Chinese Lathe

[TonyG]

Hi All,

I have done a bit of cabinet making over the years, and have a pretty well equipped shop, for a weekend enthusiast.
I would like to develop into wood turning, and I am considering purchasing a lathe.
At least 5 companies sell a lathe often called MC900 or MC 1100.
The details I can get indicate they are all about the same machine, with minor differences. The price for an 1100 model varies from $499 to $599.
Does anyone have one of these lathes, or any information on the quality, strength,reliability etc?
I would appreciate any help you can offer, or any suggestions on alternatives.

Thanks,
Tony G

[gatiep]

Hi Tony,
I have a 'blue' one in MC900 and have worked a lot on a 'blue' mc1100. I have also worked on the equivalent numbers in the green and orange models and some other colours. I prefer the MC1100 in the blue for a number of reasons:
1. The blue has a M30 x 3,5 shaft which is the present industry standard, heavier shaft and bearings.

2. The MC1100 has a 1 Hp motor, as opposed to a 3/4 for the 900

3. The 1100 has 1100 between centres and swing of 350 mm inboard. The 900 has 900 and 300 mm respectively.

4. The headstock of the of the 1100 rotates as the 900 but also slides along the bed. Somehow all the 1100's I've worked on seem to be more solid. Could be my imagination and just the increased size.

5. Personally for us weekenders I feel that the blue is adequate and I would rather suggest to spend more money on good turning tools and possibly tuition.
For amateur use I see a wood lathe purely as a revolving chuck. Totally different to a metal lathe where absolute trueness of feed, bed etc is important for accuracy.
Thats my humble opinion.....MC1100 and I like the color!


Have fun..........................keep turning

[colh]

Tony

I can add a little to Gatiep's comments - I have the Hare and Forbes version of the MC900, which they badge as a WL18. It's the same except it has a pretty cream stand, one-inch ten TPI headstock spindle, a 750 watt motor rather than the 500 on the all-blue one, and at the time the price was better. However the all blue one was the same price on special at the last Carbatec sale.

There have been some previous posts on this - a search would find them.

I've had it since January, used it most weekends, and it seems pretty good to me. I reckon I've got a long way to go before my skills exceed the capability of the lathe.

Two possible downsides:
* the lowest speed is nominally 500 rpm - you have to be careful about the balance of bigger pieces, whereas the Technatool for example goes down to about 180 rpm, (but at a much higher price).
* the motor on mine draws in its cooling air very close to the workpiece - sanding dust etc gets drawn through the motor. I've put a piece of scourer pad across the inlet to catch the dust. I think the smaller motor on the blue version, and some of the others, is enclosed.

Also as Gatiep wrote: spend the difference on good tools, tuition, and a good scroll chuck - Nova or Vicmark

cheers

Colin

[antman]

Tony,

I have a blue MC900 that I bought a couple of months ago. As far as I can tell it is a good unit for spindle turning but be wary! My M30 X 3.5 spindle thread is anything but! The vicmarc chuck and insert I bought to go with it will not fit not matter what I do. The thread is 30mm in dia but I suspect the pitch is something different. This is proving to be very difficult to deal with as I am in Narrabri and I bought it from Sydney.

So, I think the lathe is good, just try and see the bits fitted before you buy perhaps.

Cheers,
Anthony

[barnsey]

Hi All,

I've got the Hare & Forbes 900 unit and I'm with colh - there are a few posts I've been involved with all worth reading if you can find the time.

Anthony

For God's sake get down to the local engineering supplies co and get the threads sorted out. Once you've confirmed the thread sizes you should be able to call the supplier and swap it over. At worst you could buy another one. There are any number of suppliers that you can buy from over the net.

I'm off to turn some of the Red Cedar I just bought into lovely red dust!!!!:D

Jamie

[Dean]

I've got the Blue MC900 (Carbatec) and its working for me well so far.

Out of interest, I added a Supernova chuck and the M30x3.5 insert that came with it fits perfectly. No problem at all.

Antman, maybe you have a dodgy spindle thread, or perhaps the vicmarc insert aint what it should be?

[antman]

Dean and Barnsey,

I suspect a dicky thread. I have tried a number of Vicmarc inserts without luck and the tread is certainly not 3.5mm. In fact the guage I had didn't actually have what it was on it! The end result is that the head of the lathe is going back to Carba-tech tomorrow and they can sort it out from there.

Cheers,
Anthony

[TonyG]

Thanks to all for those replies, I have a better idea now. One question though:
Is the variable speed drive an electronic type? ie variable frequency?
I am a bit old fashioned and think I would prefer a simple nested pulley system, which I would have a chance of fixing if something goes wrong. The old KISS principle.

Once again, thanks for the help and advice.

TonyG

[gatiep]

Tony

The speed control on the chinese lathe is definately NOT electronic. They use the Reese pulley system where as you move the lever, the diameter of the pully changes in that the flanges either move closer or further from each other. That is the pulley on the headstock. Then the pulley on the motor is spring loaded and it changes ' in sympathy' with the spindle one. Mine works faultlessly.

This same system is used on some bandsaws now.

The same pulley system was used by the Dutch on a DAF car that they used to make. It had a clutch and no gear shift. As the speed picked up and load decreased, the ratio changed and the motor ran slower and the wheels turned faster. It was quite ingenious.

Have fun.........................keep turning

[colh]

The speed change lever mechanism in mine rattles when the lathe is running - doesn't seem to affect performance. When I push the lever a bit and take up the slack it stops rattling. Anyone else have the same experience?

Colin

[barnsey]

As a matter of interest this drive system is/was used in a number of applications.

The Shopsmith variable speed works similarly (a combination machine out of the States).

Most of the 50cc motor scooters currently popular use a similar drive system and the hire ones I've seen get the you know what flogged out of them - occasionly need to replace a belt but generally the pulley arrangement lasts longer than the poor old engines.

I would love a DVR but till I can justify the $4k I'm sure the Chinese lathe Will see me through.

Jamie

[jhunt_2000]

Tony G,
Hi, I just bought a Hare and Forbes 900mm chinese lathe and, although I've only had it about three weeks it is easily performing as well and some times better than the lathe I have been using before it, which is a non-branded one owned by my fiancee's grandfather. I decided on buying the Hare and Forbes lathe after lurking here and checking out previous posts. It has most of the features I wanted as a beginner, at an easily digested price. Good luck finding what you want. And thanx to everyone who reviewed the gearing system, I was rather nervous when I saw it as I'd never seen anything like it before and was instantly worried about reliability. Nice to be reassured.

[DarrylF]

I've had the Total Tools version of the MC900 since last November or so. A few tips for those who have one/are contemplating it:

1. The variable drive system needs a little TLC at times.
On mine the motor drive shaft had a slight burr around a small hole that the pulley runs over. Result was it would shave a little aluminium off the pulley as it rode over, eventually resulting in the pulling not running correctly and finally jamming in place - which made speed change difficult/impossible and tore up the belt.
I took off the retaining circlip from the end of the shaft (carefully - it's under tension from a spring), cleaned up the shaft, lubricated everything & put it back together. Works perfectly now.
Also a good idea to lubricate the shaft of the front pulley.
Buy a spare belt - they're cheap.

2. The tool rest assembly also needs a little work. The rest itself benefits from filing off the rough surface, and so does the base that rides on the bed of the lathe.

3. Build a good, solid timber stand and toss the bent metal rubbish away. I built a bench type setup with the bed reaised off the top - tools can sit underneath and I can still get to the nut underneath the tool rest base. Also has a shelf below and dust extraction under the business end.
Makes a very big difference to stability and usability.

Other than that it has been good value - I'd love a DVR, but there are other priorities at the moment. More money spent on good tools, chucks & timber has been a better choice to start with I think.

[gatiep]

The lubricants I have used is a molybdenium grease.......collects dust tho, also a puff of graphite pwder works wonders to keep things sliding smoothly and it doesn't collect dust.

DaryllF

Have you got some pics of your lathe stand? If you have please share them with us.



Have fun........................keep turnin

[Phil Jennings]

Hi Tony,
I bought the MC1100 from Carbatec and am very happy with it. My son however is delighted and has been turning some excellent pieces.

You will see in other threads the Patience & Nicholson tools are highly recommended. They're not easy to find in Sydney so I got mine by mail order from Bruce Bell in Toowoomba at:
http://www.tymba.com/

Very helpful and good prices, especially on the 5 piece starter kit.

I bought the Nova chuck but wish now I'd bought the Supernova as I believe it can be operated with one hand. The nova chuck needs 2 hands and the turned piece falls out of the jaws when I'm finished turning. It might just be me though - I'm working on it.
Best regards
Phil