Upgrade????

[Brian Greb]

Hey guys,

I'm cost conscious guy, so in my search for bigger and better I was toying with adapting what I have. I see that this may not be a good idea so I'm researching low cost lathes. Now I have some questions. I was looking at the shop fox 16x43 and the Grizzly G0584, are the lathes good? Will I kick my self later for not getting a variable speed lathe?

also does anyone know any thing about this lathe?http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=B2338

I also have a space issue and I was wondering if there are any "big" lathes that are not that long. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Oh and a qualifier id like to keep my upgrade under a grand, I'd be happier to keep it closer to 600. Is this reasonable? or should I make due with my midi for a while longer until I can drop more $ in to it?

[Richard Madison]

Hey Brian, Go turn some stuff on your Delta and save some more money. Re.the lathe you linked to, 600 rpm minimum is WAY too fast for a 14" dia. capacity lathe.

[alex carey]

Id wait until you can get the Jet or the Nova.

[Bernie Weishapl]

My shop is fairly small so I opted for the Nova DVR XP. Fits well in my shop with the stand I built. I would continue with your midi till you have enough to get a decent lathe and IMHO would stay away from the lathes you listed. Any lathe with a minimum speed of 600 rpm is way to fast for doing any big unbalanced items. You might also check out the Nova 1624-44. You can get them on sale for under a grand.

[Bill Bolen]

Gotta agree that you don't throw your $$ at one of the "low cost" lathes you mentioned. You will be looking for another upgrade pretty quick. The Nova 1624 has a great rep and is often on sale at WC for under $1K. I turn on a DVR because of the space issue and ease of relocating later. ..Bill...