Nova 1624 II?

[Tgillis]

Has anyone worked with the Nova 1624 II? I'm looking at it to replace another lathe I have and would like to know if it has a mobile base attachment that can be added or if I would need to purchase a separate mobile base to go with the lathe. Any good advice is welcomed.

 

[HITCH-]

I had the original 1624 for a number of years.
That lathe was notorious for vibration. You had to add extra ballast and or bolt it to the floor to stabalize it. I added ballast to the tube legs and a shelf similar to the one here.

Nova 1624 ballast update

Originally I'd posted a homemade frame for a ballast shelf that I put on my 1624. It works! The original post was: http://www.woodworking talk.com/f6/my-solution-nova1624-44-ballast-44074/ For those of you considering, this was easy and involved no welding( reference original pics). I 've...

www.woodworkingtalk.com

I don't know if the vibration issue has been addressed in this new model. I would want to test drive one in person and see before buying ;especially since you are considering putting it on a mobile base.

 

[awldune]

If you turn large(ish) bowl blanks, the vibration is an issue. For me, bolting the feet to the shop floor was a huge upgrade!

If you will turn mostly smaller stuff, vibration won't be so big a deal.

I don't think Nova makes a mobile base, I certainly wouldn't expect the lathe to come with one.

Be aware that if you are replacing a lathe with the common 1''x8tpi spindle, this lathe has the less common 1.25''x8tpi. So your chuck and other accessories might not fit. Usually you can replace a thread insert in the chuck. You can also get an adapter to change the spindle from 1-1/4'' to 1''

 

[Jerry C]

My 1624 Nova does all I need..I have turned some large bowls. The lathe as is does not have enough weight to allow large turnings. All you need to do is add weight or bolt it to the floor....I bolted mine to the floor with lag bolts and it works fine...

 

[Tgillis]

I will look at some reviews to find out if the vibration issue was resolved with the new model, if it hasn't then I think I should probably keep looking because my intent is to be able to turn largish segmented bowls

 

[Warren]

Had one with extended bed. No issues with bowls <12" and a couple of rocking chairs with 45" backs. Upgraded to vfd Jet 16-24 for smaller items. and easier speed control.

 

[awldune]

WRT vibration, it is one thing to turn a 14'' bowl from a prepared cylindrical blank (totally fine!) and another to make a bowl that size from a half of a wet log. That will get the lathe rocking and walking even at lower speeds.

Also just to be clear, I don't feel that the 1624 has any issue with higher-frequency vibration in the same way that a cheap lathe with a non-cast iron bed does. It is just that the legs aren't heavy enough to keep unbalanced stuff from rocking the lathe.

 

[HITCH-]

The original 1624 came with plans to make a wooden bench that held 300-400 lb of ballast. I have my DVR XP mounted to a similar bench and it is very solid.

Here is a link to someone that made a mobile base for their DVR XP.

Heavy Duty- Moveable Lathe Stand for Nova DVR

woodtimes's Project

www.lumberjocks.com