Lathe

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Oh.....the elitists! Talk about slinging......the snobbish Mayo owners are trying to cause a ruckus!


Mustard....why pay for expensive Mayo when you can have spicier taste with Mustard......

Of course you could have a Serious lathe or a Robust American Beauty!

[Joe Bradshaw]

Mark, I have two Oneways, a 1224 and a 2436. I figure that they will be the last lathes I will ever need to buy. I have never had any problems with either one of them. Try one and you will be hooked or to put it another way,you will find yourself on a oneway trip to the bottom of the vortex.

[Reed Gray]

I did one bowl turning demo on the smaller 1 hp Oneway, and found it to be very underpowered, especially for the way I turn, and that was in the slow speed range. Nice lathe and all that, just not enough umph for me. I could slow it down with light pressure on a 3/4 inch scraper.

robo hippy

[Roy Turbett]

Visit a local turning club and you may be able to try out several different lathes. Our club has several of Harbor Freights (low end) lathes that they use for teaching as well as several Jets, Deltas and a big Powermatic. Club members have everything from Serious, Oneways and Robust lathes and many are willing to invite newcomers to try them out. I have two Powermatic 90's that I rebuilt and a Jet v/s mini lathe in my shop and like them all. I raised the head and tailstock on one of the Powermatics 3" and can turn 15" bowls with the stock banjo. However, the 1hp single phase motor is a little underpowered for large out of round blanks. I have less than $1,000 in my Powermatics and think they are an good value. I bought the Jet mini used for $250. Why three lathes you ask? Its the vortex!

[Jim Burr]

I'm in the Jet crowd...but think about what you want to turn now and 20 years from now. A club is a great start...you can almost be guaranteed some members will give you a shop tour. Some of the costs are scarry!..but consider your goals and what you aspire to. Now go make something and post pic's!!

[mark anizan]

I have an old Craftsman 36 in lathe I inhereted from my father in law its at least 50 years old still does a great job. On all my larger projects. My little money maker is a HF mini I bought new for about a hundred bucks,its turned several thousand dollars worth of pens and is still doing great.I havent ever used it for anything else.

[Jim Burr]

I'm in the Jet crowd. 1014 in use now & 1642 1.5hp coming in September.

[Scott Hussey]

I'm a Jett(er) as well. Just upgraded my Delta 46-700 to a Jet EVS 1642 (1.5 hp) and I LOVE it. I've turned on a Robust, a mustard monster and now my Jet and my Delta. I will say the Jet isn't as nice as the Robust American Beauty but I also didn't have the 6+K for the Robust machine.

For me the deciding factor with going with the Jet 1.5 hp was that I don't have 220 and everything above the 1.5 hp seems to required 220v power.

I'm loving my Jet for now...as it's a huge step up from my Delta, but someday..who knows.

[David DeCristoforo]

As you might have guessed, it's more about what you can invest than it is about which lathe is "best". If you have an unlimited budget, Oneway, Robust or Serious are your contenders. Then you have the Nova or Powermatic "level" and then the Jet or Delta which are nice machines for the dough. If you are on a tight budget, the Griz machines might be an alternative but I'm not a real big fan of them. Personally, I would buy an American Beauty in a heartbeat if money was no object. If it was, I would go with the PM. And if I could not afford that, I would start shopping for a good used machine.

[Mark Hazelden]

I'm very happy with my recently purchased Jet 1642 2HP. I feel that I have plenty of room to "grow" with it will have it for quite some time.

I spent about 60 hours one week for a class turning on a Powermatic 3520B and it is a nice machine but more money.