Thread: stubby lathes

If you wish to do bowls, they are probably the perfect lathe. I've used the 1000 more than a few times at my turning club, unconventional, but after thinking about it a bit, very conventional and smart.

They are also pretty good for spindle turning and will do longer spindles than at first thought; one just needs to configure the lathe.

A really good feature is the possibility to add a lathe bed extension at 90º to the head quickly and relatively easily. This facilitates turning the rear of a bowl like nobody's business.

I really looked into purchasing the 1000 lathe a few years ago and came very close, but their time lag for delivery after placing an order was too long for me. Second hand units popped up but were usually gone by the time I had finished reading the for sale advertisement.

I'm not a fan of their electronics, or at least the two that I've used as I believe the two in the club environment have needed a bit of replacement of switches and whatnot. That said, new ones are presumably better.

The range of accessories appears to me to be different for each Stubby I have seen; which is about 7 of them. Not sure if it is a case of the original purchaser requesting certain things, or is an indication of what the factory supplied or had available at the time of the various purchases.

I personally know of one person with the 1000 Stubby lathe. He does not frequent these forums, but if you wish I can contact him and see if he is willing to speak to you? He does bowls and bowls and bowls, plus some other interesting stuff. Some of his bowls I have seen are approaching 1m in diameter.

Why the smaller bench mount version? When the 1000 Stubby is bolted to the floor, it is rock solid; providing your floor is rock like that is.

Mick.

Originally Posted by Optimark

If you wish to do bowls, they are probably the perfect lathe. I've used the 1000 more than a few times at my turning club, unconventional, but after thinking about it a bit, very conventional and smart.

They are also pretty good for spindle turning and will do longer spindles than at first thought; one just needs to configure the lathe.

A really good feature is the possibility to add a lathe bed extension at 90º to the head quickly and relatively easily. This facilitates turning the rear of a bowl like nobody's business.

I really looked into purchasing the 1000 lathe a few years ago and came very close, but their time lag for delivery after placing an order was too long for me. Second hand units popped up but were usually gone by the time I had finished reading the for sale advertisement.

I'm not a fan of their electronics, or at least the two that I've used as I believe the two in the club environment have needed a bit of replacement of switches and whatnot. That said, new ones are presumably better.

The range of accessories appears to me to be different for each Stubby I have seen; which is about 7 of them. Not sure if it is a case of the original purchaser requesting certain things, or is an indication of what the factory supplied or had available at the time of the various purchases.

I personally know of one person with the 1000 Stubby lathe. He does not frequent these forums, but if you wish I can contact him and see if he is willing to speak to you? He does bowls and bowls and bowls, plus some other interesting stuff. Some of his bowls I have seen are approaching 1m in diameter.

Why the smaller bench mount version? When the 1000 Stubby is bolted to the floor, it is rock solid; providing your floor is rock like that is.

Mick.

If it is allowed and at all possible i would like to speak to this person

Still trying to use this system if ok and allowed i would like to speak to this person .

Originally Posted by muggins

Still trying to use this system if ok and allowed i would like to speak to this person .

Sent you a pm, please (if possible) respond today.

Mick.

TTIT has an S750, he is an active member here but probably hasn’t seen this thread yet. Maybe send him a PM.
Here is a thread about his Stubby when he got it, the pics have vanished unfortunately.
New baby home at last!...

My 2 cents....
I've turned wood on three different Omega Stubby lathes - 2 x club owned S750s and a F600 bowl lathe. All were rock solid though more than 15 years old. The S750s are the only ones in the club to manage large diameter platters due to the design - I have done a 700mm+ diameter platter. The flexibility is excellent.
I visited the Omega factory in Carrum Downs last year and spoke with the owner, Rod Caddaye. He was kind enough to give me a quick tour of the factory and talk about the different options available. Nice to know that, aside from the electronics, the lathe is Australian made - castings and all.
If I were to move away from my Vicmarc VL175 I would most likely choose a Stubby.