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Just came across this thread belatedly, but would like to suggest that you should try to get expert identification of the timber involved, because that would be critical to any medical attempt to...

Richard Raffan did a review of this lathe, and comparison with other midi-lathes, in the last issue of Australian Wood Review.

I know I'm gonna regret this, but I have to say it:

If someone asks for a high-gloss finish on a pen, I tell them to go to Woollies and buy a plastic one - it'll be cheaper, and they'll stop...

Late on the scene, as usual ...

I use a long toolbag, like my mate Fredo, and I avoid the potential damage from tools banging together by fitting (dare I say it?) "condoms" over the tips made from...

I can report a sighting of the newly arisen PenPal - he was well enough to attend our monthly ACT Woodcraft Guild meeting last night, and looked in fine fettle. In fact, he was in much better shape...

As Peter (Penpal) says, Acacia carnei is an endangered species, and grows only in limited areas of arid country in western NSW. It is more commonly known as "Dead Finish", being so tough that when...

:iagree: I understand that Vicmarc have stopped producing the VM90 "tommy-bar" chucks, though some may still be available at discounted prices. I personally find the bars a PITA, and the only VM90...

Have a look at this site: Cartridge Pen Kit

A mate of mine has recently imported some of these without any problems, but no guarantees .....

It's just that Lanoguard and Lanox are formulations containing lanolin as the main preservative ingredient - straight lanolin would be too thick and sticky. More info about these products can be...

Jeez, talk about Kiwi hijackers .....

Getting back to the original theme, I just wanted to note that, when I had an MC900, I found that regular wipedowns with LANOGUARD (made from lanoline -...

Thanks, Groggy, for the oil pan idea - and thanks, Derek, but I wanted something a bit shallower and larger in footprint.

BTW, Groggy, I already have a rare earth magnet fitted to my existing...

According to the friendly local Tormek man, not yet available in Oz, but hopefully soon - my attempts at scissor and planer blade sharpening made an unholy mess of my workbench, and the extended drip...

Good one - my response to him was that carvers are only frustrated turners who are too slow to cope with a moving target! :p

I would have thought that Navy camo would be all blue, except for a frothy white bit on the edges to represent waves breaking on the beach ....

And isn't a "Navy bush hat" a bit of a contradiction...

And there I was thinking that it was because PTI's ran everybody into the ground .... :no:

What's in a name?

The carving guru of our local Woodcraft Guild reckons that turning is only "motorized carving" anyhow ..... :U

G'day Allen

The niftiest folding bench for a VL100 I have seen was an aluminium combination ladder/work platform which folded in three parts and could be locked in an inverted U bench...

G'day Peter

Came to this thread late, but here's a tip from an old MC900 owner - save yourself a lot of stuffing around and get hold of a couple of NYLOC nuts to replace the ones on your banjo and...

Thanks, fellas, for all the info on pilot holes - I think I understand ....

Guess I'll just have to find some crap scrap and suck it and see ....

Merry hippopotamus and a happy nude jeer! :U

G'day Texx

I'm with Rum Pig - save yourself some dollars, and drill pen blanks on your lathe. You are less likely to "blow out" a blank drilling on the lathe - with a drill press, it is my...

I'll put in my usual plug for Weldbond, the magic Canadian glue which sticks just about anything to anything, and certainly does a great job on pen tubes - never had a failure. It behaves for all...

OK, Ern - I realised you meant the radius of the tap, not the spindle, but isn't 1/8" less than the radius the same as 1/4" less than the diameter? (I should mention that I bloody near failed maths...

G'day Peter

Yes, I bought the McJing tap in 30mm x 3.5 at the Canberra TWWWS, and got it for a good price.

Don't know - I haven't had an opportunity to try it yet, partly because I am not...

G'day Steve, and welcome to the asylum. I'm coming in late on this, but no-one seems to have suggested the obvious solution to your clearance problem (if the budget allows) - Vermec make an...

G'day Peter

Early in my military incarnation, with all the brass we had to polish, I discovered a wonderful substance called "Goddard's Glow". It was a yellow paste brass/copper polish in a tube...

As I get older, I find myself increasingly prepared to pay for convenience, so I have accumulated three VM100s, set up with the jaws I use the most - shark, long-nose and dovetail. It's so handy...

Good to see you managed the refurbishment with no further dramas - at least now we know those pulleys can resist a 3 year-old bum!

If you keep up the regular clean and lubricate routine with this...

G'day Babylon5

As you have discovered the hard way, the pulleys are the real weak spot with these otherwise quite robust lathes. They are quite poor quality aluminium castings, and I don't think...

Thanks, TL - I think (not sure what "scecky" means....is that a deep southern expression?)

While the blue background certainly shows this dish's colour off nicely, the photo is a pretty accurate...

Thanks, everybody, for your comments.

Nick - no, I haven't tried the coffee grounds trick, mainly because I'm too cheap and only use coffee bags! I understand it works well, though, so I must...

Some time ago my local club, the Woodcraft Guild of the ACT, was given a quantity of slabs of Blakely's Redgum (Eucalyptus blakelyi) from a large mature tree that had fallen victim to urban...

There used to be an excellent one called the Australian Woodworkers Database, with sample pictures of wood, but it became corrupted by a virus attack and I haven't been game to visit it since all the...

G'day MIK

I just print off a label on a strip of nice parchment paper with words as follows (according to the species):

"[NAME] turned the wooden barrels of this pen for you from a burl off a...

Thanks, Keith

Looks like the McJing $19 tap is worth a try - the only problem I can foresee is whether or not there is a recess in the tail, to allow the live centre to be engaged and hold the tap...

Getting back to the original topic, I sent an email to the Beall website asking about the possibility of obtaining a 30mm x 3.5 tap, pointing out that this was the standard lathe spindle size in...

G'day Hazza

The botanical name of Conkerberry is Carissa lanceolata, and it is a Central Australian arid country plant, also known as Native Plum. It is really only a bush, and so it can be hard...

G'day Tige

A search of this forum will bring up tons of info on "tweaking" this fine entry-level lathe, but from my experience with mine, the important ones are:



It is critical to...

Gday Rob

As we used to say to new recruits in the Army (and as I now say to newlyweds) - YOU'LL BE SORRY! Once you buy a chuck, it's all downhill from there ...

If you do a search on this...

Just a footnote on the CA-as-finish issue - the principal justification for using it in this way seems to be "durability".

I accept that a plastic finish may offer greater durability in the short...

Glad to be of help, Glenn.

I'm not sure if leaving the pen for a few days between coats will offer much advantage, although I'd be interested in the results of your experiment. In Neill's data...

Sorry, Glenn - been away for a few days and only just saw your post.

I tend to assemble each pen as I go, using the white gloves for all handling, but if you want to do a run of pens there is no...

Sorry - forgot to add that I sand to 1200, using MicroMesh for the last few passes. There is an argument that applying EEE actually cuts a very fine finish back, so there's no point going over 600,...

G'day Trevor

I've always regarded CA as very nasty stuff, good only for stabilizing cracks when bowl-turning - using it as a finish by applying multiple coats strikes me as madness, and who wants...

NOW there are links, in the quote - but the system won't let me open them, even though I'm logged on .......:? Que????????

Thanks, - only trouble is, I can't open your photos. There doesn't seem to be a link there.

Nevertheless, I understand when you say that sharpening the bevel will sharpen the "horns" - it's...

G'day Skew

I have one of the 1/16" Hamlet parting tools with the wide blade, which I tend to use as per your option B for visibility reasons.

A while ago, however, I picked up second-hand a...

Well done, John - glad to see another convert to the Bedan Fans.

My first was a Hamlet 10mm, and I found it so versatile that I got a bit carried away and bought some 16mm stock from McJings to...

A "stick" (in reality, a long offcut) of Lignum Vitae, around 25x25x450, for $70. I haven't made a pen out of it yet - it was more a case of taking the opportunity of obtaining a piece of what has...

If I may jump in - I strongly recommend INOX. It's a marine-grade lubricant which has all the penetrating/rust treating abilities of WD40, but is not petroleum-based (so won't adversely affect wood)...

G'day Andy

That's a Vicmarc VM100 chuck, and those jaws are the OLD style Vicmarc Long-nose Jaws that I referred to in my earlier advice to you - now do you see why I find them so useful?