Lathe Stands

[haemish762]

Hey there. My lovely wife has allowed me to buy a lathe and is even going to give me money towards it. I want to get an MC1100 and was wondering if the stand it comes with is adequate. I don't want the the stand to come crashing down on me while trying to turn a 12" platter.
Will the stand do or is there another option that will do the job without costing the earth ($100 or more{i am not endowed with money, i just like working with wood}).
Otherwise, is there anyone out there with a good quality second hand lathe that would be willing to part with it for around $500, for a budding sawdust producer.

Cheers Haemish

P.S. Does anyone know how much a leady lathe goes for, it's probably too much, but i'm curious.

[Wood Butcher]

From what I have seen the sheet metla stand on the MC1100 is not to bad and you can load the shelf underneath with sand bags if the lathe begins to walk. Timbecon also sell cast iron legs as an aftermarket add-on but I don't know what there are worth.

A side note have a look at these-

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/36-X12-SWIVEL-HEAD-TYPE-WOOD-TURNING-LATHE-W-STAND_W0QQitemZ8227789416QQcategoryZ84012QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Tough-old-wood-lathe_W0QQitemZ7556718043QQcategoryZ29528QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[reeves]

i have MC900 and its fine, tho DarylF built a new stand from wood he said was much sturdier...

i have also seen a photo of a guy who attached ply to the metal stand and filled it with bluestone. siad it was real sturdy..

yr main issue would be with,,,

larger/heavier chucks of timber in the 10-15 kilo range or odd shape bits and rough logs that dont spin evenly, at higher speeds this could really vibrate the stand...

u could always bolt the stand down....

so i reckon the standard one is good enough..go heavier if u need it..

cheeeeeeers
john

[haemish762]

I was going to bolt it down to my soon to be concrete lathe slab with dyna bolts. If iit can take an odd 5-10kg piece of timber i will be more than satisfied. As long as it stays on the chuck, and not on my foot.

[rsser]

Yeah start with a weighted shelf mounted on the cross braces. Use sand bags and/or turning blanks. My old MC900 coped pretty well.

Start roughing out on the lowest speed.

[graemet]

The Technatool/Nova website has downloadable plans for a lathe bench which can be adapted to suit your personal needs.The talk about filling the tray box under the lathe with sand or bluemetal but I used housebricks which are easier to move if I have to. It doesn't take many to make 1 cwt. @ 9lb a brick.
Cheers,
Graeme (Old imperial fart) http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/images/icons/icon10.gif

[reeves]

I was going to bolt it down to my soon to be concrete lathe slab with dyna bolts. If iit can take an odd 5-10kg piece of timber i will be more than satisfied. As long as it stays on the chuck, and not on my foot.

hhaa or flying straight at yr head...whether it stays on the chuck or not may not have much to do with stand...more yr chucks or the shape of the wood..

last week i had some white cedar just blow aprt..went sidways and missed me..did get a chucnk of hickory in the chest a while back.

always stand forward..never to direct side of larger peices of wood...
better chance of them missing u..

cheeeeeeeeeeers

[Sprog]

The stand on the MC1100 is not to bad, better than the MC900 stand. I have one and don't have any probs with it.

[haemish762]

I had a look at the Hare and forbes site,, does any one know if the models they sell are similar to the Carbatec ones?? Is there an equivilant to the MC1100?
To anyone in the sydney area, is there anyone who has any bits of scrap camphor laurel that they could donate. I have not joined a wood turners group yet but the southern group is my closest. Do they have small supplies for their members??
Cheers

[hughie]

Haemish,
I have a 1100 and the stand is fine, just make sure when you assemble it it all very tight. I have done some 12" or so green bowls and the stand holds up well. Although I do need a couple of sand bags to stop the waltz of the lathe.
As for Carbatec etc the mc900 and mc1100 are all made in the same factory in China and just rebadged for each outlet, even the colours are similar.
hope that helps Hughie

[reeves]

ist often not hard to find lots of stray camphor but the blanks cna get expensive is they r buying and blanking from slabs...depending on the area yr local tree surgeons should be cutting and getting rid of such woods...

and most woodies would trade....dry Camphor is not always easy to procure..

cheeeeeeers

cheeeeeeers

[arose62]

Haemish,

it's worth a trip to Hare & Forbes if you're interested in a lathe.

Search this bb for my previous posts about the ex-demo MC900 and MC1100 lathes they often have.

http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=18962&page=2&pp=15&highlight=ex-demo+lathe

Mine is an ex-demo MC1100, and it's had no problems. The savings on the lathe made my chuck a LOT cheaper!

Cheers,
Andrew

[loz]

My lathe was inherited on an extemely dodgy jarrah 4x2 stand. when I finally got sick of it (excellent firewood!) I made my own stand out of some heavy radiata slabs that I cut a few years ago - now it turns well and looks good! I know a professional turner that always mounts his lathes on the heaviest sleepers he can lay his hands on

I guess my point is buy the lathe as is, use it within it's capabilities and keep your nose to the ground for the right piece of timber, then make your own stand. It stamps the lathe as undeniably yours and gives you a woodworking project as well.

In relation to bolting the lathe down - I may be on the wrong track here but all those vibrations have to go somewhere, whether they are absorbed by a large mass or by the structure itself. I suspect that by bolting the lathe down the vibrations may translate to metal fatigue, increased bearing wear and possibly a higher chance of the work piece letting go. - of course I could be wrong and I am sure someone will be quick to tell me......


Laury