|
|
|
Equipment Reviewed RP CL4 36 x 30 Variable Speed Lathe. RPLB 24-48 Lathe Bench. RP 4000 Chuck System. RP CL3 36 Bowl Attachment. RP 40001 Adjustable Bowl Jaws. Click for picture The review below is a summary of my main observations after 12 months use of the above equipment over a wide range of projects and different types of turning techniques.Most new products get reviewed by the main woodworking and woodturning magazines soon after release and although these reviews are very good and extremely useful I often feel that it would be nice to get some feedback from someone that has used the product over a longer period of time. It was with this in mind that I refrained from publishing my comments on the Record CL4 variable speed lathe until after at least 6 months of regular use which has now been completed and the following are my thoughts and views on this system together with the various accessories listed above and discussed below. I took delivery of the RP CL4 36 x 30 Variable Speed Lathe together with the RPLB 24-48 Lathe Bench and RP CL3 36 Bowl Attachment in January 2001 and subsequently purchased the RP 4000 Chuck System and large RP 40001 Adjustable Bowl Jaws. None of the accessories came in the final packaging which has now been introduced so the set was a very early release. The first job was to erect the RPLB 24-48 Lathe Bench which can be adjusted for lathes between 24 and 48 inches bed length options. As my unit is the 36" bed size the stand was assembled for this option, checked for reasonable leveling only as the final adjustments and fixing were to be carried out when the lathe was finally mounted to take into account the weight loading. This was completed and the stand appeared to be a very solid and firm base for the CL4. Next it was time to mount the lathe on to the stand a task that required the help of a strong and fit friend as the CL4 weighs in at between 98kg and 107.5kg depending on bed length, and is therefore no lightweight. The lathe was already mounted on the bed bars and delivered in a solid wooden packing case and it required a bit of strategic planning in the workshop to get the case into position before opening to ensure a short lifting distance on to the stand, which was achieved by lifting the assembly by the bed bars. This operation is made a little more difficult by the fact that the electronic speed control unit is connected but not mechanically fitted at this stage so it tends to dangle on its power cable and has to be supported whilst lifting. It would be useful if this unit easily unplugged and then re fitted when the lathe is safely on its stand. The first impressions were that the CL4 is a very solid machine and after fitting the speed control unit a quick check was made to see if the motor ran and the control unit worked, at this point I was a little concerned how delicate the small control knobs were on the speed control unit a concern that has proved to be totally unfounded during my 6 months use. It was now time to have a more detailed inspection before fitting the RP CL3 36 Bowl Attachment this meant removing the left hand support frame and replacing it with the bowl attachment support (again with the help of friend to raise the lathe of its support) and a chance to see what is meant by the Record three point mounting system used on bar lower supports and upper clamps. These components have convex and concave surface at the point where they are in contact with the support bars and you have to be careful to make sure that these are correctly matched front and back, although this is briefly explained in the literature I thought that these items could have more clearly marked for the correct orientation, although this would not be a problem unless you needed to remove the supports or remount the lathe on its bars as in my case or indeed any one else fitting the RP CL3 36 Bowl Attachment. The stand was now finally checked for alignment and bolted to the workshop floor another quick visual was made and preparation commenced to run the lathe for the 3 hours run- in time at the lowest speed as recommended by Record. During this run-in period oil was added frequently to the main headstock Tapered Bronze Bearing via the filler cap above the bearing which seemed to be very thirsty to begin with before settling down with hardly any rise in temperature after many hours running. The time had now arrived to do some real business with a selection of pre-cut square sections of differing sizes, these were turned from the rough to the round using all the speed ranges and tools depending on the material and size and the variable speed facility soon proved to be a dream to use having not had this facility on my previous lathes. The CL4 handled all of these samples with no problems whatsoever and I began to get the feel of the system and the heavier 1 horse power motor remained absolutely cool after several hours of use. It would be an improvement if all the levers were quick release particularly the belt tension lever as I found this was in the way on more than one occasion when swinging the headstock around and although the final tightened position can be changed adjusting the back nut this is very fiddling and time consuming. The only quick release lever is the tool rest height adjustment on the banjo but it would be nice if the others were also quick release, after using my old lathe for many years with this feature I found it a bit frustrating. The two belt settings give fully variable speeds from 435 to 2910 RPM and 180 to 1205 RPM access to the belt changing compartment is slow as the lid has to be removed using an Allen Key this is a bit annoying although this is not an operation that is carried out very frequently, and I believe that this may be as a result of the introduction of new safety requirements. The next task was to put the bowl turning capacity to the test using the RP CL3 36 Bowl Attachment and RP 4000 Chuck System. again number of projects were undertaken to test the system to the full capacity of 30 inch diameter and differing sizes and weights etc. Once again the combination of lathe and accessories performed very well with no problems and the ability to change speeds so easily was again a real boon. On the bowl attachment the accessibility of the tightening nut and rotational locking Allen Key took a bit of getting used to as they are both tightened from below, initially I thought this was rather silly but I have to admit I soon got used it and realised that placing them in this position meant that there are no nasty little recesses for shavings and sawdust to gather keeping the top surface completely smooth and free of any adjustment screws etc. During the turning of these items the large diameter RP 40001 Adjustable Bowl Jaws were used to finish the reverse surfaces of a number of bowls and platters and although I have made a number of wooden jaws in the past which have worked well the full versatility of this accessory was a real advantage and provided a very firm grip over a wide range of diameters and edge profiles without damaging the edges of theses items. As with all such jaws one has to be very careful from the safety point of view with respect to the peripheral speed which is very high, however the segments are clearly marked with the maximum speed that should be used. Two small points noticed was a bit of play in the chuck plates when this was mounted but this is a big plate and once clamped up provided a very firm support and secondly the tool for tightening the chuck up with the maximum diameter is not quite long enough and has to be skewed over slightly to get the last bit of grip on the largest diameters. All in all I can honestly say that I am very pleased with the lathe and accessories the only reservations being of a minor detail which I will list below for further comment.
|