upgrading lathes

[Derek Voigt]

Right now I'm turning small bowls, pens, and the like on a little Turncrafter 1/2HP lathe with a 10" swing. I'm really itching to get into something bigger but don't want to take small steps to get there. I would love to save up and jump into a Powermatic 3520, but at a minimum I would want something with at 16" swing.

I keep my eyes open and occasionally see some used Nova 3000 lathes. These seem like they would be a good move, since it has a 16" swing and if I ever had the NEED could have the option of going 20+" with the out board rest (my wife wants a bowl that is stupid big... I figure 20+ would fit that bill). But my big concern with these is that they mostly seem to have a 1HP motor. It is just me or is that on the small side to turn the larger stuff effictively.

Any other suggestions of things to be on the look out for?

Thanks!
Derek

[Dan Cannon]

Derek,
I wish I could speak from experience, but I'm still on the market for a lathe as well. It seems that the JET 1642 has a very satisfied customer base. I don't know what price range you are considering, I'm not in the range yet, but for anyone that falls in the price range between a mini and the Powermatic, it seems like a lot of bang for the buck. 16" inboard, rotating or sliding headstock (better than outboard IMO), electronic variable speed. Just food for thought...

Dan

[John Keeton]

Derek, over the past several months there have been many threads presenting the same question. Generally, it seems the recommendations span a wide swath depending on the experiences of various owners. Along with the obvious choices of the 1642, the Nova, and various others, there have been a couple of very satisfied owners of the new Grizzly G0698, a copy of the Laguana lathe.

I have the Delta Midi, so I can't speak to any of the others. Just trying to throw in an option that may not get mentioned depending on who sees your thread. You will get a variety of good responses I am sure.

[John Hart]

I have a Craftsman lathe and I can turn something 14"...Rotate the head and I can do 24". But that's just the swing. I've found that I can't do stuff that big with any amount of ease, because I only have 2HP to play with.

Now...2HP is plenty for most of the stuff I do, but here's where it gets sticky. When you are turning a very large diameter, any pressure from the tool to the extreme outside, causes the motor to bog down. You then need to adjust your touch to accomodate the limitations. And that's something light like a platter.

Go thicker, and you really feel it.

Just my 2 cents....cuz that's all the money I have. :o

My next lathe is going to be homemade.....with a 19HP diesel engine driving it!! :)

[Roger Chandler]

I agree with John about the Grizzly G0698 18"x47" lathe. I have one, and it has features like 2hp, VFD, reversing, quill travel of 4-3/8 inches, and has been a very solid and impressive performer for me.

I have turned on a PM3520b and some other lathes, and this one matches well in performance with the PM and out performs some others I have seen and turned on by a country mile!

Not trying to sell you on anything, but there is probably not a better value for the features and size of the lathe than this unit. The Jet 1642 is also a good lathe, and performs well.

Good luck on whatever you decide, and happy turning!

[John Keeton]

My next lathe is going to be homemade.....with a 19HP diesel engine driving it!! :)John, I hate to think how wild you will be after huffin' diesel fumes all day long!!:eek::D:D

[John Hart]

I'll just spray a little lacquer as an air freshner!!! (hic! oops..'cuse me :o)

[Jeff Willard]

Stupid big bowls often go hand-in-hand with stupid slow speeds. Especially when dealing with lighter machines such as the Nova.

[Reed Gray]

For me, I would recommend 2 hp, 3 phase with a converter, and variable speed. I prefer the sliding headstock to the pivoting one, because that is what I am used to. I don't really like the Nova DVR because I change speeds so often, and the 5 preset speeds you can select just don't do it for me. A lathe in this range can go from about 1500 to 3500, depending on a lot of bells and whistles. I have a big Robust, and would seriously consider the new 16 Robust with the sliding headstock. The Grizzly/Laguna, is being cloned and sold under a couple of different brand names. It should be a pretty good lathe.

robo hippy

[Dave MacArthur]

My wife likes looking at the pics of folks turnings, which I started showing her to convince her we needed a lathe, and that she was really meant to be a turner. I'd do the research and buy her the lathe. Isn't the 10th Anniversary supposed to be "something cast iron that spins"?

Anyways, I'm looking at the same question as you are, Derek. Here's a tip: don't think about John Keeton making all that nice stuff on the Delta Midi, or it will destroy any justifications you might be working on to get the bigger lathe. I have to censor my wife's forum viewing now, she saw Mr. Keeton's last "midnight blue in the Elven Lagoon with Nightingales" doofer, which link she immediately clicked of course--who could resist??--and said, "Oooooohhh! This is great, what kind of lathe does he have, we need one of those!", and all my PM3520B efforts were immediately put at risk!

Someone needs to post a really nice 20" platter named "Golden Sunrise Over Lake Windemere With Mermaids Dancing" or something, really quickly, if I'm to keep my mustard dreams alive ;)

[Derek Voigt]

there have been a couple of very satisfied owners of the new Grizzly G0698, a copy of the Laguana lathe.

That IS a very nice looking lathe. And the price new is not much more then I have seen for the JET with the 16" swing used on C-list. That might be a good one to save up for.


Now...2HP is plenty for most of the stuff I do, but here's where it gets sticky. When you are turning a very large diameter, any pressure from the tool to the extreme outside, causes the motor to bog down. You then need to adjust your touch to accomodate the limitations.

OK that is exactly what I was thinking. I know I can stall my 1/2HP on an 8" bowl easily.


Delta Midi

Yea I have looked at that one as well as the Turncrafter version (the big brother to the one I have now). They are both very nice for their size, but I can't make a 14" bowl on them... so keep that as your ammo to go bigger. I'm sure 80% of the bowls I'll do will be under 12", and 95% under 14%, and maybe 0.01% larger then 16". But it is that 0.01% that keeps me dreaming...

Thanks for all the tips!

[Roger Alexander]

Hi , I have the Jet 1642 and love it. It also has the sliding head stock and if you make a tool rest for the end of the lathe. I'm sure you can turn what you think your ready for. The Jet 1642 is a proven lathe and I have not seen many owers that are not happy with it. Good luck on your choise. I'm sure the 1642 will out last me. Roger

[Cathy Schaewe]

my wife likes looking at the pics of folks turnings, which i started showing her to convince her we needed a lathe, and that she was really meant to be a turner. I'd do the research and buy her the lathe. Isn't the 10th anniversary supposed to be "something cast iron that spins"?

Anyways, i'm looking at the same question as you are, derek. Here's a tip: Don't think about john keeton making all that nice stuff on the delta midi, or it will destroy any justifications you might be working on to get the bigger lathe. I have to censor my wife's forum viewing now, she saw mr. Keeton's last "midnight blue in the elven lagoon with nightingales" doofer, which link she immediately clicked of course--who could resist??--and said, "oooooohhh! This is great, what kind of lathe does he have, we need one of those!", and all my pm3520b efforts were immediately put at risk!

Someone needs to post a really nice 20" platter named "golden sunrise over lake windemere with mermaids dancing" or something, really quickly, if i'm to keep my mustard dreams alive ;)


:D lol!!! :D

[Karl Card]

this is one of the funniest "which lathe do I need" threads.....

get a vb36 and be done with it....

[Derek Voigt]

this is one of the funniest "which lathe do I need" threads.....

get a vb36 and be done with it....

Sounds good to me! I just need to make sure I have tail stock so I can turn pens still

[Jerry Marcantel]

If you want to deal with ordering a Jet 1642 from China, I'm pretty sure it could be gotten for a lot less than purchasing one here.......Go to WWW.Alibaba.com (http://www.Alibaba.com), and search for wood lathe....... At least 10 pages come up and on page 4, almost halfway down, you can see the Jet 1642 EVS, and then Robust and Serious lathes show up on same page below the Jet. Only problem is some of the orders require you to order as many as hundered sets......... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Karl Card]

hmmmm so if we could get 100 creekers to upgrade we could uhmmm well wow....lol