New Lathe Day (For A New Guy )

[adirondak5]

Hi all , my lathe got here this afternoon , after a long search I went with a Rikon 70 - 220 VSR . Woodcraft has a decent sale on them right now so I jumped on it . I also had a few questions I emailed Rikon customer support about regarding reversible chucks and compatability and my emails (multiple) were answered within 30 minutes which left a good impression.
I was a little worried as I've read all the horror stories of shipping damage with big brown and when it finally arrived this afternoon and I looked at the box I was even more worried . Although it was still a reasonable rectangular shape the box had seen better days , it had tears and just looked beat .

After opening the box I felt better , the lathe itself is incased inside form fitting Styrofoam and the was what appears to be 1/8 plywood at both ends of box . So far all looks good , everything is in the box , paperwork , wrenches , centers , knockout bar , face plate , tool holder , banjo , tool rest , tail stock , and lathe

I was impressed with the size of the lathe itself and worried about carrying it down the basement entry , I removed the tail-stock and the banjo and it was manageable , got it down on the workbench , where I also realized that I am going to have to build a stand for it , its a tad to high sitting on the workbench . I then cleaned the grease off everything and gave it a good look over .
The ways are machined very nicely , the tail stock and the banjo slide along it nicely , the finish is nicely done . Its got some weight to it , the cam locks on the banjo and tail stock operate nicely , the centers line up pretty good right outta the box .

Plugged it in and hit the start button with the belt in the mid position (550 - 1650 rpm) at the low end I got 560 on the digital readout , high end 1800

It was quiet and smooth through the speed changes .
First impressions , seems like a very well built machine , I am pleased with what I see to this point . More to come when I figure out the stand for this lathe

 

[liljohn1368]

Nice looking lathe.

 

[Edgar]

Congrats on the new lathe!
Looks really nice.

 

[stonepecker]

Congrats on the new lathe.
BEFORE you build a stand.......check out the stands posted within the forums.
I personally placed my lathe on tables, and counter tops and got out my ruler. When I built mine, I knew the correct height I needed. Coffee tables, were to low. prebuilt cabinets were to high. To enjoy turning that lathe needs to be just right for you.
Also, I use PAM for a bed lube to make everything slide easy.

Enjoy your lathe........you will have hours of fun. She looks like a beauty.

 

[Rockytime]

Congrats on the new lathe. Very nice lathe. New machinery is sooo exciting.

 

[Herb G]

Congrats on the new lathe. I would not use Pam on it...ever.
I would use Slip-It instead.

 

[adirondak5]

Nice looking lathe.

Congrats on the new lathe!
Looks really nice.

Thanks fellas

Congrats on the new lathe.
BEFORE you build a stand.......check out the stands posted within the forums.
I personally placed my lathe on tables, and counter tops and got out my ruler. When I built mine, I knew the correct height I needed. Coffee tables, were to low. prebuilt cabinets were to high. To enjoy turning that lathe needs to be just right for you.
Also, I use PAM for a bed lube to make everything slide easy.

Enjoy your lathe........you will have hours of fun. She looks like a beauty.

Thanks , I will enjoy the lathe . I have already been looking through the forum posts and pictures of home made lathe stands . There are a few that look good and should be fairly easy to build , height will be a major design feature when I get it built . Thanks for the tip on lubing , I was planning on just wiping the ways down with 3 & 1 oil every so often , I've used that to wipe the hiwinn rails on my cnc and it works good

Congrats on the new lathe. Very nice lathe. New machinery is sooo exciting.

Thanks , yes , very exciting

Congrats on the new lathe. I would not use Pam on it...ever.
I would use Slip-It instead.

Thanks Herb , I checked into the Slip-It , I see they have a silicone free version , I may give it a try . I do finish work with nitrocellulose lacquer on some of my other projects , so I try to keep any silicone products as far away from the shop as possible .

 

[eharri446]

Herb,

What is the issue with lacquer and silicone?

I had never heard of anything like that before.

 

[JimB]

Congratulations! You will have countless hours of fun!

 

[adirondak5]

Herb,

What is the issue with lacquer and silicone?

I had never heard of anything like that before.

Silicone contamination will cause all kinds of problems with lacquer finishes , fisheye being the most common term . I've been lucky , have never had any problems with it , but I am pretty vigilant about any silicone products being near my shop . Once you get it on the wood its near impossible to get it off . Google fisheye in lacquer finishes , there are lots of pictures , generally it causes the lacquer to move away from the silicone contamination leaving dimples/pockmarks . My other passion is guitar building , some finishes I have 4 to 5 hours of wet sanding on just the body before buffing , fisheye is something to avoid at all costs if you want a finish like this when working with lacquer

Congratulations! You will have countless hours of fun!

Thanks Jim , I am sure I will enjoy it immensely , just getting setup and researching here on the forum has been a blast

 

[tomtedesco]

To quote a song "This could be the start of something big". Thanks for the pic's and good luck.

 

[Ligget]

Congrats on the new lathe, hope you both have many years of turning together!

 

[Bob in SF]

Looks great - have fun!

 

[MDWine]

Your experience with RIKON has been far better than mine.
I am not at all impressed with either company or product... glad it worked out for you though!!

 

[adirondak5]

To quote a song "This could be the start of something big". Thanks for the pic's and good luck.

Thanks Tom

Congrats on the new lathe, hope you both have many years of turning together!

Thank you Ligget

Looks great - have fun!

Thanks Bob

Your experience with RIKON has been far better than mine.
I am not at all impressed with either company or product... glad it worked out for you though!!

I'm glad its working out too Michael , thanks
I do know what you mean though in a general sense , I was almost going to purchase another brand which I won't name but after a terse chat online with their customer service they'll never get a dime from me even though they have a good product . I've got many different brand tools and all have their good and bad , luckily I've seen mostly good .

 

[adirondak5]

And the parts keep comming in . When I email Rikon support when researching the 70-220 vsr I got all my responses within 30 minutes , and they were friendly personable responses . My question for them was compatable reversible chucks , specifically the Nova g3 . The concern I had was with an adapter I was not sure if the grub screw would be on the shaft threads or behind it and I searched online but couldn't find that specific answer . They recommended the Record Power SC3 1x8 and assured me the grub screw would seat behind the threads on the shaft . After researching the SC3 its basically a clone of the Nova g3 , the only difference i could find is the jaw slides appear to be heavier . The Nova jaws will also fit the Record Power SC3 . And it has a 5 year warranty just like the lathe . So thats what I ended up getting and like Rod at customer support said , the grub screw seats behind the threads . It came with 50mm jaws , jaw screws , grub screw and leather grub screw cap , chuck key and allen keys , 2" face plate and a nice case to store it all in . I've got a set of Nova pen jaws on the way too.

 

[adirondak5]

Pen Jaws showed up :biggrin: ,

Before I installed them on the chuck and go get the supplies for the stand I just want to try and turn something between the centers , I have some stabilized flame maple I did up a few months ago , I use some stabilized wood for knobs and control covers for some of my guitar builds so I am all set with a vacuum chamber and pump . This was a piece about 5" long and maybe .75 square . I used a gouge and a skew to turn it down , just wanted to get a feel for it . I then sanded it through the grits to 400 and then applied EEE , followed by Mylands High Build Friction Polish . I was pretty much just playing with the finish but it actually finished halfway decent . Lots more to learn .

A few things I found out , my chisels while new and sharp are not sharp enough , they did a decent job but could be better , I'll need to address that . Another issue is the tool rest needs to be polished , it was a little rough sliding tools across , that should be an easy fix . Last the stock tool rest is 8" width , I think I am going to need something a bit narrower , I already chatted with Rick Herrell (thanks to info found on the forum) and have a narrower rest being made . Other than those observations by a newbie that really doesn't know a heck of a lot about this I was very happy with the performance of the lathe , it was smooth , solid , and the variable speed works great . Tomorrow I'll get on the stand , I put the lathe on a workmate just to see how comfortable it would be sitting on a 30" high platform and that looks like it will be a good height for me .

 

[adirondak5]

Well , couldn't leave it alone so before I went to pick up supplies for the lathe stand I sharpened up the gouge and the skew just a touch with one of my plane sharpening stones , it didn't take much to get a pretty good edge . Then I figured I have one more piece of that stabilized flame maple big enough for a blank so I cut it to length and drilled it on the lathe , CA glued the brass tube inside it , let it dry and then trimmed it on the lathe . So far so good , set up the mandrel and the blank with the proper bushings and started roughing , the gouge worked much better with a sharper edge , so did the skew . I was so engrossed I didn't get any pictures until I was all done . Nothing fancy , its a Gatsby kit in gun metal from PSI . I finished the blank off same as before except I used sanding sealer on this one and micro mesh . About 6 coats of Mylands friction polish and a few coats of carnuba . Like I said nothing fancy but it looks nice , gave it to the wife , got a big smootch :biggrin: First one down :smile-big:

Tomorrow I'll get back to the stand for the lathe

 

[Fish30114]

shoot brother that's a super nice first pen. You seem to have a good grasp on things--I really like that lathe, I ended up with something a little bigger and more costly, but I turned on one of those lathes at a seminar at our Woodcraft store--it was really good. I like your piece of wood you used, and I think it looks great--Good on ya!!

congrats on diving in full force!!

 

[adirondak5]

shoot brother that's a super nice first pen. You seem to have a good grasp on things--I really like that lathe, I ended up with something a little bigger and more costly, but I turned on one of those lathes at a seminar at our Woodcraft store--it was really good. I like your piece of wood you used, and I think it looks great--Good on ya!!

congrats on diving in full force!!

Thanks Fish . I've been reading and studying the forum and youtube , both have been extremely helpful , learning something new has always been enjoyable .
So far I am quite happy with the lathe . The wood was some scraps left over from a nice piece of flame maple I happened on at Lowes , I stabilized some smaller pieces for other purposes and had this left over .

 

[tomtedesco]

Really like the wood and finish.

 

[adirondak5]

Really like the wood and finish.

Thanks Tom , it was a nicely figured piece , one of my all time favorite woods , soft maple , especially when its got some figure to it

I looked through the forum at all the home built lathe stands I could find and figured out what I want to build , it was a big help seeing all the examples .
I went and got my supplies this morning , I needed another 52" of 2x4 this afternoon so ran to the store and grabbed it and finished up the stand . I used 4 - 2 x 4 x 8 , and one 2' x 2' piece of 3/4 plywood , and a box of screws , about $40 . I also glued all joints with TiteBond. I was going to fishplate the outside of the legs and base with a triangular piece of plywood but I don't think it needs it . I'll get it down to the shop in a while and see how it works out .

 

[adirondak5]

Got the stand down in the shop , the lathe is bolted down to it , fits fine , height just right for me , solid , no side to side or back and forth movement at all . Just gotta move a shelf and slide my work bench about a foot and it'll be done . I have a little bit of plywood left that I'll make a tool rack and mount on the center cross support when I get the shop reorganized .

 

[adirondak5]

Getting organized a bit more , made a few sleds while cleaning up the shop , one for cutting pen blanks to length , keeps fingers away from blade

Another for Celtic Knots

I then made 2 celtic knot blanks with some maple and some thin ebony , one just for practice and to test my jig/sled , and one for an actual pen if all works
Here's one blank

Here's the other , I turned it between centers , this was the practice blank , sanded to 400 , the used EEE , then micro mesh to 12000 , then sealer , and finally friction polish

Pretty happy with the way it turned out

 

[adirondak5]

Got the other blank turned and finished , used it for a Sierra chrome/gunmetal .
It came out nice I think , I had a spot or two of ebony contamination on the maple that I couldn't get out but this is my pen so I'll live with it . Finish was pretty much the same as my first one , sanded to 600 g , EEE , micro mesh to 12000 , sealer followed by friction polish . Looks like my jig for the celtic knot is working out like it should so overall its been a good day .

 

[Old Codger]

Congratulations Herb on your new Rikon lathe!!! My first lathe was a 12" X 20" VS Rikon and I still have it and love it too! Great lathe for turning smaller projects and pens, but I switched to Jet since Rikon at the time, didn't have a VSR lathe in the size I wanted. I loved Rikon's C/S and like Jet, they are hard to beat, including more 'high end lathes'!!! Enjoy new beauty and have fun with it...safe turning to you always!!!

 

[adirondak5]

Congratulations Herb on your new Rikon lathe!!! My first lathe was a 12" X 20" VS Rikon and I still have it and love it too! Great lathe for turning smaller projects and pens, but I switched to Jet since Rikon at the time, didn't have a VSR lathe in the size I wanted. I loved Rikon's C/S and like Jet, they are hard to beat, including more 'high end lathes'!!! Enjoy new beauty and have fun with it...safe turning to you always!!!

Thanks much Old Codger . So far I am really liking The lathe , having fun , and learning a lot

 

[MDWine]

Man, you're on a roll!

 

[adirondak5]

Man, you're on a roll!

Yea , this is fun Michael . I turned a few tool handles for 2 carbide tools that are in the mail and I'll epoxy them into the handles when they arrive. Sapele , just finished with sealer and paste wax , made the ferrules out of 3/4" copper sweat couplings .

 

[adirondak5]

Made a simple wall rack for the turning tools , a lot nicer than having them under the bench or rolling around on the bench .

 

[adirondak5]

I noticed yesterday , well , actually I've noticed for a while now my legs ached a bit after standing on the concrete floor in the shop , more so when standing at the lathe or bandsaw or cnc for an extended time , so I stopped in Harbor Freight this morn and picked up a 4 pack of those anti fatigue floor mats , got 2 in ront of the lathe , I'll probably put the other 2 by the bandsaw or cnc . Well see in a few days if anything improves with these down on the floor .

Now , you know I couldn't get outta there with just spending $9.99 , so I grabbed a pressure pot while there , I've been meaning to get into casting for a while for my guitar work , knobs and such but now pen blanks also . I took some of the fittings off the top , the cheap relief valve and 90* for the regulator , they were pretty hard coming off with whatever sealent they used , I'll get better quality fittings and install them , then I went and got a 14" pipe wrench out of the shed to remove the paint tube which I've heard is hard to remove , the paint tube was in hand tight with just teflon tape on it , so that was easy . I bent the top handle so it will store under my work bench . I'll get it together sometime down the road . I downloaded the Harbor Freight super coupon for the 20% off in store on the pressure pot .

 

[adirondak5]

After a few sessions at the lathe with the anti fatigue matts on the floor I would have to say they do make a noticeable difference to me , legs and back feels much better than when standing on bare concrete . For $9.99 they were a good investment .

 

[adirondak5]

I was placing an order for some items at Arizona Silhouette a week or so back and saw a special they were running on a 27/64 Colt drill bit for 40% off . I've been using my old Harbor Freight drill bits with no problems but a 27/64 Colt bit for $13. and change seemed like it was worth checking out so I grabbed one . Now I've only drilled 3 blanks with it so far but what a difference . I might end up with a few more of these bits .

 

[adirondak5]

Got my pressure pot all plumbed up . I used teflon tape and joint compound on all joints . First test at 50 psi and 24hrs later its at approx 30 psi . I think the slow pressure loss is most likely at the lid gasket , I'll get some faucet lube and dab it on the gasket and see if that helps but I'm not too worried about it . I also built a rack for the pot from Curtis's plans , thanks Curtis . I even made a block mold from hdpe , again , thanks to Turn Tex & Curtis for info on this .

 

[jimmyz]

Glad to hear you like the lathe. My old Delta is making noises in the headstock area, so I think the bearings are going. Can't get parts for most of the old Delta stuff. I had pretty much decided the lathe you bought is the one I am going to get. Glad you confirmed my decision!

 

[adirondak5]

Glad to hear you like the lathe. My old Delta is making noises in the headstock area, so I think the bearings are going. Can't get parts for most of the old Delta stuff. I had pretty much decided the lathe you bought is the one I am going to get. Glad you confirmed my decision!

Yes , the lathe has been great , when I do need to change the belt on the pulley it takes about 20 seconds . Its been smooth , plenty of power and VS works great . And when I was still looking around Rikon Support was fast to answer any questions I had . I am very happy with it .

 

[adirondak5]

Got tired of sifting through a bag of bushings to find the little bag with the bushings needed , so I picked this storage cabinet up at Lowes and mounted it to the wall . I labeled the smaller drawers for my bushings and the larger drawers hold tubes , pen kits , parts , etc . A lot easier than working out of bags and boxes .

 

[Ambidex]

I also have had nothing but excellent experiences with Rikon..their service, reply time, and polite helpfulness was amazing the couple of times I've dealt with them.

 

[TattooedTurner]

You took the ball and ran for a 110 yard TD! Nice job all the way around. I just got the same lathe last week & finished my first pen on it today, so far I'm very happy with it. I did spring for the stand but I could've and should've made my own like you did. I'm going to steal your idea for organizing my kits, supplies, & tools so they're not scattered about the drawers in my workbench and all over shelves. Thanks for sharing all your ideas.

 

[adirondak5]

I also have had nothing but excellent experiences with Rikon..their service, reply time, and polite helpfulness was amazing the couple of times I've dealt with them.

Yes , its very refreshing to get fast , pleasant responses from some of these companies support staff , makes a difference IMO

You took the ball and ran for a 110 yard TD! Nice job all the way around. I just got the same lathe last week & finished my first pen on it today, so far I'm very happy with it. I did spring for the stand but I could've and should've made my own like you did. I'm going to steal your idea for organizing my kits, supplies, & tools so they're not scattered about the drawers in my workbench and all over shelves. Thanks for sharing all your ideas.

Thanks TT . Congrats on the lathe . I came pretty close to ordering the stand but decided to try and build one , its not the greatest but it is solid and doesn't take up a lot of space , and I built it in about 4 hours so I had no wait time . I got the cabinet at Lowes and now thinking in retrospect they had one a bit larger that I should have gotten . But I have room in this one for all the bushings I'll ever need and my most used parts and kits so it will work fine . Its nice to have your tools and parts organized so you don't spend as much time looking for them as using them Now if I could just find an auto cleaning work bench I'd be all set :biggrin: