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Hi Ian, I have always had most success roughing out bowls and then painting them with pva. They can be left for a few months and re-turned. Not 100% survival, but pretty good. I know other have plenty of tricks such as bags of shavings etc. Prunus is gorgeous, but notorious for splitting. I...

I think that may be for the awls1000 / m950. The 900 has that style of cam lock for the tailstock, but not the head. I dismantled mine today, and checked the parts diagram and it is the same as the awls 900. The headstock is locked in place with 2 plates, connected by a bar with a screw at one...

I use lumberjack 5 minute polyurethane glue. Despite the supposed 25% moisture maximum, I have never had problems, even with freshly cut green timber

Hi Allan, I think the pin may be a secondary problem. The locking handle should lock the headstock securely, in whatever position. Have you tried it when not in one of the indexing positions? Does it lock, or move freely? I also find the lock points are not the most useful for when turning as...

I find aspen great. Fumes much less toxic, and no need to drain tanks after use as it doesn't go stale even if you leave it for months

I think chainsaws are great for turning. I have a reasonable sized petrol one for milling, and it is great to be able to make blanks. I would not want to use even an electric one without armoured trousers, helmet etc though. I don't really see the point of reciprocal saws for wood however - they...

Just to check you mean circumference, not diameter? A big silky will easily cope with with a 12 inch diameter tree, much quicker than you will expect. Completely different league to a bowsaw, and well worth the extortionate seeming cost. Be warned though they are VERY sharp, and cut on the pull...

I would definitely agree with this. 10" diameter should be no problem for almost any chainsaw. If it struggles, it will be because the chain is blunt (they always are when you borrow a saw!). If a chainsaw does not appeal, Silky hand saws are amazing. They may seem expensive, but a 390mm zurbat...

Hi Allan, I have an axminster m900 (the even older but very similar model) and I have also found the headstock securing is not as tight as I would like. Have you tried tightening the nut on the other side of the headstock lock? I find that by doing this it is always possible to get it locked...

Here is a picture of one of the eucalyptus bowls. Sorry the photo isn't great. It is about 180mm across the top and 1.5mm thick

I found eucalyptus quite pleasant to turn when wet. Not the most exciting grain, but quite pretty. I will see if I can find a picture. It warps like crazy however, so if you are planning on 2 stage turning, make sure you leave the walls pretty thick. I had to chuck some of mine as they had gone...

Those lathes do have something of a reputation. You will be surprised what can be made with practice though, even with a less than ideal machine. Sharpening is something you will need to master unfortunately. Fancy jigs are great, but you can do a lot freehand if you need to. Permanent marker...

Cherry is very prone to splitting if you try and dry it in the round. If you want to make bowls, I would suggest rough turning it when wet, leaving the walls perhaps 1" thick, and painting with pva. Let them dry slowly, and when they stop loosing weight, you can turn them a second time. Some...

Hi Alex, regarding petrol v electric, it depends what size chunks of tree you are wanting to cut up. Electric is great for being quiet and reliable, but I love the flexibility to cut pieces that would be difficult to move whole that petrol gives. Combined with a small log mill, I can cut planks...

From a quick google, it seems to be the same as my axminster m900. If so, it has a variable speed drive based on 2 cones, so the speed can only be changed when running. If it still will not change even when running, you can take the cover of the belt housing off and see if there are any...

I know, being able to use the tailstock is great, but for bowls larger than the swing over the bed I guess you just have to stand well back and start on the lowest speed. I have found that I can get a speed below the bottom fixed gear by turning the speed handle as far as it goes past the lowest...

That is really kind of you. It sounds as if they are the sort to get though, so I might treat myself to a late Christmas present. Decent screws always come in handy. I try and keep the mounting screws pretty long as I am only holding items to turn the outside, before holding with a chuck for the...

Thanks for that. Do you think the added stress to the due to the piece being further away from the headstock will be much of a problem? Would I be better off drilling out the holes in the small faceplate so I can use heavier screws? I don't know what the maximum safe ratio of faceplate to...

Hello, I am looking to get a large (6") faceplate to take some of the risk out of turning large wet pieces on my elderly amxinster m900. It is a 1" x 8tpi thread which is not a problem to find, but most faceplates are too "short". Due to where the motor is placed on this most faceplates hold...