Nova comet ii 12" midi lathe

[Larry Whittaker]

This currently on sale is this a good beginner lathe?

[David Walser]

Yes, in general, the Nova Comet II is a good ‘starter lathe’. However, unless you plan on ONLY making smaller items, none of the small lathes will serve. For this reason, I generally recommend getting a lathe with at least a 16” swing. Otherwise, you’ll quickly be searching for a larger lathe. For example, when I first started turning, I just wanted to make pens. I got a lathe with a 12” swing for that purpose. Soon, I wanted to start turning bowls and made a couple on my lathe. It wasn’t really up to the task. The 12” swing was adequate, but the lathe was too light to absorb the vibrations from turning larger work. So, I invested in a ‘full-size’ lathe — one with a 16” swing. It served me well for over 15 years. (I replaced it with a PM3520C last year. Not because I wanted more swing, but because I needed more room between centers. My 16” lathe had a short-bed.)

You can make very small things on a large lathe. You cannot make large items on a small lathe.

[Larry Whittaker]

Yes, in general, the Nova Comet II is a good ‘starter lathe’. However, unless you plan on ONLY making smaller items, none of the small lathes will serve. For this reason, I generally recommend getting a lathe with at least a 16” swing. Otherwise, you’ll quickly be searching for a larger lathe. For example, when I first started turning, I just wanted to make pens. I got a lathe with a 12” swing for that purpose. Soon, I wanted to start turning bowls and made a couple on my lathe. It wasn’t really up to the task. The 12” swing was adequate, but the lathe was too light to absorb the vibrations from turning larger work. So, I invested in a ‘full-size’ lathe — one with a 16” swing. It served me well for over 15 years. (I replaced it with a PM3520C last year. Not because I wanted more swing, but because I needed more room between centers. My 16” lathe had a short-bed.)

You can make very small things on a large lathe. You cannot make large items on a small lathe.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Randy Heinemann]

I owned a Comet II for the first 2 - 3 years I turned. I never actually turned a bowl on it that got close to the 12" maximum but, for bowls in the 8"+ range it worked well. I wouldn't recommend turning any blanks that start out really unbalanced. Rather use blanks that have been cut round. The lathe just doesn't have enough weight. I think the total weight with stand is about 125 pounds. You can add weight to the stand or bolt it to the floor or build your own stand that has more weight, but it's still a midi-lathe and has its limitations. It was a good lathe for me to start with and get some experience with smaller bowls. If I had had more room in my shop when I upgraded, I would have kept it for smaller bowls and pens, but I needed the space and can do those projects on my full-size lathe.