Vega 2400 Bowl Lathe

History

I had been searching (dreaming) of buying a bigger lathe for quite a while, and recently, I had been successful enough at selling some bowls that my wife and I agreed we could afford a new lathe. Like most turners, I had considered the larger Oneway, Stubby, Nichols (when they were still around), Woodfast, Delta, Jet and Powermatic lathes. As a bowl turner, I had also considered (lusted after) the VB36. The price tags had pretty much eliminated the Oneway, Stubby, Nichols and VB lathes. My price limit was in the neighborhood of $2500.

The Search

Once the budget was established, the Delta steel bed, Jet 1642, and Powermatic 3520 immediately came to the head of the pack. However, earlier in the year our club had purchased a Jet 1642 and for two weeks it was in my shop. At that time, I realized I would need a total shop revamp if I bought a lathe that long. I have a small 12'x24' shop. The area of the shop allocated for the lathe was totally filled by the Jet and it was hard to get to the bench where my sharpening station is.

I had turned briefly on a Vega 2400 at the 2003 North Carolina Woodturning Symposium and I liked it. It had a small foot print, about the same as the average refrigerator. After some research, talking to other Vega 2400 owners, and several calls to Vega Enterprises, I decided to buy one.

The Score

I found that Vega was going to be attending the IWWF 2004 show in Atlanta in August, 2004, and they agreed to sell me the floor demo model. They gave me a killer deal because I had some small part in helping them sell a warehouse full of spare VS motors that they had earlier in the year. Plus, I saved shipping by picking up at the show.

Basics

The lathe breaks down into three parts, the base, containing the motor, the tailstock, and the headstock/bed assembly, the latter weighing over 300 pounds. It took three strong men to get it out of the truck, around the various obstacles in my back yard, and up the ramp into my shop. Once there, it was assembled in about 30 minutes. It fit almost exactly in the same space as my old Jet Mini, which was mounted on a cabinet.

Here it is pictured with the tailstock on, although I turn most of the time with it off. That allows me to stand in front of the open end of a bowl.

After turning on it for nearly five months, I can report the following:

Engine Room

The Vega is very nearly perfect for my shop and me. It comes equipped with a 2hp 220V Toshiba motor and a Toshiba VFD controller on a movable arm (or pendant, as Vega calls it). The motor is very strong, yet quiet. It is connected to the spindle by two rubber belts and 7½" pulleys that allow for two speed ranges: 0-425 & 0-2520.

I leave mine on the higher speed range because of the variety of bowl sizes that I turn. I have yet to stall the motor, although I have slipped a belt. Speaking of the belts—the motor platform is raised and lowered and thus the belts are tensioned by a crank on the front of the lathe, shown here on the left. The black object on the right is the base of the motor controller pendant.

The Brains of the Outfit

The Toshiba controller is mounted on a pendant that allows you to move the controller to almost any position that is comfortable or safe. This view shows the pendant and the back of the controller. Also clearly visible is the wooden hand wheel discussed later.

The controller itself contains several controls, only one of which is used day to day—the speed control knob. The knob turns about 270° of rotation, going from 0 RPM clockwise to full. It's very smooth, and easy to change just a few RPM at a time, unlike others that I have used that jump the RPM dramatically with just a small touch. The other buttons are used to program the various actions of the lathe—speed ramp-up, slow-down, etc. A manual is included with instructions to alter these functions, but I have seen no reason to change any of them from the default settings.

The controller has an LED digital readout that shows motor speed, not spindle speed. It goes from 0-1800 RPM, so if the digital readout is 900, and since the top spindle speed on the pulley setting I use is 2550, I know my spindle speed is approx 1275 rpm. But like most turners, I pay little attention to the actual speed, and just adjust the speed to what seems right.

The other control on the pendant, is the Forward-Off-Reverse switch. It is an unassuming three-way toggle switch, mounted in a metal switchbox, not unlike a receptacle box you would find mounted in a wall with a light switch installed in it.

The switch is simple as can be: up for Forward, middle for Off, and down for Reverse. This is one of my minor complaints. With the switch in the Forward position (up), should you, in an emergency, need to quickly shut the lathe off, a quick slap at the switch, can—and usually does—move the switch past the Off position to the Reverse position. In most situations, this is not much of a problem because the motor slows to a complete stop before slowly moving into reverse. However, I would like it better if it had a large red panic stop button.

Base

The base of the lathe is adjustable in height from 37" to over 42" spindle height. In fact the lathe will go somewhat higher than that, and with the help of a couple of wood blocks under the tubular, concrete filled legs, I have a spindle height of 49" without affecting stablility in the least. This is a good height for bowl turning and hollowing for me.

Bed

The bed of the lathe is made from from two ¾" steel plates for extreme stiffness, that are precision ground to be perfectly aligned and flat. It is wide too, at 13" wide and approximately 20" long—lots of room to lay tools, etc. The short bed also eliminates the ability to use a Jamieson style captured hollowing system. I have discussed constructing a 12"-15" bed extension with Vega to eliminate these problems. I will probably buy some parts from Vega and construct my own. I will keep you informed.

Headstock

The headstock itself is made from a 64 pound 8"x6" piece of rectangular structural steel tubing and is filled with 100 pounds of concrete. Vega claims that concrete is far superior in vibration damping to most other material. I have no reason to doubt them, and it seems to work.

Spindle

The spindle is 1¼"x8 like most large lathes, and is supported by three large, sealed (for life) bearings. The spindle is hollow, with a 3/8" hole running through it, so you can use your vacuum chuck, and use a knockout bar to remove anything in the #2 Morse taper. Note the weld around the front bearing. It's a workmanlike weld with good penetration, but it's not a high quality of finish. I discuss the welds in Random Thoughts below.

The far end of the spindle is equipped with a large (maybe 8" diameter) wooden handwheel. It's simple, but effective. It is attached to the spindle via a metal flange secured by an Allen screw. I liked the fact that the handwheel is wood because: 1) I could make my own if I wanted to out of fancy wood, 2) it is warmer than a metal wheel, and 3) I was able to turn a taper in the end of it to fit my vacuum chuck.

Tool Rest

The tool rest is different. It is made out of a piece of L-shaped steel. The upside of this is that it is thin, and makes it easy to get the support for your tools very close to work. The only down side, is that it does not have the dead sound that a cast iron tool rest has, and kind of rings if the tool bounces at all. I thought this would bother me, but I was used to in within minutes of using it. It is not bad, just different. The tool rest is guaranteed against breakage.

Banjo

The banjo is very heavy at 17 pounds, and is made from two 1¼" square steel bars. It is so heavy and stiff that, for most light turning, I do not even lock it to the bed. The tool post is 1¼" diameter—no bending this thing—however, it does mean that some accessories (coring tools, etc.) would have to be modified to fit it.

The banjo is tapped in two positions for the locking handle, allowing you to move the handle where it is out of the way for whatever turning you are doing. The banjo locks to the bed via a cam under the bed, connected to a long T-handle that swings out of the way, no matter where you are standing. However, with this system, the banjo is not quickly removed, requiring unscrewing a large Allen bolt.

The only problem that I have had with this whole system is that when my Oneway Bowl Steady is in place, it limits the positions I can put the tool rest. The banjo and the steady rest get in the way of each other. On long bed lathes, you have greater versatility with banjo placement. I am working on a design for the base of the steady rest that will eliminate this problem.

Tailstock

The tailstock is easily removed or replaced. I timed it the other day, and it took me 15 seconds to pick it up, and fasten it to the lathe. And I was not moving like the Wood Brothers (a famous NASCAR pit crew). No tools are required. The tailstock is equipped with two tapered pins that mate with the lathe, and then the tailstock is secured with a large bolt on the end of a T-handle.

Vega tells me that each tail stock is aligned perfectly with the spindle before final welding. The tapered pins and the bolt insure that alignment every time. With the tailstock in place, you can turn from 6" to 17" between centers. The tailstock spindle is a #2 MT, is self-ejecting, and has a total of 9" travel—about 6" of which are accomplished with a threaded shaft.

Standard Equipment

Standard equipment supplied with the lathe is:

• 4" Face Plate
• Spur Center
• Live Tailstock Center
• 12" Tool Rest
• Spanner Wrench for the Spindle

Random Thoughts about the Vega 2400

1. Like most lathes these days, the 2400 comes equipped with one of those steel mesh guards to go over the top of the lathe. And as most turners do, it was the first thing to go.
2. While it only weighs about 500 lbs, the Vega's weight is on a wider footprint than 500 lbs long bed lathes so, to me, it feels more stable. I have not felt the need to add more weight to the lathe.
3. Don't go by the specs on the Vega website—they are somewhat out of date. Even the pictures are out of date—current models have a different controller, a much larger tool post, and the pictures do not show the handwheel.
4. Most people don't know about the Vega. It is 100% American made, but they sell every one that they make. It is a small company, with great customer service. When you call to order a lathe, make a suggestion, or make a complaint, you will be talking to Randall McKinney, the #2 man there.
5. Yes, if you use a captured hollowing tool, this is not the lathe for you. If you do tall hollow forms, this is not the lathe for you. My segmented hollow forms are no more than 15" tall, and I use a Don Pencil armbrace hollower, and a Sorby Hollowmaster, and I am okay. However, I am considering building a bed extension.
6. I have heard the comment that it looks like it was made in someone's garage. I cannot argue with that statement. The welds are good, but not ground and filled, etc. The FWD/REV switch is housed in a steel electrical receptacle box that you could buy at the borg, but that helps keep the price down.
7. I have talked to Vega about some of the issues, and their stance is that once they start adding these features, they start driving up the price—out of the niche that they are in: a $2500, 24" swing, no-frills, bowl lathe.

Minor (to me at least) issues

1. No spindle lock, but it has a long spanner wrench and that works just fine.
2. No indexing option—not even an issue to this point, and I can make one if necessary.
3. Lack of panic stop paddle. All start/stop control is in an ambiguous detent, three position switch.

Well, I know this has been long, but I thought I would try to make it complete.

I have no business connections with Vega—I am a hobbyist turner, working full time as a Network Computer Engineer

(but you should see his segmented bowls—stunning, Ed.).