Robust Lathe

[Dean Mailheau]

Anybody own a Robust lathe? I guess it's about the only ones made in good ole USA these days. Just wondering how you like it and if it's worth the extra money compared to buying Powermatic?

Dean Mailheau
Kaneohe Hawaii.

[Larry Matchett]

The American Beauty is possibly the finest Woodturning lathe on the market today. Comparable in price to the other high end lathes. The good news is you will never have to upgrade and you can do pens to bathtubs.

[charlie knighton]

Robust Lathes has sent the Virginia Woodturners Symposium a gift certificate to be a raffle prize at fisherville , va in sept 13 & 14. good people and we appreciated the gift.

http://www.virginiawoodturners.com/symposium/symposium_info_home.htm

[Reed Gray]

I have 2, an American Beauty, and a Liberty. For me, I had to have the sliding headstock. It is so versatile, and far more efficient than the pivoting headstocks. If you are comparing the Beauty to the big PM, there isn't a lot of price difference. Another thing that sold me was the over all quality. My family owns 2 manufacturing businesses in the mid west, one going since 1952. One thing that sets them apart is the quality of the products. Not just design, but the pride that goes into the making of the pieces. Built to last, and if you do have any problems, you can talk to people who really know the product, and not some tech who has to look it up in a manual. I have no idea what it would cost to get one shipped over there to the Islands though.

robo hippy

[Dan Hintz]

The American Beauty is possibly the finest Woodturning lathe on the market today. Comparable in price to the other high end lathes. The good news is you will never have to upgrade and you can do pens to bathtubs.

What he said...

[Joe Bradshaw]

Dean, I have the Robust Liberty. Unfortunately, my girlfriend has decided that it is her lathe. She really likes it. As the name implies, it is robustly built.
Joe

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Just wondering how you like it and if it's worth the extra money compared to buying Powermatic?

I've got the American Beauty - it's a great lathe - the ergonomics alone are worth the price, in my opinion. Built in the US, a plus. As for the cost - factor in everything and there's very little difference between a similarly sized Oneway 2436 or Powermatic 4224.

[mike ash]

Several times in my life I apparently wasn't confident about my pursuit of a particular activity and tried to "buy in" with the idea of not spending too much $$. It seems that in the end I have spent more money by constantly stepping up in quality/features until I get what I wish I would have gotten to begin with!!! I did this with bow hunting, did it with buying chainsaws, did it with table saws, did it with spotting scopes, collector cars, motorcycles.....and yep, I've done it with lathes (several times).

I now have a PM 3520B and love it. It just does what I need it to do. But then I was lucky enough to visit Reed and his shop and use his American Beauty and I really did notice the difference in quality he mentions. I admit that since using Reed's lathe, there have been several times I have "just peeked" at the Robust website and drooled a bit. I think if someone walked up and offered to buy my PM, that I would sell and immediately order a Robust.......I probably don't need it, but I have that pride of ownership virus that some of you all have.

But don't miss what I said above.......my PM 3520B does all I need it to do. And, don't tell my wife that I have been scoping the Robust website!!!

[Reed Gray]

Joe,
You probably should have known in advance what would happen....

One other feature on the Robust is the adjustable legs. I had my PM up on 4 X 4's. The legs on the Robust adjust up or down in 2 inch increments.

robo hippy

[Alan Trout]

I have a longbed American Beauty. I could have bought any lathe on the market and I bought the AB. The quality, ergonomics, and being made in the USA make it more than worth the extra money. The plus is the Owners Brent and Deb are the best people in the world to deal with. You will not find anyone else that wants you business as bad as the do. A great product and great people to deal with= the best lathe in the business.

[Art German]

I've had my AB for a couple of years now, I don't like it I love it. I had a Jet 1642-2 And wanted something bigger. Looked around and the Beauty of it was the beauty had every thing I wanted and a whole lot more. Once I got it turning just got a lot easier. If you can afford it you will never regret it.

Art

[mike ash]

Here's a link about the Robust Lathes....with a few pics. Enjoy!!

http://kurthertzog.com/articles/wtd44behindthescenes18red.pdf

[Mike Tilley]

After reading all the posts about the robust American Beauty does anyone buy the Sweet 16 for bowl turning?
Price wise it would save a person some money and when you remove that section you could turn a larger bowl.
Just wanting some thoughts on this.

[John Brown]

While attending a class at Arrowmont in 2012 I used two Robust lathes, one being the sit down lathe, both very good machines. If I was in the market for a new lathe I would buy one.

[Alan Trout]

After reading all the posts about the robust American Beauty does anyone buy the Sweet 16 for bowl turning?
Price wise it would save a person some money and when you remove that section you could turn a larger bowl.
Just wanting some thoughts on this.

I have used the Sweet 16. It in my opinion is the best 16" swing lathe out there. In reality with its gap bed and movable bed section it is like a much larger swing lathe. Very versatile and makes a very good bowl lathe. It would probably be all that most would ever need.

[Bruce Markwardt]

I have a Sweet 16. My shop is really small and it was the biggest lathe I could fit in it. I have had it about a year and I'm very happy with it. I don't turn anything super large but have done an 18 inch platter over the gap.