Thread: You're gonna need a bigger lathe

I cannot talk about the Woodfast lathes, but as far as the Laguna lathes go, the Revo 18-36 is a baby when alongside the Revo 24-36.

If you were considering the Revo lathes, then the pick for heavy stuff is definitely the 24-36 unit, it is seriously heavier in every aspect over the 18-36. You could need some accessories and the almost must have accessory for the 24-36, is the extension piece. The extension piece for the 18-36 and 24-36 are identical as far as the actual extension is concerned. With the extension piece and doing a bowl with the head in the left position, it is possible to mount the extension piece on the side of the bed, adjust the headstock to the right position, then turn your bowl on the inside, then pull the banjo off put it onto the side mounted extension then turn the rear of the bowl without taking the material out of the chuck. I've done this once, a bit fiddly, but worth it for that particular piece of material.

The tailstock riser and the tool rest riser are different and much heavier than the 18-36 ones. I use a hoist to lift some of the pieces and the 24-36 handles them with aplomb, my estimation for some of the blanks is around 50kg to 70kg for the heaviest ones when really wet. With the bed extension your effective length between centres is around 1100mm. One last thing, the 24-36 has oodles of power, oodles.....

One lathe you haven't mentioned is the Stubby lathe, quite well built, sturdy as anything and if you have the floor model, you can drill holes in the base plate and bolt the lathe to the floor. These are very versatile and if you get the odd accessory or three, you can work the front and rear of a bowl without having to remove the piece from the chuck. I've used a couple of Stubby lathes at my woodturning club and I have high regard for them. I have yet to meet a stubby lathe owner who isn't happy. In case you don't know, they are manufactured in Melbourne. I could be wrong, but it would seem that every stubby lathe owner I've spoken to, has interacted with the manufacturer to get their lathe kitted out to suit them; sometimes with custom made stuff.

Mick.

I own and use a Stubby 1000, I did have a Woodfast M910 and have used a variety of larger lathes from Vl300 up to Wadkin RU. Get the largest lathe you can afford. Then start buying tooling for them. I have been undergunned with a P&N 32mm Roughing gouge.

Thanks for your insights Mick and Pat

I hadnt mentioned Stubby as I couldnt find any information on the website about pricing. The website is rather scant of much detail for that matter other than the capacity chart. However I do like the idea of buying AU made.

As I live in a rural area, remote by taxation definition, the purchase will be sight unseen. So I am relying on online information at hand.

Freight to here is like is like another tax, up to 25% of the purchase price depending on the item so if the less distance travelled is usually less tax, but not always. There is a Perth based mob "Beyond Tools" that have a back order of Woodfast lathes and Carbatec are waiting for Laguna stock to arrive. I note Carbatec website saying new stock will arrive in 2 weeks for over the past month...
Seems like the price of these lathes have gone up significantly since Neil investigated not long ago.

I wonder if Laguna have sorted out the spindle bearing issue...
Reliability and service support are major factors as returns are prohibitive. I can do repairs myself but the retailer needs to come to the party too.

With the Stubby, it's best to ring and talk with Rod, they are an Engineering company and the lathes are but one facet of their work.

I have a Woodfast3040 and it can turn up to 800mm dia bowl blanks and 600 diameter x 1m long spindle blanks. Here is one of my latest blanks being lifted onto the lathe, a 750mm long 600mm dia Silky Oak (long dead but still wet) 132kg rough blank, for a bedside table finished size 500mm dia x 600mm high

Bedside Table 1.jpg bedside table 2.jpg Bedside table 3.jpg

Thanks Pat. I'll get in touch with Omega in the next week. Hoping freight costs wont be a deal breaker.

Thanks Neil. Thats a massive blank.
Any issues with the lathe walking across your floor or do you have it bolted down?
A little off topic but keen to see what became of that blank

Originally Posted by Fallen Woodwork

However I do like the idea of buying AU made.

I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Vicmarc yet. I don’t know what pricing is like in Aus, but over here where both the Laguna and the Vicmarc are imported, they’re comparable pricewise. I don’t regret choosing the Vicmarc at all, and for you it’s locally made.

Originally Posted by Fallen Woodwork

Thanks Neil. Thats a massive blank.
Any issues with the lathe walking across your floor or do you have it bolted down?
A little off topic but keen to see what became of that blank

Definitely bolted down, with M20 chemset bolts into the concrete slab

Budget is the key.

In Aus the top end is the stubbies and the vicmark lathes if you can afford them. After that, it's what is as sturdy as you can afford, that has infinite variable speed (electronic) from 0 to...

You can find older lathes that have mechanical variable speed but they usually bottom out at about 360rpm. I wouldn't want to take on that chunk at that speed... If it lets go, a face shield will only stop the chunk from pealing your face off, but you will suffer significant damage if it comes your way.

Originally Posted by Fallen Woodwork

Thanks for your insights Mick and Pat

I hadnt mentioned Stubby as I couldnt find any information on the website about pricing. The website is rather scant of much detail for that matter other than the capacity chart. However I do like the idea of buying AU made.

As I live in a rural area, remote by taxation definition, the purchase will be sight unseen. So I am relying on online information at hand.

Freight to here is like is like another tax, up to 25% of the purchase price depending on the item so if the less distance travelled is usually less tax, but not always. There is a Perth based mob "Beyond Tools" that have a back order of Woodfast lathes and Carbatec are waiting for Laguna stock to arrive. I note Carbatec website saying new stock will arrive in 2 weeks for over the past month...
Seems like the price of these lathes have gone up significantly since Neil investigated not long ago.

I wonder if Laguna have sorted out the spindle bearing issue...
Reliability and service support are major factors as returns are prohibitive. I can do repairs myself but the retailer needs to come to the party too.

The stubby when it came out literally took the world by storm but has faltered significantly since. It is the best produced in aus but it's future is anyone's guess. Vicmark on the other hand is still an excellent lathe at a lower price and will most likely be around in 10 or more years.

Here’s a nice BIG one .

A Wadkin RS10 in Toowoomba QLD.

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https://www.wadkin.com/archive%20pdfs/Wadkin%20RS%20Lathe.pdf


806da_WADKIN_Model_R.S_10_a.jpg
An RS 10 with the lot by the looks of it . For sale in the UK some time ago. What a sight ! Among quite a few other things, that Facebook one doesn't have the tool carriage which was an option .
Possibly a bit to big in length for you? And you might need a bigger Trailer too .

Rob

Originally Posted by Colin62

I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Vicmarc yet. I don’t know what pricing is like in Aus, but over here where both the Laguna and the Vicmarc are imported, they’re comparable pricewise. I don’t regret choosing the Vicmarc at all, and for you it’s locally made.

Thanks Colin. Vicmarc is an option. Locality is very relative. Brisbane is closer than Melbourne to where I am but ultimately will still incur a freight cost two fold over a supplier from Darwin or Perth. Your example of import costs to South Africa does put things in perspective for me however. I should be prepared to pay the the extra freight.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Definitely bolted down, with M20 chemset bolts into the concrete slab

Cheers Neil

Originally Posted by The Spin Doctor

Budget is the key.

In Aus the top end is the stubbies and the vicmark lathes if you can afford them. After that, it's what is as sturdy as you can afford, that has infinite variable speed (electronic) from 0 to...

You can find older lathes that have mechanical variable speed but they usually bottom out at about 360rpm. I wouldn't want to take on that chunk at that speed... If it lets go, a face shield will only stop the chunk from pealing your face off, but you will suffer significant damage if it comes your way.

Thanks SD. Good advice there for me to take on board

Originally Posted by The Spin Doctor

The stubby when it came out literally took the world by storm but has faltered significantly since. It is the best produced in aus but it's future is anyone's guess. Vicmark on the other hand is still an excellent lathe at a lower price and will most likely be around in 10 or more years.

Thanks again. I suppose like many niche market manufacturers they all struggle with global market competition

Originally Posted by auscab

Here’s a nice BIG one .

A Wadkin RS10 in Toowoomba QLD.

An RS 10 with the lot by the looks of it . For sale in the UK some time ago. What a sight ! Among quite a few other things, that Facebook one doesn't have the tool carriage which was an option .
Possibly a bit to big in length for you? And you might need a bigger Trailer too .

Rob

Thanks for the links Rob. I will also need a bigger ute to go with that trailer
Shes a beauty. Just a bit more than what I need. Love that old user manual. They don't print them like that any more nor use such detailed language

A few years ago I bought a Vicmarc VL300 from Melbourne, it came with 1 metre bed extention and leg a mob of chisels etc. By memory it cost me $350.00 freight from Melbourne to my carport.
The hardest part was to move it from the carport to my shed.