nova 1624/dvr xp large diameter turnings

[s murphy]

Hi all,

I've seen a number of reviews and opinions on nova 1624 and drv xp lathes.
However, most of what I seen, never seem to touch upon larger diameter turnings, specfically bowl turnings.
I'd love to hear from anyone who has done larger diameter turnings on these lathes and would like to know how nova lathes handled this as well as knowing whether you used the outboard tool rest or were you able to rotate the headstock enough to handle this.
Indicate what diameter and depth the bowl was etc. and what issues did you have to overcome if any.
In your opinion is the nova 1624 or dvr xp etc a capable machine for larger turnings.
Lastly of course;
Would you recommend nova lathes for larger diameter turnings?
If so why?
If not why?

smurphy

 

[robo hippy]

You can do large turnings, as in bowls or platters on them, but it is like resawing 12 inch boards on a 14 inch bandsaw that has a riser block. It can do the job, but a bigger and heavier duty tool will have a much easier time with it, especially if you are going to be doing a lot of them as in production work. I have seen 20 plus inch diameter platters. Bowls that size would be more difficult because of the weight and how far it sticks out off the headstock. Doable, but not ideal.

Note, I did concrete work for 30 years, and prefer things to be over built rather than under built.

robo hippy

 

[Dave Moore]

Yes, I think that's the key to this question. If you're planning on a steady diet of large work then the Nova is not the best choice - something beefier will be the way to go.
A big piece now and then is a different story. There's something very tiring about regularly operating any equipment at the upper end of it's capabilities

 

[jack richington]

I have the 3000..the forerunner to the 1624 DVR..it can do 29 inch swung out with an accessory arm. I would not try a 29 inch deep bowl, but I have done 24 inch platter..I would surely bolt the lathe to the bench & the bench to the wall.

 

[Steve Worcester]

Large diameter is a whole 'nother specialty.
I have a Oneway 2436 with the outboard attachment and tailstock riser, the whole schmoo, and each large piece is an adventure. I have done up to 30" and just don't have the courage for more.

It really depends on how big and with what frequency you want to make them since even 16" is a pretty big piece of wood. You may want to go through the gallery and email or PM those who do wall hangings to get their opinions.

 

[Mr. Don]

large turnings

Steve...ya mite keep in mind.....the bigger the turning to hang on a wall, the beefier said wall orta be!! To be serious, the bigger the wood, the more caution is needed. One should really pay close attention to outside surface speeds, even at very low R.P.M. levels, as well as balance. Keep aware of stresses on spindle bearings, and STAY OUT OF DIRECT LINE OF FIRE, in case a flaw should decide to explode!!! Good luck and hope to see some very neat work here.:cool2:

 

[Richard Baker]

Smurphy, What is your definition of "larger diameter"?

 

[s murphy]

What's my definition of larger diameter....I guess that's somewhat a loaded question....The largest I've turned is about 14 inches on a Shopsmith 510 with a speed reducer 7:1....Don't laugh! While the Shopsmith is not a true hard core lathe, it's gotten me by.
I also have a midi lathe capable of 10 for small stuff.
Here' s an explanation of why I've posed my question.
i'd like to make some larger bowls possibly salad bowls and larger burls if I can get my hands on some good size burl.
I suppose I'd be happy with the capability of turning 20-24...I don't know that I'd go larger than this.
Since my shopsmith only has a 16 inch swing, I'm looking at alternative equipment that is solid, smooth, and will give me the ability to turn larger pieces. Oneways, Powermatics, right now are out of my price range....and sure I'd love a Stubby, Robust Sweet 16 or VB, or maybe a Vega, but like I said price limits me.
I do like the idea of having the work piece at the end of a lathe so as not to have to lean over your work.
The nova 1624 is maybe more in my price range...however since you have to pay for every little accessory that are standard on other lathes which a disappointing. Even with this said, the Nova 1624 is a strong consideration,
and the dvr xp might be also...since I really like variable speed control which is really nice to have.
smurphy

 

[Bernie Weishapl]

On my Nova DVR I have turned several 22" to 24" platters and several larger bowls up to 19 1/2" with no problems except bowls in my area above about 16" don't sell. I end up giving them away but back to your question I don't have any problems turning big outboard but in my stand I do have a extra 320 lbs of sand. So it doesn't move.

 

[Richard Baker]

Actually was a very simple question. Not sure of the minimum speed of the 1624, but for 20"-24" diameter work you will want a fairly slow minimum speed for roughing, which I think the DVR can provide. As Bernie said, the lathe should be securely mounted and ballasted for roughing large, unbalanced pieces.

 

[MichaelMouse]

It's that "steady diet" business, really. Just how much wood do you have available in sizes 18" and over? Even city trees start to fade from the interior as they approach that diameter. I'd say you'll be at best an occasional user if you're asking the question rather than buying a biggie to start. Either model ought to do the occasional piece if you like.

The 1624 has a low end below 200, which is frustratingly slow, but would handle some pretty good-sized chunks. If you get a locking chuck you could turn the head a few degrees out and cut by using the reverse feature. The banjo/toolrest combination will reach a long way. Support with a stiffleg. Outboard rests are ok, as long as they're fully motion-referenced to the lathe, but expensive.

Largest I've turned is 16x9 on my 3000, but I own a bandsaw, and I had the blank prepared. Couldn't have been much more than 50 pounds, and I swung it at the 360 speed for roughing. LOTS of salad in a 15 1/2" bowl.

 

[s murphy]

Good insight on realistic availability of tree diameters....I don't come across many large diameter pieces...they are out there though, and if my current equipment allowed me to turn larger pieces I'd probably seek them out more.
You are probably right on 15 1/2 inch being a good salad bowl size.
I would want my next lathe to be capable of turning larger than what I currently can do. I'd also like to have more capacity than I need so that I can feel confident I can turn a larger pieces if I want to rather than being too limited.

 

[Paul M. Kaplowitz]

The last two large logs I got were Red Maple, 32-36" dia. and 16' long. I have been making bowls in the 16" to 30" range and have a good market for them. My VB 36 handles any size with ease. I have a one ton shop crane purchased at NF that allowes me to put pieces of wood on the lath that weighs over 100 lbs. If there is a better machine for large turnings out there, I have not seen it.:

 

[john lucas]

I turned some big things on my Nova 3000. the problems I had were, the tool rest was hard to get into position and vibrated when fully extended. The slowest speed is a little too fast and you can stall the lathe with the original motor. I replaced the motor with a 1hp vfd and took care of that problem.
I bought the outboard turning attachment. That was even more of a pain. Sometimes I would actually have to take the work off the lathe to reposition the tool rest to get it into the proper position. It worked but was kind of a pain. I added a threaded rod to the bottom of the outboard attachment to go to the floor and stabilize it. It vibrated quite a bit without this.
That being said I turned a dozen or more large items before finding that I could not sell them for much more than a 12" piece and they took 3 or 4 times as long to turn.
I've now stepped up to the Powermatic 3520 and it was the best thing I ever did.

 

[s murphy]

All,

In review of some of the responses.
It certainly looks like you get what you pay for!
While Nova lathes can turn larger stock it may not be without some difficulties. Many turners are happy with Nova's with smaller stock, so there is
merit in the equipment.
Man o Man, It's hard enough and time consuming to pick out the right equipment, and it's never a fun place to be when trying to pick out a new piece of equipment, if you're limited by cash...you never pick out what you really want, and possibly you may not be fully satisfied. Unforunately this is where I am at currently, and I never like to make decisions on equipment purchases with cash as a limiting factor...that is unless the equipment in my price range will serve my needs.
To Paul M. Kaplowitz....it must be pretty nice to turn on such a fine piece of equipment as the VB36.

smurphy

 

[Wayne Spence]

Murph

Find someone who turns say 24" bowls with a lathe that you could afford to buy. Ask to use that lathe, even offer to pay them for use and their willing to stand by. That first five minutes will answer all your questions.

 

[David Wilkins]

I have a dvr xp with deluxe legs and outrigger. I have turned 29" pieces 24" 22" 19" and some equally challenging 18" multi axis work. The dvr xp is a far better motor than most people give it credit for.

 

[s murphy]

To Dave Wilkins:
You wrote:
I have turned 29" pieces 24" 22" 19" and some equally challenging 18" multi axis work.

I take it these were bowls not platters? How deep were they?

Did you run into any of the difficulties that John Lucas reported on his Nova 3000. See John's post 7:23 am this morning.

Thanks for you input.

smurphy

 

[David Wilkins]

Some were bowls some platters. Some of this work you can see in the images I posted in my gallery here. The depth of work you can do on the outrigger is limited to 5" at the 90 degree angle and closer to 8" if you swing it another 45 degrees. Yes, at these points I found myself needing to remove the post to adjust. I have no vibration in the outrigger, even when coring blanks with a mcnaughton standard or large. I would wonder if the difference is the newer trapezoidal bed on my lathe vs. the older square section the 3000's have. Maybe I got the freak strong outrigger and maybe he got the freak weak one. The lathe does have limits, but what is outside those limits is big and harder to sell, make and find material for. I get what you want though, you don't want the lathe to limit the work, I can comfortably say this lathe doesn't limit mine.

 

[s murphy]

At this point I guess we can close this thread.

Thanks to all for your input.

A recap of input is a follows:

In general; advice is to go for the larger lathes that can handle large turnings. There are mixed reviews of larger turnings for the Nova, some praising it more than others.

As john lucas indicates:
His nova 3000 vibrated and larger turnings required repositioning the tool rest which was sometimes a pain requiring
him to take his work off the lathe to repostion the workpiece. John also upgraded to the PM3520 and says this is the best thing he ever did.

As Dave Wilkins indicates:
With Nova dvr xp, he encountered similar issues with having to remove his post to reposition.
However, Dave did not encounter the vibration that John Lucas did, attributing this difference potentially to having the new trapezoidal bed on the lathe which the 3000 doesn't.
Also Dave indicated the depth is limited to 5" at the 90 degree angle versus 8" if you swing another 45 degress.
Dave seems happy and comfortable with his Nova.

Wayne Spence advices to:
See someone out who turns within the diameter I am seeking to turn and try out their equipment.

In closing, Wayne's advice is a good idea; seek someone out who has a lathe that will turn the diameters you are interested in.

I'll have to figure out how best to handle this...between either continuing to save money...which could take a while, or consider buying a nova 1624 minimally/possibly a dvr xp, later down the road
purchase a bigger machine. I do like the ability of being able to rotate the workpiece towards you so as not to have to lean over the lathe. Dave Wilkins input on the dvr xp makes me hopeful this lathe might be suitable for me...even the 1624 for that matter.

Another option would be to go with a PM or Oneway and add the extension beds later...however these are both heavy(though adding sandbags etc to a nova could add up as well), and more costly than I can probably afford to shell out.

Again thanks...you've all provided much insight!
smurphy

 

[rjones]

one last thing if you are going to pull a 16 foot trailer all the time would you buy a mini cooper to pull it. it might pull it but it would have a hard time of it and make it ware out a lot faster, and you too. just my 2 cents

 

[s murphy]

Just your 2 cents huh!
Brother can you spare a whole lotta dimes...my piggy bank is starving.
I have champagne taste and a beer pocketbook...I like beer better anyways!...well good beer anyways!
I hear what you're saying...
As an example, I bought a cheapo midi lathe with variable speed, and either the brushes need to be replaced or the motor...so yeah, some times you just get what you pay for.
Still...a number of nova owners are happy with their less expensive lathes, so there must be some quality in them...because if they were not holding up well, I think we'd be hearing a lot of sqawking, and I"m not hearing too much
negative from nova owners.


smurphy

 

[rjones]

sorry I did not mean anything other than what I said. There is nothing wrong with the Nova lathe or making do with the means that you have. I understood that you wanted big turnings.

 

[s murphy]

...Don't worry, I didn't take any offense, and I appreciated your opinion as well!

smurphy

 

[allen jay]

nova lathe

Ok here is the three cents worth i have to offer. And if i am due change please send it on.
I own a nova 3000 which is the predecessor to the 16/24.
as well as a p.m. 3520
the nova served me well it will turn what ever you ask it to turn but bare in mind that keeping it on the floor is the challenge.
I built a custom stand and had 400 lbs of sand to keep it on the floor and some days that wasnt enough, but none the less it was a fantastic lathe. Having said that any lathe suffers from the same mallady if you over tax it's capabilities.
When are men gonna realize size doesnt equate to performance????
God now i sound like my wife