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Archades
15th April 2018, 05:30 AM
Thinking about getting the Nova Comet Midi Lathe + G3 Rev. Chuck Pack from Carbatec, the free shipping is a major plus.
I am a newbie with turning though, but keen to make lures, pens, maybe bowls, n other random stuff.


Starter set of chisels, recommendations? Preferably at Carbatec since it's convenient but whereever.
Are carbide insert tools good?


Will this lathe be enough or will it be underpowered? What is going to be the limitations? I kinda want the Nova 1624 but that's $1750 + like $500+ shipping so it's a huge turnoff. I have a feeling if I ever needed to upgrade and was really into it I'd save for the DVR ones which makes the $500 a bit more palatable but hoping I won't need anything like that.


What accessories do you suggest.


My understanding is the chuck and jaws are separate, and you can get different jaws for bigger pieces? Do I need any other chuck than the G3? I'd like to turn say 200mm diameter pieces between centers.
Spur drive for bigger spindles turned between centers or do you use the 4 jaw chuck?


Is the Teknatool Centre System worth it?
Recommended mandrels for pens?
Woodscrew chuck?


Recommended books? I have Woodturning - A Foundation Course by Keith Rowley, which I should probably read now lol but I want to have a good startup kit without having to order over n over things I've missed so I am here asking annoying questions.


Thanks.

Archades
15th April 2018, 05:40 AM
Also considering not getting the g3 chuck n going for the record power 100mm SC4 Scroll Chuck Kit or Supernova 2. Leaning towards the Supernova 2 and non kit comet, unless the kit has more than just the g3 chuck?

Optimark
15th April 2018, 11:23 PM
Lathes are quite different from manufacturer to manufacturer, yet at the same time they are pretty much identical.

The Nova Comet II is a nice lathe, my brother has one and for what it is it is a good machine.

Wood turning lathes have some unwritten standards, one of which is the spindle thread, which is what the chuck screws onto, another is the Morse taper, which is the hole that your spur drive slides into and the tail stock is fitted with the same Morse taper hole to take the corresponding other end piece, which is called a live centre.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=live+centres+woodturning&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=S0Q9xbVaMPryIM%253A%252Cx-VA4Ux9Y42p9M%252C_&usg=__SUO3qlojXVuNXBIxiMZMo2ZeqZY%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX2Piql7zaAhUCvbwKHdxjCxYQ9QEIfDAJ#imgrc=PkbJG5lo9ziYDM (https://www.google.com.au/search?q=live+centres+woodturning&client=firefox-b&dcr=0&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=S0Q9xbVaMPryIM%253A%252Cx-VA4Ux9Y42p9M%252C_&usg=__SUO3qlojXVuNXBIxiMZMo2ZeqZY%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX2Piql7zaAhUCvbwKHdxjCxYQ9QEIfDAJ#imgrc=PkbJG5lo9ziYDM):

Any new lathe you purchase will have something like that supplied, plus you normally gat a faceplate as well (google that).

The current standard for many lathes in Australia is for the spindle to have a 30mm x 3.5mm thread which you screw the chuck onto. The other sort of standard is the tool post hole, which is mostly 1” or 25.4mm. The tool post hole holds the tool rest, which is clamped by a screw with a big enough handle on it that you can tighten and untighten in seconds with your hands.

It doesn’t matter if your chuck is not equipped with that thread; chucks (generally) have a threaded insert that is correct for your lathe. You often specify the spindle thread size you need when you purchase a new chuck. You purchase a new chuck insert with the correct thread for when you change lathes and require a different spindle thread. Smaller lathes have generally had a smaller thread size, but not all. The Nova Comet II has a smaller spindle thread size, which is 1” x 8 TPI.

The Nova Comet II lathe does have one great thing going for it, the electronically controlled speed unit, this is a great thing to have, not necessary, but still a great thing. The Nova Comet II is a smallish lathe weight wise, compared to others in the same class or size category. I know this as the first requirement for my brother was the lightest weight possible with electronic speed control; as he carries it around for demonstrations.

As for a first lathe for someone reasonably unknowledgeable about lathes, it will be quite good. That said, there are other lathes out there that are slightly heavier, slightly bigger and certainly more solid and in the same price range. Delivery to FNQ of course will always be an issue and may possibly be determined by that alone, that is the way it is.

My Men’s Shed were looking for a small lathe to complement our large lathe, the Nova Comet II was first on our list, until we started looking very closely at what we were getting and what the lathe was capable of doing within our budget. We eventually purchased this lathe from Timbecon.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/550-x-320mm-woodlathe (https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/550-x-320mm-woodlathe)

Comparing the Nova Comet II with this lathe was interesting to say the least. The Nova lathe is coming from a well-known international manufacturer, whereas the Sherwood is the house brand name unit of a small Australian business and manufactured in Asia. I think it may be from Taiwan, but I’m not 100% sure.

Another way to look at getting into wood turning is to look at the small mini lathes with no electronic speeds, just belt changes. The prices are rock bottom and the products are very good and sort of legendary for their ability to be worked very hard day in and out by squillions of pen turners and the like.

Either of these will save you money and let you get your feet wet for a song; so to speak.

https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/450-x-300mm-woodlathe (https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/450-x-300mm-woodlathe)

https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/lathes-and-accessories/lathes/mini-lathe-economy-old-code-mc1018 (https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/lathes-and-accessories/lathes/mini-lathe-economy-old-code-mc1018)

Now to chucks; think of chucks as similar to 35mm or digital camera systems. They mostly run a special mount for their lenses and their systems are geared to give you the most temptation to get as many lenses as possible so that your camera can do squillions of different things.

Chuck manufacturers are similar, they make a basic chuck and mostly sell it to you with a set of removable chuck jaws. As you progress, you may desire to hold something like a bowl blank with a bigger spigot, so you get a bigger set of jaws. Or you may go down the pen turning route and decide to get a set of pen jaws and so on.

There is also some difference between chuck manufacturers and their jaws; the angle and size of the jaws are different. Some of the Nova chucks we have at our Men’s Shed have straight jaws, my Vicmarc chucks have jaws with angled tenons; which is my preference.

If you really think you may be doing turning, then do some research into chuck manufacturers. Vicmarc are manufactured in sunny QLD and have a world-wide reputation for their chucks as being up there with the best.

Another entrant, albeit the lower end of the market, which is sort of where you are is AYAO if you do a search in this forum there was a thread about one of these chucks and Vicmarc chucks some time ago; quite an interesting read.

Most chucks I have seen are limited to 3,000 rpm, the Nova Comet II you are considering is capable of doing 4,000 rpm. It is not that likely you would be using a chuck and using those speeds, but you may just wind it up to see what it is like…

The best suggestion I can make is to give your location, FNQ is a fairly big place, there maybe someone with any kind of lathe that could introduce you to some hands on stuff which will be of infinitely more value than the thousands of words you read.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

Mick.

hughie
16th April 2018, 06:43 PM
Thinking about getting the Nova Comet Midi Lathe + G3 Rev. Chuck Pack from Carbatec, the free shipping is a major plus.
I am a newbie with turning though, but keen to make lures, pens, maybe bowls, n other random stuff.

If you are happy with the price:2tsup:, but try and add a live centre for the tailstock





Starter set of chisels, recommendations? Preferably at Carbatec since it's convenient but whereever.
Are carbide insert tools good?

Yeah just get the basic set, Carbide is dearer again



Will this lathe be enough or will it be underpowered? What is going to be the limitations? I kinda want the Nova 1624 but that's $1750 + like $500+ shipping so it's a huge turnoff. I have a feeling if I ever needed to upgrade and was really into it I'd save for the DVR ones which makes the $500 a bit more palatable but hoping I won't need anything like that.


Under powered depends on what your turning and I would imagine not seeing your new at turning. The Comet should be a fine lathe to start with

What accessories do you suggest.



My understanding is the chuck and jaws are separate, and you can get different jaws for bigger pieces? Do I need any other chuck than the G3? I'd like to turn say 200mm diameter pieces between centers.

The Nova chucks are the only ones that will allow you to swap jaws. But like the rest in time you buy more chucks rather than changing jaws


Spur drive for bigger spindles turned between centers or do you use the 4 jaw chuck?

All wood lathe chucks are 4 jaw, shy away from anything else. A lotta folk persist with metal turning chucks, too much compression with narrow jaws generally not a great idea. You should be able to mount your spindles between spur drives and should need a chuck for spindle work.



Is the Teknatool Centre System worth it?
Sure, but you can buy such things elsewhere for a better price ie McJings etc


Recommended mandrels for pens?
I will let the pen guys chime in here


Woodscrew chuck?

These used to come with the chucks anyway



Recommended books? I have Woodturning - A Foundation Course by Keith Rowley, which I should probably read now lol but I want to have a good startup kit without having to order over n over things I've missed so I am here asking annoying questions.

Join a club to get hands-on help and advice on who to watch on Youtube. YouTube has some very turners and some Richard Craniums you dont need them.

How about bandsaw, chainsaw, dust collector of some sort or another.

Thanks.

That should get you going for the moment, anyway the other guys will chime in with heaps more info

Archades
17th April 2018, 05:13 AM
Thanks heaps. Yeah the shipping to fnq is like $500 which I want to avoid, thats why the smaller lathes are on my list as they are free shipping from carbatec at least.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/chisels-and-lathe-tools/wood-turning-chisel-sets/robert-sorby-67hs-woodturning-tool-starter-set
Is this worth getting? I don't mind paying more if I'll keep it forever. I have a whetstone water wheel with some jigs, the wannabe tormek so I can sharpen with that. But I also don't wanna blow a heap of money if it isn't needed, I'm not sure if that is a good deal or not.

Sent from my XT1068 using Tapatalk

Optimark
17th April 2018, 09:09 AM
That Sorby starter kit looks reasonably well priced, more importantly it has the minimum spread of required tools to do (within reason) everything you will be tackling.

The sharpening system you have, if it is what I think you have, will require one additional piece of gear to let you sharpen your bowl and spindle gouges that come with the Sorby kit. This is what I believe you need for what I believe you have.

(https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/R8965)https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/R8965
(https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/R8965)
To answer one of your earlier questions, the carbide tipped gouges are quite reasonable. My brother started out with carbide tipped tools and to this day he still prefers them, he does have some more conventional chisels, but by and large, he prefers the carbide tipped tools. This does have some good points, he doesn't sharpen his tipped chisels, he just replaces the carbide tips. I myself don't have any carbide tipped tools, so I cannot comment on whether they are easier, better or worse than conventional chisels that you sharpen regularly, sometimes very regularly.

To give you an idea of how hard wood turning chisels work, you are applying the chisel to the wood which is travelling between 2m a second to around 8m a second, dependent upon the turning speed and the diameter of the material being cut. Essentially to do the same thing with a standard chisel you may be using with a mallet on a work bench, at a minimum you would have to run at a speed of 2m every second; don't even think about the 8m a second stuff. :D

Chisels do it hard in wood turning.

If down the track you do get into wood turning reasonably heavily, you could do worse than look carefully at the Sorby sharpening system, it is basically a linisher that has been quite well thought out and put together as a complete package that will satisfy any turning tool sharpening requirements as well as almost any other kind of workshop tool that needs sharpening.

I myself have had the Tormek T7 since shortly after it became available in Australia, it is wonderful and I have pretty much everything I need, but if I was starting out, I think the Sorby unit is about the right product for quick repeatable, accurate and very easy to use tool sharpening. There are two models being sold, one as a basic machine, one with a few accessories that combined are cheaper than buying the machine and the individual jig components. The bowl gouge jig, which looks very similar to the Tormek unit, is in fact made for Sorby by Tormek. As the patent for that unit was due to expire in either 2017 or 2018, Sorby asked if they could make it under licence, Sorby as I understand it, refused. I am not sure of the state of play currently. I received this information at a Robert Sorby demonstration in Melbourne a couple of years ago by a Robert Sorby (UK) wood turner demonstrating Sorby stuff, including the Pro Edge sharpening system.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/standard-proedge-plus-sharpening-system-rsb-wpeb01d

Mick.

artme
17th April 2018, 01:16 PM
I see that price is a concern for you but I am thinking about what you wan to do not just now but in the future.
You may kick yourself later on for not buying a bigger lathe because you can turn small it3ms on a big lathe but
not big items on a small lathe.

The Comet II is a pretty good smaller lathe by all accounts and I like the Nova chucks. Good quality at a good price.

Might I suggest you look up South East Queensland woodworking supplies. David has some good lathes across the
range of sizes and well priced. David also travels giving demos so he may well end up near you!!. Can contact him
by phone - number on website.

Joining a club is more than worth it!!

Want a good set of Video material?? get onto You Tube and look for videos by Brendan Stemp, who is a member of
these fora. Probably as good as anything you will find and free!! Plenty of other free stuphph on You tube also.

I like the Nova chuck system. Good quality at a good price.

Archades
19th April 2018, 04:36 AM
Thanks, been a lurker for a long time.


I'll probably join a club (I'm near Innisfail), it's just my health gives ultra random energy so I usually don't have the ability to go when they are running very often hence my buying home tools. I very often do things late at night or sometimes arvo, whenever my body remembers it's alive still (bad chronic fatigue). Funds are very tight so the shipping costs is a big barrier. I do like the Nova/bigger one but it triggers the $500 shipping fee which really sucks so if I had to pay $500 for shipping I'd want a buy once, never again, keep for life lathe lol. Hoping to make a few dollars over time with it but just as a hobby is fine too n keeps me sane. Really keen to get into resin work too + pigmented resin.


The sharpener is the 909 whetstone (masters crud) I think it's a clone of the Record Power WG250 and I think clone of Tormek but not sure how that all goes. I'd love the Tormek full setup, one day I'll save for it. Wish I knew about the record power one when I bought the other, would have hopefully been better. The 909 bar is sorta rippled, not machined smooth so I may try swap that bit. The WG250/A - Gouge Jig should fit it fine, thanks. If not I'll buy the rail n fit that. Does it fit the Tormek as well?


Is South East Queensland woodworking supplies the Big bus that comes up every once n a while?

powderpost
19th April 2018, 10:06 PM
Is South East Queensland woodworking supplies the Big bus that comes up every once n a while?

Yes and he will be in Innisfail very shortly, probably later next week.

Jim

Mobyturns
19th April 2018, 10:45 PM
Yes and he will be in Innisfail very shortly, probably later next week.

Jim

26th April in Innisfail.

Archades
22nd April 2018, 03:18 PM
I think the Nova will be ok for now, if I really get into turning I'll probably go all out on something big but that is way down the track. I'll try go see the bus, I remember buying a dovetail jig aggges ago from it.

DAL1957
30th April 2018, 01:00 AM
Hi Archades,

I'm relatively new to the hobby myself, but I'll add my 2 cents worth.

I have a Teknatool SuperNova2 Chuck ($179 from Carbatec) and so far it has been faultless.

I also purchased the Robert Sorby 6 pack that you linked to above and they are a very good starter set, certainly enough to get you turning a lot of things. There was discussion at my club as one member told me to buy the best I could afford and indicated the Robert Sorby set, while another was quite happy to recommend and buy the un-handled HSS chisels from McJing and make his own handles. I am however very happy with my RS set, and they will probably well outlast me (depending on how much sharpening I do - I also bought the Robert Sorby Pro Edge sharpening system and have no complaints about it).

As mentioned above, there are a lot of very good YouTube tutorials on just about every aspect of turning.

I'd probably recommend the book "Turning Wood" by Richard Raffan, mine came from The Book Suppository, though it's probably available all over the place