Hi All,
While our Laguna 18|36 is out of service, my wife and I have been revisiting our shop needs for lathes. Since we're both around 30, it's doubtful to expect to find the coveted 'last lathe I will ever purchase' but with how much we both enjoy turning and the fact that our Laguna paid for itself nearly 7x over already, all of a sudden the prices on the truly high end lathes that should last for a very, very long time seem much more palatable.
Also, with our big (for us) lathe is out of service, I've been turning small projects on a small lathe (an old beat up Nova Comet) and forgot just how pleasurable it can be moving big tailstocks and banjos, and fighting for space when bringing everything together for something like a bottle stopper or ornament. Also, 85% of what we make and sell could (theoretically) be done on a standard Midi lathe. So, as opposed to the long term plan of having two big lathes, I've started looking at some of the higher end smaller lathes to pair with the eventual upgrade to a Robust, Oneway, or Vicmarc monstrosity.
So, my question comes down to this: who has actually dropped the cash on one of the truly high-end smaller lathes: a Oneway 1224, Robust Scout, Harvey Turbo T40, Vicmarc VL150? Pricing seems pretty ludicrous on these-- literally 3-5x the price of what seems to be the best standard market Midi, the Jet 1221VS-- so, for anyone that has any of these, what makes them that much better?
While our Laguna 18|36 is out of service, my wife and I have been revisiting our shop needs for lathes. Since we're both around 30, it's doubtful to expect to find the coveted 'last lathe I will ever purchase' but with how much we both enjoy turning and the fact that our Laguna paid for itself nearly 7x over already, all of a sudden the prices on the truly high end lathes that should last for a very, very long time seem much more palatable.
Also, with our big (for us) lathe is out of service, I've been turning small projects on a small lathe (an old beat up Nova Comet) and forgot just how pleasurable it can be moving big tailstocks and banjos, and fighting for space when bringing everything together for something like a bottle stopper or ornament. Also, 85% of what we make and sell could (theoretically) be done on a standard Midi lathe. So, as opposed to the long term plan of having two big lathes, I've started looking at some of the higher end smaller lathes to pair with the eventual upgrade to a Robust, Oneway, or Vicmarc monstrosity.
So, my question comes down to this: who has actually dropped the cash on one of the truly high-end smaller lathes: a Oneway 1224, Robust Scout, Harvey Turbo T40, Vicmarc VL150? Pricing seems pretty ludicrous on these-- literally 3-5x the price of what seems to be the best standard market Midi, the Jet 1221VS-- so, for anyone that has any of these, what makes them that much better?