New Lathe for beginner

[smitsone]

Hi all,
I did have a search of the forum but could not see much on any of the new , lower priced lathes that might be suitable as a first time lathe and allow some progression. I am looking at mainly turning bowls up to 30cm, lidded boxes etc.Budget for the lathe would be around $1000 Does anyone have any experience using the following brands / lathes ??

https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturning/lathes-and-accessories/lathes/wood-lathe-old-code-mc900


3/4HP induction motor
Split pulley system produces variable speed range
MT2 morse taper
M30 x 3.5 spindle thread
10mm hole through headstock

or the Hafco Woodmaster range
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W38

any advice would be highly appreciated

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Heh. The Hafco link gives me an error.

That Carbatec lathe is what is generally called an MC-900. It's a fairly common blue-print that has been copied by many, many makers with varying degrees of quality.

It is pretty much the absolute minimum entry-level lathe for a new woodturner. At 3/4HP it's a bit underpowered for larger pieces, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The MC-900's are what I recommend to new turners who aren't really sure whether they're going to be long-term turners. It'll do most things a beginner is interested in - more if you also buy a suitable chuck - and if they lose interest in the hobby isn't that much of a kick to the wallet. ;)

Once a turner gains skills, then it's time to look at a better lathe that is better suited to the type of turning they've become hooked on. :D

I learned on one and still have two of them even now; they're both useful to me at various times although they've been rather modified..



If you buy an MC-900 - any MC-900 - it's best to buy in person and buy the lathe you're looking at.

First thing you want to do is put a drive-spur in the headstock and a tail-spur in the tailstock, then slide the tailstock up until the tips of the spurs are almost kissing. Look for any vertical misalignment. If there is any, look at another lathe. Seriously. Just move on and save yourself some grief.

Then look at the horizontal alignment. Hopefully that's pretty good too, but it's not as critical. Because the headstock will swivel around, for outboard turning, you can generally adjust this.

Loosen the headstock release and make sure you can align the points properly and that it doesn't pull out of alignment when you tighten the headstock again.

If that works, loosen the heastock again, pull the retention pin and swivel it 90degrees out. Lock it all down solid. It should swivel fairly easily and smoothly, yet still be rock solid when locked down.

OK, then loosen it yet again and return to the original position. Check once more that you can align the spur points easily for spindle turning.

If it passes the above test(s) then it's worth considering secondary aspects. What quality are the fittings such as the lock levers on the tail-stock, banjo (tool-rest), etc?

(Here's a big one: do they stock replacement drive belts? You could even see if they'll bundle a spare belt in to make the sale... ;) )

[smitsone]

Thanks for the advice, especially re lining up the tail stock and head stock.Will keep doing my research

[Fumbler]

i'm not new to turning, but am limited to space, and I don turn huge items. I like the versatility of EVS (electronic variable speed) for finishing etc, and don't want to keep changing the belts up and down.

I have just bought this which I think was your link but was missing the 5 from W385

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W385

Anyway, its a great lathe and can also buy an extension bed if it gets to the point u want to turn longer stuff. and with the $1000, (sign up for mates rates and get $50 off) you have change for a scroll chuck or 2 or other add on's. ('m starting to see the benefits of more than 1 scroll chuck ie, don't have to keep changing grips).

[KAJ]

Hi Smitsone
I have one of H & F L 18 with 4 chucks each with a different set of jaws. Funbler's comment above made me chuckle. My last job needed a set of jaws that was NOT fitted to ANY of my 4 chucks.

I don't do a lot of turning - and then only small things - so far - so this lathe could be all you need.

That said - knowing now what I know, the lathe suggested above by Fumber does have some advantages and I would buy it in preference to the WL !8. The WL 14V was not available 9 yrs ago when I bought my lathe on special as a package deal - lathe, 8 chisels, & a chuck. The only disadvantage (to me) is that it is bench mounted vs stand mounted.

[burraboy]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/vincentia/power-tools/wood-lathe/1182431056
worth a drive to Nowra?

[Fumbler]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/vincentia/power-tools/wood-lathe/1182431056
worth a drive to Nowra?

Where does the donkey sit?

[burraboy]

Where does the donkey sit?
I dunno, on it's ass?

[smitsone]

If you buy an MC-900 - any MC-900 - it's best to buy in person and buy the lathe you're looking at.


​How easy is it to walk into a showroom and buy the lathe you are looking at ??

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum.

[KAJ]

No - not without the standard accessories you get with a new lathe

[Fumbler]

If you buy an MC-900 - any MC-900 - it's best to buy in person and buy the lathe you're looking at.


​How easy is it to walk into a showroom and buy the lathe you are looking at ??

pretty easy, the guys at Hare and Forbes are good guys and will help you out.

[Fumbler]

I dunno, on it's ass?

Very good.

[smitsone]

pretty easy, the guys at Hare and Forbes are good guys and will help you out.
Awesome, thanks for the advice

[brainstrust]

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/vincentia/power-tools/wood-lathe/1182431056
worth a drive to Nowra?

only if you live next door :doh:

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

If you buy an MC-900 - any MC-900 - it's best to buy in person and buy the lathe you're looking at.


​How easy is it to walk into a showroom and buy the lathe you are looking at ??

Have you ever tried?

It's actually pretty easy... or at least I've never had a problem with it.

I tell the Sales Rep up front that I want to buy an item, I'm fussy, want to inspect a machine before I purchase and, if it's suitable, will buy the machine I looked at.

If they can't/won't oblige I have no problems walking out the door. After all, if they won't help ensure that you're satisfied with your initial purchase, what do you think their after-sales support is going to be like?

(FWIW, this is my philosophy for any machine I'm spending more than $500 on... unless for some reason it's so cheap that it's a bargain even if broken. :shrug:)

[Chrism3]

You might want to look at this one. https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/lathes-attachments/550-x-320mm-woodlathe
I have it but haven't yet used it much. But there are videos of it in action.

[Optimark]

You might want to look at this one. https://www.timbecon.com.au/woodturning/lathes-attachments/550-x-320mm-woodlathe
I have it but haven't yet used it much. But there are videos of it in action.

My Men's Shed has that lathe, as well as a bigger one.

Very nice lathe, changing belts is a bit of a pain as you need a 5mm Allen key for the top and side doors to effect the change. Other than having to use an Allen key changing belts is straight forward.

Doing 300mm diameter bowls is starting to stretch it a bit, especially if there was an odd shaped blank onboard. But that size is certainly doable as one of our members has made a couple of platters around 300mm in diameter.

In the midi lathe world, I think it is pretty close to the best bang for your buck. I would certainly pick up the bed extension if I was buying this. Our unit has the stand shown in the picture, it is surprisingly steady. No one has ever had an issue with steadiness, which we all wondered about when we purchased the lathe.

I would suppose the best recommendation is that there is always a line up to use this lathe, the other bigger lathe is always a second choice.

Teamed with a Vicmarc VM100 chuck it is perfectly safe to use maximum revs. The VM100 chuck is rated to 3,500rpm, which is the top speed of this lathe. I'm not saying you should or would use that top speed, but quite a few other chucks around have quite drastically reduced top speeds.

Mick.

[Chrism3]

I would note that the speed ranges within a belt position are quite wide, and changing the belt position may not need to be done very often. I could also mention that it is extremely quiet.

[Optimark]

I would note that the speed ranges within a belt position are quite wide, and changing the belt position may not need to be done very often. I could also mention that it is extremely quiet.

That is very true, at the Shed the speed is almost always on the middle speed, which incidently on our lathe goes to a smidge over 1800 rpm. We have checked that speed with a device, so either the computed speeds were done with a different pulley size, or between the original design and the released design, something changed.

Personally, for a first lathe, I would go secondhand, which is what I did. My belief was that if I went for a bigger secondhand unit for the same price as a smaller new unit, I would possibly have more fun testing the water; which is what happened.

Mick.

Mick.

[berocol]

Hi Smitsone

I started with a H&F WL18 in about 2004 and I can add a couple of comments to this discussion.

With the lathe I also bought a Vicmark 100 scroll chuck, without really knowing what I was getting, but which I think made a lot of difference. I still have that chuck, and two others besides, with different jaws on them.

The variable speed arrangement was nice to use - more convenient than changing belts on the Nova 3000 I have now - but after a while sawdust etc built up inside the headstock and the gear change got progressively stiffer - I had to clean it out and re-grease it a few times. I think the problem is that the motor sits alongside the headstock instead of behind or below it, and the cooling fan intake is right where the sawdust goes when you are sanding something. The fan seemed to blow the sawdust through the motor into the headstock, where it clagged up the grease on the sliding pulley shaft. I ended up running it without the belt cover to let the sawdust get away.

Also, the sheet metal stand was quite light - the lathe moved around a bit when you started off with out-of-balance blanks. Like most people who had them I fitted a wooden shelf on top of the leg braces, but I believe people used to put a bag of sand on the shelf to add weight to the stand.

I reckon you can get away with a low-end lathe, subject to the quality checks other forum members have talked about here, if you use a quality chuck and quality tools. If I knew then what I know now, and if I knew I was going to stick with it, I would be tempted to push the budget a bit and get one with electronic variable speed control. I regularly use lower speed cutters like forstner bits, big twist drills etc for boring things like pepper mills, and changing the belt on the Nova several times during a job is a bit annoying.

Hope this helps a bit.

cheers, Colin

[smitsone]

Thanks for your reply Colin, great advice which I will take on board

[brainstrust]

I would note that the speed ranges within a belt position are quite wide, and changing the belt position may not need to be done very often. I could also mention that it is extremely quiet.probably a stupid question but.........do all wood lathes need belt changes or are there expensive ones that don't?

[Optimark]

Mostly they have belt changes to allow the motor to spin within it's reasonable working rpm range.

If you look at the super dooper really expensive units, they (as far as I know) all have belt changes. Changing a belt for high motor revs to allow high torque low spindle speed, is pretty much the reason you will have a low speed belt. Think speeds from 10rpm through to around 1200rpm or 1400rpm.

For high speed spindle work, where the diameter of what you are turning is quite small, then you will probably prefer higher spindle speed. For that you would select the higher of the two or three speed variables. Most current lathes I have recently seen, top out around 3500rpm, which is blindingly fast.

In short, the answer to your question, is yes.

Mick.