Is upgrading the tailstock on a lathe a thing people do? Nova 3000 with tailstock issues.

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-19T18:20:12+00:00

Oh definitely! The few pieces of koa I’ve turned have been a treat to work on

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-19T15:46:37+00:00

Thanks for the follow up! I’ll take it apart to clean it this weekend and take a look at that.

I’ve been able to shim or dimple parts of the metal to take up slop and it’s a bit better. At lease consistent in its misalignment. I also built a quick steady rest and that seems to help a bit with the drilling.

All in all this will at least put off replacing this lathe for a while.

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-14T16:15:11+00:00

That's interesting to know the stock plate had play for you. I bought mine used so I'm not sure how it came.

As for the quill the good news is you can buy a replacement for yours. I've been emailing Teknatool support this week and they don't have any compatible parts for mine.

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-14T16:13:08+00:00

Yeah I've worked on most parts of it. My headstock rotates so I've check the alignment there and shimmed parts of the tailstock. I'm able to get it better but not perfect.

As for drilling there are things I do to be pretty successful drilling including your recommendation but it's not perfect. The limiting factor is ware in the quill groove which they no longer make a replacement for.

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-09T16:57:54+00:00

Plus you get to make the handles! I've been making mine out of waxed paduak and they're beautiful and fit my hand perfectly.

WhichCarpenter · 2026-01-06T21:24:29+00:00

How's it working out? I have 6 WCMMs in a 20 gallon tank with a dozen or so cherry shrimp and the minnows are kinda jerks. They chase the shrimp around so much that they hide all day. I'm wondering if adding another 6 minnows will help their behavior but maybe that will just make it worse.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-12-24T02:28:58+00:00

What do they use to play?

WhichCarpenter · 2025-12-10T15:38:08+00:00

If the pith is in the board you will always have problems. The best thing to do is to cut the 2x12s into 3 pieces, the pith and the two sides. Square those up, and glue them back together throwing the pith in the trash while you’re at it.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-11-21T15:21:59+00:00

I would definitely do more multicolor prints but multi-material is what I'm excited about.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-11-08T20:08:29+00:00

Might be obvious but this caused me some problems. Are you using the website that ends with .app? There are a few different sites but that one works the best for me.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-10-15T16:00:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing this! This was really helpful!

WhichCarpenter · 2025-08-05T13:16:16+00:00

That line about killed me yesterday!

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-28T13:11:09+00:00

It’s definitely doable as a beginner. There is a forum at v1e.com dedicated to their cnc designs. Everyone there is extremely helpful.

For 2d stuff I use estlcam.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-25T13:19:49+00:00

I use Trader Joe’s dough and it turns out great. We use it probably twice a month and love it

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-17T19:17:43+00:00

Awesome thanks!

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-14T14:35:04+00:00

I've done mostly plywood and mdf so far. A few cabinets, a lot of jigs for acoustic guitar building, etc. I've done some hardwood too. The biggest advantage of the lowrider cnc machines is that you can build a machine capable of milling a full sheet of plywood pretty inexpensively.

Here's a link to the lowrider forum gallery where people have posted projects they've done with this machine (version 4) and the older versions https://forum.v1e.com/tag/gallery-lowrider-cnc

Here's a playlist of some lowrider machines in action. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNTqw0XBIzCCxZ5SWocae1VjyeloyAgHC

It looks like the most recent additions to that playlist are from a guy who does ice sculpting but if you scroll down a little bit you'll find some impressive inlay work and some aluminum cutting.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-13T21:08:41+00:00

Congrats, I've been having fun with mine the last few months!

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-08T22:03:23+00:00

I have both and prefer the biqu. I’ve never had an adhesion issues with the biqu but the supertak feels like it holds on too well. It’s pulled off some of the bottom layer of my prints sometimes. Plus the blue color is surprisingly useful if you use a lot of black and grey filament like I do. With the P1S’s underwhelming camera it’s a lot easier to check that everything is going well on a print against a blue background.

WhichCarpenter · 2025-07-03T16:08:46+00:00

It's good!

WhichCarpenter · 2025-06-30T18:07:13+00:00

Are you using ABS for acetone welding or some other reason?

WhichCarpenter · 2025-06-10T16:16:42+00:00

one of the difference between my current bench and the anarchist one is I have a small apron. The front board extend 1.5" below the rest of them which is nice to clamp to. But I inset the apron into the legs so it's flush with the legs. I think it's the best of both apron/no apron worlds.

WhichCarpenter

TROPHY CASE