Thread: Vicmarc VL100 accuracy is supriseing

G'day Thugpipe and welcome to the forum.

Full marks for testing the little VL.

The result is no surprise to us here who've owned Vicmarc machinery but I'm darned if I know how you can get that unit over your way at that price given the prices Down under. Enjoy your good luck!

Outstanding!!!!!

Thanks

I love this little machine and I do find it funny to see people here in the usa complain about it's price when we can get it for such a steal.

if you are at all interested I have a gallery of pics of my little Vic, I'm a bit of a tinker and I have done some fun things to mine. I am proud of my fix to the indexing system which I feel it the lathes only shortcoming.

Vicmarc VL100 CL - a set on Flickr

Great work Thugpipe.

Originally Posted by Thugpipe

2007 VL100 BM $359us (craft supplies utah) 2010 VL100 BM $472us (woodworkers emporium las vegas NV)

What does BM mean? Does that mean it is with or with out a motor?

From the prices you've quoted, I'd be guessing without a Motor.

BM = Bench Mount
SM = Stand Mount

yes those prices are for the one without a motor or stand. the first price is what I paid for my basic lathe in 2007 although I did end up later adding the legs from the CL version of the lathe which I purchased direct from vicmarc they cost me slightly less than I paid for the lathe itself . I also fitted a 1hp american 3 phase motor(baldor VM3546) and VFD (hitachi L100)which lets me run it on our 110v 1phase really is a luxury. All in all over the last 3 years I have spent about $1,200us on it but it was little by little and I used it for some time just clamping it to the bench and using a dc motor I already had. If you look at my prictures on the link you can see the evolution.

Amazing prices, the same bench mount version here, in the country where they are manufactured, costs $A1115 or $US1005. So Vicmarc can ship it all the way to the US and can sell it there for less than half the Oz price.

We can draw our own conclusions from that I guess.

G'day Thugpipe and welcome to the show!!

Tis level of accuracy does not really surprise me. I was in Italy in2008 and visited one of the forum members there - La truciolora, aka Claude.

He uses Vicmarcs in his turning school and also sells them in Europe.

Claude demonstrated some thing of their accuracy to me in a very simple manner. He took the tool post (VL 175 Model), and dropped it into the the outboard turniningholder. The post, with toolrest attached, simply resisted the urge to drop into place. It did a slow graceful slide as air, trapped by the fine machining of both the hole in the shaft of the outrigger and the shaft of the toolpost, finally managed to escape!!

you think those prices are good? Less than a year after I purchased mine craft supplies decided to no longer carry the VL100 and put it on clearence. At that point you could get the Bench mount for $250us and a 6 speed stand mount for $550us

I was a hair's breadth from buying a spare, I should have and resold it today well I did manacge to pick up a bed extension for $125us so that was a nice consolation prize

Thugpipe, welcome aboard had a look at your 'tinkering' well done

The US prices..........

thanks, I love modifying my machines for the better.

I find the price diference baffeling myself, at the current exchange rate my dollars and yours are so close and the difference in price is so vast. It can't just be the VAT and it isn't that the US represents a huge market share for the little vicmarcs. These days if you want a vl100 there is only one dealer in the whole of the US and they don't have a website, they have it if you know to ask for it. In fact I only know of two US dealers of vicmarcs and the one only carries the VL300.

in fairness although we do get a great deal on the bench mount version, the EVS costs about the same here, about $1,900us to $2,200us and it runs on 220v 50Hz power which is a little inconvinient for us who operate on 110v 60hz. I save my 220v line for the biggins with 1.5hp and above like my table saw and metal lathe.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8U0g7gbi80&feature=youtube_gdata"][/ame]

Looks like $US 7,000 + to me?

Originally Posted by hereward

Looks like 7,000 + to me?

what lathe are you looking at?

or are you referring to the vortex?
I'm only in for a few thousand...so far...

You confirmed what I've thought all along, Thugpipe. Good show!
I bought a little VL100 bench model a few years ago. Paid $300US for it, and put my own motor on it. Just wish I could slow it down some, without a lot of tinkering and $$. Can't afford a VFD.
I have a 3/4hp, 1725rpm motor on it, and my slowest speed as far as I can figure it, is 683. But I still love to take it with me when I travel. It's the cat's meow!