New to me Nova DVR XP

[Frederick Ieppert]

I just bought a DVR XP Saturday. It's about 5 years old and used very little. I got all the original paperwork, the original included accessories, a bed extension, a 9" Robust tool rest, a spindle adapter to go to 1"x8TPI, and a turning book for $1250. I'm happy with what I got for my money and itching to get started. I know this is just the start of what is needed/wanted. First on my list is some turning tools and a way to sharpen them. I already have 2 6" Baldor bench grinders. I know that the prefered grinder would be an 8" but since I have the 6" Baldor I will go with 1 of those for now and buy a coulple of good wheels for it. I know that photos are needed and I will have to work on that. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats on your lathe. I have the same Nova about 6 yrs old and have had no problems. I just did a upgrade to it with the remote shut off/on. It will stick on the lathe with the magnet or you wear it on your wrist. You can up the speed or shut it off/on. You got a great deal on it with accessories.

[Thom Sturgill]

So far as I know the only issue with a 6" wheel is the depth of the hollow-grind for fingernail grinds on spindle and detail gouges where the angle is very small. It leaves very little metal under the tip.

That said, if you start out buying top quality gouges like Thompson, D-Way, or Glaser and others that are Vanadium cryo-treated steel then a CBN wheel is almost a must have. Not so much if you stay with normal HSS, but still desirable. Luckily, they are available in 6" diameter, and will last practically forever. Also you could maybe mount the Baldor on a riser as the CBN wheels will not need the shield. They are heavy and that might be an issue if the grinder were too light weight, but probably not a problem with Baldor. Get a OneWay Wolverine jig or something similar.