Buying new lathe

Re: Buying new lathe

MP Wall

>It appears that you have covered the best of the middle of the lathe market. I am personally favored to the 3520 (got one love it). All the lathes are good machines and very capable. The 1640 and 3520 are obviously very similar (go 1.5 hp on the 1640). The versitility of both machines is very good and allows you to work on all sorts of types of turnings and styles of turning. Best of luck with your picking a new lathe, do test drive as many of them as possible before you jump in, it will help. MP Wall

Re: Buying new lathe

Jerry Whitaker

>I'll cast my vote for the PM 3520a.

Re: Buying new lathe *LINK*

Mark Kauder. Phenix City, AL

>All the lathes you mentioned are very fine lathes. My personal opinion, of the ones mentioned, the PM3540 is preferable.

You have to ask yourself what type of turning you do, if you do it all - spindles, bowls, etc, then a lathe with a long bed is absolutely necessary.

((I know all the regulars here on WC were waiting for this)) But if you only do bowls or short spindles (under 17"), you might consider the Vega 2400. See the link to my review of my lathe. It is in the same price range as the PM 3520.

Mark


http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=reviews&file=articles_503.shtml

Re: Buying new lathe

Fog Tanner

>I have the 16" Delta steel bed and a Vic 300VL long bed. My preference is towards the Vic. I don't really want a moveable head lathe again. The Delta is a good machine and has the same locking mechanism as the Powermatic. But, I have had the head unlock while coring a bowl, three times. Not a pleasant experience.

Like you I looked at all the lathes, but ruled out anything from China/Tiawan. Has to do with quality issues in some previous purchases that cost me a great deal to repair. And I intend this to be the last lathe I buy. I ruled out the Oneway because it is overpriced and no better than the genuine Vicmarc. I have the real Vic from Australia, not the C.S. Blue version. There are a number of differences in the two. From the base, banjo/tool rest, and motor/drive. The only thing left that's true Vic is the bed, headstock, and tailstock. If you are looking at a Vic, get the real thing and get the 300 - there isn't that much difference in the price in the 300 and 200.

Re: Buying new lathe

JL work

>I have looked at the Jet 1642 and the Delta 1642 (which I guess is the same as your 1630s). I like the sturdier legs of the Jet and the open design of the legs. I wish I could go for the 3520, but alas, no 220 in my shop.

Re: Buying new lathe

RonZ

>I agree with Fog but I'll add that besides price there are a few differences. I'm 5'5" and if I was doing it all over again I would get the VL200 as that would be right for me. If you're tall that's not an issue or build a 'soap box' like I did. If you have muscular/joint problems the tailstock is heavy on the VL300. If you get the shortbed it's a pain to slide off, too. If you get the long bed or the short with the extension, you're fine.

Re: Buying new lathe

Fog Tanner

>Ron, Iam a few inches taller than you - but I did use the timber from the skid that the Vic came on to build a "deck" that goes the length of my machine. One of the reasons for the long bed was a comment from Raffin. He has the longbed and just moves the tailstock out of the way. It works great, no need for a table and no heavy lifting. I never had the need to turn my movable head Delta into a shortbed for bowls, so the long bed has presented no problems in turning bowls.

One of the other reasons for the 300 was the 24" swing. I got interested in offcenter turnings where even a medium size piece would exceed the limits of the 16" Delta. And another side benefit was my turning got better due to just the increase from a 350lb lathe to one that weighs 1000lbs and has a rock solid headstock. They can only have my Vic when they pry my cold dead fingers off of it.... :-)

Re: Buying new lathe

RonZ

>Well, when I ordered mine I listened to someone else [who I won't mention and not anyone here] who said get the short lathe with the extension. At the time they didn't have the 1/2 meter extension so a a 1 meter with another 1 meter extension would be way too large. I also was assuming a one time purchase as there no real lathes readily available here so I got the 3hp and magnetic extensin box. There is no question I got the best all around machine. If I had more space I'm sure it would be better. One year later, if I had got the VL200 in a one meter version [for some stupid reason their VL200s have no option for an extension] with the original base I would have the right height, and anything large could be turned outside.

Ron, Iam a few inches taller than you - but I did use the timber from the skid that the Vic came on to build a "deck" that goes the length of my machine. One of the reasons for the long bed was a comment from Raffin. He has the longbed and just moves the tailstock out of the way. It works great, no need for a table and no heavy lifting. I never had the need to turn my movable head Delta into a shortbed for bowls, so the long bed has presented no problems in turning bowls.

One of the other reasons for the 300 was the 24" swing. I got interested in offcenter turnings where even a medium size piece would exceed the limits of the 16" Delta. And another side benefit was my turning got better due to just the increase from a 350lb lathe to one that weighs 1000lbs and has a rock solid headstock. They can only have my Vic when they pry my cold dead fingers off of it.... :-)

Re: Buying new lathe

Capt Skip

>I just bought a Jet 1642 from Lee Weed. Was blessed for the weigh on my trip from Knoxville as she keep my tires of my pickup on the pavement. Massive snow / Ice storm.

The lathe seems very well built and heavy. I am planning to assemble and run tomorrow. Its been refered to by many as the 3520a little brother.

Re: Buying new lathe

Steve

>Capt Skip, make sure you post a message how you like it when you get it turning. Steve