Help deciding which lathe to buy

Lee Laird

Member
Messages
405
Location
Austin TX
Hello all,

I'm pretty sure this question will end up being a mustard vs. all others :rolleyes:, and I'm certainly not trying to start any wars, but here goes anyways. I'm fairly new to the turning arena (I've got a Jet mini 1220 but looking toward the future) and would really appreciate you guys thoughts. At present, I don't have much extra room to put a massive piece of equipment. That being said, how did you decide on the lathe you presently have (Oneway, Powermatic, Vicmark, Nova, Grizzly, Jet, VB36...)? Good features and not so good features (as per your own opinion) that might help me in this process for whatever machine you have, had, or have tried and either liked or didn't like.

Thanks in advance and remember we can all agree to disagree. :wave:
 
thoughts

well lee i thought about it hard and even looked at some old ones, coulda got a nice oliver for a song, but the more i looked the pull kept gettin harder so i finally decided to run away from it:D bill grumbine tried his hardest to get me to use his at a five barn picnic but i fortunatly had several others that wanted it to.. so i was saved:rofl: from what i learned in my short time was that the mustards like vaughn has is one of the top contenders, and one way and the old olivers are in there to it depends on the dollars you have available to you and where you think you will be in the next few years. one thing i have learned is to try to buy once. get the most you can and maybe a touch more, that way you wont be buying two to get where your happy with what you have. there now, dont tell anyone that flatlander even replied ok:D
 
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This thread might help: http://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6271

If it isn't clear in the thread, main reasons I went with the Grizzly G0632 were: it compared favorably, in fact almost identically, with the Jet and not far behind, in features with the PM. Features considered and factored with price, the Griz was the choice. If price were not a consideration, who knows (?), I might have a PM. But, for me, with a Grizzly store being somewhat local, I was able to examine before purchase in person. They are available for service and parts, if needed. I have had previous excellent experience with both the Grizzly company and their products. Summed up, for me, price/features/accessibility all stirred into the pot came up Grizzly G0632.
For the amount of money you are considering spending, you would be doing yourself a disservice to not, at least, compare the Griz with the other makes you are considering.
BTW, I am completely happy with the choice. A friend came over yesterday and test drove it. He can afford anything he wants and I'm pretty sure he will be buying the Griz.
 
... how did you decide on the lathe you presently have

I turned on a few of the lathes you mentioned plus a few others (Vega and Poolewood). I've been turning a 1236 for 5 or so years and had a pretty firm idea of what I liked to turn.

It was easy to eliminate the ones I didn't like or had features that I didn't care about or lacked.

The Vega handled bowls great but had some problems dealing with pens.

The Poolewood was a great lathe, with a headstock that could rotate. It handled big bowls and small pens equally well. I was set on getting this, but they stopped selling them in the US and I was worried about service.

Grizzly is just a wannabe while the Laguna 1847 was too new and didn't have any track record. There has been some major issues with the Laguna, I'm glad I didn't get one.

Vicmark quality was getting spotty at the time.

The VB is a great bowl lathe that can do spindles with a $xtra tailstock attachment. A 30" tailstock assembly is about the price of a complete PM3520.

Robust was just starting out, I did turn on one later and this is a really great lathe. Maybe one of the best out there.

So I ended up with 3 lathes to choose from.
Oneway 1640, Oneway 2436 and a PM3520.

Looking to eliminate the 3520, I asked this question on the AAW Forum.
http://www.aawforum.org/vbforum/showthread.php?t=617

It convinced me to purchase a 3520.
 
Lee, for me, I felt the PM 3520b had the most bang for the buck in the size range I was interested in (20" swing). I would have loved a Robust, but it was clearly out of my price range. The Oneway lathes are superb, but considerably more expensive than the PM for the equivalent capacity. Yes, smaller lathes like the Jets and Grizzlys can turn bigger pieces outboard, but outboard turning has its own limitations and other issues (like vibration).
 
.... That being said, how did you decide on the lathe you presently have....? Good features and not so good features (as per your own opinion) that might help me in this process for whatever machine you have, had, or have tried and either liked or didn't like.

Lee,

Good way to help you decide .... Members can help Lee out by explaining why they bought what they did..
 
Money Money Money

Honestly, I think this is a loaded question. :)

The two biggest factors: what do you turn or want to turn, and how much are you willing to spend (space is imortant too). These will determine which are on your list of possibilities. If you have a huge space and tons of money, I would go with the 22 foot Oliver pattern maker's lathe that's going for around $17, 500. :eek: (Yes, I am partial to old iron.)

But I don't think you can go wrong with a PM, Robust, Oneway, or VB 36. These are all on my list of dream purchases, the PM being the most attainable. I know you want to know about strengths and weaknesses, but some of these machines' weaknesses aren't noticed by the average turner. If you want to do extremely large and heavy outboard work, the decision becomes more difficult, cuz there aren't very many people doing this kind of work, and so there isn't a lot of feedback available. Between centers any of these machines can handle massive pieces.

If you could post what kind of things you want to turn that would be very helpful. Also, if you already have a lathe that you plan on keeping, than you have more flexibility as well. Good luck! :)

Hutch
 
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I agree with Matt. The big question is what do you think or want to turn. Size mattered for me as my shop is fairly small. I bought the Nova DVR XP and haven't been sorry. I made enough room later when I sold my joniter and planer so added a bed extension. I turn pens to 16" bowls and HF's.
 
I think, looking into the future, that most things I'd turn would be similar to what Bernie listed (pens to 16" bowls and HF's). The PM is likely to be the outside limit on the costs. While the cost around $2000 would be more likely attainable.

Frank and Ron, I read the links in your earlier messages and had some really informative stuff.

I look forward to any further assistance and thank everyone who has already chimed in.
 
lee, my choice was easy. production stuff is my bread-n-butter and a lathe in my shop is only for producing round stuff to augment my current job be it stair spindles,columns or chair parts so i chose the most affordable lathe with a duplicator that had an integral steady rest. mm-124
 
I have the Nova DVR 3000, I really like it. The only other lathe that I've turned on is a Vicmarc VL300 shortbed lathe, which was really nice!

The Nova DVR 3000 is a good lathe, it is smaller, compact and has a lot of power for it's size, there is a 16" swing over the ways, and if you wanted, you could rotate the headstock out to turn larger, but you would need an outboard turning stand, Nova does sell one, and I under stand it is quite good.

Why did I buy it? Well, I got a great deal on a used one, shipped to me from the US. Now I heard that the guy who sold me the DVR, upgraded to a Mustard lathe, and has since wished he had not :dunno: :D

If I had the space, yeah, I'd look hard at the Mustard, the larger Oneway, or the Vicmarc VL300 long bed.

What do I like about my lathe?

1) well made, solid
2) everything is in the headstock, no belts or pulleys
3) variable speed

other than those points, it just plain works, there is nothing about it that gets in the way, mechanically, there are a couple of things I'd like to change in the software, but I understand that at least one of these was addressed in the later model DVR 3000 and the newer DVR XP, that would be having preset speed settings, a VERY nice thing to have, and the only thing I'd really like to change on my older model DVR 3000, but for $300 or more bucks (would need to get a new control panel) I'll just deal with it.

Only on the very largest out of balance pieces have I had any desire for a larger, more sturdy lathe.

I think that for the majority of the hobbyist turners and even the semi-pro guys, the DVR is all the lathe you would need for 98% of the turning you would ever want to do.

Cheers!
 
Are the Robust and Oneway the same machines under different labels? Except for the paint job, they sure do look alike.
Sumptin' like Griz and Jet mebbe? ;)

Frank, time to check you prescription, you might just need some new glasses :D

Oneway..........
oneway_2436.jpg
Notice the ROUND tube with is the main structure of the lathe.

Robust......
ROBUST_LATHE.jpg
Not round is it :wave:

Not to mention the Oneway has the motor in the base of the lathe, under the headstock, the Robust has the motor up in the headstock, much like a Mustard lathe, the tail stocks are also very different looking, the legs or bases of the each lathe are not even close............. gee, one could say "Night and Day".......... :rolleyes: :D :rofl:

At least clean them spectacles Frank! :wave:
 
Lee,

I'm not sure we're really being helpful. One problem: rule of thumb says the lathe is only half the cost. You've got to think sharpening setup, chisels and gouges, hollowing rig, chuck, peripherals, etc,: this game gets pricey right quick.

So I've got an odd suggestion: check the Nova DVR. That will blow the whole budget right there, but it's highly rated and well loved by owners. Frankly, I've thought about this a lot, since I long to upgrade (but likely can't afford to any time soon). If mustard were out of my reach, there are only two I would consider: that Nova and the G0632

At least the 632 would leave some room in my budget for peripherals, and it would let me turn with the big dogs, even if it doesn't have the cool factor...

Thanks,

Bill
 
I appreciate the continued flow of information from everyone. :wave: Even though I'm not yet ready to buy, at this point I seem to be leaning toward the Nova DVR XP. $$$, size, and features seem to meet my needs. A weakness that's been brought up is it's weight, but that is an obstacle that is not insurmountable. I don't anticipate moving over to turning as my primary woodworking, but it would be nice to have a lathe capable of most things I would want to turn and it is a slippery slope. :rofl: :rofl:

Chuck, thanks for the kind offer. Wish I could take you up on it. :rolleyes: :rofl:

Stu, how much ballast have you added to the stand or table that the Nova is on? Just curious since your mentioned about the lathe handling all but the most unbalanced project.

Thanks to everyone. This is really what makes this forum such a great source of information.
 
Lee that stand alone must weigh in at 100 lbs, and the sand bags, I think I put 5 in there, that is another 200 lbs, I'd say at least 300 lbs, maybe closer to 350 lbs.

The thing is, I have the lathe on wheels with these feet that lower down to lift the wheels off the ground, they are rubber feet, and add a fair bit of wiggle to things, when the lathe was on solid ground it was even more solid.

I want you to know that I'm talking about some large chunks of badly unbalanced pieces of wood, that would make the actual lathe flex, so the weight was not the biggest thing.

Adding weight, in the way of bags of sand is an easy, cheap thing to do.

Cheers!
 
Well, I have a Jet 1236 and long to upgrade. I just gilflerted the guts of the tailstock again (2nd time) trying to drill out a blank with a forstner bit. It's a very poor design where all the screw force is held by a C-clip against a tiny shoulder that is prone to getting rolled when pressure is applied.

My dream lathe is the PM3520B and I haven't given up on getting one...possibly this coming spring. It depends on my tax burden.

If the Mustard is out of reach, then I will take a serious look at the Griz GO632 but I am definitely going to upgrade. The 1236 is just too light with too little HP for some of the turnings I want to do.
 
Stu,

Thanks for the clarification. That helps in the process.

Cody,

I'm amazed at the turnings you are doing with a smaller lathe (not smaller than mine since I've just got the Jet 1220 but you know what I mean). Makes your work even more impressive.

Thanks guys for the additional info.
 
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