New Lathe Question

Re: New Lathe Question

TDaniel

>We need more info. Do you want a spindle lathe or do you intend to make bowls and hollow forms? I am thinking if you only want to do legs and such a Vicmarc VL100 with a bed extension. If you have used the General 260 very much I do not think you will be happy with any of the Taiwan imports.

TD

Re: New Lathe Question

Fred Holder

>Garrett,

You don't say what size of objects you want to turn or how much of a budget you have, so it is difficult to give you a definitive answer. However, here is some information to think about:

Assume you want to turn small things, a Jet mini lathe or better yet a Vicmarc VL 100 mini lathe would do you a good job.

If you're looking to turn larger stuff, a Nova 3000 or a Nova DVR 3000 would do you a good job. You can also buy benchtop mounted Woodfast lathes.

Re: New Lathe Question - More Info

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>My wife wants me to make buttons and other quite small objects, and I kept all my tools, because I expect to want to turn moderate-sized bowls and hollow forms, and occasionally some furniture-related work.

I note 2 votes out of 2 for the Vicmarc a lathe I hadn't considered, so many thanks for that. Given past enthusiasms on the Board, I anticipated a lot of support for the Jet and possibly a vote for the very expensive smallest OneWay.

Cheers, Garrett

Re: New Lathe Question

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>Hi Garrett,

I'm not sure what you are thinking of when you say a "benchtop" lathe. I had thought you were referring to one you could place and then remove from a bench top (i.e., the mini lathes) but then you mentioned the small Oneway which is decidedly a free standing machine as delivered.

It is is truly a set and remove sort of lathe, I will affirm the earlier recommmendations for the fully configured Vicmark mini, followed by recommending the Jet. Keep in mind that once you add bed extensions to something like the Jet, it is not really a set and remove lathe, and is only reallistically left in place.

If you are looking for a lathe with a small footprint, but with considerable versatitility I think there are two choices that stand out for me, though I suspect one is clearly not what you are looking for. The first choice is the Teknatool Nova DVR. Without any extra bed sections, and with a very compact headstock (because the motor is integrated), this lathe has a very small footprint, yet has the power, swing, and overall capability to let you deal with quite a range of projects. The exceptional smoothness of the DVR is apreciated especially on the smaller projects to mid sized projects you describe having an interest in. Having that pivoting headstock not only will allow you to deal with the rare very large "faceplate" project, but allows you to cram the lathe into a tighter work space (say a corner up against a wall) while still allow for good accessibilty to the workpiece. I have mine mounted to bench that is fitted with drawers, thus maximizing usable floorspace.

The other lathe is the Stubby 750, a high priced and very high performance lathe, but one with a very small footprint. I doubt you are looking for something in this price range, but if you are spoiled by the General, you will find the Stubby will offer you all the capabilities of the General in what is likely less than half the space. Just a consideration.

Re: New Lathe Question

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>Thanks for your usual thorough advice, Lyn. Price isn't an issue, but footprint is. Rashly perhaps, I had mentally jumped from the General which required a lot, to something like a mini which could be put away, but hadn't paused along the way to consider a compromise such as the DVR and the Stubby.

Much to ponder, because I don't want to go through the buy-sell process too soon again.

Cheers, Garrett

Re: New Lathe Question *LINK*

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Garrett,

What have not been mentioned are the Stubby 500 and the Stubby Nugget, which are much more in line with your "bench-top" criteria. Although the a stand for Stubby 750is extra, it is hardly a bench lathe. You can see both lathes (plus the 750 & 1000), their specs and accessories on the Omega website at the link below. You will have to contact either a dealer or Omega direct to get quotes. The site will also give you a list of dealers info by country.

Mark


Omega Stubby

Re: New Lathe Question

Mike-in-Michigan(Richland, that is)

>I put in a vote for the Jet Mini VS -- if you want bowls & hollow forms less than 7" and pens,small spindles under 14", buttons, etc.. At it's current price w/varialble speed, etc.. it has nothing even close in value. The Vicmarc is a nice machine but the Jet goes for 274-300$ delivered from Amazon if you catch the coupon codes right. Last week it was only 249$ if you bought something for 5-6$ to get over 299$ to get the 50$ off, but that ended on fathers day I think.

However I just looked at the Stubby's mentioned .. wow.. that looks like the close to perfect compromise. If price is no object (within reason) I would surely consider one ...

Re: New Lathe Question

Arch

>Hi Garrett, Footprints can be long as well as wide, so a mini with an extension might not work. 'Buttons and bow(l)s' echos the old song, but it's a poor melody to turn wood by. The impossibly perfect boat hull if narrow slices thru the water but pitches fore and aft, and if broad it doesn't pitch but it rolls side to side. I suspect, as all sailors must, you'll have to compromise. There are original true mini's for sale (ex: carbatecs and their knockoffs) that turners have exchanged for the 'midi's others have already mentioned. As you well know, a lathe that turns whatever size bowls you have in mind will turn buttons, but maybe not the other way around. There are innovative ways for keeping a larger lathe in a smaller space such as suspended over and lowering onto a workbench, etc. Maybe someone will post his thinking outside the footprint. Meanwhile, consider storing your fine big lathe somewhere til you're sure you won't miss it too much.

I,for one, would be interested in which machines you decided to do without, how you ranked them and why. Regards, Arch

What I decided to eliminate

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>Hi Arch

Suspending a small lathe over a bench is a very interesting suggestion. Thinking vertically instead of laterally...

What I decided to sell:

- the General as per my earlier post;

- a 3HP Delta 4-bag DC (huge footprint) that I replaced with a much more compact and more effective cyclone (Bill Pentz design);

- a Makita LS 1013 SCMS. Again, a very big footprint, and I was using it only as a chop saw after finding it not so accurate for mitres as most folks are led to think. I get much better results from a sled on my Unisaw. For cut-offs, I've brought an old Skil chop saw back into the shop, but might replace it with a 12" mitre saw.

In addition, I moved into crawl-space storage the Delta scroll saw; Delta wet/dry sharpening system - never liked it much and I have a Tormek and a couple of grinders; and about a hundred pounds of various hand and other small power tools that I realized I hardly ever use. (My sons will get them if we ever drive back east.) I had earlier started using a circular saw to cut up panels in the garage before bringing them into the basement shop for finish machining, and I like that system quite a lot for the amount of effort it eliminates and the materials storage space it saves in the shop. The garage space that was occupied by the big dust collector now accommodates my small metal-cutting bandsaw, the Millermatic MIG welder, and the mid-size compressor all of which had been in the shop.

Removing the General and the Makita enabled a re-arrangement of the remaing big machines so that I can now use the 8" jointer, 15" planer, and Unisaw without having to move them or other tools that were blocking in-feed and/or outfeed paths. It also eliminated lengths of flex hose in the dust collection system.

Since I also gained a bit more space for assembly, I built a 24x60x34" high rolling cabinet with 8 drawers that hold almost all my portable tools, and being the same height as the Unisaw can also serve as an outfeed table. This cabinet has emptied the inefficient recycled kitchen cabinet on which my bench top rests. Thus, next month I'll finally be able to build a proper maple workbench for that space. And then get back to projects not involving the shop.

Cheers, Garrett

Wrong priorities.... ??

Russ Fairfield

>Your problem is the workbench, assembly bench, and cabinets; not the lathe. What good are those things?? If you want to turn wood, you keep the General lathe, use the Unisaw for the workbench, buy a bigger bandsaw, and push everything else into the corner. The jointer and planer make good storage racks for bowls and things while they are drying. Since the General is gone, now you will have to buy a Stubby 1000 or a VB-36 to replace it.

Seems like a simple solution to me.

Re: Wrong priorities.... ??

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>Hi Russ

You see, I knew if I asked here I'd be set on the right path. This forum thinks differently.

Aside from good recommendations on lathes, a really interesting piece of advice was to suspend one from the ceiling that could be lowered to the bench as required. Now I learn that I've come at the problem from entirely the wrong direction.

Fortunately, nothing precludes a Stubby 1000 or VB-36. I'd just have to put a vise on the assembly table and call it a bench, move a few things around (yet again), and...

Gotta think about this for a while.

Cheers, Garrett

Re: Wrong priorities.... ??

Edward

>There was an article in the British woodturning magazine, "Woodturning", (I think), a while ago, about a woodworker in GB that suspended his lathe above his workbench. Workshops in GB are generally very small garden sheds. The guy in the article used steel cables and a winch to hoist the lathe. It was a larger Record or Coronet, I think.

Edward

Re: Foot Print

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Garrett,

My 1000 takes up only 54x28 on my shop floor, and was the only "big" lathe I could fit in my basement shop.

20" swing over the bed, 40" swing with the bed retracted, and 40" between centers with the aux bed mounted at the end of the main bed.

The square bowl in the pic was 9" deep and 30" in its long dimension.

Just so you know.

Table saw? Dude, jou don neeed no steeenking table saw, Main! |;-}}}}

Mark

Man, you could feed a paper mill!

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>

Re: Dude, jou don neeed no steeenking table saw *LINK*

RevDoug

>But you do need a broom and coal shovel for all those wood chips and shavings. Way to go "main!"

Turn 'em round,

RevDoug


Wood Spun Round

Re: New Lathe Question

Mark Kauder

>If you want a bench top Lathe, I feel that you cannot go wrong with the Jet Mini, specifically the non-variable speed is a fantastic deal. For the first year or so that I turned, I had the Jet Mini on a piece of 3/4" plywood, that I would clamp to my bench when I wanted to turn. You can add a bed extention for about $50 if you want to turn table legs and the like.

Now if you were a bowl turner - turning big bowls, that also wanted to turn spindles up to 17" long, you could look at the Vega 2400. It has a shop footprint of about 30" x 36" - about the same as the average refridgerator. At $2600 for the top of the line, it is a great deal for a big bowl lathe.

Re: Chips!

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>An that was after doing two of those bowls, but coring the interiors with the McNaughton!

[Weeds (nor anything else) won't be growing along my driveway for a while] he he

Mark

Re: Dude

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>Gots da broom an de shovel. All I needed was 2 men and a boy to run'em!

[took 4 trips with the 40 gal bag before I did the rest with the DC which is out in the garage so I don't have to haul that bag upstairs too]

|;-}}

Re: Wrong priorities.... ??

Russ Fairfield

>You are sure going to a lot of extra work when the original problem was to justify buying and finding space for a new and bigger lathe.

Re: Maybe Very Creative

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>See, he sells the old lathe (because it takes up too much space), and uses the area gained to reorganize the shop [they LOVE when we clean up], and money is not an impediment . . . so now all he has to do is find a large capacity, high quality lathe that fits into the reorganized space all as part of the original plan!

In a single stroke he's met and overcome all of the Objections plus set up the Killer "I sold what I didn't need in preparation for this so as to be frugal," affirmative position from which huge guilt drops on anyone even attempting to refute it.

The man's a GENIUS I tell you!

[Gotta write this deal down for later . . .]

Way To Go Garrett!!!!!!!

Mark

Heh! Heh! heh...

Garrett in Victoria BC CA

>

Re: New Lathe Question: 2 Other Options

Brad Vietje

>Here are a few other well-made lathe options:

1. Vicmark VL-200 is an excellent, full size, bench-top lathe.

2. Poolewood has some beautiful benchtop models that are intermediate in size. I think David Ellsworth only sells the bigger ones, but they make 2 models I looked into (model #'s 1200 and 1500, I think).

Woodfast was mentioned earlier, but there are some VERY happy Woodfast owners out there. As for mini and midi lathes, the Vicmarc is better made and designed than the Jet or Delta (they are NOT the same), and the General Maxi lathe is a rugged, well made little machine.

Safe Spinning,

Brad Vietje

Thetford, VT