Large Lathe Comparison

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

BubbaBob

>If yer gonna spend 5K, go all the way and get a VB36. I've turned on Terry Daniels's and it is great machine that comes in at just under 5K.

From the mountains of N Georgia...

Freezing my bib overall covered butt off,

BubbaBob

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Joe P

>I just bought the 26020 with the electronic variable speed drive for $2795 and I'm very happy with it so far, not that I'm a real experianced turner, I'm just basing my opinion on the appearance, function and sound of the machine.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Keith Tompkins

>HI George, I have the General, as do several others who post here. I have used the Oneway ,Vicmarc and the Stubby, so I pretty much know how they stack up. The General is a competent machine, I would buy one again. I really liked the Vicmarc also, but I don't know the price range of those.good luck, Keith

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

RonZ

>I would look into the Vicmarc VL300. I'm very pleased with mine. That's in the $3k price range.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Russell Seaton

>Back in the summer of 2001 I attended the AAW meeting in Minneapolis. The General and Oneway booths were next to each other. Canadian Andre Martel was demonstrating at the General booth. I talked to him about lathes. He said the bearings in the General were not the greatest. I brought up the fact the General 26020 was about $1600 less than the Oneway 2036. He said you could buy a lot of bearings for $1600.

Personally, when I move to a higher end lathe, I want one I can get close to for bowls. And do not have to twist and turn and lean over the bed for hollowing the inside of bowls. One that has a sliding headstock, Powermatic 3520 for $2050, or pivoting bed, Stubby 750 or 1000 for $4500-$5500, or a very nice outboard turning arrangement, Oneway 2436 or 2036 for $4000-5000. The standard old time spindle lathes like General 26020, Vicmarc 300, Woodfast ?, Powermatic 4224, etc. just don't have the versatility I want.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Keith Tompkins

>HI Russell, The General has an optional outboard unit available; however,I am going to fabricate a custom one myself.

I believe the Oneway utilizes four bearings in the headstock, the General only two. When I wear out the original bearings in my General, I'll upgrade to a higher quality set of bearings.

I personally am not that impressed with some of the Oneway characteristics, mainly the ringing and resonance at some speeds under load. No matter what the manufactured says, I still feel cast iron does a better job of absorbing vibration.(my opinion, don't want to start a debate)

The Oneway is a much more modern design, I think the engineering is much more advanced over the General. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Bob Hackett

>I would look at the Powermatic 3520.This lathe has basicly the same drive as a Oneway and is more versatile IMO.My brother just bought one and I was very impressed by it.He also bought the bed extention and we figured out how to mount it lower on the legs so he can slide the headstock down to the end and have a bowl lathe that will swing a bowl 36" in dia.I was so impressed by his lathe I modified my Conover to much the same configuration,the headstock now slides and I put a bed extention and banjo from a Nichols lathe(I have the tailstock too)lower on the legs.It really is nice to have both a bowl lathe and a conventional long bed both in one machine.It`s especially nice when you can do it for less than $3000.

Now if I just had a 3 HP VFD motor and drive for the Conover I`d be set.;^)

Mainly,Bob

3 hp VFD?

TDaniel

>Bob, I just happen to have a 3 hp vfd in my surplus inentory. What will yo give?

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Mike Rubes

>Hi Georg,

I don't want to "muddy" the waters any more than they are, but are you considering other high end lathes? What about the Poolewood? I know of several turners on this forum who have them and really like them. I really like the idea of a swivel head. Price for a Poolwood 2000 (I think) is around $4300, but may fluctuate a bit based on the value of the dollar to the pound?

Just one more data point.

Mike

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

David Hammond, in Powder Springs GA

>All the names that I know of, in the Big Iron league, have been mentioned, but I'll throw in my own two cents about which lathe(s) I would prefer: If your turning intrests are mixed, meaning spindles as well as bowls and vessels, and you like a bed lathe, I'd say the Vicmarc VL300 is the best bed lathe out there - outboard turning as an option, heavy as lead, exceptional machining and paint job, everything works easily on the Vic, and everything is over engineered to handle any load - the negative with the Vic, is only that the dollar has fallen out of the sky, and it would cost you to get one from Australia, but worth it in my opinion.

Now, if you want to turn bowls, any size, hollow forms, any size, big or small, I'd look at the VB36. I was skeptical of the VB, and had my heart set on some Blue steel. But, after much consideration, talking to TD, turning on his lathes, and some more considering, I now turn on a VB36 - I'll never look back. There is nothing, no peice of wood that lathe can't handle. Now, you might ask do you really need the capability of turning a seven and half foot diameter peice of wood? Well, not neccessarily - but, what that capability gives you, is perfection, rock solid stability, zero vibration, unstoppable power and endless room for growth as a woodturner. There's been talk of bearings here and that is the heart of a lathe. The VB's bearings are of aircraft quality - the manual states that there is no conceivable load that can physically be placed on the VB's shaft, to cause distress to the shaft, or bearings. If you get a chance, get a glance at a VB in action, and you'll understand. The promotional video for the VB places a 24 inche diameter log, 48 inches long, on the VB's shaft - no tailstock support, nothing. Two men, simultaneously, turn a vase out of that log, no complaints from the VB. Again, all this might sound like overkill, but it all adds up to the best bowl machine I believe exists. The lathe is equally at home turning twelve inche bowls and vases. And does this overkill, this over-engineering make the VB cumbersome and huge? For one thing, it only takes up two square feet in the shop. I've found the VB at home turning 1 inche diameter tops, to a twenty-eight inche diameter cherry stump - the VB is incredible easy, and smooth to operate: take a look.

David

curiouser and curiouser

Georg Waldhof

>my turning would be mixed and i would anticipate needing to turn some fairly fat and long "columns" for lack of a better term. Probably the longest thing i forsee turning is in the 36" range but one never knows.

Your comment about the size of this unsupported log on the VB has me wondering: Do i really need a tailstock with such a massively strong headstock?

Admittedly, the VB36 is looking pretty much out of my price range, but once can always hope. I'm wanting to expand my creative furniture design to include some dramatic turned elements and pedestal bases, etc. So I am looking for both hefty swing as well as some length.

further suggestions/insights?

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Guy

>I had the same dilema a little while back and I had it down to the Stubby/Oneway 2436/Powermatic 3520/Vicmarc VL300. Used my Nova without turning the headstock to approximate the positioning I would have to use if I ended up with Oneway/Vicmarc/Powermatic for a couple months and I found no problems. All are superb machines. I ended up with the VL300 longbed "benchtop" model. I am short and round so I made my own base to fit and added a 3HP Leeson 3 phase motor and VFD. Total including shipping for lathe, bits and pieces, wood for base etc came out to just under $3K. Made the base out of 5 sheets of plywood, filled with sand and lead shot. Total weight over 1200 pounds. The Oneway and Stubby would have been over $5K shipped and 2000 bucks is a lot of money. Since this is hopefully my last lathe I wanted 3HP and the 50 inch between centers and 24 inch swing is sweet too so that and the quality of the lathe is why I went with the Vic. With the factory base and motor setup the Vic is up there with the Oneway and Stubby. I've seen them all except the Stubby and done the touch and feel on them and the quality of the Vic is second to none of them. Truthfully though if you are OK with a 2HP motor and the stock spindle height is not too tall for you then the Powermatic seems to be a best buy and a lot of people have them and really love em. Nice solid tank of a lathe. As for the VB I have only seen photos but with tailstock, etc it is higher than even the Oneway. I think you need a tailstock if for nothing else to stop longer/thinner turnings from whipping around besides being able to support other stuff like trying to finnish off the bottom of a bowl, just my opinion. Anyhow good luck and whatever you decide you should have a well made, quality piece of equipment. Guy

big lathes

TDaniel

>As David mentioned, 2 of the lathes you should look at are the Vicmarc VL300 and the VB. Since you mentioned furniture you would need a tailstock. The VB is available with a tailstock and it can be ordered in any length desired. There are other good lathes such as the One-way and General but with the low value dollar the only bargain out there at the moment is the Jet/Powermatic because their dollar is tied to ours. The best idea would be to start saving for the one you want and be patient until the dollar regains some value before buying.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Richard Allen

>Hi Georg

It is curious to see the responses.

I know you would be happy with most of the highend lathes.

You should try all the lathes out. Visit a woodturner who has one of the high end lathes and turn a bowl, ask questions, make note of the workflow. Try out all the lathes. Contact your local chapter of the AAW for help in arranging visits. You may need to take a trip to try some of the lathes. The whole process of selecting a lathe should be a lot of fun.

Go to each lathe with a list of requirements and see how each lathe deals with those issues.

For example the use of a steady rest. The VB36 doesn't have an obvious solution for a steady rest. So how is the issue that would cause you to use a steady rest dealt with on the VB36. Are you comfortable with how each lathe deals with this and how often would this be an issue for you?

Vacuum chucking. If this is something you would like to be able to do then how is that aspect of turning dealt with on the various lathes. Some solution might be limited to specific products. How do you fee about being limited to specific after market solutions?

The Oneway takes about 3 months to get. It takes Oneway about a week to make YOUR lathe and they will contact you or whoever ordered the lathe for you when they are ready to make your lathe to be sure that they know what you want. You can change your mind about the Oneway lathe at any time before that. I would suggest that you order the Oneway lathe now. In the time between order and delivery you should be able to evaluate all the other high end lathes. If you decide that the Oneway isn't for you then just cancel your order. You will make someone else on the waiting list happy.

Thanks

Richard

Re: 3 hp VFD?

Gary Evans

>Terry,

That combo might work well on my Woodfast. What'll you take for it? (Be Gentle! 8^])

Thanks,

GE

Future plans

Bob Hackett

>TD,thanks for the offer but the DC drive I have now is working well and I probably won`t replace it till it goes south.I was just dreaming about more HP,3HP would come in handy for things like coring but I generally just sharpen now if things start to slow down.

Dave Lancaster`s influence has been pretty wide spread thru the club and we have better than a dozen members with Oneway lathes w/3 HP motors attached.We also have other lathes that have been upgraded to 3 HP and better.From what I`ve seen,that kind of power is only used less than 10% of the time,mostly for coring and roughing large work.

At this stage of the game I`m enjoying the ride and prefer to finess things rather than overpower them.I`ve seen some of the high HP boys get into real hair-raising positions that would have stalled lesser HP motors(we have enough bent Mcnaughton coring tools in the club to sell for scrap).I just presently feel safer with an average(2 hp DC)lathe.I`ll wait till I understand all I know about the craft and become smart enough to listen to the guardian angels whenever they whisper about safety to power up.Thanks again for the offer.

Mainely,Bob

Hoss Power

TDaniel

>You are right Bob; too much hp can be hazardous to your health if used wrong. However, the top of the line 3 phase inverters can be programmed to reduce power to the motor when a sudden change is detected. This is where some of the higher priced lathes put the extra bucks. I can stall my 3 hp VB with my bare hands. Most of the premium lathes offering 3 hp have this ability built in. As the old saying goes, " You get what you pay for (sometimes)".

TD

Thanks for the info,TD.

Bob Hackett

>I`ve learned something new about VFD`s here.When you say high end drives,would that include the ones the put on say Oneway or Powermatic as production items?I`ve seen the industrial drives and thier enclosures are 4 times the size of the ones I`ve seen on production lathes and sport a keyboard.Is this the type of drive required to get this HP reduction feature?Seems like this feature would be an excellent safety item and well worth the added cost.

Mainely,Bob

Re: Thanks for the info,TD.

TDaniel

>Bob, I would assume the One-way would have this control; Vicmarc and General and VB do. I think General uses a Toshiba (or did) which is one of the best. Fuji makes a good one too. If programmed properly these will sense sudden changes in load and will re-act to the new load by reducing power. Sometimes this can be a PITA but it is a very good safety thing. I had a student one day to get a gouge caught between the toolrest and the spinning wood and the lathe just came to a stop and gently tugged until I stopped it. I do not know what type controller is used in the Delta and PM but my guess is they would not be able to offer these features at the price they sell for; maybe someone can inform us on this.

TD

Re: Thanks for the info,TD.

Peter Teubel

>From the PM3520s that I've seen, they use a Delta controller. I also have one that I purchased from Greg Jensen (Kelton rep) that I installed on my old patter makers lathe. Excellent controller with LOTA of programmable features.

Personally, I don't like the "reduce power with a catch" feature. The way I turn causes most lathes with that feature to trip. Even with my lathe, I sometimes cause the controller to go into overload, but I have a reset button on the remote, so I'm back to turning in 5 seconds. Of course, its only a 2hp motor. If it was a 5hp, I may think differently.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Russell Seaton

>HI Russell, The General has an optional outboard unit available; however,I am going to fabricate a custom one myself.

I think the General outboard unit is about $280. I think this includes the longer banjo. The outboard allows up to 28" diameter I believe. But the General uses 1 1/8" left threads on the outboard side I think. Not exactly easy to use the same chuck on both inboard and outboard. I think General does sell an adaptor to change the 1 1/8" left to a normal 1 1/4" right thread. So this thread problem can be fixed.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Fog Tanner

>I just went through the same exercise. I have a Delta 16" steel bed, which has a sliding head. I decided I wanted a fixed head for coring bowls, after having the locking mechanism unlock a couple of times. Exciting, but there are better ways to find excitment.

I agonized over the Oneway 16" with the outboard attachment, the Powermatic, and a larger Oneway. I ruled out the PM when I found they were now being made in China. At the Texas Turn or Two I got a look at the Vicmarc VL300. Has a 23 1/2" swing, weighs 1000 pounds, a rock solid base, excellent machined parts. The price of the Vic with shipping was less than the larger Oneway without shipping and around the same as the 16" with shipping.

Vicmarc should be finishing my machine up about now. I'm just waiting on Paul at 1Goodturn to tell me the ship date. Life is too short to wait on the flucuation of the dollar. There are bowls to turn and shavings to make and there isn't going to be that great a difference anytime soon.

Besides, my wife told me to quit worring over it and just order it, definately got to keep her. I ordered the long bed version. I can slide the tail stock down to the end, out of the way when doing bowls. I found that I never slid the headstock down on my Delta to make it a short bed when making bowls. I only moved it a little so I would trip over the legs and feet which stick out. Since I do both bowls and spindle work, a quick eay to use tailstock was a necessity.

The one thing that really sold me on the Vicmarc was what the professional turners had to say. I had talked to Raffin, during a workshop, and he was very high on it. Sturart Batty said the same things during a workshop, he just got a Vic300 to go along with his VB and Oneway. Trent Bosch loves his three, and Mike Mahoney has just gotten another one, from what I understand its a new midrange bed between their long and short. I figure if these guys can stand all day at one and say good things about it, it has to be pretty decent. I've also talked to some other pro turners who have Oneways, they also had some good words on the Vic. It's a tough decision, I'm glad I won't have to make that again in this lifetime. Now my daughter gets to decide what to do with it in 25-30 years, unless I can take it with me...

Good luck with what ever you decide.

Fog

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

TDaniel

>You will be happy with your decision to buy The Vic. It is a quality lathe and when fitted with the factory stand it is, in my opinion, just as good as a One-way. You may want to have them add the dynamic braking option.

Terry D.

Re: Large Lathe Comparison

Fog Tanner

>Terry,

Is this something that can be switched on and off or is it always in "braking mode". My delta has braking, which I find too slow when doing smaller spindle work. I have a habit of riding the hand wheel to slow it down - haven't been able to do it yet. I remember Raffin saying he could stop the lathe in 1-2 seconds without the braking. But, it would be nice on larger bowls.

And your views about the quality of the Vic as compared to the Oneway is one of the reasons I went with the Vic. I worked in a machine shop, back when the machines were made in the US - the Vic is actually heavier duty than some of the engine lathes I used. And the same precision in construction.

Fog