Thread: wood turning

How did you manage to bend the shaft ?

most probably trying to turn too large and out of round pieces

Wow!!!

How did you manage to secure the timber to the shaft to enable it to bend?


Have fun..................keep turnin.........gentle gentle tho

securing the wood was easy ,bending the shaft was harder

love your sense of humour.....good one!


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

Nice one Mac What brand of lathe was it?

What sort of budget do have in mind for the replacement? What sort of turning do you want to do?

IT has the brand name ,Sher.I think it is of taiwanese make. Budget is under $1000 Don,t know what you can pick up for that price Would like to try my hand at most types of turning

How about replacing the spindle shaft, they are very cheap, and then spending bucks on some good tutoring, or join a woodturning club. I find that I learn something new everytime I go to the club. There is an enormous amount of knowledge out there....free.


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

Iagree, a new shaft is definately cheaper,but i think this type of lathe is too restrictive.I also agree about joining a club, which i intend to do very soon.

Mac,

Do a search on MC900 or MC1100 - a few of us here own one or the other. They are Chinese made, and not the highest quality - but plenty solid enough, versatile and cheap. You should be able to pick up the Carbatec version of the 900 (the best of them IMHO) for well under $500 new.

I've stuck a chunk of camphor laurel on it so big & badly balanced that the whole thing bounced across the workshop and not bent or broken anything.

Hi Mac,

I'm real green to woodworking-turning ( week or so now ). Darryl said the MC900 or 1100 are ok. I've no idea as to how good they are as I know pretty much zero about turning so far except for what I've read in books & here on these forums.

But I got a MC900 only 2 weeks ago rebaged by Toolex & it was under $400 ( think it was $385 or maybe $345 ) & it came with a 1hp motor (think it's a TEFC induction but not 100% sure). I think they normally ask just under the $500 mark. I was told these were on-sale till end of Oct tho.

Not sure if it's the kind of thing your after or if they are junk. your better off asking the other people here.

Cheers
Woodchuck

The Carbatec MC900 has been running at about $399 recently. This lathe has a M30 shaft. If one bends that with trying to turn, then ones woodturning approach is definately incorrect and possibly earthmoving will be a better hobby.

Novices are often of the opinion that the high priced lathe does a better turning job. Surprise, surprise, the most expensive lathe and equipment wont make you a better turner, technique is what makes you a better turner. A lathe is merely a revolving chuck/face plate or centre to revolve the wood. Accuracy comes from the tool handling technique, the tool being held in your hand. It is not like a metal turning lathe where the tool is clamped and the accuracy is totally dependant on the machine.

In woodturning the accuracy and control is in the hand that holds the tool, my hand and your hand. Lots of expensive lathes that come on the secondhand market is due to people that bought them thinking that the price tag of the lathe will make them good woodturners. They sturbornly preservere for a while and turn out heaps of firewood.....eventually they pack it in.
Just like swapping your car for a Ferrari won't make you a better driver! It may boost your ego a bit, till you fold it round a lamp post...poeff goes the ego tooo.

My advise is that the chinese lathes ( most of them anyhow) are more than good enough for the average and even better turner, they get the job done,BUT put some money and effort in tuition and good turning tools and soon your techniques will be tops and you will be amazed at the quality of your work OR plod along blindfolded and be as frustrated as hell.

The above may sound pretty blunt....but the real facts mostly does sound harsh.


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

If I had bought an MC900 type to start with, I probably wouldn't have upgraded to a Woodfast. As it is I upgraded because of the economics - it came with a fair whack of extras and addons. And it was a Woodfast in excellent condition afterall.

But from looking at the chisels that came with it, and more to the point the poor standard of sharpening, I surmise that perhaps they didn't get the best out of the equipment they had available.

I think that the weight of a cast iron bed is good to help reduce vibration, but there isn't a lot stopping you bolting a railway sleeper etc to the underside of the cheaper taiwanese lathes.

I don't think it is actually as critical as some people think whether or not the centres line up exactly as the work is still going to spinning between two centres, isn't it?

Q9


Yep, thats what I mean by accuracy.........doesn't matter how accurate the lathe is, we still use a system of a human free hand feeding a turning tool into the timber.....in my book it surely is a very inaccurate procedure. If the bearings are shot and the spindle is vibrating it will cause all sorts of problems. If the live centre point in the tailstock does not line up 100% ( within reason ofcourse) it will turn a taper. I wonder what percentage of weekend turners can turn a absolutely true cylinder over 500 mm long. It is a problem if you secure the timber in a chuck or face plate and still want to use the live centre for initial support.


My point is, buy the best you can afford, BUT it is better to spend money on better turning tools and being taught good technique than spending $5000 on a super duper lathe, buy the worst turning tools and press on regardsless cause the budget blew out on the lathe. I advocate that $500 on an average chinese type lathe , good tools and good tuition will give you better results and less frustrations. It is relatively cheap to upgrade to a more expensive lathe because the cheaper lathes loose very little of their purchase price when sold second hand. If you keep it as a second lathe for sanding and polishing it could be as little as 20% of the purchase price of the higher priced lathe.

All lathes should be bolted down, preferably on a solid stand and bolted to the floor. The 'tin' stands with some cheaper lathes are absolutely useless. Imagine the frustrations trying to feed a tool into the wood for a cut with the lathe doing like a roo all around your shed.

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