Review - Nova Cast Iron Legs

by Steve Antonucci

I have a Nova 3000 that has been bolted to a 2x6 and MDF bench for the last year. Originally, I built the bench for a longer lathe, so it had always consumed more floor space than required, but gave me a place to put all of my tools.

At 63", it weighted a good 400#'s on its own, and had another 300 in ballast. It never moved an inch on the floor, but it would wiggle since the 2x6s weren't meant to deal with that kind of load. Altogether, I'm guessing I had 1/2 ton holding things to the floor.

Last weekend, I went to Woodcraft.com and ordered the cast iron leg set for the Nova lathes. It arrived 5 days later on a pallet, and I spent yesterday moving things around. Of course, when I finished I played a little, but today was the first real run.

The legs are heavy. The instructions to install them are a little bit weak, but eventually a buddy and I got it all together. With the 3K on top, the whole thing will top the scale at about 400#s.

Cast iron has made me a believer. I will be bolting it to the floor, since it is so "skinny" and has gone for a little walk (6" at the headstock). It actually feels like the lathe has more power (not sure why) and runs quieter (because it doesn't have a big box echoing below it?). Clean up will also be a lot quicker.