Lathe recommendation

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SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Sometime after the first of the year, I am going to buy a lathe. I want to be aqble to do the gamut of things. Spindles in the 36" -42" range. Bowls and even pens.

Recommendations please. I don't know yet how much I want to spend except I know I won't spen $5000 on a oneway, but I might go to $2000.
 

woodguy1975

New User
John
The Jet 1642 with a 2HP motor will fit your bill nicely. You'll love having the inverter with Variable speed. Of course The powermatic might be on sale still which puts the price down around $2600. Well worth the $600 extra if you can get the PM.

Good Luck,

John
 

woodguy1975

New User
John
The PM has a 3HP motor and 20" swing. That means you can do bigger bowls and vessels. Also the PM weights about 1000 pounds so turning heavier peices that are out of round is a lot easier. A PM won't "Walk around" on you. I've walked my Jet around with big peices. :)

John
 

Monty

New User
Monty
Mike Davis said:
I was wondering if either one could be used for off bed turning of larger bowls.
The headstock swivels on the Jet, moves to the end on the PM. See Figure 9 in this: link
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
Thanks for the replies and good info. But there is one more question I've go to ask.

There must be more than jet, powermatic and oneway that make good lathes:eusa_thin
 

Big Mike

New User
Mike
I am always hesitant to voice my opinion of lathes as it seems I get flamed for even mentioning what I like since someone always knows better.

I have a Nova, not the DVR version but the older 8 speed version. It has a 16" swing, weighs over 200 pounds without a stand and has served me very well. Last Summer I had an opportunity to turn on a DVR and I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting a lathe in the $2000 range. It has the new variable speed technology and all the features of the old Nova.

The Nova has a pivoting headstock that allows you turn faceplate operations at 22 1/2 degrees off the lathe bed which is much more comfortable. Of course the PM allows you to slide the headstock down to the end of the ways and stand directly in front of it for turning. Very nice feature. The Nova headstock can rotate 90 degrees and with the purchase of an outboard turning accessory you can turn platters up to 29".

For my purposes I love my Nova. I have turned green wood blanks that were 8" thick and 14" in diameter without a problem and I have turned boxes as small as 2" in diameter which requires a very stable vibration-free lathe. The Nova has been that for me.

If you are going to turn large stock you would be hard pressed to beat the Powermatic 3520A or B versions. Both are large stable powerful machines.

Delta has a 16" swing lathe out there that I have turned on that is a steel bed version. It is somewhere in the $2K range but is somewhat hard to find.

Steve, if I were you I would contact someone in the Triangle Woodturner's group and get their opinion. They may even know of a good used lathe that would meet your purposes.

Disclaimer: All of the above is just my humble opinion.
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
:blob8: :blob8: :blob8: :blob8: :blob8: :blob8:

Now that we have that out of the way:lol:.

Actually, the first time I was looking for a lathe, the DVR was recommended to me, by someone at the Raleigh Woodcraft. It was on sale. The only reason I didn't buy it at the time was that I changed my mind about wanting a lathe at that time.

On Woodnet, when I asked about it, I got several good recommendations on it. But of course I got more flames:lol:

As an aside, on this site we can and should have disagreements, but the type of flame I think you mean, will not not happen here, at least more than once by the same person.
 

mkepke

Mark
Senior User
Steve - is $2K what you can spend on a LATHE or what you can spend on WOODTURNING ?

Typical budget:
Lathe: $x dollars
Spindle gouges: $100
Bowl gouges: $100
Scroll chuck + jaws: $250
Grinder: $80
Grinder attachments: $80
CLASSES/BOOKS/VIDEOS:$150
...

Hopefully you already have a suitable bandsaw...

Food for thought,
-Mark
 

SteveColes

Steve
Corporate Member
I hate it when people insist on interjecting reality into my dreams:rolf:
Actually, I knew in concept what you were explaining to me.

I am paraphrasing, and badly, what someone else told me.

What do a boat and a lathe have in common? They are both holes into which you throwaway money.:lol:

But as to your direct questions.

Already have 14" BS with 6" riser.

Grinder, I have 3. a standard 3750 RPM 6"
8" slow speed grinder
Tormak with every attachment known to man:lol:
As to the $2000 that was just for the lathe itself and I could go higher if I saw increased value.

No that doesn't mean I have unlimited funds. But 18 years ago, my have bar/booze bill was over $100 a day. That means that in the last 18 years I have saved $657,000. So everytime my wife gives me a funny look about buying something, I remind her of that fact:lol: I get a lot of leeway.
 
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woodguy1975

New User
John
There are lots of good lathes out there dedicated for different purposes. There are the Vicmars and Stubbys. General makes a couple really nice lathes as wel. The Nova is a decent lathe as well. It is just a matter of price. For in the 2k range you really only have Jet, Delta, Nova, and one of the General lathes. When you get around 3k that is really where other names pop up like Vicmar, and Stubby. Those lathe as usually more dedicated for heavy bowl turning.

Go to www.woodturnerscatalog.com. They have some good lathes in their catalog. Also here - http://www.stubbylatheusa.com/cgi-bin/index.py

See ya,

John
 
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