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yetiman
24th June 2015, 11:49 AM
Hey fellas what would the better lathe for general work a
Woodfast MC908 or Teknatool TL1000 same price com's with
similar extra's, for a newbie..
Thanx.

delbs
24th June 2015, 12:05 PM
Woodfast for sure. The mc908 are built to last snd have great after market accessories and support

Mobyturns
24th June 2015, 01:30 PM
2nd vote on the Woodfast M908 with a slight reservation - which year model, single or 3ph? The Woodfast M908s are a very robust lathe but I am aware of a couple of variants. Many of the S/H M908's are ex school or TAFE lathes so were set up for 3ph. Just check the specs for the M908 you are looking at.

Jim Carroll
24th June 2015, 06:17 PM
Same as the others Woodfast all the way

Paul39
25th June 2015, 07:06 AM
Woodfast

powderpost
25th June 2015, 09:43 AM
Woodfast 908, no contest. I have owned and used both.

Jim

delbs
26th June 2015, 10:56 PM
On the outboard thread of the mc908 which is left handed thread on it. What is needed to mount a standard chuck so you can turn large bowls etc? And has anyone purchased the outboard turning attachment you can get for the mc908?

Jim Carroll
26th June 2015, 11:44 PM
If you have a Vicmarc chuck there is an M30 or 1"x10 Left hand thread insert available.

Depends if the current woodfast outrigger fits the older lathe other wise a free standing vicmarc style outrigger for about $580.00.

Mobyturns
27th June 2015, 08:14 AM
On the outboard thread of the mc908 which is left handed thread on it. What is needed to mount a standard chuck so you can turn large bowls etc? And has anyone purchased the outboard turning attachment you can get for the mc908?

My Woodfast M908 has the outboard turning attachment supplied with the original purchase. The base mounts to the cabinet stand with four bolts and is very stable. We actually dropped the base about 30 mm on the cabinet by drilling four new holes as the height of the tool post & the length of the standard tool rest post easily allows you to do this safely. Woodfast tool rest design is vastly superior to the Teknatool design.

Thread on my 1992 M908 is 1" x 8 (hope I got that right the Mercury is 1" x 10 ? or is it vice versa?? :- ) and is RH inboard & LH outboard. I use Vicmarc chucks and have Vermec faceplates that take the standard Vicmarc inserts plus I have the original iron LH thread 150mm face plate from Woodfast. No problem getting LH or a even a combined LH/RH insert though I'm not real keen on the dual LH/RH version. Vicmarc & Vermec both sell them & I guess Jim Carroll does too.

Just to avoid confusion Woodfast make an "M908" to my knowledge an "MC900" is a generic machine sold under a number of brand names. Only saying so we aren't talking about different machines because they are vastly different.

Paul39
27th June 2015, 09:52 AM
I knew about Woodfast 908s and 910s, Iwas curious and found this:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/nowra-bomaderry/power-tools/woodturning-lathe-woodfast-mc908-/1079942701

If this is one of the lathes Yetiman is considering, it looks reasonable to me, but I'm not up on what lathes sell for in AU.

delbs
27th June 2015, 10:12 AM
Does the free stabding vicmarc outrigger perform ok? Im assuming it does because of the brand but just ghe fact its freestanding makes me think i can and will move around a bit. My lathe is on a black metal fabricared stand not the standard green cabinet base like ghe one in the gumtree ad so i would need to drill holes if i were to buy the woodfast one . I was speaking with the fella selling that one but we couldnt agree in a price.

I have a woodfast chuck at the moment ill need to look at left handed threaded faceplates and inserts for my current chuck or ill buy a vicmarc chuck. 351060

Paul39
27th June 2015, 10:51 AM
Delbs,

Something like this is not going to move much:

http://vintagemachinery.org/photoindex/images/12185-C.jpg

http://www.owwm.net/images/231.jpg

My preference is something like this:

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/images/prod/275/vic_out_bra.jpg

One on a Woodfast:

http://www.pointfarmcrafts.co.uk/uploads/1/4/1/1/14119386/9040714_orig.jpg?1350309583

I think a free standing one could be cobbled up with a pipe stuck in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete.

I think one that attaches to the lathe stand and with a leg could be made with black iron pipe and a T fitting with some selection of pipe so that one would slide inside another.

Even if one had to pay for some drilling, tapping, and welding I think one would be ahead of buying new.

One can do a fair amount of cobbling for $500:

http://www.tools-plus.com/powermatic-6294732.html

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/110/2733/Vicmarc-Outboard-Turning-Bracket-

Jim Carroll
27th June 2015, 10:54 AM
Just to avoid confusion Woodfast make an "M908" to my knowledge an "MC900" is a generic machine sold under a number of brand names. Only saying so we aren't talking about different machines because they are vastly different.

There was an MC900 in the older Woodfast range.

To find the age of the woodfast lathe have a look at the end of the bed and it should be stamped with the date of manufacture.

The Vicmarc tripod is stable.

Jim Carroll
27th June 2015, 10:58 AM
Delbs,

My preference is something like this:

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/images/prod/275/vic_out_bra.jpg

One on a Woodfast:

http://www.pointfarmcrafts.co.uk/uploads/1/4/1/1/14119386/9040714_orig.jpg?1350309583

I think a free standing one could be cobbled up with a pipe stuck in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete.

I think one that attaches to the lathe stand and with a leg could be made with black iron pipe and a T fitting with some selection of pipe so that one would slide inside another.

Even if one had to pay for some drilling, tapping, and welding I think one would be ahead of buying new.

One can do a fair amount of cobbling for $500:

http://www.tools-plus.com/powermatic-6294732.html

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/110/2733/Vicmarc-Outboard-Turning-Bracket-

The pictures at the top are the Vicmarc outrigger adapted to fit the woodfast and easily set up on the Vicmarc

http://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/item/vicmarc-outrigger

http://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/item/vicmarc-outboard-turning-tripod

powderpost
27th June 2015, 06:31 PM
I have an Woodfast MC900 lathe, a 1981 model and a Woodfast 908, 1989 model, including the outboard set up. At that stage I was keen to turn some large bowls, 500mm plus diameter. I had an adaptor made for a four jaw chuck fitted with grub screws in the adaptor body to prevent the chuck from unwinding. Chucks have right hand threads. The first job was a red cedar bowl was about 450mm diameter. All went well. The next one was silky oak, from memory was about 550mm. Then things started to get interesting. I was getting some movement in the tool rest. I was using a cutting technique, putting lateral pressure on the tool rest and post. So I went to scrapping mode. As the machine slowed down, I put my hand on the inboard hand wheel and guess what..... the bludy chuck came off the adaptor.

I reinforced the outboard gear with bracing, in fact I was using that gear this week doing a large bowl, 400mm x 225mm thick block. I was fully tested getting it onto the lathe. :oo: :D

I have never used a free standing tool post and would be apprehensive using one with a cutting technique, they may be ok for a scraping method.

As a result of my experiences, some not good, I would never use a chuck on a large and heavy block. Inertia will win. I have almost universally use a face plates for bowl turning, as outlined in previous posts.

My apologies if I seem to have white anted this thread, but hopefully some one may be saved from harm.

Jim

NeilS
29th June 2015, 04:32 PM
Woodfast MC908, no contest. I have owned and used both.

Jim

Ditto.

The Woodfast outboard attachment is a good bit of gear, but the outboard LH thread has drawbacks, including getting hold of LH adaptors.

If you expect to do lots of outboard turning consider a swivel head lathe.