Vici has landed in fine working order

[Turn It In]

Hi All,
When I was fortunate to get the first offer to buy in to Dusty Busker I could hardly believe my luck at securing the lathe I had decided was to be the mainstay of the workshop.
Now I, like everyone else like to see plenty of picture in the threads so i have taken some WIP pictures of the old lathe, the construction of the bench and finally the end result installation completed.

So here's the faithful Delta which now has gone to a good friend to continue it service. It is stood in front of an 8 ft table which has to go to make way for the new machine.

I cut and welded the two ends of the bench last Saturday from 3x2x3/8 angle iron cut so that the front only sloped in by about an inch and the back by 2.5 inch with 5mm thick top and bottom plates and finally a laser cut piece of 5mm plate cut to exactly the full length footprint of the lathe drilled off and ready to bolt to the stands as shown in the next two pictures.

With the room cleared I then moved the base in and started building up the lathe and finally got it in position on the base. Then I had to work out how to get everything else back in and it is a little bit of a compromise at the moment but I will work it out as the weeks go by.
Three pictures show the final result and a very highly delighted and proud owner!!!

You can see that there is not much space for the small Fox lathe but never mind.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and they prove it has actually happened.
I'm sure Jim (Dusty Busker) will be happy to see Vici is now in her resting place ready for action.
Best regards,
Ian

 

[CHJ]

Now we need some pictures with a few shavings showing, looks far too clean for a lathe shop.

Don't know how you cope with all that shelved stuff so close to flying shavings, it takes me long enough to dig my way out of a good session and I have no where near that amount of stuff to collect them near the lathe.

 

[BMac]

Ian,

This is the first time I have had a chance to really appreciate just how big that Vicmarc lathe is and I am very impressed indeed. I wish you many happy hours using it.

Brendan

 

[cornucopia]

very good Ian- i agree with chas about the clutter :lol: where have you put the box with the electronics in?

 

[Paul.J]

Nice one Ian
Bench and lathe look great.So will now look forward to seeing some nice turnings coming from it

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Guys,
No excuses for the clean work area that was taken as the installation was nearing completion Chas. Do agree that the nooks and crannies are a bit of a devil to dust off but I have been stood on a few inches of shavings at busy times.

Hi Brendan yes the lathe is very long its exactly 5 ft from end to end of the base casting but then the motor sticks out a further nine inches and if you have the tail stock at the far end the handle takes the full length required to 6 ft but i am still looking forward to many happy hours turning.

Hi George the electronics is well above head height near the window behind the lathe so I did not get it in the picture. I mounted it in the only space available.

Hi Paul you are not the only one who wants to see some output so do I and I will post some pictures to prove it.

Best regards,
Ian

 

[loz]

That stand looks fanstastic ! You shoudl be taking orders !

The Vicmark looks like some beast also !

Happy Turning !

 

[johnny.t.]

Ian, that really looks the business 8) What a beast. Nice looking stand you've made, it looks very solid but I guess it needs to be
Now you just need to get some wood spinning on it!! Hope you have some good fun with it.

JT

 

[WoodnDesign]

Ian,

It's so nice when all the plans come together, excellent work on the stand, but would you like to make more, as asked, will miss making shavings, which we look forward to seeing.

Regards. David..

 

[hog&bodge]

Green with envy.....good luck. Now all you need is lots of free time
to get on the lathe

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Loz yes the stand is solid but it does need to be with around 140kg sat on it. I had the material on stock so you only want to make it once so its solid!!

Hi Johnny with a beast like this a solid steady base makes a great difference. All i need now is to clear a back log engineering job and then I can get back to some serious wood spinning.

David hi and nice to hear from you for the first time. Will I make more stands? Yes I certainly will if there is a customer requiring one. I'd also like to get some wood chips flying!!!

Hog & B Yes I know what envy is like too but I have waited patiently and now have my final lathe secured. I have sold the Delta and will have to reassemble the overhauled Jubilee and get that sold as well as it will no longer be required.
good to hear from you all ,
Regards,
Ian

 

[Dust Busker]

Hi Ian

That stand is far better than the one I made for the Vic, it looks solid as a rock. Glad to see you are now turning out some pieces and enjoying all that quiet power...

Regards

Jim

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Jim,
Yes the stand is as solid as a rock and your certainly right it does take you by surprise all the quiet power available.
Yes i finally got back to it yesterday as you will see from my other thread today.
Have you got the 300 installed and generating shavings yet?
Best regards,
Ian

 

[Dust Busker]

Hi Ian

I got the VL300 up and running on Sunday after manhandling the beast into my workshop on a jerry-built trolley made of a sack truck and the wheels from a Record bandsaw. It worked but I don't recommend it.

The VL300 is pretty easy to set up, assuming you have the means to move it into place. The headstock doesn't dismantle so it's only a matter of mounting the bed on the stand (six bolts) and threading on the poly-v drive belt. This is quite a bit simpler than the VL175 with its turret headstock.

I did do some turning on Sunday just to try the lathe out. To be honest I was exhausted after shifting the lathe from the driveway to the workshop, so I just did a little hollowing on a big chestnut bowl I originally started on the VL175. First impressions are that it is quite similar in feel to the VL175, but even more solid. There is a LOT of power. Quiet and competent. The full-length cutoff switch (you press it with your leg) is very reassuring. Banjo and tailstock are frankly massive and totally solid. Yes, I like it. Can't wait to get stuck in to my plans for some large segemented bowls, but I'm afraid the day job is keeping me very busy at the moment.

When I have something made that I dare to show on the forum, I will post siome pictures. I've just got back from stroud in Glos, where a customer gave me some biggish lumps of oak, so maybe I will try those

Regards

Jim

 

[Paul.J]

Yes the 300 is a very solid lathe.
When i went to look at them at Phil Irons' workshop he put a huge out of balance lump of Beech on his 300 and it turned away with no effort at all.
I believe the 175 has the same bearing in as the 300.
The belt change on the 175 is my only gripe on the lathe.Doesn't help when it is located against a wall.

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Paul,
I know what you mean about the belt I had a funny squeal develop yesterday and when I had to take the cover plate off and swing the head round it is not easy in the position its in. Turned out when I rebuilt the head the belt had move over one grove and had started to rub on the large pulley.
All sorted and back to peaceful running.
Hi Jim,
Pleased to hear you got the 300 in position eventually, that must have been a challenge and even with the back ache you do have to try it out just to be sure!!
I'm arranging to move the engineering lathe that I have been trying to take ownership of for the last couple of months but have been held up with the cold weather. Looks like it will happen this weekend all being well.
Regards,
Ian

 

[Dust Busker]

Hi Paul

Yes, I think you are right about the spindle. Phil Irons told me recently that the 175 and the 300 both have the same spindle. In both cases the outboard spindle is threaded r/h, same as inboard. I also agree about the change of speed on the 175, but I didn't find it an issue.

Having a r/h threaded outboard spindle on a swivel-head lathe has some advantages. You don't need l/h chucks or tools, for a start.

Have you ever tried taking off the outboard handwheel on the 175, mounting a bowl outboard and then swinging the headstock through 90 degrees? If you put the lathe in reverse you can work on the back of the bowl with the standard banjo and toolrest from the inboard position. No outboard turning attachment required!. This works for bowls up to around 20" diameter, although the depth of the bowl will be limited if the lathe is against a wall.

Regards

Jim

 

[Paul.J]

Hello Jim.
I bought the outboard attachment with my lathe which again is a very nice solid piece of kit.I have turned two large platters using this method and the rest was very solid.Felt strange at first though turning this way :?

 

[Dust Busker]

Hello Paul

I too bought the outside turning attachment to go with the VL300 and I have just used it for the first time. It agree that it is a bit strange at first, but then you realise that you can walk almost all the way around the workpiece and turn from angles that would be very difficult with the workpiece over the bed. This is great for closed form bowls. It does take up a lot of space in the workshop, though.

Jim

 

[Paul.J]

Dust Busker wrote

It does take up a lot of space in the workshop, though.

Yes Jim it was that that made my mind up with the 175, i did order a 300, as i did not have the room to turn that way,but by turning the headstock into the shop i could have as much room as i liked.
You will have to post some piccys Jim