NOVA DVR 3000 alignment?

[C Edward Moore]

Our club is considering a NOVA DVR 3000 as a demo lathe. A member asked if there are alignment problems after swiveling the head. Is there a detent? There are some happy DVR 3000 owners who have expressed their satisfaction with the lathe. Are there problems getting it re-aligned after the head is swiveled? If there is a detent, does it give an accurate placement?

The tailstock alignment can be adjusted. How do you like that feature?

The Poolewood lathes that are similar do not have a hole through the spindle, which would allow a morse taper to be extracted with a knockout rod. Does the NOVA have a hole all the way through? If so, does the Packard E-Z vacuum adaptor work well with this lathe?

I appreciate all responses that will help us make a good choice. Thanks.

 

[Whit]

Hi Ed,

I've had a DVR for about a year and a half and am really happy with it. To answer your specific questions:

The DVR realigns very easily and accurately into detents after being swiveled. It always falls right back into place, but I check it anyway. I've never had any problem here.

Yes, the tailstock can be adjusted a bit but I've never needed to. It seems to be dead on right out of the box and has stayed there.

The DVR is drilled through both the head- and tailstocks so a knockout rod can be used on either end.

I don't know, but suspect that the Packard E-Z Vacuum would work well on the DVR but might require Technatool's vacuum fitting. An "800" call to Packard should answer this question.

Hope this is of some help.

Whit

 

[GeeSeaWhy]

Alignment: there is a little bit of play in the detents, maybe 1/16". Not a problem since I watched closely and figured out which end of the range gave the best alignment. I use the swivel head constantly, and the outrigger attachment quite a lot.
Tailstock alignment: never noticed that . Must read the manual again.
Vacuum: I use the Nova vacuum adapter and a Fein Turbo II, which works very well for me.

HTH

Graeme

 

[C Edward Moore]

Whit and Graeme,

Thanks for your responses. I saw a DVR 3000 for the first time at Woodcraft in Roanoke yesterday. Apparently it was assembled by a non-lathe person. I did note a little play in the detent stop. I wonder if there is an adjustment that allows the locating pin to extend a little further and thereby eliminate that play. Then I discovered the black rod with the holes to allow the insertion of the knockout bar. When I rotated it the head seemed to lock down securely.

I asked and was allowed to plug the lathe in and turn it on. I was fascinated with the speed control. There was a faceplate on it and I am hoping that the faceplate was faulty. There was considerable wobble on the front and the edge of the faceplate. The motor seemed very smooth. And the E-Z vacuum system from Packard should work as well on this machine as any other.

An interesting thought just hit me. Since I know very little about this motor, would a brass or aluminum threaded rod be better for the vacuum system than a steel or iron one? I would hate to see the rod expelled with force.

Is the motor rotation reversible?

Many thanks,

 

[Jim Carroll]

Reversible

Yes the motor is reversible. The faceplate that comes with the lathe should have a grub screw in the back for locating on the shoulder of the spindle and the Nova range of chucks have an insert that also has the grub screw . This is a safety feature so the chuck or faceplate do not fly off when you run in the reverse rotation. You can ramp the speed up or down the same as when in the forward motion.

 

[Andrew]

An interesting thought just hit me. Since I know very little about this motor, would a brass or aluminum threaded rod be better for the vacuum system than a steel or iron one? I would hate to see the rod expelled with force.

I would suggest doing something different than the E-Z Vacuum adapter for your vacuum system. I would (and have) do the Rotary Adapter type of setup instead. You can make your own much more cheaply and have it custom to what you want. Go here...

http://www.woodturnersofswmo.org/Articles/Vacuum_Chucking.htm

to see what I mean. Just replace the handwheel on the DVR with your own. It works wonderfully.

BTW, one of my clubs considered the DVR as a club lathe as well. We finally (and just recently) decided on and bought the Jet 1642 over the DVR. The significantly reduced price of the Jet over the DVR (with optional legs, etc.) as well as the greater weight, longer bed, non-pivoting head (yet it does slide to the end of the lathe .. ie no alignment problems at all!), and immediate delivery of the Jet won us over in that price range.