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Thread: Been a while

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Ridgecrest, CA
    Posts
    179

    Been a while

    So it’s been a few years since I’ve been on here, but things are starting to come back to somewhat normal for me. Getting used to my new normal anyway.

    But it looks like things have changed slightly. Why can’t I see pictures anymore? Is that a contributor status only? Liked looking at the pictures for ideas. I will have some questions coming up as far as woodworking goes and pics might help. Ordered a new mattress and want to build a frame for it, so I’ve started looking through my magazines for ideas. Love the Greene and Greene, so it will be something in that style. And I’m going to need some tools to do so, some upgrades and some new. Hoping to avoid the planer just yet if I can source some dimensioned lumber in Southern California as I’ll have to rearrange my garage for the planer and dust collector, which I have neither of.

    First upgrade will will be my drill press. Never liked my drill press and the earthquakes this summer knocked it over and dinged it up anyways, so good enough of an excuse. Is the nova worth the price? Want something that I can get to turn in a circle with minimal runout, which my current one won’t do better than 25 thousandths. Any other suggestions? Price probably isn’t as big an issue once I get past the sticker shock. I’d rather have plug and play as much as possible with my time constraints. Don’t care for the powermatic.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Casey Carr View Post
    So it’s been a few years since I’ve been on here, but things are starting to come back to somewhat normal for me. Getting used to my new normal anyway.

    But it looks like things have changed slightly. Why can’t I see pictures anymore? Is that a contributor status only? Liked looking at the pictures for ideas. ...
    Hi Casey!

    You are correct, the picture access is a change in the forums, apparently a basic financial bookkeeping decision to help keep the help the forums open.. Another change is in private messaging and email, and the continuing ability to post in classifides to sell tings. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ess-Priviliges

    Fortunately, the minimum contribution is almost negligible: $6 per year which works out to less than 2 cents a day. This still made some unhappy but over the years I and many others have found these forums so useful we were contributing long before the changes. I do the same ting in other forums that iI visit freuently. I mostly follow woodturning but get a ot of inspiration from te general, metalworking, and carving setions. An tje continuing ability to advertise tings in Classifides I signed up for monthly recurring contributions by PayPal, quite painless. https://sawmillcreek.org/payments.php

    I don't have any drillpress advice - I'm happy with a couple Deltas and a milling machine where I want high precision. The Nova does look interesting and I'd love to have variable speed, but I worry about getting further from the keep-it-simple theory with the possibility of expensive electronics failing at some time in the future. There's a lot to be said fo a sturdy switch, motor, and pulley.

    zjkj

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Waterford, PA
    Posts
    1,224
    Welcome back Casey! Yes, things have changed, but like John said, the contribution is a tiny cost compared to the benefits. I was a contributor before the changes, and figure it is worth at least as much a a magazine subscription. I hope you stick around. As for a drill press, I can't offer much advice. Mine is an old Rockwell from 1972 that is heavy and accurate with a better Jacobs chuck.

  4. #4
    Welcome back Casey!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Ridgecrest, CA
    Posts
    179
    Voila! Contributor now, or should be. May take a bit to register?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,614
    Welcome back Casey! I have no hands-on experience with the Nova but a long distance friend bought one a few months ago and is very happy with it. Like John, the longevity of the electronics would worry me a little.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Minot, ND
    Posts
    558
    I have the Nova drill press and have been more than happy with it. When I tested it for runout, I was wondering if my dial indicator had quit working. Turning the chuck, I had no discernible movement on the needle of the indicator. I was only able to get movement by pushing sideways on the chuck, and that was very slight as well. I had, however, replaced the stock chuck with a new Albrecht chuck and a new arbor from MSC, prior to the test.

    As fas as longevity of the electronics, I have a Nova DVR Wood lathe that I’ve been using for years with no issues. The Voyager uses the same motor and electronics, so it should hopefully be able to post a similar track record.

    if this one disappeared, I’d buy another in a second, as I feel there is nothing comparable in its price range

    Clint

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Ridgecrest, CA
    Posts
    179
    All right, sounds like the Nova is a good option anyways.

    Any suggestions on a source of lumber in Southern CA? I've been to Peterman's Lumber in Fontana once. Looks like they'll dimension lumber for me. Don't know what they charge though. Probably cheaper than a planer and dust collector for this one project anyways. Anyone else have any suggestions as far as lumber?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,062
    Quote Originally Posted by Casey Carr View Post
    All right, sounds like the Nova is a good option anyways.
    I too have wondered about getting electronic replacement parts 20 years from now. That thought has slowed me from diving in on the Nova DP, as well as a Sawstop cabinet saw. WilI I be able to get replacement blade cartridges 20 years from now?

    Otherwise, from what I've read and seen personally of the Nova DP, I really like that machine. I believe that one of the installation steps is to get the latest firmware upgrades and install them. I read that some people had problems getting the correct USB driver to download the firmware to a USB drive. So, if you are computer literate, this probably not that big of an issue. I believe there were also some upgrades in 2018 over the first year model. So, I would try to get a machine manufactured recently vs one sitting in some stores back room for a couple of years. Not sure if you can tell from the serial # what the date of manufacture is.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    NOVA's lathe has been using a similar motor system for a long time now...the DP was a natural extension of that when you think about it.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Ridgecrest, CA
    Posts
    179
    Obsolescence will probably be an issue at some point unless nova is very well prepared, and I'm hoping they will be, but a valid point nonetheless.

    That being said, do the nova products ever go on sale? Black Friday is coming up, wondering if it would be worth waiting for a sale?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,638
    Casey, Welcome back. There was a sale a little while ago where the NOVA was something like $100 off, but I forget the exact time frame...maybe a few months. So perhaps you'll be lucky enough to benefit from a similar promotion along the way.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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