts coming loose seem dangerous and they (Woodfast) should be told.

Depending on the age of the machine and cost you may also have some recourse through Consumer Affairs.

Forgot the pay thing, not sure now, $ 285, a guess.

Originally Posted by issatree

Hi Gary,
Happy New year to you & Family.

There are 2 Woodfasts, 1 is Woodfast Australia, that is made?? & sold in SA, The other is sold by quite a few Dealers, but I bought this one from Jim Carroll.
Sat in it's box for 12 months, has had very little work.
I've filed the Washer & it is moving freely now, but as I've said, it comes undone. I may get to tonight, & will Tighten that nut up a bit, so just as long as I can slide the Banjo along. Thanks for your concern.
Going to be 41 Deg. here. Google Maps. Bassetts Lane, Muckleford Vic.

Originally Posted by Paul39

Issatree,

That small a turning should not make the banjo / tool rest move.

Look at the eccentric rod and position it where it in the farthest position from the washer pulling against the bed. See where the handle is pointing. Assemble the banjo on the bed and put the handle in the position above. Using a new nylock nut tighten snugly plus 1/2 turn.

I think Paul has hit the nail on the head here. I have not had a play with the setup of these lathes, but the couple of times I have used them they always seem to have a bit of a problem locking down the banjo and tailstock and requires a fair bit of force applied to the handle. It is almost as thought they have too much offset on the cam that does the locking and if not adjusted correctly will not not fully lock.
Back off the nut until you can rotate the locking lever past centre with a bit of resistance, as it goes past. Release the handle and then tighten up the nut in small increments testing the lock after each adjustment. As Paul says, a half turn will probably do it, or maybe even less. Once the correct position is found, the nut needs to have some form of locking medium on it so that over time it won't vibrate undone and go out of adjustment.
Maybe this is why the washer on the tailstock was jammed and damaged. Someone may have applied excess force to the lever to try to get it to lock properly. I hope no one has bent the shafts by applying excess force.

Hi Gary,
Stuffed up somewhere as that was supposed to be a PM.

Hi issatree,
I have been trying to reply to this thread for a while now
I had the same problem, springy lever on the toolrest and
tailstock coming loose on a few occasions, i decided to
follow a few of the suggestions, stripped the tailstock and
toolrest off, with oil and 240 grit rubbed the whole of the
bed ways down top , edge and underneath, then did the bottom
of the tailstock and toolrest, a little machine oil on all surfaces
and hey presto ,!! everthing is now running smooth, also
gave the large nut underneath 1/2 a turn,
I think it is now the best it has ever run, so it, s worth
doing a bit of a tune up!!!!