Axminster M950

[morrisminordriver]

Im pleased to say that I managed to get a second hand Axminster M950 lathe today.
Any thoughts on an appropriate chuck and which other "ancillaries" would be important to get (I want to do both spindle and bowl turning).
Regards, MMD

 

[blurk99]

personally i'm dead keen on the Teknatool Super Nova chuck - sold by turners retreat, but it's a fairly hefty £125 odd quid from memory, but lots of different jaw sets are available

http://www.turners-retreat.co.uk/chucks.htm#chucks

Jim

 

[Martin]

Morris,

Do you have a grinder? Absolutely essential if you're to keep your gouges nice and sharp. I'd also think about buying (or making) a jig to sharpen your gouges. Sharpening a finger-nail profile by hand is tricky and I personally prefer to spend time turning rather than fettling the tools, so any "help" you can get to do it quickly and accurately is worth it IMO.

Martin

 

[UKTony]

Having just gone through the exercise in the last week or so prepare for your plastic to catch fire

These guys have got a good deal on the Supernova Chuck with a set of extra Jaws thrown in and very helpful on email and phone

http://www.toolpost.co.uk/system/index.html

 

[Johnboy]

I would second the supa nova chuck. I got mine from Stiles and Bates 'cos they threw in a second set of jaws free. I don't know if this offer still stands.

John

 

[woodshavings]

Supernova check definately! Also agree on Grinder & sharpening jig, a Tormek if the plastic could run to it!
John

 

[mudman]

I got the Supanova chuck and would thoroughly recommend it. Also second the grinder. There are a lot of things you can manage quite well without the the chuck, maybe with a faceplate and a screwchuck, but you can do bugger all with blunt tools.
I'd also go for getting a new drive centre and a new live centre as the ones that come with the M950 aren't all that good but that can wait a bit.
Oh, and definitely Rowely's (sp?) "Woodturning a Foundation Course".

And don't forget to keep your eyes open as you drive around as it's amazing how much nice wood you'll see just lying around (ask first though :wink: ).

 

[Cutting Crew]

Hi MMD,

Well done with the lathe, first buys should be for your protection, something for the eyes and especially something for the lungs.

The Nova chuck is fine but don't overlook Axminster own range, they are very good and the choice of add-on jaws seems to be never ending. I have these on the teaching lathes and they always give good value.

The other chucks I use are from Vicmarc, again a very good chuck.

A grinder should be high on the list of priorities, a cheap grinder with good wheels is better than an expensive grinder with poor wheels. There is also a thread going on somewhere else on UK Workshop about using a Tormek for woodturning.

To go with the grinder, a jig is a must. Sharpening by hand works but unless you've been doing it for years you'll end up with different angles at every visit to the grinder and waste a lot of expensive steel. I have on test lots of jigs, my current preference is for the TruGrind from Proforme. This is a single jig that covers almost every woodturning tool you'll need to sharpen, it's not cheap but it is simple and easy to use.

Hope this helps.

Regards....Mike

 

[morrisminordriver]

Hi folks - many thanks for yopur replies and suggestions...

I will go go for the Supanova chuck - it has universal support, Ive seen a couple of firms supplying the spare spigot jaws with it.

ref the grinder - I have one and recently bought the Axminster toolrest which Ive fixed up alongside. I hope to get a Tormek one day,

I bought the Keith Rowley book after Alf et al recommended it - it really is very good!!

I hope to p/u the lathe on Sunday morning.

thanks again for your comments.

Regards. MMD.

 

[Martin]

ref the grinder - I have one and recently bought the Axminster toolrest which Ive fixed up alongside. I hope to get a Tormek one day,

I also started off with the Axminster toolrest, and it works well for most of the tools, but I still found it difficult to sharpen finger-nail profiles accurately. I therefore invested in the roberty sorby jig as well, which is excellent - see http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/sharpening-sys.htm.

About £50 or so if I remember correctly....

Martin.

 

[UKTony]

Martin,

I am going to need a sharpening system as well if my attempt to make one fails, I was sent the Sorby CD with a demo and it does look good do you know if there is a big difference in the Axminster rest you have and the Sorby one as part of the Universal system, your combination looks a little cheaper on the budget

 

[Martin]

Tony,

I ended up buying the Sorby universal system (i.e. the mount + jig for finger profiles) - basically because it allows you to more easily switch between finger-nail mode and normal sharpening mode. Apart from that, I don't think there's a significant difference between the two rests.

The Axminster toolrest is therefore surplus to requirements for me - but I expect you could just easily make do with it + the sorby fingernail jig. Unfortunately I'm at work at the moment, so can't go and have a look - I'll take a look tonight and send more details (assuming I remember)...

Martin.

 

[Alf]

I have the Sorby fingernail jig on one wheel and a homemade jig a la Keith Rowley on the other. Works very well; the larger surface area of the homemade jig I find very helpful. FWIW.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Martin]

Unfortunately I'm at work at the moment, so can't go and have a look - I'll take a look tonight and send more details (assuming I remember)...

I had a closer look this weekend, and there's not much difference between the rest that comes with the Sorby Universal and the Axminster one. The Axminster comes with a slot + adjustable mitre guage that runs at right angles to the rotation of the wheel (which the sorby doesn't). That could I suppose be useful when sharpening skew chisels....

As I said previously, the main difference is that the sorby rest is designed to take the fingernail jig, and you can quickly switch the two modes. However, you could probably acheive something similar if you built your own rest + you could always adopt Alf's excellent suggestion.

HTH.
Martin

 

[UKTony]

Martin

Many thanks, i spoke to Peter Childs on Friday and after his advise i went for the sorby fingernail Jig and there own enhanced armrest with his sharpening book thrown in the deal, saved a few pounds but from what i can gather it will make my life a bit easier swapping between the two rests with limited adjustment

Tony

 

[morrisminordriver]

Brief update...
I picked up the M950 on Sunday morning, the chap I bought it from - George - gave me a demo, had a good chat about turning and associated things - very pleasurable purchase . He's upgrading to a Wivamac.

Ive spent the last 3 evening rearranging things in the shed to accomodate the lathe - what a carry on that turned out to be, my shed is about 11ft square internally and accomodates a table saw / band saw / 6' workbench / sideboard (full of tools etc)...it was like doing the Rubik cube, move one item to create a space - move the next into that then another and finally move the original item to its new area to creat the sapace for the lathe PHEW!!! :shock:
I hope to bolt it down this evening.

Following the general advice Ive also splashed out on the Supernova chuck (with extra 45mm spigot jaws) some friction polish and sanding sealer. Ive still got £60 left (I sold some musical eqpt to finance thios little lot) and will be getting the Sorby fingernail sharpening jig in due course.


With a bit of luck, I'll be turning some wood in the next few days.

Thanks a lot again for your advice, it makes purchasing a lot less of a lottery!!.

Regards, MMD.