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RulesTwin
3rd March 2007, 04:41 AM
First let me say i just found the site and im enjoying it so far. Great work to the owner.

People call me Rulestwin or just RT for short. Wood turning has always interested me and I try to catch all the TV shows on it when ever I can.

I have been interested in the topic of wood turning for a while now but never went out and bought a lathe.

Now I found two I have to choose from and need help telling me which one would be better for me. Now please keep in mind im just starting out and im looking at this as just a starter lathe. Down the road if I find this topic just as interesting as I do now I will upgrade to a better one.

I just dont know what one would be better. One has more speeds and the other has a bigger motor. One has a reverseable head and the other doesnt. They both have good and bad options. So please your info would help greatly.

Thanks

RT

Lathe 1: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...ateg oryName= (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=45276&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=)

Lathe 2: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...ateg oryName= (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=34706&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=)

hughie
3rd March 2007, 10:48 AM
I just dont know what one would be better. One has more speeds and the other has a bigger motor. One has a reverseable head and the other doesnt. They both have good and bad options. So please your info would help greatly.


RT,
It kinda depends on what you want to turn. But having said that always look at the power and capacity. The swivel head is a plus that is very handy for doing large platters or bowls.

So for me, I always go for the most power and capacity for my buck. This gives you the flexibilty to turn pens, basball bats or bowls etc.

Also it gives you more time before you have to upgrade.

lubbing5cherubs
3rd March 2007, 10:54 AM
Lathe 1 looks like a GMC done up I would avoid it like the plague that why I go lathe 2.
Toni

DJ’s Timber
3rd March 2007, 10:54 AM
Go with no 2, no 1 is really only good for an anchor, has too much flex and you will only end up pulling your hair out in frustration

baxter
3rd March 2007, 12:04 PM
The lowest speed of No.1 is too high for off balance work. It has no swivel headstock, is underpowered, underweight and (as suggested earlier) probably better underwater:; .

No.2 is still fairly fast for the lowest speed and you would have to bear that in mind when turning unbalanced blanks.

No.2 appears to be the generic MC900 model that you will see refered to on this forum. It is the better of the two options you are considering as starter lathes.

Buzzer
3rd March 2007, 12:36 PM
To me (Newbie at woodturning), the first one looks too light, more prone to flex.

I would go the second one

Studley 2436
3rd March 2007, 12:46 PM
Sheeze and I showed myself up by going longer more swing and picked the first one.

Ignore my vote as the others know more about this than me

Studley

Gil Jones
3rd March 2007, 02:31 PM
A third choice in your poll would be good.
1)Low speed is too fast, otherwise it looks flimsy.
2)Low speed is still too fast, and I have seen pics of the outboard bed extension and the tool rest holder (banjo) cracked and broken off (what does that say about the quality of the remaining parts).
I realize that you mentioned a spending limit, but there is no point in wasting your money.
You would be better off with a Jet 10"x15 mini or a Rikon 12"x20 mini. Seeing that you are in the USA, I would recommend that you try to find (and Join) an AAW sanctioned wood turning club nearby, and get some advise, maybe even have a chance to turn on some lathes and glean a bit of knowledge.

http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/members.pl?submit=Chapter+List#NY

Finger Lakes Woodturners
Area Served: Greater Rochester & Finger Lakes Area
Meeting City: Henrietta
Meeting State: NY
Meeting Place: Woodcraft Store
Meeting Date: 3rd Thursday
Number of Members: 65
Chapter Web Site: rochesterwoodworkers.org/SIGs/SIGWoodturning/flwinfo.htm (http://rochesterwoodworkers.org/SIGs/SIGWoodturning/flwinfo.htm)
Contact:
Mike Hachey
212 Old English Dr.
Rochester, NY 14616
585-723-1395
[email protected]
////////////////////////////////////////
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Mohawk Valley Woodturners
Area Served: Mohawk Valley
Meeting City: Dolgeville
Meeting State: NY
Meeting Place: Dolgeville Mill
Meeting Date: 3rd Wednesday
Number of Members: 18
Contact:
Bill Tyler
204 E.Fulton St.
Gloversville, NY 12078
518-725-5450
[email protected]

Cliff Rogers
3rd March 2007, 03:03 PM
A third choice in your poll would be good.
What? Not either of the above, get something better to start with. :wink: :D

ss_11000
3rd March 2007, 03:07 PM
i voted number 2. number 1 is IMO not a goodlathe because:

its got steel tube as the bed.
its underpowered, you'll stall it alot.
the top speed is too big
its too light. any unbalanced blank will have it walking around because of the wieght of the lathe and the lowest speed combined.hth

Hickory
3rd March 2007, 03:15 PM
Lathe #1 is Junque. I got one, I bought it on E-bay for $15. The rails are thin metal square tubing everything screw/bolted together. I took the rails and cut them down to 18" and filled them with tight fitting hardwood core to stiffen them. I made a Bowl lathe from the mess. I did get a 4jaw chuck to fit the odd sized spindle and it does a decent job. were I to do it again (NO!)

As for #2, It is a much better lathe but I feel you would be better off going with a few dollars more and if your budget is tight like mine search out the Grizzly Catalog rather than low budget tools like HF. I frequent HF and have a few of their items and am pleased but just as many of them fail or break as are successful.

joe greiner
3rd March 2007, 04:22 PM
Number 1 would likely be a major disappointment, and could drive you away from the sport. Even if you limited your turning to chair spindles, the tailstock alone indicates how robust it is(n't). The sander is useless; quoting others elsewhere, likely a marketing afterthought to boost apparent value. The whole thing is too flimsy for the alleged capacity of 14 x 40.

I bought number 2 around August 2006. Deficiencies? Sure. And it seems identical in all respects to the MC. The double elbow tool rest support is supposed to be for access to the inside of a bowl with the headstock rotated 90 degrees, the banjo on the extension bed, and the second link reaching around to the front. I've seen horror stories about how well that works. IMHO, it would be better to build a free-standing tool rest support for the inside work. I haven't tried rotating the headstock, and the clamping mechanism is weird. That said, it's providing what I need at the present, and the variable speed (Reeves drive) is convenient. It's not my first lathe, and it's most likely not my last lathe. Some snobs say, "Make your first lathe your last lathe." Bah!

Whichever you choose, avoid paying list price. HF usually markets with coupons of some sort. The 34706 lists for about US$290; I got mine when they opened a store in Tallahassee; with opening day special, newspaper coupon, etc., my cost was less than $200 including sales tax at 7.5%.

Joe

rsser
3rd March 2007, 05:39 PM
First let me say i just found the site and im enjoying it so far. Great work to the owner.

The site's collectively created and so jointly 'owned'.

Your question could have been answered by forum members saying 'do a search, there's plenty of posts'. Clearly they're feeling more generous than that.

The equivalent question on motorbike forums I'm a member of is either 'what oil should I use?', or 'what tyre should I buy?'. There are so many questions at that level that the typical response is the ungenerous one, and the net balance of 'deposits' and 'withdrawals' is such that the forums die from the deficit.

BernieP
3rd March 2007, 06:30 PM
G'Day RT

Welcome aboard, My first lathe was the equivilant of #1 secondhand given to me, I too cut it down but made a sanding station out of it. My current lathe is the Mc version of #2 I am fairly happy with it now that I have pulled it apart and tightened it up and replaced the on/off switch which shorted out and nearly cooked everything including me. If you do a search of threads under MC900/Mc1100 you will find out all about them.

Cheers
Bernie

WOODbTURNER
3rd March 2007, 06:41 PM
What? Not either of the above, get something better to start with. :wink: :D

I'm with Cliff.

Terry B
3rd March 2007, 07:16 PM
G'Day RT

Welcome aboard, My first lathe was the equivilant of #1 secondhand given to me, I too cut it down but made a sanding station out of it. My current lathe is the Mc version of #2 I am fairly happy with it now that I have pulled it apart and tightened it up and replaced the on/off switch which shorted out and nearly cooked everything including me. If you do a search of threads under MC900/Mc1100 you will find out all about them.

Cheers
Bernie
I have the MC1100 version and am very happy with it.It isn't available on the site you are looking at.
I found this (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=3173&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=) though. Not sure what use it would be to anyone.

Skew ChiDAMN!!
3rd March 2007, 07:41 PM
Of the choices give, definitely #2. There are better variants of the same basic lathe (eg. JETs) than the pictured one, but at least it has a solid foundation to start working with.

I'm a bit puzzled by the advert though... what's this bit about "Speeds: 600, 750, 910, 1080, 1260, 1460, 1680, 1910, 2150, and 2400 RPM"??? The pictured lathe is variable speed for God's sake! Or is that pic just meant to denote that "what we are selling looks vaguely like this"?

ss_11000
3rd March 2007, 07:43 PM
I found this (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=3173&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=) though. Not sure what use it would be to anyone.
18000RPM:oo: :U ....

ss_11000
3rd March 2007, 07:47 PM
I'm a bit puzzled by the advert though... what's this bit about "Speeds: 600, 750, 910, 1080, 1260, 1460, 1680, 1910, 2150, and 2400 RPM"??? The pictured lathe is variable speed for God's sake! Or is that pic just meant to denote that "what we are selling looks vaguely like this"?

i think that when they say "variable speed", they mean you dont have to stop the lathe and change the belt onto another pulley.:? the speeds they mention sound pretty much what i think the 10 speeds on the mc900 are cept min of 500 and max of 2000...

:?

Skew ChiDAMN!!
3rd March 2007, 08:15 PM
i think that when they say "variable speed", they mean you dont have to stop the lathe and change the belt onto another pulley.:? the speeds they mention sound pretty much what i think the 10 speeds on the mc900 are cept min of 500 and max of 2000...

On the MC-XX00s the speeds are infinitely variable between the lowest and highest values. I s'pose that if you set the lever in the middle of each marked number range you'd get the approximate speeds quoted... but you can set it for anything in between as well.

It just seems odd to me that they listed a set of speeds as though it was a stepped pulley system, when the magic words "variable speed" would not only be more accurate but a better selling point!

ss_11000
3rd March 2007, 08:18 PM
thanx skew. that makes sense. i wonder why they dont just say variable speed as you say.

Terry B
3rd March 2007, 10:02 PM
On the MC-XX00s the speeds are infinitely variable between the lowest and highest values. I s'pose that if you set the lever in the middle of each marked number range you'd get the approximate speeds quoted... but you can set it for anything in between as well.

It just seems odd to me that they listed a set of speeds as though it was a stepped pulley system, when the magic words "variable speed" would not only be more accurate but a better selling point!
Skew.
My MC1100 I assume has the same drive system. There are little notched places to put the speed lever. It would be a bit unstable if you left it half way between the set spots, so I suppose that is what they are advertising.

joe greiner
4th March 2007, 01:20 AM
Right. It has detents to lock the handle at incremental speeds. I think the speed would wander without them. Not sure which way.

[You can hold the handle between detents, or tape it down, or jury-rig a clamp of some sort, but you'd need a tachometer to learn the exact speed; and that level of precision would be a bit anal anyway, IMHO.]

Joe

Skew ChiDAMN!!
4th March 2007, 05:45 PM
Hmmm... you're right. But so'm I, sorta. :rolleyes:

I checked my "new" MC-900 and it has detents but my daily user, a rather old and heavily modified MC-900, doesn't. Or to be more accurate: it doesn't have them anymore. :D

Jaydo
6th March 2007, 11:37 PM
G'day,
im only new so i dont know a great deal, but i would say go with number 2 as it looks to be the better lathe, im getting the similar version, but in the Mc900 form.

the offset turning looks to be a better option than a sander to me.

TTIT
7th March 2007, 09:07 AM
I found this (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=3173&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=) though. Not sure what use it would be to anyone.

It's a Dremel with a personality disorder :o

oldsoke
7th March 2007, 09:15 AM
pity they don't do it in 240v... I like the idea of 18000rpm...