Nova DVR XP 16" Lathe

[James Baldwin]

Hi, I'm looking at a Nova DVR XP lathe with 16" swing. Used of course. Has a fair amount of extras like the bed extension and upgraded tool rests. I'd be upgrading from a Jet 1236. His asking price is just under $1400. Opinions? Here's the ad's description. Jim

It has a 16”swing over the bed. It comes with all of these things. Live center and a drive center, face plate, three different toolrests including a large inside and outside curved toolrest, a factory built steady rest, ($180 extra) cast iron legs, ($340extra) extra section of lathe bed (240 extra), an external tool rest system that increases the bowl/platter diameter to 28”(a$350 extra not to mention the famous DVR electronic drive system.

[David Walser]

The DVR XP is a quality lathe. It's not of the same class as a Vicmarc, Oneway, or Robust, but it's definitely a big step up from your Jet 1236. It's design eliminates any of the vibration that a misaligned belt might produce. It's very smooth.

A couple of downsides: The lathe is variable speed, but many do not like the way speed is adjusted. Most variable speeds have a dial for adjusting the speed. With a quick twist, you can adjust the speed from zero to max, or anywhere in-between. The DVR allows you to set four (IIRC) preset speeds. With a push of a button, the lathe will quickly ramp up or down to that speed. Any other speed adjustments are made by pressing the up or down button. It's a lot like setting the time on a digital clock -- not nearly as quick and easy as twisting a knob. Is this a big deal? Not really. At least, it's not for most turners.

The other downside is the difficulty of getting the lathe repaired if something happens to the motor/electronics. If your motor or electronic speed control goes out on another lathe, you can simply replace the motor or controller. Typically, there are several local shops that could do the work if you cannot. That's not the case with the DVR. (The DVR has proven to be very reliable. However, even very reliable designs sometimes need repair.)

HTH

[James Baldwin]

After doing a little more searching on CL I come up with these

https://fresno.craigslist.org/tls/d/fresno-jet-evs-pro-wood-lathe/7292066876.html (https://fresno.craigslist.org/tls/d/fresno-jet-evs-pro-wood-lathe/7292066876.html)

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/tls/d/garden-grove-jet-jwl-1642evs-wood-lathe/7282513176.html

[Richard Dooling]

Teknatool offers a replacement control panel that has a dial for speed changes. It's small but I got used to it pretty fast. Turn the knob and you get fine speed adjustments. Push and to get big (quick) adjustments.
Depending on the age of the machine you may also turn on a braking function with this upgrade. The (programmable) button settings are still the way to make larger speed adjustments.

Contact Teknatool support to find out exactly what this upgrade would do for a given machine.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/19022375738/original/uAtV2iqKI0pf4R1f4hA_FW7ZecNp491Puw.jpg?1520188321

https://teknatool.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/19000042095-nova-dvr-xp-control-panel-upgrade