carl mesaros
05-13-2015, 5:12 PM
I thought I'd offer a review on the lathe I recently purchased. I hope the pictures I have selected will attach when I'm finished writing. Haven't done that before.
I have been turning for about 5 years 4 of them on a Jet 1642 1-1/2 hp. I have turned 100's of items on this lathe and really can't complain at all. The machine has done all I have asked of it. However I really wanted to upgrade to a larger lathe with more power, more weight, and more swing.
For well over a year I have been looking at the 2436 Oneway and the Robust AB. I have seen them up close and decided a Oneway was what I wanted. Nothing at all wrong with the AB, but the Oneway came in a little cheaper.
I was still having an awful time justifying the 6 to 7K that one of these machines cost so was kind of putting it off. I then spotted the new Laguna 2436 lathe at the Woodwerks store in Columbus Ohio. It seemed to have everything I have been wanting in an upgrade for almost half the cost. Now I'm going to say upfront I don't pretend this lathe to be in the same class as a Oneway or AB but so far it has been just what I've been wanting.
The lathe came with a 12" tail stock swing away that is really built and designed well. This option brings the net weight of the lathe to 770Lbs. I also ordered a 20" bed extension which adds another 70 so it is close to the Oneway in weight. The machine has a well thought out indexing system that will work well. I don't care for the area in which the spindle lock is located however. It is too close to the hand wheel and will pinch your thumb if your not careful.
The speed changing belt is a small v-belt. Laguna says it's borrowed from the auto industry, for what thats worth. I do like the speed changing door it is held closed with two magnets instead of a thumb screw, clever idea there.
The speed dial is kind of strange to me. The Jet had about a 300 degree from min to max speed, the laguna takes about 8 complete turns! I don't really understand why that is.
The lathe has a 3 HP brushless DC motor. I don't know if that is good or bad but it sure runs quiet and extremely cool. The only noise is from the vfd drive box. It seems they have attached a small box fan to the underside of the vfd. Which is okay I guess but the fan runs all the time even with the lathe shut off. I have to unplug the machine in order to stop it.
The tailstock is well built very smooth and accurate with the head stock, centers line up perfectly. There is 4-1/2" of spindle travel.
The lags are 26" apart not quite Oneway or AB territory but 3" better than Powermatic.
I have turned about 10 various sized bowls with the lathe so far and what a difference 370Lbs. over my 1642 makes. LOTS smoother with out of round blanks.
Overall I'm very happy with the lathe, A few changes ( fan shut off with the lathe turned off, different location for spindle lock, and less turns for min to max rpm) and it would be perfect.
I have been turning for about 5 years 4 of them on a Jet 1642 1-1/2 hp. I have turned 100's of items on this lathe and really can't complain at all. The machine has done all I have asked of it. However I really wanted to upgrade to a larger lathe with more power, more weight, and more swing.
For well over a year I have been looking at the 2436 Oneway and the Robust AB. I have seen them up close and decided a Oneway was what I wanted. Nothing at all wrong with the AB, but the Oneway came in a little cheaper.
I was still having an awful time justifying the 6 to 7K that one of these machines cost so was kind of putting it off. I then spotted the new Laguna 2436 lathe at the Woodwerks store in Columbus Ohio. It seemed to have everything I have been wanting in an upgrade for almost half the cost. Now I'm going to say upfront I don't pretend this lathe to be in the same class as a Oneway or AB but so far it has been just what I've been wanting.
The lathe came with a 12" tail stock swing away that is really built and designed well. This option brings the net weight of the lathe to 770Lbs. I also ordered a 20" bed extension which adds another 70 so it is close to the Oneway in weight. The machine has a well thought out indexing system that will work well. I don't care for the area in which the spindle lock is located however. It is too close to the hand wheel and will pinch your thumb if your not careful.
The speed changing belt is a small v-belt. Laguna says it's borrowed from the auto industry, for what thats worth. I do like the speed changing door it is held closed with two magnets instead of a thumb screw, clever idea there.
The speed dial is kind of strange to me. The Jet had about a 300 degree from min to max speed, the laguna takes about 8 complete turns! I don't really understand why that is.
The lathe has a 3 HP brushless DC motor. I don't know if that is good or bad but it sure runs quiet and extremely cool. The only noise is from the vfd drive box. It seems they have attached a small box fan to the underside of the vfd. Which is okay I guess but the fan runs all the time even with the lathe shut off. I have to unplug the machine in order to stop it.
The tailstock is well built very smooth and accurate with the head stock, centers line up perfectly. There is 4-1/2" of spindle travel.
The lags are 26" apart not quite Oneway or AB territory but 3" better than Powermatic.
I have turned about 10 various sized bowls with the lathe so far and what a difference 370Lbs. over my 1642 makes. LOTS smoother with out of round blanks.
Overall I'm very happy with the lathe, A few changes ( fan shut off with the lathe turned off, different location for spindle lock, and less turns for min to max rpm) and it would be perfect.