Mc-900?

[CE-1]

Hi,

Who sells MC-900 in Brisbane?


Thanks

[PAH1]

Carbatec and Hare and Forbes both have stores there and both sell versions of the lathe.

[smidsy]

The MC900 is sold by many places in various colours so there is plenty of scope to hunt around for the best deal.
Carbatec have at various times done the MC900 with a chuck and chisel in a package deal so when you call them be sure to ask what deals they are doing atm.
Cheers
Paul

[rsser]

MC900 is a generic label - the lathes vary according to which Asian manufacturer assembles them. They can use different bearings, belts motors etc. so cheapest is not necessarily best.

[reeves]

Carbatech have em for 359 right now..

http://www.carbatech.com.au/

the Hafo people at gregory's engineering have similar with chuck and chisel set for 500
I got mine from the Woodcraft Shoppe in Toowoomba....its great...

cheers

[adrian]

It's getting to the point where we will have to have a separate MC900 forum!

[smidsy]

The fact is that people come here asking the same questions which is why we see so many MC900 threads.
One my first posts here was asking about the GMC lathe which generated a lot of posts about the advantages of the MC900 which I ended up buying
Maybe within each section of the forum we need a newbie faq where have some information on the entry level equipment and stuff that a newbie needs to know.
Cheers
Paul

[Baz]

Maybe the newbies need to do a search first before posting a question? :rolleyes:
Cheers
Barry

[PAH1]

Maybe the newbies need to do a search first before posting a question? :rolleyes:
Cheers
Barry

The trouble with that is often new people do not know enough to frame a real search. Better to have the patience with the new people and get up to date information as things do change, if slowly.

[rsser]

Why not have a sticky asking people to search first, and providing some simple instructions on how to along with some egs.

I mean just searching on MC 900 is going to give a newbie a wealth of stuff inc answers to questions they never thought they'd need :)

[Termite]

I remember, long ago when I was an apprentice member on this forum (about 12 months ago I think) when I knew sweet fa about how this forum worked.
I asked all the stupid questions and didn't know about searches but with the patience and tolerence :rolleyes: of the other members, I learnt my way around.
Now of course I'm a fully qualified loudmouth, self opiniated, mud slinging old fart who refers to the wrong people with the wrong information most of the time.
So lets all remember when we were new and extend the same courtesy to the annoying little bastards that was shown to us :D :D

[Alastair]

I remember, long ago when I was an apprentice member on this forum (about 12 months ago I think) when I knew sweet fa about how this forum worked.
I asked all the stupid questions and didn't know about searches but with the patience and tolerence :rolleyes: of the other members, I learnt my way around.
Now of course I'm a fully qualified loudmouth, self opiniated, mud slinging old fart who refers to the wrong people with the wrong information most of the time.
So lets all remember when we were new and extend the same courtesy to the annoying little bastards that was shown to us :D :D

Termite says it all in spades. We all started out as newbies, so let us not get up ourselves, now we are the all knowing seniors, (of 3 months :D )

The idea of an "FAQ" where oft recurring themes can be filed is however a good one. The question is, who will administer it? Does this fall on the moderators? Perhaps someone will volunteer to become the 'Newbie question Nazi' ?

Alastair

[rsser]

The generosity of the online woodturning community really is remarkable, and I too am grateful for the answers I got to simple (in both senses!) questions.

That said, the community has to sustain the interest of experienced turners as well, and too many questions that have been answered before may undermine that. There are forums you will have come across for other interests that are just clogged with people asking questions that they could have easily got answered with a google or a forum search.

Maybe in combination with a sticky, from time to time members who've had their questions answered and built up a bit of knowledge about an issue could simply post a summary of the issues, and what they learned with links to the key threads.

[adrian]

The problem with searching is that you have to know what you are searching for. People new to woodturning know nothing about an MC900 or DVR etc. They are most likely going to search on the word 'lathe' and then give up reading the 500+ instances of 'lathe' and ask the same question that I, and many others, asked when we thought of taking up turning.
The fact that people are asking the same questions over and over again does show a deficiency in the search process. Anyone who has searched on Google etc will understand the frustration of having to wade through sites with little or no relevance to the information you want.
One of the sites I visited regularly was Sax on the Web. It had compartmentalised the information to the nth degree. There were separate forums for alto, tenor etc, forums for each of the major brands of sax, forums for mouthpieces, even health issues involved in sax playing. They still got the same questions being asked but it was easier to search the relevant forum because information contained in the forums was always more relevant than that contained in general forums. Having said that, I would never suggest that we have lathe, tablesaw etc forums because judging by the hostile reaction I got for suggesting we have a forum dedicated to safety issues I wouldn't dare.
Just don't expect beginners to be able to get the information they require by searching when most of the posts found in the search results will have little or no relevance.

[PAH1]

at its simplest I do not think that it would be all that difficult. ie set up a FAQ sticky and have a list. Posts on lathe comparisons 1, 2, 3. Chucks 1, 2, 3. Tools 1, 2, 3. Sharpening tools 1, 2, 3. Wood for turning 1, 2, 3. For the forums in general it may be a good idea to have a real links page for machinery, wood etc ie one that has timbecon, carb, gregory, H&F etc actually on it.That would then leave most of the simple questions in one place and people enough information to frame better searches and questions to the group.

[Termite]

Thats right, ruin the whole bloody thing. All the info would be there, the newbies wouldn't ask questions and we'd have nothing to ***** about. The next thing you know we'd stop slinging s*** at each other, the administrators would have nothing to do, Niel would stop selling his good gunk and have to close the forum and then, having nothing to waste my time on, I'd have to actually do some work. :p :rolleyes: :D

[PAH1]

Thats right, ruin the whole bloody thing. All the info would be there, the newbies wouldn't ask questions and we'd have nothing to ***** about. The next thing you know we'd stop slinging s*** at each other, the administrators would have nothing to do, Niel would stop selling his good gunk and have to close the forum and then, having nothing to waste my time on, I'd have to actually do some work. :p :rolleyes: :D

As I said earlier I do not mind these sorts of questions, they actually make you think about what you are doing and how you are doing it. Also new posts to that topic may bring up a better way than what you are currently doing it. I was part of a group about aquarium plants years ago, 80+ emails a day and 90% consisting of "what plant is this" from a description like "its green and has leaves". If people are offended that a new person asks a question that is beneath them then they can always use that great freedom we have- choosing to not read the thread or not reply to it.

I went to a canberra woodcraft meeting on the weekend, the topic turning a two part hollow form. Went home and sunday night made one. It turned out to be the perfect solution to a problem that I had with a blank that would never have made a bowl. I am still a relative newcomer to woodworking and turning, however I am a prodigous reader and adept searcher (thanks to my work) and through this forum, the web the club and standing actually doing things I have learned heaps. Many people get caught in a trap on allways doing things a certain way because that is the way they have allways done it. Learning from each other is a good way to start and sharing knowledge is a simple part of it.

[smidsy]

The problem with a newbie doing a search is that they'd read about the MC900 but not have a clue what one is.
I was thinking about this this morning and it occured to me that I never actually saw an MC900 in the flesh until I got mine out the box - I'd seen pics on the net but I bought it based on the information I got here.

The thing I love about this forum is the amount of information and the willingness of people to share it. And while I am by no means an expert, as I learn things and get some knowledge I like to pass it on as others have done to me.
I say bring the newbies on and let them ask same dumb questions that we asked when we were newbies. Besides sales is all about volume, so the more newbies that get in to this game, the more gear that's going to sell which ultimately will bring the cost down.
Cheers
Paul

[Termite]

And while I am by no means an expert,

smidsy, you will write out 100 times "I will never again on an open forum in front of newbies admit that I'm not an expert"

Mate, these guys are supposed to think that we are woodworking Guru's, they should be waiting in awe for the small crumbs of Knowledge that we deign to bestow on them. If they ever find out the truth about us "established" pillars of the woodworking society were done for, nobody will believe anything we say. :eek:
Well in all honesty I cant blame anybody for not taking any notice of what I say, but some of you other blokes and blokettes seem to know what you are talking about. :D

[Baz]

I thought that would get you's going. :D
Cheers
Barry

[Darrell]

Afer all this time I thought smidsy was the expert and now he tells me is not.Who am I going to turn to now
I will have to wait for one of those newbies to ask a question and get a new expert and hang on his every word
I like it when a newbie asked a old question some times you can get a new answer.Things do change

Darrell

[smidsy]

Hei Darrell,
It's not that the answer is "new", it's just that alcohol or senility (sometimes both) means a different answer each time. :D
Cheers
Paul

[Darrell]

Alcohol (HIC) I do'nt know what you are talking about.I must be just some silly old bugger

Darrell

[westpest]

Hei Darrell,
It's not that the answer is "new", it's just that alcohol or senility (sometimes both) means a different answer each time. :D
Cheers
Paul
Hi Smidsy

Perhaps another reason is that because we live on the other side of the island to all those "others" we have a totally different outlook on life and of course "senility" is also very important, as for the alcohol,I haven't been game to try it again after I got plastered on ouzo (38 years ago) scared the hell out of me.. :eek: :eek: :eek:

DanF

[smidsy]

Hei Dan,
I'm beyond the point of getting drunk for the sake of it but I enjoy a drink, and
I'm lucky in that my mum is a non drinker so I score her duty free allowance when she goes O/S.

In terms of location, I think west aussies tend to be a bit more self sufficient because we are so far away, and I think in some respects that we can be a little arrogant at times - but in a good way.
I grew up in Perth so I have no experience of other cities, but on the basis of don't fix what isn't broken I would not live anywhere else.
But the thing I love about the net is the fact that we can swap info with people all over this country and others.
Cheers
Paul

[adrian]

Latest failure of my MC900:
The pin that holds the handle to the shaft that locks down the headstock broke yesterday. I take back what I said about my lathe being built on a sunday morning. I think it was built by two drunken chinamen at 11.55pm on the 31st December 2003. They each had a gift voucher for the Sum Fun To Love brothel next door which expired at midnight.

[Don Nethercott]

A search may be OK but remember yesterdays news is old news. In this modern day and age things change rapidly, and also how we use them. Prices and suppliers also change.
Asking questions gets up to date info which sometimes many others can benefit from.
I got a lathe which does me fine so far (Woodfast 280), but I enjoy reading the posts on lathes so that if I ever decide to upgrade, or the motor on the Woodfast burns out (it was very hot last night after turning a piece of seasoned red gum), I have a head start on what to buy. Also keeps me abreast of latest prices so that if I stumble across something at a garage sale or auction I know if I am getting a bargain or not.

Besides, those of you with the "unique" sense of humour wouldn't have the opportunity to sprout forth without us novices to annoy you.
Don

[CE-1]

It's OK but what about the MC-900?? :Þ

[smidsy]

In a nutshell the MC900 is best entry level lathe there is.
Cast iron bed as oposed to the GMC which is tube steel and flexes like hell, morse taper head and tail which means tools are plentiful, it will take work up to 300mm diameter but also has a swing out head which means you can hang large peices off the side of the lathe to turn, 3/4hp motor and a variable belt drive so you can have any speed from 500 to 2000 rpm - cheaper lathes have only 4 speeds via a belt you have to change.
As you've seen on this thread, Adrian has had some trouble with his MC900 but that is a rarity on the beast.
Cheers
Paul