The president of the Alabama Woodturners Assn (of which I was a member and still miss going) put three lathes up for sale - he found a deal on a big Oneway. One of the lathes was a Woodfast M910, made in Australia. I did not realize the age of this particular lathe,it was originally purchased in 1998. but am glad I did not.

The Rikon 70-500 is an import version and this Austrian version shows the lathe in action. Oddly enough its the same - almost - as the one I bought, for a lot less.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypogU8f3Hc

I got all 580lbs of it home and moved into the shop and THOUGHT I had it leveled. Turned my first bowl blank and had to go slow because of it vibrating on me if I got the speed up (the rough was about 35lbs) and wondered if I had made such a good deal.

Then, with a smaller piece on it, I turned the speed up and saw where the problem was, the right front leveler need another 3/4 turn. Ran the piece on through the speed range and found that the left rear needed a1/4" turn. The thing is now as steady as a rock.

I simply did not know the difference between a good solid Jet 1442 with a Reeves drive and a professional lathe.

On Tue, 20 Sep 2016 03:45:52 -0700 (PDT)
"Dr. Deb" wrote:

Then, with a smaller piece on it, I turned the speed up and saw where
the problem was, the right front leveler need another 3/4 turn. Ran
the piece on through the speed range and found that the left rear
needed a1/4" turn. The thing is now as steady as a rock.

at 580 pounds it should be real steady

looks like a nice lathe

seems to be well made

i always thought the movable power control was a good feature but
now wonder if i would forget to move it or forget the position when
i needed to shut if off quickly

would probably leave it near the outboard side

On Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 6:10:21 PM UTC-5, Electric Comet wrote:
On Tue, 20 Sep 2016 03:45:52 -0700 (PDT)
"Dr. Deb" wrote:

Then, with a smaller piece on it, I turned the speed up and saw where
the problem was, the right front leveler need another 3/4 turn. Ran
the piece on through the speed range and found that the left rear
needed a1/4" turn. The thing is now as steady as a rock.

at 580 pounds it should be real steady

looks like a nice lathe

seems to be well made

i always thought the movable power control was a good feature but
now wonder if i would forget to move it or forget the position when
i needed to shut if off quickly

would probably leave it near the outboard side

I moved it back to the headstock, simply because it seems more convenient. I know that puts me in the arch of the turned item. But it just seems more natural to slap it with the left hand rather than the right.

But steady, yes, once I got it completely leveled, it as steady as a rock and as smooth as silk.

On Fri, 23 Sep 2016 05:42:19 -0700 (PDT)
"Dr. Deb" wrote:

But steady, yes, once I got it completely leveled, it as steady as a
rock and as smooth as silk.

smooth and steady is a good thing with a lathe


not sure what year the lathe is you have but i wonder why the lathe
in the video did not use a vfd setup