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ptygmit
6th June 2007, 12:13 AM
Hi all,

Being a complete novice, who has become pretty addicted to turning after an impulse buy in Mitre10... a GMC jobbie, i have a few quick questions i am hoping someone can help with.

After alot of fun, but unfortunatly, alot of problems with the GMC... i went out and bought an MC-900, and am amazed at the difference in the two. Just wish i had researched it properly and gone with the MC from the off... oh well... which brings me to the first question. Where do i lubricate the MC? I have taken the cowl off to have a peek, and am not sure if I lube the whole assembly, or if i have to avoid the belts? Was going to use Inox as its been mentioned a few times here.

Second question, is about the GMC. I have read a few times that people have converted it into a sander, and was hoping to do the same. Not wishing to sounds daft, but how do you go about it? I was thinking about building a timber work table and frame to mount the beastie into, but am not sure how the sanding wheel/disc would attach, or even if you can buy the sanding wheels to begin with? Anyone got any pics?

Cheers for the forum... so much info here!!

Pete

Frank&Earnest
6th June 2007, 01:03 AM
Hi Pete, welcome. Can not comment about the MC lubrication, but about converting the GMC, I am doing it with an old Porsche (same thing, different name I think). If by "sander" you mean a sanding disk, all you need is to stick sandpaper to a faceplate and mount the faceplate normally. My model, and quite likely yours too, allows you to do that at the back of the headstock even with normal operation of the lathe. If, like myself, you want also a honing/buffing arrangement, you can fix a 1/2" threaded rod between the head and tailstock and mount a number of wheels. The local carving group has one with MDF wheels with concave and convex profiles that, dressed with aluminium oxide paste, work as slipstones. No idea about its effectiveness yet. It would be interesting to hear from others who have already done this.

benji79
6th June 2007, 01:39 AM
Do a search on the MC 900 and 1100 on the forum. There is heaps and heaps of maintenance tips for them on here. :2tsup:

Benji

Wayne Blanch
6th June 2007, 06:03 PM
Hi Pete,

Unfortunately I also started out with a GMC type machine until I woke up and got something a bit better.

I turned mine into a disk sander. All I did was to cut the bed off it, mount it on an old table, glue some of the hook (hard) side of Velcro to the face plate. (The faceplate is almost the right size for the standard sanding disks that are sold at bunnings etc.) and then I made a small platform from MDF with an adjustable top. The whole process took about an hour and cutting the bed off it was the most fulfilling thing that I ever did with that piece of S**t.:hpydans2:

It is not a perfect sander but it certainly works better as a sander than it ever did as a lathe.:D

Skew ChiDAMN!!
6th June 2007, 06:31 PM
Where do i lubricate the MC? I have taken the cowl off to have a peek, and am not sure if I lube the whole assembly, or if i have to avoid the belts?

Almost any lube will do, even light machine oil, provided you're aware of any "shortcomings" it may have such as a tendency to attract dust. I'd avoid silicone based lubes though, purely 'cos you don't want any risk of that stuff getting onto your wood. (Makes it impossible to apply a decent finish.)

Personally I simply use WD-40, but I have to lube every time I use the lathe as it tends to wash out any other lubricant and, in itself, is only short-term lube. So why do I use it? Well... it also flushes out the dust, (thus avoiding one problem :wink:) I have a LOT of WD-40 and I've short arms and deep pockets. :D The fact that my cover lives on a shelf so everything is easily accessible is a factor, too. :-

Avoid spraying the belt if you can, you don't really want lube on it after all and some lubes react with some belt materials. But don't get uptight if the belt does cop a bit, it'll be OK and it generally takes long-term exposure for a belt to start breaking down. By that time it would probably be due for replacing from normal wear'n'tear anyway.