After 33 years with my Woodfast, a Vicmarc VL240 is now on the way!

[Odie]

I discovered that the Oneway bowl steady cannot conveniently be positioned on both sides of a bowl without changing the post position. This is especially true for when the headstock is rotated.

Because of this, I now have three Oneway bowl steadys! The one I had been using for years was cut down to accommodate my old 16" Woodfast lathe.....and is not tall enough to use on my new Vicmarc VL240.

Every day, it seems like, I have to modify and/or buy or make new tooling to use for the new lathe!~

=o=

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Well, I've never met anyone who has expected more (i.e. purpose suited customization) from an off-the-shelf machine as you, based on my observations on this board. That's not meant to be a positive or negative comment, just simply an observation. Remember, it did take you 33 years (or 10, or 20, or...) to get your Woodfast just right for your purposes.

I think you are on the right track, though. I don't see how there could be any other option, shy of a ground-up custom fabrication from raw materials.

That lathe is simply one of the best out there, but that is relative. Keep that in mind, because we can't foresake the possible, the expected, of the very, very good for the improbable/impossible of the perfect. You're the epitome of the shadetree woodturning engineer, you'll figure out how to make your new lathe one step closer to perfect.

I can't help but ask, though, and I ask because I am certainly not at the talent level of you (nor many on this forum), but how are others achieving upper echelon results without a similar level of heavily modified, customized, machines? That's probably more of a rhetorical, maybe philosophical question than anything. Food for thought, for insightful thinking, maybe not debate.

 

[Tim Hunter]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

Yeah, sort of like buying a sportscar and then spending a few years under the hood, under the frame, and inside the cabin customizing it to your desires, your needs and preferences.

 

[Odie]

I’d say Odie’s modifications are split between needs and preferences; and not everyone has the same needs, and certainly not the same prefrences - That’s the difference. (and there aren’t many producing his level of near-perfection either.)

Tim

Yeah, sort of like buying a sportscar and then spending a few years under the hood, under the frame, and inside the cabin customizing it to your desires, your needs and preferences.

Yeah....you guys are right.

Not everyone will have the same needs, or desires that I do. I'm adding to this thread strictly for informational purposes. It's intended to be a source of information for those who are contemplating a new lathe purchase.

=o=

 

[Odie]

Here is a little graph I've made up to find the appropriate hole position for the current diameter bowl. This is for use on the back side of the bowl. On the back side, the hole position is critical for banjo clearance on the front. There is specs for headstock placed at both 0° and 15°.

=o=

 

[Bill Boehme]

I may be wrong, but my theory is that when you really reef hard on steel threads against the much softer cast iron threads, they can become distorted. When this happens, then the union between the two metals is forever changed. Once that change takes place, the holding power between the two metals is likewise forever reduced......and the handle will slip.

=o=

Threaded holes in cast iron are generally considered self-lubricating and fairly durable, but long-term excessive tightening wouldn’t be doing it any favors. Fortunately, there’s several options in the event that a repair is needed. In my opinion, the best (and easiest) is to use a Heli-Coil.

 

[Odie]

One thing I'm going to miss, is the Minarik controller I had on the Woodfast lathe had an automatic "spindle brake", and therefore only took a second for the spindle to stop. The new Vicmarc doesn't have this, and takes close to 7-8 seconds for the spindle to stop.

I see this as a safety issue.

=o=

 

[Steve Tiedman]

That must be pre-programmed to help lessen the chances of chucks and faceplates from unscrewing under rapid braking inertia.

Can the drive programming be tweaked to adjust that? Or maybe a simple twist of a screw inside the motor controller? Maybe the controller booklet has instruction.

I'm pretty certain the VFD on my little Oneway allows 2 different braking speeds by way of an external toggle switch. I think.

Long live the 1.5hp Leeson DC and Minarik drive on my 23yo Vicmark VL200. There i$ alway$ the option of $witching over to a DC drive $y$tem on your new lathe. Thi$ wa$ affordable 20 year$ ago, not $o much anymore. Probably north of a thou$and dollar$, I'd bet, but those $etup$ are $till easily found. That particular Minarik drive was good for up to 2hp, if I recall. (See below, over $1500.)

It may not be convenient in every situation, but there is always the handwheel, or as it was known in the olden days, the handbrake.

Technological "advancement", pfft!

Edit-
Amazon is not the best place to buy motors, but here is my Vicmarc 1.5hp DC motor, $1000 now-

Amazon.com

And Minarik controller, today's version, $540 from Minarik-

MM23201C DC Motor Control

MM23201C housed in NEMA 1 enclosure for guaranteed protection. Reliable & cost effective. Dual voltage. Controls motors from 1/8 to 2HP. Learn more here

www.minarikdrives.com

 

[Kevin Jesequel]

One thing I'm going to miss, is the Minarik controller I had on the Woodfast lathe had an automatic "spindle brake", and therefore only took a second for the spindle to stop. The new Vicmarc doesn't have this, and takes close to 7-8 seconds for the spindle to stop.

I see this as a safety issue.

=o=

The default deceleration time is 6 seconds (parameter F08). I’ve adjusted mine to 3 seconds since I am constantly stopping to clear out shavings and measure wall thickness. It was easy once I figured out how to get the drive out of data protection mode. One of the risks of a short deceleration time, besides the chuck possibly unscrewing from the spindle, is breaking over voltage. Basically the motor acts as a generator during deceleration and sends voltage back to the drive. This can cause the drive to trip to prevent damage and the motor will then coast to a stop. A breaking resistor is used to “absorb” that voltage and dissipate it as heat. The Vicmarc has a breaking resistor already installed in the circuitry. If I put something big and heavy on and had issues with tripping, I would just adjust the decel time to 4, 5, or even back to 6 seconds. One nice feature of the Oneway is that it has a toggle switch on the side of the control box to select short or long decel time without having to get into the drive. Not sure if that could be added to the Vic.