Thread: pics of your lathe

I bought this as my first lathe and a try and see if i like woodturning lathe. I didnt want a GMC and my SIL works for Thomas Warburton who deal with H&F. The WL20HD was on special with the cast iron stand. It cost me $600 even.

Problems so far
- the on off switch which is magnetic sometimes drops out and the lathe stops PITA
- the fancy screws on the toolrest striped and I replaced with allen key set screws that happens to be the same size as SN2 chuck key. Handy
- slowest speed is 500 and with a large bowl blank it is not slow enough scary
- cam lock on headstock doesnt hold well with out of balance blank. It would be better to leave cam right off fit spring & flat washer and clamp headstock to bed in permanent position with socket from underneath so it wont come loose. - tailstock to bed is fairly loose fit and drilling by pushing tailstock is not really satisfactory. Drilling using thread on tailstock would soon wear it out.
- Belt speed puleys seized up when in storage for 18 months but since freeing up have given no problems.
So far it has done everything i wanted it to do. I rarely stall the motor, I drilled out the holes in legs and bolted to floor with 10mm x 100mm dynabolts. Now it doesnt move. With cast legs i can just lift it so estimate weight at about 80 - 100 kg. Speed change by moving the lever is better than changing belts. the headstock turns outboard so big bowls are not a problem.

I am happy with what it is, i think a beginner could do worse, for a first lathe and $600 it is ok.

Would i buy a different lathe next time - probably not the problems can be overcome except the speed. May be worth looking at fitting one of CWS variable speed motors to fix problem (it they fit)

My next lathe will definetly have fully adjustable dial up speed but that is a lot more than double the price of mine.

Hi guys,that lathe looks very much like the one I bought this past summer.I don't yet know how to post pics,but I do have a dig camera.
I bought a 14" Delta,and the onlt difference I can see is I don't have cast iron legs,but the featuires all seem the same.
I had trouble with the cam locking thingy on the tailstock too,and I tightened the nut,and that made it too tight,and then loosened it again,and it was better.Sam with the toolrest banjo.The nuts under them on mine only need a little teensy turn to make them tighter.
I think your idea about bolting it to the floor is a great one for me.I have moved it from my barn,,too cold there now,into my workshop in my basement,and I think I'll pick up some bolts for that,rather than covering up my shelf I made underneath with bags of sand.I'll see how that works,thanks for the pictures,and that idea.
I'll get around to learning to post pictures soon.
Talk to you later guys,Steve

The ever reliable MC1100. Purchased from Carbatec in Clayton Vic. Great bunch of blokes, very helpful and treat beginners with the same respect as experienced folk.
Weak points.
1. Stand not strong enough. Minor detail really. I built a strong stand that suits my purposes better.
2. Nuts keep coming loose on tool rest and tailstock cams. Solution: I drilled holes in the end of the threaded rod and fitted washer and split pin.
3.Fair amount of play in the tailstock to lathe bed. Makes accurate drilling and turning pens difficult. Solution: Once you get to know your MC1100 better you will find out where center is at any point on the bed.
4. 500 rpm not quite slow enough for large off centre stuff and motor not powerful enough for larger stock.
5. Tool rest supplied with lathe is not long enough. Makes using a skew chisel impossible on larger material. Solution: duh. make a bigger one.
Good Points
1. Probably the best value lathe for the beginner. Lathe and NovaG3 chuck was around $600.
2. The fact that you can stall the motor is a great safety feature for a beginner, especially when you inevitably get that big grab. Far better to have the lathe stall than to be dodging lumps of timber and chisels flying around the shed.
3. The MC100 more than siuts my current needs and will still be of service when I eventually save the money for a more expensive lathe.
4. My 15 year old son shares the same passion and it great for us to be able sit and talk s**t together and compare notes on who has spotted the biggest burl hanging off the side of one local trees in our area.

Cheers
Shorty

I'm game. I bought my 1442 about 18 months after buying my first mini. Still happy with it but I'm wishing I had gone with a 1642 for the extra bells and whistles. Slower speeds and EVS would have been nice.

The captive rig and laser are custom-built. The backrest came from Monster.

Attachment 64835

Nova DVRXP... got it for free!(sold some shares issued at work, thanks goes to Zinifex)
I optioned her up with a bed extension and outrigger, made the stand from some recycled steel... also for free
Also grabbed a SN2 chuck(50mm jaws) + 25mm pin jaws/75mm spigot jaws/100mm jaws and a mini nova cole set(on the lathe in the pic).

Its my 1st lathe, I dont think I will need to upgrade... but you never know

Y'all got fancy lathes. No laughing now, remember you asked to see it.
I inheirited it when dad died, he bought it used from somebody. Don't know how old it is but if you look close you can see oil ports.

The best thing about it - it lets me do some turning.

ron

No laughs from me Ron...
looks to me like it has everything you need to spin wood.
You should post a photo of your work sometime.
Welcome,
tm

Hey Ron, long as she works mate!
Probably just as good as mine if used for spindle work... even looks like a ancestor of the DVR being direct drive and all!

Originally Posted by son_of_bluegras

Y'all got fancy lathes. No laughing now, remember you asked to see it.
I inheirited it when dad died, he bought it used from somebody. Don't know how old it is but if you look close you can see oil ports.

The best thing about it - it lets me do some turning.

ron

That's tough !!!!!

Old MC900 bought second hand. Using it on the original shake 'n wobble stand screwed to the top of two pallets to make it tall enough, it chased me around the shed while doing a bowl outboard, after which I built the stand it is on now out of 200x75x10mm channel boxed with 5mm plate. Under the headstock I have two of these back to back. Now it hardly moves, and is a pleasure to use.
The original toolrest annoyed me so I built a 200mm one and hardly use the other now.
Chisel rack is an old shower rack, until I get around to building a better one. The switch stuffed up so after seeing ttit's mag base controller, I bought an e-stop, an extra set of contacts, some cable and a jiffy box and made my own. Hot glued to the back of the jiffy box is a ring magnet out of a microwave magnetron with some felt over the top so it doesn't clang as it sticks, so when I am around the back of the lathe I take it with me, and feel a little safer not having to reach around the belts or spinning work to stop or start.
The double sided sandpaper tree is tapped into the headstock and holds 60grit up to 2000.
A magnet on the bed extension keeps small tools handy.
The biggest downside is the poor alignment of the tailstock, but after messing about with shims, grinder and welder, it is only a bit better and I just put up with it.
The crappy cast levers on the toolrest and tailstock locks broke off, and are somewhere on my list of things to fix. Until then a 3/8 ring spanner hangs from the bottom of the shower rack.

If anyone is putting off building a heavier stand for a lathe like mine, just do it! Its really worth it, like getting a new one kinda.

That's a bloody good lathe Thunker!! just look at what it turns!!

Originally Posted by Thunknker

The original toolrest annoyed me so I built a 200mm one and hardly use the other now.
[...]
The crappy cast levers on the toolrest and tailstock locks broke off, and are somewhere on my list of things to fix. Until then a 3/8 ring spanner hangs from the bottom of the shower rack.

What a coinkydink...!

So far I like Ron's one. Does it have var speed?
Good to see what people can knock together.

I run an mc1100 which has all the usual problems of which most can be overcome or fixed except for turning large diameter items but I would love to try turning on sonofbluegrass's unit . Having a love of old machinery and a collection of old farm engines that is my choice so far . It would make as good a quality sawdust as any of the others and for a lower price . and ron "I aint laughing. " regards Wally