2436 or Robust 2528

[Ed Sandle]

I have just retired and am building a 24' x 36' woodworking shop to putts in. I have always had an interest in turning, attended many demonstrations, and even bought a Woodfast 20'' lathe, to try my hand at, but never found the time while still working, due to numerous other hobbies. I sold the woodfast before moving, and now have the shop almost built, and am ready to order a new lathe. I had my mind set on the Oneway 2436, but have also noticed this new Robust lathe. Any comments?

 

[georgetroy]

I have the 18" Robust lathe on order. It will fill some gaps in my other lathe sizes. I like being able to get a high quality lathe made in America. I met Brent English, the owner this summer in KC. He had his lathes on display at the AAW National Syposium. His web site is:

http://www.turnrobust.com/

 

[hockenbery]

Hi Musky,

I a have 2436 and think it is about the best off the shelf lathe available.

If you are new to turning the best thing you can do for yourself is to take some hands on classes where the instructor or the school provides all the tools and machines. You will not only learn skills but you will quickly get a sense of which turning tools you want and what features are important to you in a Lathe.

You are considering spending $5k
My suggestion is to spend 2-3K on a lathe and 2K or less on lessons. In my opinion you will be a much better turner with good lessons and a $500 dollar machine than you will be with a $5,000 machine a stack of videos and books.

You can most likely find a to a good instructor within a day's drive. Check those registered with AAW
http://www.woodturner.org/community/members/members_pro.pl?submit=Edit+Teacher+Search

Or travel to a weedend class with a top turner or to week long class at a school like Campbel, Arrowmont, or Provo etc.

Happy Turning,
Al

 

[Hugh]

Musky,
You might want to check previous threads on this forum. There have been a bunch about lathe purchase. I started out with an old used lathe, traded up to a larger used lathe, traded up to a General 260 20" lathe and finally bought a Oneway 2436. I tried various lathes before the purchase. I like it the best so far. I have not tried the Robust lathes though. You might want to find a turning club in your area and see if the members will let you try their lathes out for a couple of hours. Try as many as you can. A Oneway costs around $6000 now. I did not pay quite that much, but still think it was well worth the cost.
Hugh

 

[Jeff Jilg]

I agree with Al's (hockenbery) advice. You might consider purchasing a less expensive lathe to get started with. Spending $5k on a lathe before you've done any turning at all may just be futile if you end up not using it. A lot of folks start with $150-$500 lathes then move up from there.

One advantage in starting with an inexpensive lathe to start with is that you can get a feel for the features that you would want in a more expensive lathe. As you develop more of a style for turning you might end up wanting just a bowl lathe. Or maybe a variable speed drive is not needed and you might be happy with a lathe with multiple sheaves (for speed changes). There are a lot of features in the higher end lathes and one $5k lathe is not the same as another one. Same can be said for lathes in other price categories as well.

 

[Ed Koenig]

Musky,

You should also consider the Vicmarc VL300. The VL300 has a 24" swing. It is available in a short bed (21") or long bed (50"). It comes in 1-1/2hp, 2hp and 3hp with variable speed. Vicmarc is from Australia and sold by several vendors as made by Vicmarc or by Craft Supplies who uses the bare lathe as made by Vicmarc and adds their own base cabinet, motor and frequency drive. Many options are available. www.vicmarc.com

I own the Vicmarc VL300 3hp longbed from Craft Supplies and highly recommend it. You can buy this top of the line lathe for $4400 + freight.
www.woodturnerscatalog.com/catalog/vl300.html

Before you buy any lathe, do your homework. Buy a lathe that will handle skills you will have 4-5 years down the road. In other words, buy a lathe that will grow with you. Buy your lathe from a reputable sorce that will be in business in 5 years. If possible, see the lathes before you buy. Ask the vendors for people in your area with a lathe you can look at. Ask AAW club members in your area.

Good luck Musky,

Ed

 

[Jake Debski]

Just a thought,........

if you have the inclination, a trip to Arrowmont can achieve two things for you. They have Oneway, Stubby, Vicmarc, Woodfast and a couple of other lathes in their shop. You can try out the machines you are interested in and get a long week-end or weeks worth of instruction.

 

[spinsdawood]

Jeff and Al make excellent points. It's amazing what a few days of one on one will do for your turning abilities. You might even postpone purchasing a lathe until after some class time. Getting into a woodtirning group is a tremendous benefit, Hope this helps,
:cool2: Jim

 

[Sascha]

Musky seems to have the desire to buy his last lathe and from what it sounds, he is very willing to spend the $$$. there is no way i would try to talk him into a smaller lathe. What if he has enough $$$ to get a great lathe and great classes?
Guess what I am saying is, get the Lathe you really want. try as many as you can before deciding. I haven't turned on the oneway or robust yet.
I turn on a Stubby 1000 and bought it unseen. I LOVE THAT LATHE.
but i definetly think to buy as big as you can afford and enjoy retirement with an amazing lathe

sascha

 

[George Van Beynen]

One of our club members who lives in Lac du Flambeau just took delivery of a Robust lathe. If you want to contact me I may be able to arrange a meeting. Phil is a pretty generous guy!

 

[dkulze]

Hi Musky,

Just jumping on with everyone else who recommended spending the $$$ on lessons and workshops then deciding what you want in a lathe. There is actually a pretty big difference between various makes of lathe, not so much in quality but definitely in specific functionality. A for-instance is Oneway VS. Stubby. Both will work quite well for any general use but the Oneway is a more functional large spindle lathe and the Stubby is designed to shine as a bowl/vase lathe. Neither is limited but each has it's strong points.

A good interum lathe is a little Jet Mini. Inexpensive but extremely well built. Even when you get your dream lathe, you'll still use it regularly for small projects. This is the preferred starter lathe for folks around here and I know very few people who've sold their mini after getting a larger lathe. Just too well built and handy.

Good luck,
Dietrich

 

[potter142]

Robust 2528

I'm the fellow in LdF with the new Robust 2528 lathe. I had
a lot of trouble making up my mind as to which lathe to
purchase. Hopfully this is the last lathe I will be buying, so
I wanted the biggest best lathe available. After talking to
Brent English and seeing a lathe, I wanted one. It was also
important to me that it is made in Wisconsin........USA!
The lathe heavy, strong, very powerful, very adjustable
and extremely well made. Brent is obsessed with building
the best equipment he can and supporting it like few other
companies in the business. If you get the feeling I like my
decision tp own a Robust lathe you're right. Go to his site
at www.turnrobust.com and see for yourself.

 

[Hugh]

I kind of like Jake's idea - an Arrowmont trip (class). I have been a couple of times and loved it. I am not sure they have any Woodfast lathes there any more though. I was at Arrowmont a year ago and I remember mostly Stubby lathes, a couple of Oneway's, a General, and a Poolewood.

I do think that trying out various lathes is the best idea. Try the club nearest you - the club members will let you try their lathes I am sure.
Hugh

 

[Ed Sandle]

Thank all of you for your comments and advice. Classes and instruction I would like to do on some vacation time this year. Also hopefully I can get some help at the woodturning club that is only thirty miles from my house. I hope to become involved with that. I used to belong to Wi. woodturners, and that was a wounderfull club, but too far away now. I'm away from home for a few days now, visiting relatives, but when I return, I hope to be able to look up the person near me who has the Robust lathe.

 

[arbud]

seriously...

There's also another U.S. lathe/lathe tool manufacturer. It's manufactured in Medford, OR. www.seriouslathe.com I'm gonna visit Vince's operation sometime before Christmas.

 

[Steve Worcester]

There's also another U.S. lathe/lathe tool manufacturer. It's manufactured in Medford, OR. www.seriouslathe.com

It has been quite some time, but I believe Serious no longer makes lathes and was looking for a buyer.

 

[Steve Worcester]

If we go back to the meat of the subject and you were looking at a Oneway 2436 or a Robust. I have yet to see a production Robust, as the ones at the AAW symposium were not what they were not %100 production.

They have some great consultants in David Ellsworth and Trent Bosch. The lathe itself seems real stout, and had some good designs, the drivetrain uses good parts, and the adjustable legs are of interest, but I have seen this as a weak spot on other lathes. Where I thought it lacked was in outboard. There was an outboard toolrest available, but it looked dangerously weak (remember this was not production and it looks as though they have mounter the motor up to the back of the headstock now). If you don't want to turn outboard, or beyond the 25", I think the two are comparable.

 

[Mark Mandell]

It has been quite some time, but I believe Serious no longer makes lathes and was looking for a buyer.

When I was shopping for my lathe, I contacted Bernie Mares about his machines and any local owners who might show them. Instead of offering a price on his lathe he offered me the &%$# company. That was three years ago, and as far as I know he stopped making lathes, but still sells a small number of tools.

BTW, his Serious lathes were actually made in Asia. When I talked to him he had several machines "about ready to ship" in Taiwan, but I seem to remember they were not financially "cleared."

M