MC 900 Lathe, i have acquired the use of a lathe but it has no manual and the speed select lever will only give me 2 speeds not ten. Does anyone knoe where I might obtain a manual. Technical Data, range of fully variable speed 500 to 2000 rpm.
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A while ago I talked about my very first wood lathe, well today I shall talk about my current wood lathe. After a year with my ebay lathe I decided the bug had taken hold and it was time to upgrade. A little research and I settled on the. The reason for my choice, availability (they were in stock and only an 90 minute drive away) and they were within my small budget.
One point first of all, it is heavy and is a two person lift. This was frustrating when I got home waiting for someone to help me lift it out of the box and bolt to the bench (which I had newly constructed for the purpose).
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OK so onto the actual review. The MC900 seems to be available with a variety of different badge names, but presumably roll out of the same factory in China. I will state now you get what you pay for, and at $497 it is at the budget end of the market. It is not as smooth as a Nova or Wood fast or higher end lathe. It can be noisy and the drive belt is a little rattly in sound though doesn't slip.
I like the variable speed handle on the front giving a range of speed selections from 500RPM through to 2000RPM. However, the minimum of 500RPM can be too fast some projects, especially heavy objects that aren’t balanced. In fact I did have a big lump of red gum on there that I nearly shock the house down before I could press stop. This lack of a really slow speed I find a shortfall, however for most of my turning, mainly pens and already round bowl blanks it does the job easily. The variable speed drive worked nice and smooth on purchase, but now three years down the track it is a little stiff to change down speeds even with a little TLC and preventative maintenance (I expect I will need to replace the drive belt soon). It is certainly a sturdy cast iron construction, although the legs supplied do look a little flimsy and may require some additional bracing.