Another Nova Ballast Post

[Bob Borzelleri]

Prior to deciding to buy my Nova 1624-44 lathe, I read the Fine Woodworking test of full size lathes. For the lathes they tested (none of the uber lathes, as I recall), the Powermatic 3520b was rated Best Overall and the Nova was rated the Best Value. Other than the many positives about the Nova lathe, the only comment from that review that stayed in my mind was the thought that it could use some more weight. That got me to looking around and trying to figure out the best option for adding ballast. I also considered the possible benefit of the cast legs offered by Nova.

It seemed that some folks have opted for building a shelf and adding sand or concrete bags. I recall seeing one design that encased the legs in boxes filled with sand. As for the Nova cast iron legs, it turns out that they are not all that much heavier that the hybrid stand that came with my lathe.

I decided that I didn't want a shelf hanging down that might restrict my leg access and boxes filled with sand surrounding the legs didn't feel OK either. Then I remembered that I had several Olympic weights in the garage.

What is shown in the picture is what is left over from a 1/2" baltic birch mock up of what might have been a shelf for sand bags. After deciding that the self was not to be, I turned it into a mini shelf to hold tools and the 6" hose for dust collection.

As for the ballast, I simply hung 180 lbs down low with a nylon strap. Easy to remove when needed and the lathe feels very solid.

[alex carey]

looks sturdy, ive been hoping to find a few more Olympic weights like that to put on my ballast. They sure have helped a lot already.

[Stephen Massman]

I opted to make a stand for my 1624 and filled a chamber full of sand. It is stable and doesn't move much.

How does your setup handle a 16" green wood log bowl blank. I might change back to the legs that came with the lathe if it is stable. I can find the weights fairly easily if needed. The main problem I have with a stand is that it is a pain to clear out shavings out of the webbing of the bed of the lathe. I added some plywood shims to elevate the lathe some off the stand and it helps with shavings but it is still a real pain.

Let me know how your setup handles a full size out of balance bowl blank.

thanks
Steve

[Bob Hampton]

here is another idea that i did with mine
i got a piece of pipe the diameter of the wieght disc's and ran that across the legs end to end...on the rod i slide on several (5) 50lb disc's that i got at a local goodwill store
does the trick nice and also allows the chips to fall threw nicely...just another idea
Bob

[Paul Douglass]

I read somewhere you can fill the legs with sand or cement and it will add quite a bit of weight. I don't know how much they will hold but might be worth doing to add some weight.

[Bob L Allen]

I have a Nova DVR3000 with the cast iron legs. The legs have shelf supports in the castings. I fit 2 2x6 planks laid flat on the bottom brackets and 2 2x4 laid flat on the top brackets. I bought 6 6x6x16 solid cement blocks from the local masons supply store @ $1.80 each 4 on the bottom shelf and 2 on the top. Each block weighs about 58 lbs. Covered each level with 3/8 in. sheeting from a scrape pile. The 2x lumber came from the same pile. For less than $15 I added about 350 ibs to the lathe I tell fellow turners my lathe is block solid.

Bob Allen

[Jake Helmboldt]

Bob, I suggest two modifications.

1. Find a way to rigidly mount the plates to your lathe; that will have a greater dampening effect than suspending them with the straps. Maybe find a way to mount a pipe/bar directly under the bed and slide the plates onto that.

2. Actually raise them up closer to the bed. There is a misconception that the ballast needs to be mounted low to establish a low center of gravity. If the desired effect was to resist tipping that would be the thing to do. But for damping vibration and resisting movement of the lathe from a large, out of balance blank, the weight should be close to the ways and headstock (if not above to increase leverage). You want to counter the movement induced by the weight of the blank. That is why the Vega bowl lathe has a massive headstock filled with concrete.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Bob, I suggest two modifications.

1. Find a way to rigidly mount the plates to your lathe; that will have a greater dampening effect than suspending them with the straps. Maybe find a way to mount a pipe/bar directly under the bed and slide the plates onto that.

2. Actually raise them up closer to the bed. There is a misconception that the ballast needs to be mounted low to establish a low center of gravity. If the desired effect was to resist tipping that would be the thing to do. But for damping vibration and resisting movement of the lathe from a large, out of balance blank, the weight should be close to the ways and headstock (if not above to increase leverage). You want to counter the movement induced by the weight of the blank. That is why the Vega bowl lathe has a massive headstock filled with concrete.

Jake...

I'm glad you commented on these points. The height of the weights had me wondering quite a bit. The extreme example would be bolting the legs to the floor in order to resist movement of the lathe but that would probably do little to affect vibration up top.

The straps are a convenient way to see if the added weight has any beneficial effect at all. So far, I have seen none of the movement I had previously seen with out of balance blanks and no weights (although I have not yet tried a 16" wobbler as was suggested by Stephen).

Next up is a bit more rigidity and I will experiment with height, too.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

...Bob

[Curt Fuller]

In addition to what Jake has said, I believe the reason for using sand bags is that they would dampen vibration better than something hard like cast iron. Although the olympic weights probably dampen the vibration somewhat, they will also vibrate right along with the rest of the lathe and stand. Something not so hard and rigid as cast iron such as sand bags or a box filled with sand would serve better. The box that you've built with the tool holder on top would be a great place to fill with sand for vibration dampening.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Curt, I ws just wondering about that yesterday as I looked at some big honkin' blocks of metal (counter weights) that came from a flagpole I dissasembled and planned to use on the lathe.

Vega (lathes) state the huge increase in dampening from concrete compared to iron or steel. I figured sand would have a similar benefit, even if it doesn't have as much mass as metal. That said any weight is better than none, especially if strategically located.

Bob, let us know what your experiements reveal.

[Alan Trout]

That was what I did in my homemade stand that I built for by DVR XP. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99001 I tried to get a large portion of the weight as high as I could. The center tube that the lathe bolts to has about 100lbs. of sand in it. and the rest is in the ballast box. All up the lathe weights over 800lbs. Vibration has never been trouble with the lathe and it is super stable and rigid. The biggest blank I have put on it was about 75lbs. and not well balanced but handled it very well. I have plans to modify the outrigger so I can try to turn some really big stuff but just have not had much turning time or time to play with tools for the last 6 month's.:(

Alan