Hello all,
A quick intro ... I'm a long-time woodworker and a long-ago, not-so-skilled turner looking to get back to it. I had a Record CL3 48" lathe, but sold it along with my other machinery for a move about 10 years ago. (I've moved a number of times and typically sell machines, unless it's a local move, and buy again at the new location).
Frankly, the Record was somewhat frustrating. Well-built, good quality iron, excellent fit and finish, but a small spindle and the twin rail bed had just enough flex to notice. I actually liked the bronze bearings as they were simple, good-sized, adjustable, and worked exceptionally well, kept lubed. But it was ultimately limiting and moving belts gets old.
My shop space is very limited. Though I nominally have one bay of the garage, that bay is shared with a lot of miscellaneous storage, bicycles, and even the trash bins! So in practice, I move a car out of the garage, move things around, then go to work on whatever I'm doing. My tablesaw is even kept under a storage rack shelf.
I'm looking at the usual suspects: Laguna 1836, Jet 1840 EVS, Grizzly 766 and 800, PM3520c, and the new PM2014. The PM2014 is the obvious outlier. The size of most of these lathes is a problem, of course, but I'm used to making almost anything mobile. I want to buy a good lathe one and done ... no more Record experiences! The short-bed PM2020 and Grizzly 835 are options also, as bed extensions could be used as needed, but the 835 is speed-limited with different pulleys and has a lower-powered motor (both per Grizzly tech support), and the 2020 appears to have the older 3520b headstock, about which I know little.
My immediate interest includes both spindle turning of bobbins and platter-like work for Kumihimo braiding stands. All in dense hardwoods.
I'm semi-retired. Quarantined (not sick, thank God)! Ex financial services/IT exec. Married with 6 children, all grown.
Bill
A quick intro ... I'm a long-time woodworker and a long-ago, not-so-skilled turner looking to get back to it. I had a Record CL3 48" lathe, but sold it along with my other machinery for a move about 10 years ago. (I've moved a number of times and typically sell machines, unless it's a local move, and buy again at the new location).
Frankly, the Record was somewhat frustrating. Well-built, good quality iron, excellent fit and finish, but a small spindle and the twin rail bed had just enough flex to notice. I actually liked the bronze bearings as they were simple, good-sized, adjustable, and worked exceptionally well, kept lubed. But it was ultimately limiting and moving belts gets old.
My shop space is very limited. Though I nominally have one bay of the garage, that bay is shared with a lot of miscellaneous storage, bicycles, and even the trash bins! So in practice, I move a car out of the garage, move things around, then go to work on whatever I'm doing. My tablesaw is even kept under a storage rack shelf.
I'm looking at the usual suspects: Laguna 1836, Jet 1840 EVS, Grizzly 766 and 800, PM3520c, and the new PM2014. The PM2014 is the obvious outlier. The size of most of these lathes is a problem, of course, but I'm used to making almost anything mobile. I want to buy a good lathe one and done ... no more Record experiences! The short-bed PM2020 and Grizzly 835 are options also, as bed extensions could be used as needed, but the 835 is speed-limited with different pulleys and has a lower-powered motor (both per Grizzly tech support), and the 2020 appears to have the older 3520b headstock, about which I know little.
My immediate interest includes both spindle turning of bobbins and platter-like work for Kumihimo braiding stands. All in dense hardwoods.
I'm semi-retired. Quarantined (not sick, thank God)! Ex financial services/IT exec. Married with 6 children, all grown.
Bill
