What kind of wood lathe do you have? [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

Steve Eure

12-08-2019, 12:24 PM

Started out with a Rikon 70-220VSR midi. Great lathe for the money and did lots of smaller items. The only drawback for me was the bed ways were not long enough for some spindle work.
I then graduated to a Laguna 18/36. Not one complaint with this machine. It has handled everything I've thrown at it. I say no complaints, but the add-on accessories are a bit pricey. I made my own vacuum adapter and mobile lift for it and saved several hundred dollars. I bought an aftermarket light for it that mounts exactly as theirs does for over $125.00 less than they wanted. Outside of that, no complaints.
BTW, I still have and use the Rikon at times for smaller items, especially when the Laguna is tied up.

Jay Rasmussen

12-08-2019, 1:21 PM

Unlike all my other machines I decided not to start small and upgrade. My first was a Powermatic 3520B, really liked it but when I saw the features of the 3520C decided to sell the B and get the new C. I try to keep my tools like new so my resale was good.

What I really like is the extended nose on the spindle, magnetic movable controls, Pinch type tool rest clamp and Acme threads on the tail stock. I did like the open base better on the B. Also purchased the swing away setup, highly recommend.
Pretty sure this one will be the last one I buy.

roger wiegand

12-08-2019, 1:34 PM

Currently a Conover, as of early January a Robust American Beauty.

When I bought the Conover it was the must-have "heavy" lathe, unless you could score an old Oliver, or something exotic from England. Times have changed! I particularly liked being able to make my own wooden ways, allowing me to turn 6 ft bedposts, and I still love the look and feel of the thing. All of the hardware was super heavy duty for the time and nicely machined. Being able to bore through the tailstock is a nice feature that some modern lathes don't have. It came with a variable speed DC motor, which was a very unusual feature at the time, most lathes either had four speeds by changing belts or something complex like a Reeves drive. What I don't like is the tendency of the tool rest to slip with vibration, that anchoring the tailstock firmly takes Popeye arm strength (particularly to unscrew the hand wheel once it wedges into place) and the fussiness of maintaining the headstock, tailstock and ways in perfect alignment-- not an issue for bowl turning, but requiring care when remounting work between centers.

The tilt-away tailstock and sliding headstock of the AB are huge selling points. I expect as well that the tool rest won't slide around on me, and the tailstock will stay put without undue effort. I turn big, out of balance chunks of tree with some regularity. I have a couple hundred pounds of lead on the bottom shelf of my Conover, I'm expecting not to need that on the AB. I'll know more after it arrives and I get to use it for real.

Reed Gray

12-08-2019, 1:56 PM

First lathe was a 1/2 hp 4 speed Atlas. Upgraded that with a 1 hp motor. Next was a 3520A, which I used for maybe 8 or so years. Next was a Robust American Beauty with the 3 speed pulleys. I added a Robust Liberty which they don't make any more. I picked up a Vicmarc 240 last March, the one with the pivoting headstock and 3 speeds pulleys. I am starting to think of it as my favorite for bowls, though I do switch back and forth between it and the Beauty. The Liberty is for teaching. I do have an old Jet Mini that I bought to do threaded boxes on with the Bonnie Klein jig. Not sure if I will add another lathe or not. I want to do more work shops in the new place....

robo hippy

John K Jordan

12-08-2019, 2:46 PM

What brand and model of lathe did you get, and why did you pick that one? Things you do, and do not like about it....

My primary lathe is a PM 3520b with bed extension. Plenty of length, plenty of power, excellent lathe.

421186

My secondary lathes are two Jet 1642 EVS, one set up in the shop all the time and the other in storage as a backup. Perfect for students, to setup special jigs when turning on the other, or to quickly turn a special support or jam piece without disturbing the work on the other lathe. I can demonstrate on one lathe while the student turns on the other, or each of use can turn at once. I can have two students at once or more if I bring in another lathe. Excellent lathes and reasonable in cost.

421185

Two other wood lathes are Jet minis, great for carrying somewhere or bringing into the shop for a larger group. Not variable speed, limited in size of turning, but easy to transport and set up. I can carry one in the back of a car.

My first lathe was a copy of the old Craftsman tube lathe. Possibly the worst lathe ever made. Difficult to keep in adjustment, underpowered, the best manual ever, learned a lot of technique then bought a new Jet 1642 and gave the tube lathe away.

My last two lathes are metal-cutting lathes. Along with a small milling machine and other welding and metal-working equipment lets me make or fix anything that strikes the fancy.

421190

Is that enough for one person or do I need more?

JKJ

david privett

12-08-2019, 5:27 PM

grizzly 0766 price , I got # 33 I think off the boat, I like john k above had a tube lathe it was just a little better than not having one I guess. have no regrets on the griz .

Bill Bukovec

12-08-2019, 9:50 PM

Delta iron bed 1440. I like to slide the headstock close to the end of the ways for bowl turning. I bought it about 10 years ago. Hate the fact that the pulleys in the Reeves drive are cheap pot metal. Delta no longer stocks parts, so when the pulleys break, you need to get parts from Jet or Grizzly. I re-engineered mine to use step pulleys. Next lathe will be a 3520 b (if one ever comes up for sale) or a 3250c.

Keith Buxton

12-08-2019, 11:36 PM

started out with a general midi and turn and turn on it for about 5 years an then bought a grizzly G7066 no regrets great lathe. why I bought it was the price bought it back in 2015 and paid $1667.00 for it. now with the tariff it is up around $2250.00 but still worth the price great power and size

Dominik Dudkiewicz

12-09-2019, 6:06 AM

Like Jay, I wanted to buy my last lathe first and ended up with a Vicmarc VL200 Swivel Head that I bought a few weeks ago. It has a bed extension, 2HP variable speed motor (AC 3PH with VFD), 44" between centres, extra banjo with a 24" rest and a magnetic moveable speed control/on/off switch. Ticked all my boxes for a quality lathe to turn furniture spindles and allow for some bowl turning and most anything else I could see myself wanting to turn. This lathe was a small batch of lathes they made just prior to going into full production with the VL240 (that has an extra 1.5" swing. It was this or a Laguna 18/36 but in the end the Vicmarc reputation for quality and longevity is what swung my decision - also the extra mass and swivel head were advantages for me.

Cheers, Dom

Alex Zeller

12-09-2019, 8:59 AM

I bought a Grizzly G0766. I wanted big enough to not feel size limited but without spending the big bucks some of the other brands cost until I felt that turning was something I would stick with. Back before the tariffs someone here posted a discount code so I got a smoking deal. With the tariffs the price jump puts it near the price of the Laguna lathes so I can't say for sure what I would have gotten but I can' see myself upgrading any time soon.

Timothy Thorpe Allen

12-09-2019, 9:17 AM

I currently have a Delta 46-700, that I got second-hand ~15-20 years ago. At 12x36 it is similar to the Rockwell Homecraft lathe that my dad has, on which I first learned to turn ~40+ years ago. As things go, my lathe has been in "storage" for at least the last decade, but having gotten it out recently and started turning again I am quickly running up against some of it's limitations and am starting to think about an upgrade....

tom lucas

12-09-2019, 7:51 PM

I had been using an old craftsman with plans to save for a Powermatic. But then the Craftsman died unexpectedly and I wasn't in position to pay the premium for a PM. So, I had narrowed it down to a Laguna 18-36 or a Grizzly G0766. Price was close enough. I went Grizzly as it was more lathe and some of the early Laguna customer service issues scared me. Plus I have always had good service from Grizzly; just a great value. I've had it about 10 months now. So far it's been great. Can't see needing more lathe, ever. If big isn't needed consider a table top model like a Nova Comet or the Grizzly G0844.

If you've used a lathe and are certain you will use it a lot, I suggest getting a "lifetime" lathe - one big enough and capable enough for whatever you might need.

Dean Thomas

12-09-2019, 9:29 PM

Tom gave you sage advice about considering getting a "lifetime lathe". I have no clue where "Hoodsport" is, but if you have a good turners' club nearby or a few turners who will share time on their various machines, you can learn a lot by asking them what they like or hate about their machines. If you want to make a few big things but mostly small things, and have access through a local club to a lathe for your few large projects, get a middle sized lathe of great quality!

My personal history started with a ShopSmith clone and some related medium-quality tools. That tool provides a swing of about 16". The largest I ever turned on that machine was a trivet, 10 inches by 3/4" thick. Most of what I turned on that machine were cute little solid wood ornaments of maple and butternut. They sold well for me. I was able to buy a couple of quality tools. I was able to score a Carbatec mini-lathe at a moving sale. I still use that machine. I used it with a couple of really cheap pen lathes to teach middle school kids how to turn on a few Saturdays. Church-based project that was great fun for me and for them (I also taught them how to use a scroll saw). I then bought what will likely be my last lathe, a Jet 1236 which is a 12"x34-1/2" non-variable speed machine. It is a sufficient machine for the things I like to do. I'm a geezer who doesn't have stamina or tools to go hunting big chunks of wood for turning or time (or patience or storage space) to wait for green wood to dry out before final turning. I got what I thought was a great deal on a good and well-cared for used Jet. My price included delivery and set-up! That's helpful for a geezer shop. It's big enough for my personal projects. For larger projects, my club has two larger lathes that would accommodate me.

Roger Chandler

12-10-2019, 10:42 AM

My first lathe was a Craftsman 15" variable speed lathe. It had a D/C motor and controller with geared spindle instead of belt driven spindle. That thing broke on me, and no available parts on planet earth...believe me I looked everywhere for months. Ended up making scrap metal out of the thing.

I moved up to a Grizzly G0698 18/47 lathe, which also had a D/C motor and variable speed with belt driven spindle system. Used that lathe for about 6 years, sold it to one of the clubs I am a member of, and that lathe is still being used all the time, without a single issue for about 13 years of its life so far.

I wanted bigger, so I got the G0766 Grizzly which is a 22/42 lathe, with 3 hp, variable speed with premium Delta Electronics "M" series inverter motor combo, which is more advanced than the inverter on the Laguna and Powermatic/Jet lathes which use the Delta "S" series inverter. I have had super service from that lathe since I bought it on January 1st of 2015. It has turned some really large wood, and I am extremely pleased with the service and performance of the G0766.

I've had such good service and performance from my Grizzly lathes, that I bought another one......the flagship G0800 24/48 lathe made for them by Harvey Industries Machine Company, the same manufacturer that makes the Powermatic lathes, and the G0800 is comparable in class to the Powermatic 4224b. A truly fine piece of premium equipment if there ever was one!

Before purchasing the G0766 back on New Years Day in 2015, I had turned on all sorts of lathes, the Powermatic 3520b [eleven different lathes of that model] so I knew it well, and 6 different Jet 1642 evs lathes, numerous midi lathes, and such, so I knew what all of them were, and have a friend who owns a 3 hp Oneway 2436, and a friend who owns a Robust American Beauty.

I was saving for a Robust American Beauty, and was close to pulling the trigger on one......I had turned on a friends Robust AB a couple of times, and they are truly nice units. I kept having this feeling I needed to really dive deep into the build of the G0800, the Oneway 2436, the Robust AB, and when I did, for the value and the very heavy duty build of the G0800, I decided for me it was the best combination of value, build, and premium features. After two years of using it, I still could not be happier with my choice! It has swing away tailstock, and many other features that are great design. It has 3 massive spindle bearings which are all bigger than a baseball, and the Lagunas only have two spindle bearings. Truly heavy duty!

I turn some large wood, I sell my work, and I am a stickler for performance and reliability. Both my G0766 22/42 lathe, and my G0800 24/48 lathe have given me exceptional service and what I truly believe is the best value for large lathes on the market today. I also have one midi lathe in my studio, but use the large lathes mostly.

Good luck with your research and hope you get the lathe that fits you perfectly!

Jeffrey J Smith

12-10-2019, 4:32 PM

I started turning after being gifted a Craftsman lathe in response to my saying that I'd like to start turning...I'd been watching one of the woodworking shows on PBS and decided it looked interesting. That was nearly 20 years ago. After quickly hitting the limitations of this lathe, I manned up and bought a Jet 1642 that I turned on for several years. Facing retirement in a couple of years, I decided it was time to explore the 'last lathe' I'll ever buy.
After checking out and getting significant turning time on lathes from OneWay, Powermatic, Vicmark, Magma/Titan and Robust I settled on the Robust AB, 3hp, tilt away Pretty much the 'standard' configuration.
I can honestly say that, after 8 years of use I'm still thrilled and delighted to stand at this lathe and make shavings. Can't honestly say that it has made me a better turner, but it's surely allowed me to learn to appreciate the importance of a well designed and produced piece of equipment.

John K Jordan

12-10-2019, 7:02 PM

I started turning after being gifted a Craftsman lathe in response to my saying that I'd like to start turning...I'd been watching one of the woodworking shows on PBS and decided it looked interesting. That was nearly 20 years ago. After quickly hitting the limitations of this lathe, I manned up and bought a Jet 1642 ...

Did you have the old "tube" lathe too or were you more fortunate than that?

I got started turning when my son was in architecture school - I wanted to make a tracing paper dispenser for his workstation and all I knew abut lathes was they were supposed to let you make round things. Not knowing any better, I went to Home Depot and they sold me their only lathe, a Ridgid, exact clone of the Sears tube lathe. They hadn't sold one in years. I bought a set of tools from Sears and made the dispenser, complete with a tearoff blade. I eventually tried making some more things and got hooked and immediately realized the severe limitations of that thing! The first jet 1642 came very soon after that.

Now if I were a rich man, I'd sure take a careful look at the Robust!

JKJ

Frederick Skelly

12-10-2019, 9:25 PM

Harbor Freight. It cost me $150 used and it's been a good starter tool.

Jeffrey J Smith

12-10-2019, 11:57 PM

[QUOTE=John K Jordan;2972641]Did you have the old "tube" lathe too or were you more fortunate than that?

Mine wasn’t the tube version, but don’t read that to mean it was any better. It did get me hooked, though. I guess you’d call it a gateway drug...
Not rich, but started saving for the ‘last’ lathe a year after getting the Jet- five years later I had my American Beauty. Now that retirement is a two-year reality, so glad I thought ahead. There’s no way I could afford it now. I hoarded lots of tools over that time. They’re coming in handy now.

William C Rogers

12-11-2019, 11:02 AM

I have had many lathes. My first turning experience was with a Shopsmith, turned once on it and gave up turning for over a year.
Next was a Delta mini I bought when Lowes was closing them out. Good lathe and made many pens and kit items on that lathe.
Then Jet mini, but with variable speed. Kept the Delta.
Then I bought a PM 90 at a school auction. Very heavy built and raised it to 18” swing.
The the Laguna 18-36. I sold the PM 90 as I wanted a modern lathe. The Laguna was a very good lathe. I did need to replace the start switch and small relay, but Laguna’s CS was great and sent parts quickly. The Laguna did everything I wanted, BUT I did want more mass and a good tailstock swing away.
So I bought a Robust AB. This is my last lathe, however I wouldn’t trade my progression. I was able to accumulate decent tools, chucks, and accessories along the way. I like the size, mass, tailstock swing away, leg splay and a list of other things about the AB.

Glenn C Roberts

12-11-2019, 9:32 PM

A free Shopsmith. What the heck is this? Tried it. A few spindles and bowls - garbage really - but a tremendously addictive experience. Nova 1624 now, maybe an upgrade in the future.

Pete Staehling

12-12-2019, 7:07 AM

I have a Harbor Freight bench top model that I got for with a sale coupon $200. It is a pretty lousy lathe, but I don't regret the purchase. It was a decent way to get a taste of what turning is all about. I actually managed to make some nice things and the accessories I bought and skills that I learned will be useful when I buy a nicer lathe. Having spent some time with the HF junker, I now have a better idea what kind of projects I really want to do and therefore what I want in a lathe.

When I bought the HF bench top model I knew I would like turning but questioned whether I could justify the space a lathe would take up in the shop and if I got a lathe just how much space I could justify. If I had gone right to a nice one it may well have been either too much or too little lathe size wise for my needs and the space available. It may have had the wrong features. I now have a much better handle on what I really want to do and how that will be best served in the space of my shop. The best compromise at this time, for me, seems to be something like the Nova 1624 II.

People always say buy something nice to start with, but I don't regret testing the waters with the cheap little HF. If I had bought something nicer it would have probably been either too big or too small or had the wrong features and I'd have likely felt stuck with it given the $$$ I would have invested. The $200 HF is pretty much a throw away that I have easily gotten my money's worth of usage out of. I'll try to find someone who will put it to good use to give it to. Hopefully they will use it and move on to something nicer.

Similarly I started with the cheap set of lathe chisels from HF. I made my sharpening mistakes and did a lot of learning with them, buying some nicer ones as I went. I started with a better grade of things like chucks early on. By then I knew I'd find it useful to have nice ones later no matter what lathe I bought.

Randy Heinemann

12-12-2019, 8:18 AM

I am a beginner compared to most of the regulars on this forum. I started out and still own a Nova Comet II midi.

The one big negative for me was that, after only 2 years of rather light duty use, the controller died. It was out of warranty within a year so the $150 cost of a new controller was mine. Since I didn't want to buy a new lathe at the time, I just replaced the controller.

I would never buy another Nova lathe because of this although I don't know if the failure was just a random event or not
Other than that, the lathe has served my needs and it was rather inexpensive as a starter lathe. I turn bowls up to around 8" - 10" on it and it works well. It's capacity is 12" but I think that would be pushing the limit of the motor and lathe overall size, especially until the blank is balanced completely.

Perry Hilbert Jr

12-12-2019, 8:38 AM

I learned on my Dad's old Dunlap. As an adult my first was a 9 inch Powrkraft. Turned only two items on it and decided to get variable speed. Got an HF 12 x 33 at a yard sale for $75.00. That actually does a lot of my work. I picked up an old Rockwell 46-525 that came out of a school shop and came with out board face plate and factory free standing tool rest. Then I found an identical HF 12 x 33 lathe on casters at another yard sale for $60. I figured just for the spare parts it was worth it. At another yard sale, I picked up a little 8 x 12 Turncrafter with about 20 pounds of pen making supplies for $70. I also got an RBI Hawk scroll saw at the same sale for $50. Lastly, I bought an old wooden beam lathe 12 x 48 for $10. (I intend to make a treadle lathe out of it.) The reason I keep the larger lathes set up? I detest changing tooling when I am making things, so one lathe has the chuck with cole jaws, another gets the face plate for face turning and the third is for spindle work between centers. I can simply walk five feet to the next lathe rather than change everything around on one lathe and then maybe have to change it back.

I found that like most of America, in the 1950's and 1960's many fathers had hobby work shops for a past time. They bought decent tools, Delta, Craftsman etc and either didn't make much use of them or took care of them,. As the men passed away, their kids peddled the stuff off for what they thought they could get. I made a part time business of it back in the 1970's and early 1980's when I lived in the DC burbs. Folks retiring and moving across the country did not take their workshops. I bought lots of drill presses, jointers, table saws, band saws, etc, dirt cheap and sold them up in central PA for 2 or 3 times what I paid. Now In my area, the guys who lived in the same house all their lives are passing on and their shops are being sold off. I bought a 10 inch contractor grade Craftsman table saw at an auction for $12.00. No one wanted it because it was corded for 220.

Thomas Wilson80

12-12-2019, 10:52 AM

I was given the smallest harbor freight VS mini lathe (8-10" swing) and turned some small ornaments/pens before I found a used 10" VS Jet mini for sale. The difference in quality and precision was drastic. I had planned on just doing small ornaments, etc. but started seeing videos of bowls and hollow forms and eventually, that's all I wanted to try. I turned a couple 9" bowls but found I was so limited with space and was spending so much time trying to get the blanks down to size to fit on the lathe (didn't have a good bandsaw then) that I began saving for a larger lathe.

I ended up buying the Laguna 2436. I felt like it was comparable to the PM 3520B but significantly cheaper and with 4" more swing (I looked for a used 3520B in my area for almost 2 years but the rare ones that came up for sale were close to the cost of a new one). I considered getting the Grizzly G0766 but with the increase in price due to the tariffs and the fact that I didn't have confidence in my abilities to maintain it (I don't have any prior shop experience or fixer-upper skills and drilling out the tool rest/replacing a potentiometer/fixing the spindle thread, etc. seemed beyond me).

I'm extremely happy with the Laguna. It is a beast of a machine and has been perfect for me so far. With a coupon, it was around $3500 new, and while that is a lot of money, I won't ever need to upgrade and feel like this lathe has the capacity to do anything I would ever want, from large bowls to hollow forms (my next venture) to small spindles - (ironically, since getting the Laguna, I have done more spindle turning than I ever did on my Jet mini - I guess the grass is always greener......).

Tom

Pete Staehling

12-13-2019, 6:25 AM

The one big negative for me was that, after only 2 years of rather light duty use, the controller died. It was out of warranty within a year so the $150 cost of a new controller was mine. Since I didn't want to buy a new lathe at the time, I just replaced the controller.
Just a side note...
I have several times had a manufacturer/supplier provide a replacement part gratis even on an out of warranty machine. This has been true even for some pretty expensive parts on machines that were as far or further out of warranty than your Nova is. I never specifically ask for them to give me a free part, but did talk to or email tech support and discussed the problem. I asked for advice on how to fix the problem, what might have caused it, and how to avoid it in the future. I suspect they were more likely to help with a free part when it was a known problem. In at least one case they provided a replacement part while a little out of warranty and over a year later while well out of warranty provided the same part as well as another part that went with it to be sure the matching of the parts wasn't an issue. It was a part that cost a substantial portion of the price of the whole machine.

Larry Frank

12-13-2019, 7:33 AM

I have a Shopsmith that works fine for now. I recently bought the Nova G3 Chuck and really like it. However, now I am starting to think about a new lathe . I have been looking at the Nova series. I have the Nova DP and really like it.

Randy Heinemann

12-13-2019, 9:00 AM

Just a side note...
I have several times had a manufacturer/supplier provide a replacement part gratis even on an out of warranty machine. This has been true even for some pretty expensive parts on machines that were as far or further out of warranty than your Nova is. I never specifically ask for them to give me a free part, but did talk to or email tech support and discussed the problem. I asked for advice on how to fix the problem, what might have caused it, and how to avoid it in the future. I suspect they were more likely to help with a free part when it was a known problem. In at least one case they provided a replacement part while a little out of warranty and over a year later while well out of warranty provided the same part as well as another part that went with it to be sure the matching of the parts wasn't an issue. It was a part that cost a substantial portion of the price of the whole machine.

After I discussed the problem of the lathe being dead, their tech support electrician pointed me to the controller as he didn't believe it would be the motor itself (and there could be no other cause). I thought Nova probably should have considered replacing the part, given that there was no evidence for them to assume anything except that the part had merely failed after about 2 years of light duty use. They absolutely refused to replace it without cost to me so I have no choice to buy it for $150 or junk the lathe. I would never replace the controller again. If it fails a second time, I will just junk the lathe and get something much better. While I felt tech support was responsive, the cost of repair compared to the cost of the lathe was excessive given its age and use. My recommendation would be to consider other brands of lathes.

Dan Gaylin

12-13-2019, 4:24 PM

I’ve been turning for less than two years mostly on weekends. My lathe is a Nova Comet II. Randy I just turned a 12” bowl on it without any problems. But it was red grandis which is not a very dense wood. This has been a great lathe to learn on and I do not have any major complaints but I will definitely be upgrading in the relatively near future mostly because I would like to have a bigger capacity.

Pete Staehling

12-14-2019, 7:15 AM

After I discussed the problem of the lathe being dead, their tech support electrician pointed me to the controller as he didn't believe it would be the motor itself (and there could be no other cause). I thought Nova probably should have considered replacing the part, given that there was no evidence for them to assume anything except that the part had merely failed after about 2 years of light duty use. They absolutely refused to replace it without cost to me so I have no choice to buy it for $150 or junk the lathe. I would never replace the controller again. If it fails a second time, I will just junk the lathe and get something much better. While I felt tech support was responsive, the cost of repair compared to the cost of the lathe was excessive given its age and use. My recommendation would be to consider other brands of lathes.
I guess you did what you could do. I probably wouldn't have judged them as harshly since any brand can have issues and parts will sometimes fail. It would have been nice if they would have comped the part and probably been worth the good will they would have gotten from giving excellent service. Someone saying nice things about the brand is often worth comping a replacement part especially when it is something that is very unlikely to be a part that the user is likely to have abused in some way.

On the other hand they are under no obligation to do more than honor the warranty, give tech support, and sell replacement parts at a fair price. It sounds like they probably do that if $150 is a fair price for the controller board (I have no idea if it is).

On second thought...
I just realized that you were talking about the Comet II that can be found new for as cheap as a little over $400. Charging $150 for a controller board on a machine in that price range does seem excessive. I was going to say that I wouldn't consider junking the lathe over a $150 replacement part, but then I checked what lathe you were talking about. The fact that the board is such a big percentage of the cost of a new lathe would sour me on the purchase especially if it were to fail twice.

I don't think I am likely to get too excited over a failure report here or there, those occur with any brand. Especially since your's was on a different model I won't be too influenced by it. If you had reported a second failure I might have been a bit more nervous about the brand. It is a popular enough brand that there will be failure reports. The price of the controller board is the one part of your story that really does give me some pause. I do plan to look at the parts prices a bit before committing to buying the 1624 II.

Kyle Stiefel

12-14-2019, 9:17 AM

Just picked this up from the freight terminal 2 days ago. It is sooner then anticipated as I don't have electricity to the shop yet and won't until March but had to jump as I had a 10% off coupon and I had doubts another coupon would come up in the spring time when I would be looking. Looking forward to it. I coming back to the sawdust after a decade of moving etc where I couldn't have a shop and sold all my equipment. I had a Jet about 15 years ago similar to the 1640 if not that model but several generations ago. Finally planting down again.

421485

Roger Chandler

12-14-2019, 5:51 PM

Kyle....that black beauty is a beast of a lathe! You're headed for some high performance, powerful experiences! Congratulations on your G0800.....I love mine! ;)

Richard Madden

12-15-2019, 11:16 AM

The only lathe I have owned is a Nova 1624 which I've had for at least 12 years. Many times I have wished I had variable speed, but I've always managed without. No complaints on the Nova, in fact still using the original belt. I'd love to have a Robust AB, but I think back many years when my son got interested in golf and he wanted a set of Callaway Big Bertha clubs. A lot of money for a set of clubs for a middle school student. I remember telling my son "it's not what you have, but how you use it that counts". Needless to say he started off with a much cheaper set. I try to live by that myself. Go with what you can afford and be safe and enjoy.

Thomas L Carpenter

12-15-2019, 3:32 PM

Homecraft model 46-110 10" lathe. I've had it forever. I don't turn a lot but this one does what i need it to do.

Chris Hachet

12-16-2019, 12:11 PM

Oliver 159 from 1951, i run the thing for hours at a time. At some point am going to add a grizzly G0766 or G0733.

Chris

Curtis Myers

12-17-2019, 8:05 PM

My primary lathe is a PM 3520b with bed extension. Plenty of length, plenty of power, excellent lathe.

421186

JKJ

John,

Your dust collection behind your Powermatic is interesting. What type and size are the black hoses? Are they ridged enough to hole themself up? Do you have more pictures of the duct collection for the lathe you can share?

All the Best
Curt

Ted Calver

12-17-2019, 10:01 PM

Here's mine, no need for another: PM4224 (https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=200360&d=1309794274) first iteration with bed extension. My first was a Jet mini variable speed, again first version. I still have it and use it for really small stuff.

David Castonguay

12-18-2019, 9:18 AM

My first, and only, lathe is a Powermatic 3520b that I bought at an auction when a local school was closing their wood shop program. It was virtually new and I paid $2001.01 in a silent auction.

It is a great lathe to learn on. Some people recommended that you can turn small stuff on a big lathe, but you can't turn big stuff on a small lathe. I believe them. I only have room and budget for one lathe in my shop.

Pay attention to local papers and craigslist for auctions. Here in Vermont, we periodically see people closing down their personal shops, closing a woodworking business and (regrettably) closing a school shop program.

Be prepared to invest in tooling along the way, although you can do a lot of good work with a 5/8 bowl gouge, a skew and some scrapers; the desire to turn other things like spindles and peppermills means exponentially more tools. Bite the bullet and get a good slow speed grinder with CBN wheels and good sanding system.

Lots of fun for you on the horizon.

David Hill

12-18-2019, 10:54 PM

My turning started when I wanted to see what things the Shopsmith that I got from my FIL could do. Discovered that I really liked it, so much that I bent the spindle as I moved to bigger pieces--amazing what a bad catch could do!
While I got that repaired I bought my first "real" lathe--a HF 12 inch that I really liked, but grew tired of working around a motor that I stalled a lot--that and replacing the drive belt. Made a lot of things, but looked forward to bigger/better, since I really like making bigger projects and learning that wood was easy to come by here.
Next was a succession of lathes: a Craftsman 15 inch (made by Palmer that had a really small drive belt that was a challenge to change), an old Oliver (bought as a refurb project--was a sweet, heavy 12" swing), then came a Shopfox 17-58 was ok but had no spindle lock and chewed up drive belts like crazy. As I progressed I sold the ones before--didn't lose money.
Finally bought my first new lathe-- a Nova 16-24, still have that one--really liked the power. Then as my craiglist habit continued--I found a Laguna Platinum 18/47 that has a 2 hp motor and variable speed (not Reeves drive) that had only an hour on it--great lathe, was to be my forever lathe with the Nova---so I thought until my wife caught me looking at a Robust American Beauty on CL--3 hp, tilt away tailstock--a real looker. It was in an area not far from the gkids--so she said "Lets look", Turned out she had known the owner through coworkers where she used to work-small world--when it came to discuss price, she didn't bat an eye so a deal was made. (Going to keep her! the lathes too)
That was a couple years ago--no more upgrades