A little freight truck visited me this morning... Gloat

[Matt Winterowd]

A couple of nice young men just dropped off my new Vicmarc VL300 bare bones lathe. I've got all the electrics, and I'll be building it out a la Dave Schell. I'm graduating from a Nova DVR XP that I liked, but never loved. Just the feel of the tailstock and banjo on this baby already makes me smile. :D

This is already my favorite new tool ever because it's absolutely clean and rust-free, and not a spot of cosmoline anywhere on it! Very happy with the service from Craft Supply.

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[Josh Bowman]

Matt, what a great gloat! Now get it dirty.

[David DeCristoforo]

That's a sweet looking machine. But it's kinda low... does it come with knee pads?

[Jim Burr]

And a free hat too! I got a free 5.11 Tactical hat when I bought my last pair of combat boots. You are going to be all over that lathe like white on rice! Sweet score!

[Peter Fabricius]

Hi Matt;
Hard to understand why you did not love your DVR XP??? But we all have different likes. Your new baby looks short? What is the bed length and the swing?
I can see the tailstock and banjo look more substantial than most other lathes and must be a good thing.
Nice new TOOL......
Enjoy
Peter F.

[Matt Winterowd]

Thanks all!

David, I don't understand. Don't you stand straddling the bed when you turn? :eek:

[Matt Winterowd]

Peter, I never really made friends with the controls on the Nova, and I always felt like I had to use excessive force with the banjo and tool post locks. Plus, I wanted more swing over the bed. The Vicmarc has 24" of swing over the bed. Should be plenty. :) It is a short bed. I think it's 21" between centers, although I got the tailstock swinger which brings it to 28"

[Harvey Ghesser]

Congratulations on the new lathe, Matt! Looking forward to seeing what comes off her.

[Bill Wyko]

Way to go. Looks fantastic. How much swing does it have? Looks substantial.

OOps looked up 2 replies and answered my question. Congratulations.

[Steve Harder]

Matt - can you pass along a little more info on motor specs needed to match the VL300? Or point me to a link to forum discussion ...

[John Keeton]

Now, that is a lot of lathe!! Congrats! Looking forward to seeing the "assembled/built" pic.

[Matt Winterowd]

Steve, I'm pretty much following the recipe here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?102818. I'm using the exact same VFD as Dave. The motor I bought is a Leeson 115828, which is a 2hp, 1740 RPM motor. Craft Supply uses a Leeson 116594, which is 3hp. I got a good price on this motor, and I can't really imagine 2hp not being enough power, but if I ever decided to upgrade a new motor will just drop in since the VFD will handle 3hp.

I've got my own design planned for the stand. More of a trestle design. I'm actually still recuperating from back surgery, so it may be a week or two before I get started on the stand, but I'll post pictures as it's coming along.

[charlie knighton]

congratulations, Matt, hope you recover soon

[Roland Martin]

That's a beauty, Matt!! Looking forward to seeing the completed project, but take care of yourself first.

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats on that lathe! I am looking forward to seeing it put together!

[Rick Markham]

That's sweet!!! Sure is a purdy shade a blue... looks like it came with your new favorite hat as well :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on a great looking lathe.

[Alan Trout]

Matt,

I am planning on doing the same thing one of these day's so I can have my 3rd large lathe in the shop. Vicmarc's are wonderful machines. IMHO some of the best bearings in the biz and I really like the small headstock. They are great lathes. Congratulations.

Alan

[Steve Harder]

Matt - thanks for the details. I've got a Nova 1624 which I converted to VFD (and can convert back to original) -- so I, in a way, already have the 2hp motor I would need for the upgrade to the VL300 - which would fit in my small shop. Oh well, I can dream ...

[Steve Kubien]

That is my dream lathe.

[Matt Winterowd]

That's sweet!!! Sure is a purdy shade a blue... looks like it came with your new favorite hat as well :D

Right on both counts, Rick!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

That's a real professional tool. Do it proud and be safe.
faust

[Nate Davey]

Look forward to following this thread. Congrats on an beautiful machine.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - Congrats on your new lathe! Looks great! Looking forward to seeing photos of it once you have everything built and in place! Have fun!!