Thread: What lathe What speed

Daf ,
it might pay to give the folks an idea of the type of turning that you are going to be doing on this lathe .

This might sound strange but 2000rpm is a fast enough speed, 500 is too fast!
You can get away with 500(many do)but you need to balance bigger blanks better compared to using a slower speed with a unbalanced blank.

IMHO because you already have a mini lathe you'd be better off saving up for something with more substance.

Originally Posted by daf

Hi
I currently have a Leda mini lathe. Thinking of upgrading to a slightly bigger one. Went to WWW show in Adelaide on weekend and Leda Machinary had the MC 900 (see link below) for $396 which I think is a good price, considering that it comes with stand , has swivel head and speed is changed by lever.

The question is - the MC 900 has a speed of 500 - 2000 rpm. My current mini lathe is 500 to 3100 rpm. Am I going backwards by getting the slower speed and would I ever need to use the maximum speed? Your thoughts please.


Leda Machinery Catalogue

Just looking at the specs for those two lathes .
Not much difference .
The 900 has about 50mm more swing which is not all that much ,
and for $30 you can get a bed extension for the Mini that will give you 100mm more than the 900.

Agree with others. I sounds like you would not be gaining much. Save up and get a genuine lathe later.

It probably boils down to your budget. The MC900 is a clone, design is fine but the machining on them is not the best. But you can turn some fine work on them, many of us have used this or the MC1100 as a starter lathe to great effect.
It might be an idea to watch out for a second hand lathe as you can by quality and at good price.

Heres a few to give you an idea
]TTI MC1100 Wood Lathe 30mm 750W - eBay, Equipment, Machinery, Woodworking, Industrial. (end time 01-Aug-10 20:53:06 AEST)

WOOD LATHE VIC MARK - eBay, Equipment, Machinery, Woodworking, Industrial. (end time 03-Aug-10 11:04:13 AEST)

Wood Lathe - eBay, Equipment, Machinery, Woodworking, Industrial. (end time 06-Aug-10 10:41:59 AEST)



As to speeds, well, as its already been said it a bit too fast low down for biggish chunks out of balance and could a bit slow top end for other work. But I think that should not by a deal breaker as you can learn to work with in the ranges whilst you contemplate a furthe up grade down the track.

Originally Posted by daf

Hi
I currently have a Leda mini lathe. Thinking of upgrading to a slightly bigger one. Went to WWW show in Adelaide on weekend and Leda Machinary had the MC 900 (see link below) for $396 which I think is a good price, considering that it comes with stand , has swivel head and speed is changed by lever.
Don't forget the speed change has to be done while the lathe is running.
BIG hint: before turning off change to the slowest speed. That is in the manual as well.

The question is - the MC 900 has a speed of 500 - 2000 rpm. My current mini lathe is 500 to 3100 rpm. Am I going backwards by getting the slower speed and would I ever need to use the maximum speed? Your thoughts please.


Leda Machinery Catalogue

Your current lathe has a top end higher speed 3100 RPM but do you use that speed? If you don't then the question is possibly irrelevant.

As mentioned the Ledacraft MC900 is one of the many clones about. Some have problems other don't.
I have a Ledacraft MC1100 and considering all the problems I have seen listed in these threads so far I have not hit any of them.

As the MC900 has a swivel head which should be able to swing at least 90 degrees to the bed, hence you can turn things a bit bigger than 310mm. BUT you should also buy one of these:
Packard Woodworks: The Woodturner's Source: Morse Taper Alignment Tool
Forget who in Australia has them in stock. I got mine from Packard Woodworks, US.
Needed to realign the head and tail stock each time to rotate or loosen the headstock.

Also if you do get one of these MC900's it pays to add a bit of serious weight in the try to hold it down or bolt it to the floor.

Thank you for all the great feedback. And Cultana for the PM. This is the amazing thing about seeking feedback, it opens the eyes.

I was looking at the swivel head due to some room constraints in my (extremely small shed) Also the change of speed lever because at this point I don't change speeds as I basically do very small work - pens etc.

You are right in saying that I will not benefit much by such a basic upgrade and effectively not get the full benefit of the features. I am more than happy with the mini.

I would really like a bit more info re the alignment aspect. At this point if I slide my tailstock to the headstock the points on the centres touch (do not overlap). Is that what we are referring to as alignment. If the alignment was out, how could that be corrected???

Originally Posted by daf

I would really like a bit more info re the alignment aspect. At this point if I slide my tailstock to the headstock the points on the centres touch (do not overlap). Is that what we are referring to as alignment.

Yes

.....

Originally Posted by daf

I would really like a bit more info re the alignment aspect. At this point if I slide my tailstock to the headstock the points on the centres touch (do not overlap). Is that what we are referring to as alignment. If the alignment was out, how could that be corrected???

With the swivel headstock it is possible that when you swing it back inline with the bed it is not actually inline with the tail stock centre. Hence you will not get your centres meeting point on.
With the alignment tool stuck in both tailstock and headstock you get the alignment correct and the centres line up. Its not something you have to do every time you use the lathe just when you have rotated the headstock or loosened it from its locked state.
With your mini its not an issue as the head stock does not move/swivel.

Hope that helps.

Save your pennies for the vicmarc one on ebay . Not a bad price for whats there.

The others you are looking at all have the same generic problems so not worth the upgrade from what you have.

The 3100 is better than the 2000 as you get a cleaner cut with more speed for your smaller items. Going slower will frustrate you.

i recently purchased a vicmarc as per ebay . its a magic lathe ,elec variable speed ,swivel head , great lathe when you are getting serious ! if its pens stick with what you have , cheers Bob

Slow roughing out bowl blanks ( small ) , fast pens , small spindles , yes you can sand acrylics at that speed do it wet .