First go with my new lathe WIP

[johnny.t.]

Well first try with the maxi 8) Sadly the inserts for the chuck haven't turned up yet so I had to use the little faceplate that came with it.

I mounted a small dry unknown log that was given to me on the faceplate which turned out to be Ash.

I went for the middle pulleys of the five sets which give a speed range from 170 to 1740 rpm.To do this an allen screw has to be undone on the top cover(there is a nylon bolt head behind the top cover for it to rest against when opened so it dosen't bang{I like things like that,shows a bit of thought in the design}), the motor is loosend by a knob on the side,the motor lifted and belt moved over top and bottom. A bit of tension is then needed on the motor as the knob is done up. There is a safety switch on both the top cover and the bottom motor door so you can't get your fingers in there with it running.

So I started it up and the thing is so much quieter than the Axi lathe. I roughed out a little form, which was a real joy to do, the tool rests are strong and smooth and the 2hp spins the wood effortlessly compared with my old lathe which would slow against the tool effort.

Another really handy thing is that inches are marked out on the tailstock spindle so when drilling the middle of the form you know how far you have gone.

I hollowed it out which again was just so different compared to the struggle with the old lathe. Sadly a crack in the pith of the timber meant I had to enlarge the opening but rather than start again I decided I would make it a collar.

A bit of a scorching to make the Ash look more interesting

Then I mounted what Yandles sent me as a sycamore bowl blank(got some blanks as part of the deal) to make a collar. Formed the tennon to fit in the form and used this to reverse the form to finish the foot.

Decided to go for a Nick Arnull type collar so undercut around the tenon cut it off and made a socket to reverse it and shape and sand the top.

Another neat little feature is the faceplate has two allen screws that tighten behind the spindle thread so even if it came a bit loose it wouldn't go anywhere.

So I've made some shavings with it now

So far I'm very very impressed 8) The variable speed works a charm,its so quiet I even turned the stereo down :lol: ,its solid,stable and everything moves and locks in place perfectly. I'm happy so far 8)

A bit more work on the form was needed, I stained it yellow with spirit stains and coloured the collar with acrylic and finally sprayed both with gloss laquer and glued them together.

Oh and I cleaned up the workshop afterwards :lol:

JT

 

[Paul.J]

Nice one JT
I think you have done wonders on your old lathe,producing some beautiful work.
So there should be no limits now with your new one so will look forward to seeing what wonders you come up with now.
Keep em coming

 

[johnny.t.]

Thanks Paul

The chuck inserts have turned up in the post this morning,so now I can get the supernova2 attached 8) Sadly I've got a whole days lawn mowing on so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to play some more (Still my wallet needs the nourishment £££ :lol: )

JT

 

[mark sanger]

Hi Johnny

Looking good. I see you went for the Maxi 2. I found them to be very good machines.

When I used my inserts I found that if they are not locked in tight to the chuck and onto the spindle that you can get a small amount of wobble. I found that this was down to small burrs on the thread of the inserts tightening the insert before it married up with the faces a tight as it should.

A quick rub with some 320 abrasive sorted it out.

you may not get the issue.

 

[wizer]

Great to see the Maxi2 in action JT. The piece is nice, what tools did you use to hollow out the innards?

 

[johnny.t.]

Cheers Tom it was great to use it, so different to the lightweight axi 8) To hollow I drilled a hole with a forstner bit and then used my Rolly Munro tool(which I'm not very good with yet)

Mark, tried what you suggested with the insert but there is still a tiny wobble to it :evil: as I said in the PM its definitely the insert as the faceplate runs precisely true. I may send this one back and try a sorby patriot insert which I believe are identical. I'll try the left hand thread one for the outboard turning and hope thats better :roll:

Edit: Just to say the outboard chuck insert runs perfectly true

JT

 

[mark sanger]

Hi Johnny

Mine runs perfectly true. But as you say it is not down to the lathe spindle it is down to the inserts manufactured by the chuck companies.

I must have gotten a good insert I guess.

The problem with inserts is that there is another tolerance being included in the equation and unless the thread is precision ground I do not see how the chuck companies can get them totally precise.

 

[wizer]

You need one of these JT

8)

 

[johnny.t.]

Is that an offer to buy me one Tom? :lol:

 

[wizer]

Y-er-NO

 

[johnny.t.]

Y-er-NO

Awwww

 

[Jonzjob]

He's just winding you up John. He will get you one if you ask nicely, he may even give you his? He's got loads now that he's sold all those badges, ain't you Tom!! 8) 8)

Mine arrived OK, thanks Tom!!

 

[frugal]

Mark, tried what you suggested with the insert but there is still a tiny wobble to it :evil: as I said in the PM its definitely the insert as the faceplate runs precisely true. I may send this one back and try a sorby patriot insert which I believe are identical. I'll try the left hand thread one for the outboard turning and hope thats better :roll:

If there is a little bit of play you could try checking to see if the thread is clean, or if there are any jagged bits in the way. If that does not help, then maybe a little plumbers white tape to tighten up the joint?

 

[johnny.t.]

frugal, sadly its not as easy as that, the insert tightens both in the chuck and on the spindle Its just not quite right somewhere. I have noticed that the threaded part is longer on this insert than on both the left hand thread one and the one that fitted my axminster lathe :-k.

JT