That's my personal dream lathe. But as mentioned, can't afford one. I have turned on them They are a dream.....Originally Posted by Jeffrey J Smith
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That's my personal dream lathe. But as mentioned, can't afford one. I have turned on them They are a dream.....
Contributor
Most of the time it is budget that controls our purchase. I was in that position almost three years ago. At the time my budget was either the Laguna 18-36 or the Grizzly G0766. The G0766 was just being introduced and the initial lathes were a mess IMO, way too tall, banjo incorrect, bad spindle threads. Grizzly has corrected these problems. I purchased and used the Laguna for 2 years and it did everything I asked of it. I did have some switch and relay problems, but Laguna CS was quick to provide parts. That said, it was the fact the lathe was based on a 18” swing and not as beefy as I wanted. I didn’t like having to lift the tailstock off and felt the Laguna swing away was in adequate. I had no problem selling that lathe for a good price. I ended up buying a Robust AB. There is no comparison to the Laguna. While the Laguna was a good value for the $$, the Robust is much more. For me the Robust is a very good value.
When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.
Member
I have turned mostly bowls, and a long bed lathe with a fixed headstock just was uncomfortable, and required techniques that were not efficient for me, though many use them. When shopping for my first upgrade, I went with the PM3520A. The sliding headstock was perfect for bowl turning, and I could turn a 30 inch table leg in between centers. I looked at the Oneway, and it didn't have the sliding headstock, and for me it was not a good bowl lathe. I was not familiar with turning outboard or off the back end for bowls. I don't think the Vicmark lathes were readily available back then. Next upgrade was to an American Beauty, which has one of the best 'tilt away' set ups for getting the tailstock out of the way. I have since added a Vicmark 240, which has the pivoting headstock. To me, that is the best of the pivoting systems out there. I also like the pivot away tailstock set up. It comes into position spot on and you can leave the tailstock on the pivoting bed for turning long spindles. Never could get the AB tilt away to do that. Possible if I fiddled with it some more.... No experience with Laguna or Grizzly. When Grizzly first came out, their 'hobby' grade tools were pretty bad. They have improved considerably. I think the Vega lathe is made in USA, but you don't hear a lot about them. Some of the European lathes seem to be pretty good. The market for bowls over about 14 to 16 inches is pretty small.
robo hippy
Contributor
Reed -- I would assume have a large bowl or two at a booth might be worth while as a means of attracting customers into your booth. Such bowls can be real attention grabbers, but most people soon realize they have no real use for such a large item in their homes. Since I don't sell my work, I have no practical experience with the issue. It's just supposition on my part. However, my wife has told me several times she doesn't want a big bowl no matter how much I'd like to turn one.
David Walser
Mesa, Arizona
Contributor
I have never had a problem with the tilt away on my Robust returning to alignment. I have been using it almost two years and since delivered it has worked flawlessly.
When working I had more money than time. In retirement I have more time than money. Love the time, miss the money.
Contributor
Nor have I - been using mine for eight years without an issue. I work with the headstock as close to the end as possible routinely and have never had a problem with the alignment - I have checked it now and again. don’t know if there’s a way to adjust the position of the short bedways on the tilt-away, but since it hasn’t been a problem, not sure its an issue. When turning at the end I’m typically working inside bowls without the need for tailstock support. On those occasions when I need tailstock support (coring or roughing between centers mostly) I’m usually working with the headstock closer to the midpoint of the ways and the tailstock is not on the tilt-away...
Member
Maybe part of the problem with me getting my tilt away to line up perfectly was that it was off a tiny bit and I tried to fix it.... Have the same problem with my Liberty...
robo hippy
Contributor
I’m still learning a lesson I guess, but I had to purchase a Jet 12x36, then realized I needed a better lathe...bought a Jet 1642-2hp. Then another upgrade took me to a PM 3520B. Now............That Robust AB sure looks good!!!!!!
Moderator
Your story is very much like mine but started with a much worse lathe - a Ridgid I bought at Home Depot, a clone of the old Craftsman tube lathe, arguably the worst lathe ever sold. I got it only to make one thing.
But sometime after that I accidentally decided to make something else and it was all down hill from there. I hadn't made three things until realized how bad the lathe was so I went to WoodCraft and ordered a new Jet 1642. After using it for a bunch of years I bought a lightly used PM 3520B (with a bed extension, yay!)
I still have the Jet (actually two of them) and a couple of Jet minis to loan and carry around. It's nice to have two lathes set up at once so the others are in storage. But for me the PM is everything I need. That is unless it melts down some day or some pickpocket walks off with it.
JKJ
Member
Ah yes been there done that!
Member
Reading through this thread I’m wondering why nobody has recommended an old lathe? I’d love to have a big Watkin or Oliver but my turning so far has been strictly spindle work. My current lathe is an Oliver 159, not really one to recommend if someone is interested in turning larger bowls but it’s great for spindle work.
I’d still love for someone with more knowledge of the old lathes to recommend one to the OP; I’m an unapologetic advocate of saving the old iron!
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