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Thread: Which lathe?

  1. #16
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    I have the Harvey table saw (3hp 15amp) and gave had it for about 4 years....it hasn't missed a beat and is quite the solid unit. If their lathes are similar then I'd certainly give one a go if the 'unknown brand' was my only downside....

    Just my thoughts again
    "All the gear and no idea"

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  3. #17
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    Any thoughts about a Vicmark VL200 long-bed, 6 speed, bench-mount lathe for approx. $2500- and then add a 3HP motor and Powtran VFD control for about $600. If you don't mind building a solid bench to suit then you'd have a Vicmark with variable speed control and 3HP for approximately $3100- . Sounds good to me, unless I'm missing something? On that note, is there any disadvantage to too much HP for a particular lathe? I'm considering this option for myself.

    Cheers,

    Dom

  4. #18
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    Thanks for putting out another option DomAU. It certainly sounds like an idea, albeit perhaps a little outside of my DIY league. Though, that said, I wonder if you could not use one of these Powertran VFD controllers on my existing lathe to give me a variable speed. Might be a lot cheaper than the $4000 that all the lathes I am looking at are.



    I like the fact that some of these lathes have an option to turn the headstock 30 degrees which makes working on a bowl a little easier than having to lean over the lathe. Looking at the specs on the Laguna Revo I don't see anything that talks about the headstock being able to swivel, and even it's outboard turning is done by sliding the head down to the end of the unit. I guess you could position the banjo/rest at the very end, then slide the head almost all the way to the end and just stand at the end facing up the lathe bed, it would be much the same as the 30 degree option.

  5. #19
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    Hi Guys

    A Stubby. No question.

    Cheers

  6. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by rbjozzia View Post
    Hi Guys

    A Stubby. No question.

    Cheers
    Whilst I agree, I don't think the op had that sort of budget to play with
    "All the gear and no idea"

  7. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gabriel View Post
    Whilst I agree, I don't think the op had that sort of budget to play with
    Yeah! I guessed, I was lucky enough to obtain one some years ago from a deceased estate, certainlly could not have afforded a new one. Can't go past Vicmarc though.

  8. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by DomAU View Post
    ...

    Vicmark gets a lot of love here and that's understandable as it's made in Australia, which is great. I wonder, if Vicmark were made in Asia, would they still stack up in terms of value?

    Cheers, Dom
    I think you'll find that Vicmarc gets a lot of love because they are extremely well made. The quality of the lathe and its fit and finish are 1st class
    The fact that they are made in Australia is a bonus

    We recently purchased one for the Men's Shed and although I've seen them in the past and turned on then, I oversaw the installation of this one and I couldn't help but be impressed

    BTW I have a Nova DVR XP which I'm happy with
    regards
    Nick
    veni, vidi,
    tornavi
    Without wood it's just ...

  9. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by DomAU View Post
    Any thoughts about a Vicmark VL200 long-bed, 6 speed, bench-mount lathe for approx. $2500- and then add a 3HP motor and Powtran VFD control for about $600. If you don't mind building a solid bench to suit then you'd have a Vicmark with variable speed control and 3HP for approximately $3100- . Sounds good to me, unless I'm missing something? On that note, is there any disadvantage to too much HP for a particular lathe? I'm considering this option for myself.

    Cheers,

    Dom
    Nah you can never have too much HP. The bench type buy is good value if you're handy. Its what I would go for.
    Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. — Pablo Picasso


  10. #24
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    About seven weeks ago I bought
    NOVA Saturn without stand, after playing with Comet II for couple of years.
    Saturn is a fantastic machine. I could not be happier!
    Both;
    the NOVA Saturn DVR or the NOVA Galaxi DVR are simply great. The old school users will never understand until they try.
    The only reason I could not buy Galaxi; it comes with stand, bed is much longer but I had no floor space available for it.

    I am happy to answer specific questions if any.

  11. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by hughie View Post
    Nah you can never have too much HP. The bench type buy is good value if you're handy. Its what I would go for.
    In general I agree but in case some newbie decides to take this to extremes, it depends on what machine it's being installed in. Big electric motors have enormous torque at low revs and won't stall as easily as a small motor so they can severely damage a cheap machine if something gets jammed. Some folks get away with running a slightly loose belt(s) but that's not exactly best practice. Plenty of folks ask me about increasing the size of the motor on VFD installation and my usual recommendation is to not not more than double the original motor HP on a particular machine. This still provides plenty of leeway but I wouldn't be recommending a 3HP motor on a lathe built originally for say 1/2HP.

    RE: 3 Phase motor and VFD installation
    Suggest anyone contemplating this reads the "VFD install summaries" thread in the Electronics forum to see what pitfalls there may be with using these devices.
    VFD install summaries

  12. #26
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    Bit of an old post now but I thought perhaps a quick update.

    A while after trying to decided where to go from my original Carbatec 6 speed unit I ended up purchaseing the Jet 1221VS from Carbatec. It has given me a year of very good performance and I have been basically very happy with it and especially the variable speed component.

    However, as time has marched on and I have spent a lot more of it with my Jet I have found certain limitations, specifically the 300mm turning circumference, and the fact that being on the smaller less weighty side large out of balance pieces can cause considerable vibration (thought being able to slow up the lathe with the varibale speed has helped a lot). But at the end of the day I felt that the ability to go beyond the 300mm limitation and having a lot more heft to absorb some of the vibrations would be nice. So the search began again.

    Price point has remained an important consideration, and out of all the lathes I had previously considered (as detailed earlier in the thread), I ended up opting for the Carbatec WL-V1100C which I purchased a little over a month ago. It was originally listed at $3000, but about then the price dropped to $2800 on the Carbatec website. And as the local Carbatec was offering a 15% discount to wood club members this brought the price down to a more attractive $2380.

    This lathe offers me the extra length, rotating head stock, more horsepower, more weight, and of course the electronic variable speed. One month down the track I remain very happy. It has been a worthwhile addition. And it gave me all the features I needed at a far more reasonable price than all the other contenders. So far no regrets. (One little caveat though, the underneath storage shelf while reasonably generous has no lip. So you can imagine my minor annoyance when a big unbalanced piece of wood vibrated the machine just enough for the face plate to rattle off the shelf and land on my foot! I have now added an aluminium lip - Be Warned!).

    And my old Jet 1221VS will now become my secondary/back-up machine. It is currently doing a great job of holding my Beall Buffing system, which saves a little time by just moving to the Jet for polishing. It's a machine I like too much to consider selling. Just need to get a bigger shed.

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