First lathe purchase help

[Chris Daleo]

I am looking into buying my first lathe and have a few questions. The lathe I'm looking at is the nova comet 2 lathe, it's on sale right now for $350 and the specs are similar to the delta 46-460 but much less. Anyways my question is what options I should get with it first. The options I'm looking at is the reversible g3 chuck, live centre, bed extension, and grinding wheel. The two that I'm really not sure about is the chuck and live centre, how necessary or convenient is it to have these on the lathe? Thanks

[Greg Ketell]

A live center is a must if you are planning to turn any spindles or finials or pens; anything long and slender. A chuck is really really helpful for turning bowls and platters. Not required, but highly recommended.

The grinding wheel: as part of a lathe, I wouldn't bother. You will want a good 8" grinding wheel separate from the lathe so you can turn, sharpen, continue turning without havering to change your lathe setup.

GK
ps. welcome to the creek and to turning.

[Marc Himes]

I agree with Greg. The live center is a must. I would also get a chuck and a separate grinder (low speed or variable speed). Do you live near a chapter of the AAW? I would find one close by if you can and join. You can learn a lot from other members and see what kind of equipment you need to by as well as being able to try it out.

[Chris Daleo]

Ok just checked and the closest aaw chapter is a little over 2 hours away, a little far but if I get the chance to head up there I will.

So it sounds like I should get the live centre and if I plan to do bowls get the chuck. The lathe I'm looking at has the grinder attachment on the end of lathe so I won't have to remove whatever I'm turning.

Curious to know if anyone has had any hands on with the nova comet 2 lathe. Would y'all recommend this or something different?

[Greg Ketell]

I haven't used it but teknatool generally makes good product. The reviews are good on amazon other than one person complaining about the paint.

Looking at the grinder attachment: I would Really skip that if you are having to pay for it. 6" is really too small to sharpen gouges well and it attaches to the hand wheel which means it will prevent the lathe from spinning down quickly and I would be sharpening my hand all the time.

Really you want an 8" grinder that spins at a constant 1800ish RPMs. With that setup, when you a first starting a big turning you will need the lathe at 500 rpm or less. How will you sharpen your tools unless you un mount your turning (which is bad for keeping it straight)?

gk


Ok just checked and the closest aaw chapter is a little over 2 hours away, a little far but if I get the chance to head up there I will.

So it sounds like I should get the live centre and if I plan to do bowls get the chuck. The lathe I'm looking at has the grinder attachment on the end of lathe so I won't have to remove whatever I'm turning.

Curious to know if anyone has had any hands on with the nova comet 2 lathe. Would y'all recommend this or something different?

[Thom Sturgill]

For those not familiar with the setup - I haven't seen one, but did peruse their site when the item was announced - the nova comet has an adapter to mount a grinding wheel on the outboard side. They also have their own sharpening jig designed to work with it (obviously a wolverine would not work since their is no table to mount the receiver on.)

I doubt it will take the CBN wheels that are so popular and a separate grinder may be cheaper than the adapters though the price on the lathe is low. Might be real good for those closet sized shops though.

[Greg Ketell]

Chris, where are you located? Maybe we have members near you.

[Chris Daleo]

Greg,
I'm located in Beaumont tx, about 2 hours east of houston.

Thanks for the advice on the grinder attachment, I think I'll just get an 8" grinder seperately. The sale ends tomorrow so I need to decide pretty quick. I'm still a little on the fence if I should get a full size lathe or just get this lathe with the bed extension. Anyone see any major disadvantages with this setup?

[Clint Baxter]

Chris, according to Teknatool's website, the Comet comes standard with a live center. Not sure what type of optional live center you're looking at.

As far as comparing the midi to a full size lathe, it depends a lot on what you plan on turning. If you're going to do more of the larger stuff such as bigger bowls and hollow forms, that might be a better bet. As has been said here many times before, you can always turn small stuff on a big lathe, but can't turn big stuff on the smaller ones.

Good luck on whatever you choose.

Clint

[Greg Ketell]

What is your budget and what is your goal and how much room do you have? If you are "getting into the hobby" then I don't know anyone who hasn't ended up upgrading at some point. In that case, the Jet 1642 2HP is a great lathe and, arguably, the Powermatic 3520b is the best bang for the buck and big enough to handle just about anything. If you are buying it for a specific project and no plans to do more than that, then it might be fine. I really like their 5-year replacement warranty on anything other than the motor. that is really good.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I definitely agree to skip the grinder attachment. The live center is a must and the chuck I would also get. The bed extension makes it nice to move the tailstock out of the road when turning items and if you do longer spindles such as tool handles. I would definitely start with this lathe and see if you will love turning. I started with a older Delta LA200 and when I found out I really loved turning I kept it and bought a bigger lathe.

[Chris Daleo]

Well I'd like to keep my budget below $1000. Nova has a after christmas bundle for $569 that includes the lathe (nova comet 2), live centre, and g3 chuck. I was looking at there site just now and saw a reconditioned lathe (nova 1624) for $899. Anyone know much about that one? Btw thanks for all the great advice so far, it's been greatly appreciated.

[Phil Rose]

I have a comet 2. I've been very happy with it ... And have posted about in on here as well as at Amazon. I would buy it again, for sure.

[Thomas Canfield]

Chris,

I have been holding back announcing that I ordered the Nova Comet II about a week ago (sight unseen since cannot find any nearby to look at) but have not heard about shipping. I bought it to supplement my Powermatic 3520B and also to take to outings. The 12", variable speed, reversing, and indexing were the big features for me in addition to being about 30# lighter and several hundred dollars less than the Delta that would be my other choice. Previously I had the Jet 1014 VS and found it to be lacking in power and did not regret selling it when I moved except that the grandkids liked to turn on it and it was useful for inside buffing with bowl buffs while externally buffing on the Powermatic. The reconditioned Nova 1624 price is about what they are run on sale, but that lathe does not have reverse or variable speed, but it has more power and capacity. I can do the rough work on the Powermatic and use the little Comet for balanced and smaller work and it should work well for me.

A better live center is something that can be added later. A chuck is something to obtain pretty quick and something that you are likely to buy multiple of in time. The reconditioned Nova G3 chuck was available when I started to place the order, but then dropped from the factory site and only available locally. YOu might check if you order.

[Chris Daleo]

Thomas

Just checked their site and it does state the 1624 is reversible. Having said that would not having variable speed be a deal breaker? I am starting to like this lathe because I have some 14" cypress posts left over from building my house that I could finally have a use for. Anyways I haven't found a lathe this size for that price yet. This is getting hard, I'm sure I'm over thinking this but just want to make sure I get the best lathe I can now.

[Marvin Hasenak]

Buy the best lathe you can afford, add in a $50 set of Harbor Freight HSS chisels and grinder to sharpen them. Learn how to use the face plate and spur drive and make some wood chips. As you progress with learning, reading and looking at the good stuff, you will learn what you need. Then start buying the extras, the chucks, more chucks, fancy high dollar chisels, drill chucks, fancy grinder, sharpening system etc., etc..

First you need safety equipment, dust collection, and face and especially eye protection. You can start cheap with a face mask from Harbor Freight and shop vacuum system, then up grade as you see your needs grow. One thing to remember, the difference between need and want. You will need very little, but you want everything you see. Buy what you need first, then buy the wants. Buying tools don't make you a better woodworker, using them correctly makes you a better woodworker.

[Greg Ketell]

The 1642EVS is reversible. They have a 1.5HP and a 2HP.

No doubt, if you really think this is something you are going to do for a long time, spend your money and get the best/biggest you can afford. Otherwise you will end up buying two. (says the guy who is on his third: a Powermatic 3520b.)




Thomas

Just checked their site and it does state the 1624 is reversible. Having said that would not having variable speed be a deal breaker? I am starting to like this lathe because I have some 14" cypress posts left over from building my house that I could finally have a use for. Anyways I haven't found a lathe this size for that price yet. This is getting hard, I'm sure I'm over thinking this but just want to make sure I get the best lathe I can now.

[Chris Daleo]

Thanks for all y'all's help. Now I just need to decide between the nova comet and nova 1624. I like being able to turn bigger pieces of wood with the 1624, but not sure about not having vs.

There was mention of needing a shop vac, I installed a central vac system in my shop last year. Is there a way to collect the dust as I turn with some type of attachment?

[James Combs]

Thanks for all y'all's help. Now I just need to decide between the nova comet and nova 1624. I like being able to turn bigger pieces of wood with the 1624, but not sure about not having vs.
There was mention of needing a shop vac, I installed a central vac system in my shop last year. Is there a way to collect the dust as I turn with some type of attachment?
The short answer is NO. Chips and curlies fly every where, no attachment can catch them all. That being said they can be somewhat mitigated. Many of us surround our turning station with shower curtains to contain the curlies. I typically have the inlet to my dust collector between me and the lathe. I wear a dust mask and a face shield. With the collector inlet basically a foot or so away from my chin there is a constant downdraft away from my face. The white mask that I wear pretty much stays white for a long time even when working with dark woods so I know the collector is at least pulling the dust away, maybe not the chips but the fine stuff.

[Greg Ketell]

Sorry about that: I was talking about the jet 1642 and didn't realize you we're talking about the Nova 1624.
If it comes down to buying a small vs lathe or a bigger non-vs lathe that will let you turn what you want to... Well, let's just say that vs has only been around for a few years and turning has been around for a LOT longer. Don't get me wrong, vs is Really nice. But a "mst have"?
gk



Thanks for all y'all's help. Now I just need to decide between the nova comet and nova 1624. I like being able to turn bigger pieces of wood with the 1624, but not sure about not having vs.

There was mention of needing a shop vac, I installed a central vac system in my shop last year. Is there a way to collect the dust as I turn with some type of attachment?

[Ryan Mooney]

I'd skip the package deal since you have a definite budget, its $200 more and you can get a live decent center and reconditioned chuck for less than that. In fact they have a reconditioned G3 on there right now for $89 and the live center is $69.99 so even if you bought today separately it would save you $40 (I'd use the live center that came with the lathe for a few months before upgrading anyway - don't know how good it is, but should be fine for a starter). I wouldn't be afraid of the Nova reconditioned tools, they've been real good from everything I've gotten or heard about.

I suspect that with the sale you're pretty close to being able to recoup your money if you either really get into it and want a bigger lathe or decide turning sucks and want to sell it. You'll start creeping towards $1000 pretty darn quickly if you start adding any other tools (ask me how :rolleyes: :eek:) so I'd stay minimal to start and add as you need to for projects. Marvin definitely has the right of it there.

Variable speed, again very nice, not totally necessary but once you have it its hard to go back :D

A chuck isn't totally necessary but it does make a good handful of things much easier so I might suggest getting the recon G3. The suggested HF set is reasonable.

lathe: 350
chuck: 89
uvex s8510 bionic face shield: 36
woodcraft grinder: 125 (100 if you can wait for it to go on sale)
wolverine jig: 89
varigrind for wolverine: 75
HF lathe chisel set: 43 (or benjamins best 8 piece - $73)
--- ~ $807
add in some shipping costs and maybe another chisel/scraper or two and bam you're easily at a grand.

For my money the comet looks like a pretty good starter lathe (haven't used it - blah blah due diligence - blah blah ) and would be a nice accompaniment to a larger lathe if you decide you're really into this turning thing or could be sold for darn close to what you paid for it with the current sale (its ~25% off of amazons price).

[Mike Goetzke]

Thomas

Just checked their site and it does state the 1624 is reversible. Having said that would not having variable speed be a deal breaker? I am starting to like this lathe because I have some 14" cypress posts left over from building my house that I could finally have a use for. Anyways I haven't found a lathe this size for that price yet. This is getting hard, I'm sure I'm over thinking this but just want to make sure I get the best lathe I can now.

I'm new to turning. Because of other projects I haven't had time to really spend much time with my lathe but the little I have I would definitely get variable speed.

Mike

[Michael Mills]

I purchased one for my daughter for Christmas and it seems well made. Rikon also has one, the 70-050, which Highland has on sale for $250. They say they are out now but will have them again in Feb. This is same Rikon which Woodcraft just had on sale as the 1216 I believe.
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/rikon-12-basic-mini-lathe-70-050vs.aspx
I got the Comet because of the grinding wheel to a degree. My daughter will have to move it at her home and that is one less thing to worry with. I have used a six inch grinder for 35+ years with nary a problem but IF I were to buy a new one it would be the 8”.
I have the Nova 1624 myself, it is not electronic but it does reverse. If you are thinking larger than 12” then I would consider it strongly. You do have to move the belt but I have never moved it more than twice for a bowl and normally only once. I have never changed speed with a spindle. For me to step up to the Nova DVR for an additional $1000 it was not worth it. But then again, my pickup has crank windows.:rolleyes: