Anybody got one of these ?

[Tangoman]

G'day Folks,

i need to pick your collective brains ! Iam thinking about getting a new lathe and want some advice.

I generally turn natural edge bowls and hollow forms so need a fair bit of weight and want electronic variable speed particularly for slow speeds whilst the piece is out of balance. I also turn pens so need/want high speed for this.
i know Vicmarc are wonderful but struggle to justify the cost !
I am considering one of these GPW 25-30 Wood Lathe (http://www.garypye.com/Lathe-s/Lathe-s/GPW-25-30-Wood-Lathe-p770.html) . Does anybody have one and what do you think of it ?

Thanks in advance,
Cam

[Big Shed]

Sorry, not directly familiar with the GPW lathe.

I have a similar lathe from Hare and Forbes

W387 | WL-46A Electronic Variable Speed Wood Lathe | machineryhouse.com.au (http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/W387)

and I can highly recommend it, on special atm too, as well as the outboard turning attachment.

[DavidG]

Try to justify the vicmarc as a once in a lifetime purchase.

VL300 SHORT SM EVS and you never will need to buy again.

[Scott]

Try to justify the vicmarc as a once in a lifetime purchase.

VL300 SHORT SM EVS and you never will need to buy again.

As a proud owner of a Vicmarc I can absolutely second this opinion. My VL175 is for life.

[mat_au]

i have a maxi lathe from pops shed and i love it. id love a vicmarc one day but atm this is doing the job very well and very pleased with the lathe

[bowl-basher]

This is the same as the Cougar sold by Trend I owned one and recently bought one for our mens shed I only have one comment
:2tsup: TOP MACHINE :2tsup: and the price seems good
if you want any more info please PM me
Regards
Bowl-Basher

[Tim the Timber Turner]

If you want to buy your last lathe,

Buy a "Vicmarc".

Cheers
Tim:)

[NeilS]

If you want to buy your last lathe,

Buy a "Vicmarc".



Maybe, if they made a 2 to 3HP outboard model (swivel or sliding head).

The VL175 is a nice lathe, but underpowered for large cores. It needs a bigger brother/sister.

Until then, a Woodfast C1000X is my last lathe...:U

[Tim the Timber Turner]

Maybe, if they made a 2 to 3HP outboard model...:U

They do Neil:2tsup:

I've turned 1200 dia outboard on my 2HP VL300 using the Vicmarc outboard attachment.

The current 3hp VL300 would have been better, but steady, steady, was the go.

Cheers

Tim:)

[rsser]

Neil is wanting a moveable head Tim.

Anyone in a similar state of lust might benefit from contacting VM to see what they can cook up.

But this doesn't help the OPer. It's hard to justify four grand and upwards as a hobbyist.

Cam, I haven't tried that lathe but have come to respect GPW as a supplier.

[skot]

My VL 175 with EVS is a brilliant general purpose lathe..I don't do BIG STUFF but it handles bowls, pens, vases.....it even went under water in the 2011 floods in Brisbane .......still going strong after a couple of bearing replacements due to water inundation. It will do me for a very long time.

[NeilS]

Neil is wanting a moveable head Tim.



Thanks for the reply, Tim, but for various reasons I need a moveable head lathe with more power than the VL175.

Perhaps my needs are not so typical, so I won't distract anyone any further from the main topic.

[rsser]

It might be worth someone starting a new thread outlining the criteria for judging a new lathe purchase.

And a decision tree ...

criteria x salience scaled and totalled.

[Tangoman]

Folks,
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

As a hobby turner I just cant justify a real high end machine like a Vicmarc much as I would love one ! Hence my interest in the mid-range lathes like Gary's lathe and its very close cousin the Cougar from Trend.

I agree about the service from GPW, its excellent and both Gary and his son are very helpful and knowledgable. I am fortunate to live ten minutes drive from their store !!

Cam

[Paul39]

Folks,

I agree about the service from GPW, its excellent and both Gary and his son are very helpful and knowledgable. I am fortunate to live ten minutes drive from their store !!

Cam

The above is very good reason to buy from GPW. In the unlikely event you have a problem it is nice to be able to take the offending part over and have the problem solved.

[torchwood]

Neil is wanting a moveable head Tim.

Anyone in a similar state of lust might benefit from contacting VM to see what they can cook up.

But this doesn't help the OPer. It's hard to justify four grand and upwards as a hobbyist.

Cam, I haven't tried that lathe but have come to respect GPW as a supplier.

It is steep for a hobbyist, but how do fisherman justify a 20 grand boat to catch flatties off Dromana?

[cornucopia]

I agree about the service from GPW, its excellent and both Gary and his son are very helpful and knowledgable. I am fortunate to live ten minutes drive from their store !!

Cam

seeing as you live so close.... have GPW got one that you could have a test drive on before you buy? or have they got a customer who's bought one that lives nearby that you could go and have a chat with?

[Tangoman]

seeing as you live so close.... have GPW got one that you could have a test drive on before you buy? or have they got a customer who's bought one that lives nearby that you could go and have a chat with?
Hey, great idea, i'll ask them when I go next !!
Cam