Owners poll-Nova 16/24-44

[Bart Leetch]

Could the owners of the Nova 16/24-44 lathe please put up a review of their lathe here. Thank you.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Hmmm...

Maybe we could all do a chain review where someone starts with one comment and everybody adds bits and pieces along the way.

Actually, I was thinking about doing a 4 month review so after we get back from Easter brunch, I'll kick something off.

[Mike McAfee]

This was a thread from about a year ago: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=106785

I bought my 1624 just over a week ago and so far I'm quite pleased! I'll try to post a few more comments later!

[GLENN THOMAS]

Bart,

I have the 1624 and have been using it for about two years now. If I had to do it all over again I would still buy another one, but if my budget was bigger would get something like a Powermatic of Oneway. For $1,100 dollars or so there is nothing out there that can beat it. As my abilities have improved over the past few years I've been able to make wider and harder cuts and the 1.5 hp motor has never had any trouble keeping up with me. I rotate the headstock every time I work on the inside of a bowl or box and have never had any issues with alignment to the tail stock when I turn it back. Changing speed is not much trouble either, it takes just a few seconds to move the belt. The slowest speed is about 200 RPMs and so far has been slow enough to rough out large blanks, If I have a blank that looks like it might be out of balance too much Ill just eyeball it and balance it as best I can with a chain saw and the lowest speed has never been too high for me.

There are a few things that I don't like but nothing that I can't live with. The tool rest is square on the bottom corners and you have to be careful when you are working on the inside of a bowl. They could gouge out or scratch you bowl if you accidentally bump it. If the bottom corners were cut back at an angle or rounded off you could get the tool rest deeper in the bowl. There is not an easy way to add ballast to the stand, but there are ways to do it. There needs to be a remote switch but I heard Teknatool is working on one. The biggest issue for me is the cover on the headstock, if its not closed and tightened just right it makes a some noise. If you choose to get one be sure to assemble it exactly like the instructions say to, Ive heard of some people having issues with the pulleys only to find out they didn't put it together right.

If you have any specific questions about it just let me know.

[Bob Haverstock]

Bart,

I've had mine for 6 weeks. Simply put, I like it, and would recommend it to anyone who is value conscience. My next accessory will be the hinge for my bed extension.

I hope we hear from others.

Bob Haverstock

[Paul Douglass]

I agree with what Glenn says. I guess I was lucky though, the pulleys were on mine when it came. The door over the pulleys is a little mickey mouse and as he says if you don't tighten it down it rattles. I've been tempted to remove mine but I haven't. The tool rest is poor in my opinion and I have purchased others. One other little problem I had, the legs are hollow and every time I dropped something little it found it's way down one of the legs. Had to remove the leg twice to retrieve the item. I have sense covered the tops of the legs with duct tape.

[Fred Perreault]

I've had my Nova 16-24 for about 14 months. It was a very big improvement from my Sears monotube. My technique has improved measurably with the unit, and the lathe has been trouble free. I took the "hybrid" legs off soon after I got it ($999 on sale at WC)and built a solid 360lb stand of 4" angle iron. I am unhappy with the switch location, and the access door for the belt adjustment was way too awkward. Instead of having the door open towards the motor, I took the door off, removed the hinge pin, and the hinge from the door, and reattached the door to the low, back of the headstock casting with a brass hinge and some machine screws through holes drilled into the headstock casting. The door now opens back, away from the operator. I like it like that. No fumbling with the door, tee bar lock, and belts all at the same time. In any event, it has always been quick to swap the belts, and seems an easy exchange for the co$$t of variable speed. I found a source for drive belts for the lathe, and I got 6 for less than $25. The reason I got 6 was because the original belt seemed to get chewed up pretty quickly. The new ones are one rib narrower than the originals, and seem to track and last better. In summary, I am very happy with the machine, especially considering the original cost/feature set. Some day, maybe a bigger, better unit, but there has not been a need yet.

[kenneth walker]

I would also like to hear from everyone on this lathe as I am waiting till it goes on sale to purchase one. Paul can you fill the legs with sand?

[Mike Minto]

Hmmm...

Maybe we could all do a chain review where someone starts with one comment and everybody adds bits and pieces along the way.

Actually, I was thinking about doing a 4 month review so after we get back from Easter brunch, I'll kick something off.

I must be hallucinating (again) - I don't have the slightest idea what the above quote means (sorry). Anyway, the 1624-44 I had was my first lathe, and it's a great one as long as you accept it's limitations. Great power, good price; not having variable speed was a major drag and it's not too stable without alot of modifications. It is what it is, and ain't what it ain't.

[Paul Douglass]

I would also like to hear from everyone on this lathe as I am waiting till it goes on sale to purchase one. Paul can you fill the legs with sand?

I've read somewhere that someone did that. No reason why you couldn't. Sand or cement.

[Scott Hackler]

I have this lathe and have been using it for quite some time now. It was my first lathe (though not a complete newbie on a lathe). I bought it through several recommendations and reviews and at the time WoodCraft had a free shipping with $899 for the lathe.

In a nut shell, great lathe. Very powerfull, reverse mode, easy and quick speed changes and a rotating headstock. I dont regret it one little bit and I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Although it would be nice to have a little more weight to it, it is manageable with the stock legs.

As far as capacity... I have maxed out the turning radius a few times and turned a 15 1/2" x 9" bowl and its little brother, and no problems. I would highly recommend the lathe and a SuperNova2 chuck to go with it.



In the far future I can see a want (not a need) for a bigger more powerful lathe like the Powermatic, just because I like to turn very large things and the shear mass would calm down vibrations on very heavy projects. But until then, I can turn any chunk of wood I want on my Nova 1624.

[Lance kanaby]

Hello Bob Haverstock:

I have an older Nova 3000 with the 1 HP Leeson DC motor and controller. I think that the tailstock on this model stinks because it is not all that stable.

A few weeks ago I purchased a used Nova 1644 that looked brand new off craigslist. I was told that the lathe was in like new condition. When we got there to look at the lathe he plug the power in and tried it, all the motor did was make a growling noise. He was asking $600.00 and I was hoping to pick it up for $500.00. I told him I was still interested in his lathe and he asked me to make him an offer so I said $300.0 and said sold.

We packed the lathe up as the legs were off and the belt was missing, but he said that it was on order would call when it came in. To make a long story short, when we took a more serious look at the motor and to put the belt on we found that the lathe was laying on its side and the motor pulley was scraping on the housing. That was the entire problem!

Anyways, my question to you is why would you want your next accessory will be the hinge for my bed extension? I know that I want to add the bed extention, but was wondering about the extention. I will be doing hollow forms as I have the Kelton rig withe laser setup with the set 5/8" boring bars. I also have the Woodcut Proforme Hollowers.

I also want to make a better lathe stand for this machine and see how it works out. If this works well for me I will sell the Nova 3000, but will take off the outboard turning setup and put it on the Nova 1644

Thank you,
Lance Kanaby
Tonawanda, NY

Bart,

I've had mine for 6 weeks. Simply put, I like it, and would recommend it to anyone who is value conscience. My next accessory will be the hinge for my bed extension.

I hope we hear from others.

Bob Haverstock

[Richard Madden]

I bought my 1624-44 in Oct. of 2007 and have no regrets. Originally I thought about a mini type like a Rikon or Jet, but the review in FWW convinced me to go with the Nova. The speed range, swivel head, reverse, swing and small footprint were the top features for me. Changing speed doesn't take long...maybe 30 seconds tops and I'm still using the original belt and this lathe is used almost daily. Sure, mine has bounced around a few times from out of balance stock, and a remote switch would be nice, but all in all it's a great lathe for the price. Like I said, no regrets.
Rich

[Bob Haverstock]

Lance,

Let me try to answer. I have a chuck for it, the lathe came with a bed extention, I have a Jeff Nicol steadyrest adapted to fit it, and I have a shopbuilt captive hollowing rig for it. I have most of th chisels that I want.

One of my pet peeves is having to set any thing on the floor, makes my by back hurt.[ Once I set something on the floor there is a good chance that I will stumble over it. Tailstocks setting on the floor are unstable at best. When they are knocked over, there is paint loss.

When I'm using the hollowing rig the tailstock has to be removed as it interferes with the tail end of the rig. See above paragraph.

If I could slide the tailstock and tool rest onto the swing away bed extention, I could install or remove the steadyrest with out removing the other two components.

Bob


QUOTE=Lance kanaby;1391885]Hello Bob Haverstock:
Anyways, my question to you is why would you want your next accessory will be the hinge for my bed extension? I know that I want to add the bed extention, but was wondering about the extention. I will be doing hollow forms as I have the Kelton rig withe laser setup with the set 5/8" boring bars. I also have the Woodcut Proforme Hollowers.

I also want to make a better lathe stand for this machine and see how it works out. If this works well for me I will sell the Nova 3000, but will take off the outboard turning setup and put it on the Nova 1644

Thank you,
Lance Kanaby
Tonawanda, NY[/QUOTE]

[Frank Frazier]

Bart, I have had my 1624 for about 5 weeks. In the past 2 weeks I have gotten a couple of hours a day to turn so I am still getting to know it.

So far it has lived up to all expectations. I came close to getting the Jet 1624 but after reading reviews here on the Creek along with the FWW review I went with the Nova.

The tool rest is ok but I just got some nifty sleeve adapters from PSI that let you take a 5/8" tool rest and use it on a lathe with a 1" tool post like the nova. I have several home build rests I made for my Jet Mini that I can now use.

One trick the guy at WC recommended that I did was to mount a small cheap mirror on the wall behind the lathe directly behind the belts. Makes changing speed a lot easier, you can see if you have the belt on straight without bending over.

So far I have not gone beyond a 10" bowl.

If this thread continues I will contribute to a "3month" update. It looks like several of the folks posting here have just bought their Nova's.

-Frank