Big Mike, am not knocking the Nova 3000! This lathe does have a history which is both positive and negative. One of the many good things about the old NOVA 3000 was support from both Teknatool and Woodcraft. Well support may not be as good as once was. Still not bad, but just not as good.
Those people that experienced those snapping motor shafts, on their Nova 3000 all had positive comments for seller, and Teknatool. Wasn’t uncommon for folks to take the lathe back to Woodcraft, after owning the for more than a year and get their money back. Others got motor replaced and installation at no charge at all.
We are talking about a used lathe here. No warranty, strictly as is sale. You either fix any problems yourself or pay to have it fixed including shipping.
Knowing the history of this lathe, cost of driving round trip to pick it up, would not offer much more than current bid. Would definitely not go higher than $275-$300.
Nova lathe owners pretty loyal to their lathes, and helping each other have the best experience while turning. Guess you didn’t look at the “PICTURE,” thread..
How about the guy that replaced Nova 3000 lathe belt for only $8.50. So happy he bought two of them. Or knowing Woodcraft carries them for $12.99.
The old Nova 3000 and the new Nova 1624-44 requires some assembly before use. Whether you do it, store does it, or guy you bought it from does it, some assembly is required. Some tweaking after assembly also required. Also a maintenance schedule to follow.
Following Murphy’s law tells us there is room for human error. What does it matter if you read the manual, call someone, or go on line to find a fix?
The only other strong user groups am familiar with are Stubby & VicMarc. Can only hope there are others out there for Delta, Jet, Oneway, and Powermatic lathe owners.
http://groups.msn.com/NovaOwners