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Thread: another lathe choice thread

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
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    3,063
    Quote Originally Posted by tom lucas View Post
    Have you considered the Rikon 70-3040? Seems like a real space saver.
    I've been considering this lathe as well. 4 bearings in the headstock. Has my interest peaked. Unfortunately there are none in showrooms to look at. But I can't decide if the sliding headstock on the Laguna 18-36 is a better way to go than the sliding bed on the Rikon.
    Last edited by Brian Tymchak; 02-25-2021 at 11:25 PM.
    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

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    sykesville, maryland
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    861
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Tymchak View Post
    I've been considering this lathe as well. 4 bearings in the headstock. Has my interest peaked. Unfortunately there are none in showrooms to look at. But I can't decide if the sliding headstock on the Laguna 18-36 is a better way to go than the sliding bed on the Rikon.
    The design is interesting and a space saver. However, the head doesn't move. So, I don't think you can turn off the end of the lathe as many like to do on bowls. The other thing I see is the base of the tail stock and the offset in the tool rest might make turning really short things between centers cumbersome. Overall, though, it looks like a well made machine. Tough choices; a lot of good options in that $4000 price range.

  3. #18
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    Sep 2013
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    Wayland, MA
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    Wood lathes are one of the very few tools where it's still possible to support a north American manufacturer, a small business, and buy a quality tool all at the same time. I'd choose one of the home-grown offerings.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Mesa, Arizona
    Posts
    1,798
    Roger -- I understand where you're coming from. I'm aware of two brands of lathes that are made on this continent. I don't believe either offers a lathe of the size we've been discussing in the $4,000 price range. When I bought my PM 3520C last summer, it cost just under $4,000 (taking into account the $250 in CSUSA store credit that came with the purchase). I'd priced a Robust American Beauty, optioned as I'd like it. It would have cost more than $9k, with shipping. There's no doubt the Robust would have been a better lathe than the PM I purchased instead. And there is no doubt I'd like to support a fellow countryman with my purchase. I just wasn't willing to pay that much more for the extra quality and the privilege of supporting a fellow American. Others may be willing to pay such a premium, but few are able to afford it.
    David Walser
    Mesa, Arizona

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    3,655
    It's a conundrum, no doubt, and the answer won't be the same for everyone. If we're unwilling to pay our neighbors a decent wage for their work then soon no one will have a decent wage (we may already be there in a lot of the country); if people aren't earning a decent wage they are unable to buy homegrown products. Sadly for us, there isn't a market of yet richer people who can afford to buy our products, we're already the top of the pyramid. I've been thinking a lot of late about whether there is any way to reverse what looks like a death spiral. Without a fundamental reordering of of values and priorities I'm not seeing much of a route. I personally choose to buy whatever I can from small(er) businesses in countries that treat workers well and have good health, safety, and environmental practices-- at that, that's only a fairly pitiful fraction of my purchases. Those factors add value to an item for me, just as a bigger swing, or a tilt-away headstock does. And I absolutely get that a lot of people can't afford those "features". I raise the point only so those who can consider it will.

    Sorry, this went way off topic, feeling pessimistic this morning.

  6. #21
    Between the Jet and PM I would probably go with the PM. It is two inches larger over the bed, will get you down to 15 rpm’s if that is important to you and the main feature that attracts me it the pendant controller that you can move with you.

  7. #22
    To me the decision between the Jet and the PM would be how big do you want and need to turn? If you sell your bowls, there is a very small market for bowls over about 14 inch diameter, both in terms of what you have to charge for them, and people actually needing and using a bowl that size. I do prefer the 'slower the better' feature on lathes. I use that speed for sanding my warped bowls. Some also use it for some thicker coatings/finishes. Not sure of the measures on the foot splay on the Jet and the PM, but wider is better. A movable on/off set up is a good feature to have, though I still keep my remote on the headstock.

    robo hippy

  8. #23
    So, thanks everyone for your input and advice. I'm a flip-flopper to the core and went with the Laguna 1836 that I had been turned off of. Picked it up locally yesterday; what a solid machine. Just thought I'd give closure to the thread. Thanks!

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