Thread: Woodfast M305 Midi Lathe

Whoo Hooo!!!! New meat!!!! heehee

I can only tell you what they told me when I got my lathe in January.

Make sure that the tail and the head join up... That is, when you look at it sideways bring the tail up to the head - the two points should meet. Then when you look down on the top of it - same thing, the points should meet.

Where are you buying it from?

One thing that I didn't get with mine that I wish I did was a veriable speed. I have to play around with the belt inside to change speeds - so I don't. I'd get a veriable speed if I were doing it again.

I have a Jet Mini Lathe which is a wonderful machine.

Oh yeah, and hang out here as much as possible!!! You can learn so much from these guys!

[quote=ElizaLeahy;908008]Whoo Hooo!!!! New meat!!!! heehee



Where are you buying it from?


most likely Cara-tec or Woodfast in Adelaide
Woodfast is $35 dearer but the claim they pull the lathe out of the box and check that you are running properly that check that there will be now problems when I get it home

You can ask caba tec if they will do the same thing. The Brisbane one said that they would for me, but I ended up buying off Dave. We need some local guys to respond - they will, give them time

Hi Trevor
I was in the same boat as you recently deciding what lathe
to buy & decided after doing some research on this
forum that a WOODFAST M305 sounded like a
pretty good lathe.So i rang Jim & Irene @
Carrolls Woodcraft Supplies who were also
a great help in deciding what to buy & i ordered
my new lathe yesterday.Can't wait till it arrives.
Anyway i probably didn't help you with your
decision but good luck.
Jason

Don't know the lathe, but an 300mm bowl is a pretty nice size bowl.

Originally Posted by poulso

Hi Trevor
I was in the same boat as you recently deciding what lathe
to buy & decided after doing some research on this
forum that a WOODFAST M305 sounded like a
pretty good lathe.So i rang Jim & Irene @
Carrolls Woodcraft Supplies who were also
a great help in deciding what to buy & i ordered
my new lathe yesterday.Can't wait till it arrives.
Anyway i probably didn't help you with your
decision but good luck.
Jason

Thanks Jason,
I guess the anwser I looking for is how many people who suggest that I buy another brand of lathe and why,but if I don't get that sort of responce I get I must have the right appoach with the Woodfast

there are plenty of other brands that make better lathes , but not in that price range ,if you can afford it look at "stubby" "nova "

the woodfast will get you addicted and in 3 years or so you'll agree a $10,000 stubby is well worth it (yes they are 20x better)

don't forget you need a bench grinder (you can mount a grind stone in your lathe ) for sharpening your tools and tools as well ,sand paper , polishes ,

Originally Posted by SawDustSniffer

there are plenty of other brands that make better lathes , but not in that price range ,if you can afford it look at "stubby" "nova "

the woodfast will get you addicted and in 3 years or so you'll agree a $10,000 stubby is well worth it (yes they are 20x better)

don't forget you need a bench grinder (you can mount a grind stone in your lathe ) for sharpening your tools and tools as well ,sand paper , polishes ,

Yes I already agree that for more money there is a lot of lathes far better then the woodfast But she who pays the bills controlls how much I can spend otherwise I would a buy a Vicmac.
Is there by any chance a kit that you know of to mount a grind stone on a Woodfast M305

Watsrags I have one of those lathes if you want to test run it contact me & you can have a shot on mine. I am in adelaide if this helps. I love mine it has limits but its great for what I do.

Regards Michael

Originally Posted by coffenup

Watsrags I have one of those lathes if you want to test run it contact me & you can have a shot on mine. I am in adelaide if this helps. I love mine it has limits but its great for what I do.

Regards Michael

Many thanks Michael,
I was in Adelaide Sunday just gone and spent a couple of hours on the Woodfast M305,Like what I saw yes it has some limits but mainly will do everything I currently need.
One of those limits means I save on the price of larger timber bits.
At first I will spend time hopefully mastering pen making then later progress to other things
Am joining the local Woodies club and will get members from there to teach me use it correctly and show me what not to do
My next trip to Adeliade will be at the end of the month to collect the lathe
Trevor

Hello I haveve had my 305 for 6 months and couldnt be happier with it. I t is a very capable machine and I like that the headstock thread is a standard m30.
I hope that you enjoy using it.

Shaun

Originally Posted by ElizaLeahy

Whoo Hooo!!!! New meat!!!! heehee

I can only tell you what they told me when I got my lathe in January.

Make sure that the tail and the head join up... That is, when you look at it sideways bring the tail up to the head - the two points should meet. Then when you look down on the top of it - same thing, the points should meet.

Where are you buying it from?

One thing that I didn't get with mine that I wish I did was a veriable speed. I have to play around with the belt inside to change speeds - so I don't. I'd get a veriable speed if I were doing it again.

I have a Jet Mini Lathe which is a wonderful machine.

Yep agree the only way to go is the electronic veritable speed control

Originally Posted by greyhound

Yep agree the only way to go is the electronic veritable speed control

Might be worn out by now - original post almost seven years old. (lol).

Allan