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I bought a few blades for both my 18" Jet and my Wadkin C7 from Ian John and have been very impressed both by the speed and high standard of his customer service, and by the quality of the blades. I was also pleased with his prices. Neil

Hi George, I downloaded a manual for this machine some while back, it may be of use to you? PM me your email address if you want a copy. Cheers, Neil

I bought a C7 bandsaw from eBay recently, and am working on getting it set up and installed. It's huge and really in a very different class than the bandsaws I've owned before, so I have a couple of questions. First, when there's no tension in the blade, the top wheel can move off the vertical...

If there's no private interest here, you could always see if Derek Pyatt is interested in buying it - his website is http://www.coronetwoodworking.co.uk/Home.html Cheers, Neil

Well, they are still made and available new... e.g. from Buck and Hickman - but at those prices, second hand is probably the only choice. For my part I have a Progress 2GS which is great, but leaks oil a little. With the second hand machines, I'd say to avoid those with gearboxes unless you're...

At some point, a company with Wadkin in its name was offering for free download, scanned copies of quite a variety of manuals. I can't now find the links, but I did download the BL150 manual so can email it to you should you like. HTH Neil

I avoid buying from Machine Mart whenever possible. I bought a "professional" set of Torx keys with a "lifetime guarantee." The head of one key broke on its first use and I returned them. The branch manager claimed it would be illegal for them to simply swap the old set for a new one (a load...

Another thing I've heard of causing knocking noises on lathes is loose grub screws on the headstock pulley. It's probably worth checking they're right, and bearing in mind that on some machines (I don't know the Graudate specifically) there may be two grub screws, screwed in one after the other...

I've never sprayed the stuff before. Please be sure to protect yourself adequately from the mist/fumes, it certainly smells very unpleasant. The health and safety sheet says it is harmful and irritant. As for the drying time, I usually leave 2 or more hours between coats. To quote the...

Argee makes a good point - I've only ever used RPC on fairly small items. I think for larger areas you can buy similar 2-pack lacquer finishes from e.g. Morrells, but they're intended for spraying by industrial users. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the RPC dries considerably harder than...

Hi bean15, I have achieved that kind of effect with Rustin's plastic coating. It's a 2-part finish which you mix up and brush on. Depending on the timber, I may well fill the grain first. The plastic coating always needs at least several coats; I recently re-finished some of the interior of...

I've no experience of the Wivamac, but I love my VL300 short-bed. I did briefly consider the Wivamac but comparing the weights alone convinced me the Vicmarc is a more suitable machine for large work: a quick google search gave 185kg (DB6000) vs 350kg (VL300). I have no regrets after almost 7...

I have a 3" Makita which I like very much. It's the model 9903. I've not yet given it a large amount of use but it's got decent power, nice balance, and overall I'd highly recommend it, if it's in the size/price range that you're looking at.

Hi Graham, Not sure if it helps you or not, but I have been trying to reproduce an effect where the grain of some sapele was filled with a dark filler, and then panel was finished with a coloured lacquer. I was successful in thinning the Rustin's natural with a little oil-based wood dye. I...

So, there's a new arrival in the workshop: A Wilson P/T, will plane 21" width and thickness 20" by a little over 9". There's a little oil reservoir on the rear of the machine which I think supplies the gearbox that drives the feed rollers. What kind of oil should I fill it with? I would...

I expect a local supplier would be preferable for you, but it could be worth checking with Stiles & Bates. They list bowl and spindle blanks in spalted beech, so they may well have planks available. I've never visited them but have purchased mail-order. They were very accommodating and...

Thanks all for the advice... and that's a very beautiful guitar Setch! Rustins have also pointed me towards aniline dyes, and told me that Chestnut Products sell them. Chestnut's secretary is sending me a brochure but was unable to tell me more over the phone. I've also found aniline dyes**...

I bought myself a 7" Hitachi (brand new) based on a dealer's recommendation a few years ago and it proved impossible to line up the riving knife in the kerf without the guard then jamming open. For the guard to work smoothly the knife had to be bent aside from the blade so much that it was...

A friend is restoring a 1980s Bentley and has enlisted my help in repairing some damage to the finish of the interior woodwork. The damage is to the two rear doors. The original finish is a fairly thick film, I'd guess it must be at least 1/4mm thick, and it has a somewhat dark colour. The...

I've a Trend T5 (bought new) and a couple of Elu MOF96Es (bought second hand). They're all quite capable of light/moderate work, and are not too heavy to use hand held. The design of the T5 is largely based on the 96E. In my opinion, though, the T5 is of a lower quality. As Mailee says, the...