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This lathe is currently offered at an attractive discount by Carbatec.
I am not a wood turner but would like to turn tool handles and the like. No interest in bowl turning.
Does the collective woodworking wisdom have views on the specs and performance of this lathe?
Would I get "locked" into buying Nova gear only?
All views welcome!
Yvan
The Nova Comet II is an excellent small lathe, as far as midi lathes go. It is just a little smaller than many other midi lathes. My brother has one, he bought it primarily to take with him when he does demonstrations, it's light weight was a deciding point for him.
There is a bed extension available so if you wished to turn stool or table legs, this makes it good for doing that futher down the track. When you say tool handles, I'm assuming you mean handles for chisels, screwdrivers, that sort of handle. It will be perfect for that kind of work.
That price is quite attractive, the Nova Comet II appears to be on discount around the world. I'm not sure if this is because of an imminent model change, or because of more competition with newer midi lathes coming onto the market.
As far as being required to stay with Nova accessories, nope, almost anything can be made to work on that lathe. The one thing which is a bit different, is the spindle thread, which is 1" 8TPI. Any chuck you purchase will require a 1" 8TPI threaded insert. This is not abnormal and you will not have any issues buying new accessories. If you do happen to get a secondhand chuck, you will need to purchase a 1" 8TPI adaptor if it doesn't have that thread size adaptor already inserted.
In Australia the current de-facto wood lathe spindle thread is M30 x 3.5. But all Record lathes from the UK company are all M33 x 3.5 and as the rest of the world mostly use that size, we will in all probability, possibly hve a majority of lathes with that thread size. In the meantime, we all just get the correct threaded inserty for any lathes we have.
If you do purchase one of these lathes, carefully read the manual before switching it on. If I remember correctly, you need to run the lathe for an hour before doing any work with a load on it. Members with this lathe may wish to chime in on this requirement with a brand new lathe.
There are other midi lathes out there with many interesting features, but none of them, as far as I can ascertain, have the ability to add a bed extension, which really makes life quite interesting for possibilities. If I was buying this lathe, I would give serious thought to a bed extension. Adding a bed extension dramatically changes what you can do.
https://www.carbatec.com.au/woodturn...-bed-extension
My personal opinion of Nova lathes, is that they are generally at a higher price point of any of the equivilant competition, but their product is very good. I have owned a larger Nova lathe for around 5 years before replacing it last year, it was an excellent product, but pricey. The price point you have at the moment has brought the Comet II back to around where other similar lathes are, or slightly under.
Mick.
As Mick said it will do nicely for handles and such but with the bed extension will do a whole lot more. If you get the turning bug then you will likely want to do other stuff down the track. Modest bowls should be ok too. You will also need to budget for turning tools. An economy set should do to start with until you get to grips with keeping them sharp then get better quality tools as required. Turning tends to be a slippery slope that most of went down with big grins on our faces.
Regards
John
I started out buying a lathe to turn tool handles etc but was turning bowls and then other hollow forms in no time. Be warned.Quote:
Originally Posted by orraloon
Tony
Mick, thank you very much for sharing your opinion of the Nova Comet II and for the spindle thread details.
Orraloon, yes I have already been thinking about the necessary tools and I can already imagine how easily it could be to slip down the "turning path"! I spotted a Robert Sorby set which seems to have been specifically put together for beginners
Tony, thanks also for the fair warning!!!
I have also been looking at the Jet Midi JWL1221VS. Substantially more expen$ive and beefier it seems. I didn't want to mention this in my first post as I thought that I would be trying to compare two completely different beasts.
Cheers Yvan
For tool handles, are you talking lathe tool handles or smaller tool handles? if the former, you will need a bed extension to be able to have the length needed to feed the blank onto the drill for the tool head to sit in the handle. Unless you have a really good high free standing drill press and you can manage to drill the blank perfectly straight. if smaller file or screw driver handles then no extension bed will be needed.
Yvan, for 10 years I had a Jet mini with a bed extension. This was 1/2 hp (underpowered) and had a 8" swing (too small to be seduced into making bowls), plos a lower speed of 500 rpm (too fast for bowls anyway). Oh, and manual speed change. Nevertheless I hapily turned tool handles, large and small, and chair/table legs ... and did most of this at a single speed. Rarely changed this. The point is, if all you want to do is a small tool handle or a pen ... something like this ... then you do not need anything fancy.
I have recently upgraded to a large Nova, the Saturn, with bed extension, electronic variable speed, 17" swing, and all the fruit. But this is because I do want to turn bowls. I also believe that Nova make a good product, so would support you going down that route. Personally, for a small lathe, that Jet looks good.
Regards from Perth
Derek
I have the nova 14.24 which has been brilliant machine besides the odd capacitor in past 15 years and she been the best ever investment I ever had made for my woodturning travels.
keep on plugging away
I agree about the warning but it is possible to resist, you just need more distractions.Quote:
Originally Posted by tony_A
I bought a Woodfast Mini some 11 years ago and in all that time i have turned less than one bowl a year.
I used in initially for tool handles but in the last two years i use it mainly for making PVC bell mouth hoods.
These require very slow (60 rpm) speed while being heated with a heat gun so a VFD comes in handy.
Attachment 453553
If you find yourself attracted to turning bowls or pens and need a distraction, try a metal working lathe :D