Dean Coss

[Dean Coss]

Hello,

My name is Dean and I live in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I joined recently because I’m searching for a bigger lathe. I got rid of a tabletop pen turning lathe because it was too small for my needs. I recently took a metal spinning class and I got the chance to use a Oneway 1640. I’d really like to get something around that size and quality. I haven’t done all the research yet, but it looks like there’s a lot of lathe choices out there like Robust, Laguna, Rikon, Powermatic, Nova, etc. Hopefully, you guys and gals can offer me some ideas on what’s good.

 

[Brian Gustin]

Well, I'd say Robust and One-Way are the "Cadillacs" of lathes (then there's the more specialized "Lamborghini's" but not all that common) so if you have the spending money, probably one of those would be your goal.. but if you're like me and on a very tight budget, probably have to be looking at something in your price range first (and right now my price range is Harbor Freight, which I already have, and hate) So I might consider a Jet (which is on a par with some of the better brands like Laguna or Rikon) or you can step up a little bit (and pay more) on Powermatic or Harvey, or Grizzly (Which, I believe was made by Harvey anyways) But first and foremost, you'd figure out your budget, then you got to sit down and figure out what you want to DO (Bowls? Spindles? Production? BIG bowls and platters? ) so you can figure out your needs for Swing and Bed Length, Headstock (rotating or sliding?) and the like... That'd narrow down your brand options a bit too, so you can zero in in what fits you best (and maybe you can find somewhere you can try one out or demo it)

 

[Doug Freeman]

Welcome. There are many previous threads for choosing a lathe, and you could start a new one for your personal situation. “Getting Started” forum is probly the best place to post it.

There are a lot of choices. For me, ergonomics and how I prefer to process a piece beginning to end made the selection process a bit easier. I wanted a pivot HS with bolt on outrigger - dont have to extend arms to hollow bowls, and all sanding/finishing can be done with the piece perpendicular to the lathe bed. Been very pleased with the Nova Galaxi (16x44)I chose ~ 4 years ago. It can go up to 29” outboard.

For a sliding HS, there are many choices/brands, with $ willing to spend being the main driver. Accessories/tools can easily run into the $1,000’s, so keep that in mind when budgeting for the whole shebang.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Welcome to the forum. As has been said lots of considerations on lathes.
1. price
2. what are you turning?
3. how much room for the lathe and accessories?

I suggest going bigger rather than smaller as if you do not like a larger lathe they sell prertty easily for at least 2/3 of cost and some at 75 to 80 percent.

 

[Pat Patterson]

I have been bitten by the bug lately and the first question you need to answer is do you or can you get 220v to your desired location. I'm 110v only and it severely limits options. The only lathes which gives me all I want is laguna revo and 15/24 and 18/36.
Good Luck,

Pat

 

[Doug Freeman]

I have been bitten by the bug lately and the first question you need to answer is do you or can you get 220v to your desired location. I'm 110v only and it severely limits options. The only lathes which gives me all I want is laguna revo and 15/24 and 18/36.
Good Luck,

Pat

The Nova Galaxi and Orion can run either 120 or 220v, tho they may not have certain things. The motor has significant low speed torque.

 

[Gary Morgan]

Our trajectory from bench top lathe then interest in metal sounds similar. I opted for the Powermatic 3520C and have been well satisfied (spring for the tail stock swing away, this is a heavy machine). They go on sale at a 10% discount a couple of times each year, my vendor Southern-Tools told me their sale schedule and I acted accordingly. I don’t think it matters who you buy it from, they all ship out of LaVernge Tennessee.

 

[Aaron Harris]

Hello,

My name is Dean and I live in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I joined recently because I’m searching for a bigger lathe. I got rid of a tabletop pen turning lathe because it was too small for my needs. I recently took a metal spinning class and I got the chance to use a Oneway 1640. I’d really like to get something around that size and quality. I haven’t done all the research yet, but it looks like there’s a lot of lathe choices out there like Robust, Laguna, Rikon, Powermatic, Nova, etc. Hopefully, you guys and gals can offer me some ideas on what’s good.

Hey, Dean-Small world-I too live in Spartanburg, and interestingly enough, my turning mentor turns on a OneWay 1640-what a machine. I am currently still on my 1st lathe, the Laguna 12/16. It works well enough, but I too am hoping for something bigger in the future. Welcome to the forum! Aaron

 

[Dean Coss]

Hey, Dean-Small world-I too live in Spartanburg, and interestingly enough, my turning mentor turns on a OneWay 1640-what a machine. I am currently still on my 1st lathe, the Laguna 12/16. It works well enough, but I too am hoping for something bigger in the future. Welcome to the forum! Aaron

Wow, yeah small world. I’m really hoping to find something used in the next few months. If not, I’ll just have to break down and buy new. I can handle either 100 or 220 in my shop, so I’ve got that flexibility. I really want something that has a VFD or some sort of dial to change speeds. Outboard turning capability would be nice.

 

[Pat Patterson]

The Nova Galaxi and Orion can run either 120 or 220v, tho they may not have certain things. The motor has significant low speed torque.

Thanks Doug I'll check them out

 

[Doug Freeman]

Thanks Doug I'll check them out

Also I just saw in another forum that Nova will be introducing a new lathe called Nebula at the AAW Symposium. The info stated “think of an Orion lathe with a pivot/sliding HS and ~2-1/2 hp 220v motor”, a slightly larger Galaxi it sounds like.

 

[Pat Patterson]

Thanks Doug I'll check them out

For anyone interested Powermatic has a 110v model now. PM2014 14/20 for about $2700
Pat

 

[Tim Tucker]

Dean and Aaron:
You fellas are welcome to come up the hill and turn on a Robust AB if you like. I live between Hendersonville and Brevard. About 1 hour from Spartanburg.
T

 

[Aaron Harris]

Dean and Aaron:
You fellas are welcome to come up the hill and turn on a Robust AB if you like. I live between Hendersonville and Brevard. About 1 hour from Spartanburg.

Tim-I just might take you up on that. My family is from Leicester/Asheville, and I spend a lot of time coming back to the mountains for hiking and fishing. I would love to try the AB!

 

[Tim Tucker]

You are welcome here anytime! Just give me a ring ( incoming PM ) when you can look at your schedule and determine what your timing looks like. On the 3rd Saturday of every month, the Carolina Mountain Woodturners meet at the Folk Art Cent on the Blue Ridge Pkway near Asheville. Your are welcome as my guest. This month we will have Barry Gross who is a pen turner of fame. I like to see what I can adapt to my turning regardless of what the demonstrator turns as their primary items. Barry is said to be a very good demonstrator.

 

[Aaron Harris]

Thanks, Tim-I joined CMT last year when all they could do were Zoom sessions. If they are back to being "live," I may have to go to a meeting. The BRP is one of my favorite places. Some of my favorite trout streams are right nearby too!

 

[Tim Tucker]

Aaron-
I guide a few groups every year. The most recent was last week. 6 fishermen. 5 hours on the water. 104 fish caught. It was a "personal best".......

 

[Aaron Harris]

That's impressive-What are you doing, a boat on the Tuck? French Broad? I tend to favor streams I have to hike to for solitude, though the roadside streams in Pisgah are great too when time (or energy) are short.

By the way, you've got some impressive work online, and it looks like you're into smoking barbecue too? I think we share some similar interests.

 

[Tim Tucker]

I like to fish the tributaries of the French Broad. Usually not where tourists can find.
Thanks for the comps on my work. Just a journeyman and keep working at it. Yep…. I have a BBQ forum online. I used to compete and jusge BBQ competitions. Bit now prefer to fish and turn and travel.

 

[Aaron Harris]

I like to fish the tributaries of the French Broad. Usually not where tourists can find.
Thanks for the comps on my work. Just a journeyman and keep working at it. Yep…. I have a BBQ forum online. I used to compete and jusge BBQ competitions. Bit now prefer to fish and turn and travel.

Yep, there are some great tribs up the whole 215 drainage. And as my wife and I are both teachers, we also do a fair bit of traveling in the summer.

 

[Tim Tucker]

That is the North Fork of the French Broad. I need to show you the East Fork.

 

[Aaron Harris]

Yep, plus Courthouse and blue-lines on up. There is some fishy-looking water down in that gorge below the campground too. As much as I love fishing gorges, I've never been down in there. I've fished the East Fork DH water (when I'm too lazy to hike), and I discovered the last couple of summers that some of that water upstream (between the private stretches) heading towards the SC mountains is prime wild trout water, too. As far as that goes, I've had some great days fishing for chunky bows roadside on 276 going up the mountain, above the famous falls everyone stops at. (Forgive me, I still subscribe the the wild trout junky's rule against outing great streams, even if they are roadside and get pounded lol (looking at you, Davidson!)).

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome to the AAW forum, Dean. Please read THIS thread.

 

[Dean Coss]

Dean and Aaron:
You fellas are welcome to come up the hill and turn on a Robust AB if you like. I live between Hendersonville and Brevard. About 1 hour from Spartanburg.
T

Thanks Tim. I might take you up on that. I’m up in that area usually at least once a month. I’ve been wanting to check out a Robust and see how it compares to Oneway.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Most welcome Dean. And remember....there is always more than ....Oneway......to turn wood. I tried out a Oneway before I bought a Robust. They are designed with different philosophies for sure.

 

[Tim Tucker]

BTW- Just got an e-mail from Lyle Jamison -says Robust AB will have a $1400.00 pice increase as of June 15.......you may want to look at your schedule - and give one a whirl sooner rather than later.....

 

[Dean Coss]

I ended up finding a good deal on a used but good condition Laguna 18/36 lathe today. The thing is pretty dang nice, and pretty heavy too. It came with a bunch of different centers, but no chucks. I have no idea what a good chuck name is. I’ve looked at some online and can’t decide due to some getting bad reviews. Can anyone recommend a good chuck that’s not a piece of junk?

 

[Bill Boehme]

I ended up finding a good deal on a used but good condition Laguna 18/36 lathe today. The thing is pretty dang nice, and pretty heavy too. It came with a bunch of different centers, but no chucks. I have no idea what a good chuck name is. I’ve looked at some online and can’t decide due to some getting bad reviews. Can anyone recommend a good chuck that’s not a piece of junk?

I have both Oneway (Talon and Stronghold) chucks. I think that they have the best spindle adapter design with a machine tool taper interface for precise alignment. Their precision profile jaw design provides solid gripping with little or any marring of the wood. They also offer dovetail jaws. I also have Vicmarc chucks (VM120 and VM100). I would say that Vicmarc chucks have the most precise repeatability when remounting a turning due to the precision machining and deep dovetail jaws. The dovetail jaws can also be a disadvantage in certain conditions because being circular they provide full contact at only one diameter for mortises and tenons, known as the perfect circle diameter. Nothing beats it for perfect circle diameter tenons. I also prefer Oneway's tapered spindle adapter to the screw-in adapter on the Vicmarc. However, Vicmarc also makes direct thread chucks for 1¼ X 8 spindles. So, if your forever lathe has that spindle size that is the ideal situation. I have very little experience with Nova chucks so take my first impression for what it's worth. I used one in a class and it was probably worn out from abuse. Anyway, I hated it (to clarify, I didn't hate the chuck, but I hated the fact that it was worn out which caused the gear train to back drive and lose its grip on the tenon within a few seconds no matter how much force I used to tighten the jaws). The lesson I learned was to take one of my chucks to any class in the future.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Axminster. ALL made in the U.K. . ALL stainless steel - even the jaws. The machining is the best I have seen on any brand. The quality of these has been a big surprise to me - because I have also favored the Vicmarcs over others.
But - things change in every market, and it appears that Axminster is doing everything to become known as a top shelf product line. The variety of jaws is amazing. And - they are currently sold by The Woodturning Store - tho I suspect there will be more retailers in the U.S. soon. While the name of this brand is new to many, it is not a new brand in the U.K. and Europe. They actually are one of the first companies to produce 4 jaw self-centering chucks.
I concur with Bill about the Nova chucks. I bought some when I started turning, but they have not held up as I had hoped. They are...o.k. - and are the most widely sold brand ( price point issue...) but popularity is not as important as quality IMHO.......

 

[Dean Coss]

Thanks for the advice. Bummer they don’t have any decent U.S.-made chucks, but I’ll check out the Vicmarc, Oneway, and Axminster.

 

[Tom Gall]

I ended up finding a good deal on a used but good condition Laguna 18/36 lathe today. The thing is pretty dang nice, and pretty heavy too. It came with a bunch of different centers, but no chucks. I have no idea what a good chuck name is. I’ve looked at some online and can’t decide due to some getting bad reviews. Can anyone recommend a good chuck that’s not a piece of junk?

I agree with Bill Boehme. I have at least one chuck from most brands out there ... but, I have two Oneway Strongholds and two Talons. Overall, I find them the easiest to use and usually reach for them first. I also like their profiled jaws for most situations.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I have six Super Nova 2 and have no regrets. They do everything I have asked of them and unless you have specific comment Related to extensive experience I would suggest testimony only on what you have lots of experience . Yes they do work backwards but zipper in England are backwards also. They use a straight tenon except the 100 mm jaws and have jaws for most any purpose which fit most of the Nova chucks. True the new lines do add some variables plus the screw turns the other way. Maybe @Bill Blasic will give us more depth of info.

The jaws are made as one piece and then cut by 1/8 inch bandsaw to form a perfect circle with that space left. The jaws have never loosened on mine despite a economy brand I had to do that. Just bought a SN2 from an estate which must be among thew first made as the lines on outside are on the opposite end. It works like a new one

 

[Dean Coss]

I’m curious why some of you have so many chucks? Do you keep them set up with different jaws on each one?

 

[Tim Tucker]

I’m curious why some of you have so many chucks? Do you keep them set up with different jaws on each one?

Exactly. While not necessary - having a lot of chucks means I can have a lot of different projects underway all of the time without having to either complete something to free up a chuck - or worse - have to un-chuck and re- chuck something. Once I have wood in a. chuck - it does not come out of that chuck until it is ready to do so.

 

[Bill Boehme]

I’m curious why some of you have so many chucks? Do you keep them set up with different jaws on each one?

That's probably part of it. Another factor is having several projects in various stages of completion. I don't like to remove a piece from the chuck until the final steps which will be done with a different means of holding (jam chuck, vacuum chuck, Jumbo Jaws, Bowl Jaws, chewing gum and string, etc).

 

[Dean Coss]

That makes sense. Once you un-chuck something and then try to chuck it again, you have to make sure everything is lined up just right or you can introduce runout into it. Dang. And good chucks aren’t cheap. So if you do a lot of turning and have multiple projects going, that can be a bit of an investment. I did see that Carter has this thing called the Face-Off system that you can keep faceplates mounted to workpieces and they all mount on the same adapter. That’s kinda cool for faceplates, but obviously they don’t have something like that for chucks yet if you guys all have multiple chucks.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Actually - there are faceplate rings that work with the dovetail jaws of some chucks. But, it is a system that has not caught on for a various reasons.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thanks for the advice. Bummer they don’t have any decent U.S.-made chucks, but I’ll check out the Vicmarc, Oneway, and Axminster.

Easy Wood Tools makes a chuck that is made in USA. It's a very well-made chuck, but the price is more than the huge Vicmarc VM150 and there aren't many jaw sizes available.

 

[Tom Gall]

That makes sense. Once you un-chuck something and then try to chuck it again, you have to make sure everything is lined up just right or you can introduce runout into it.

All of my chucks have a short line marked on center of the #1 jaw with a Sharpie. Of course you can use any other method to put a mark on the jaw. Put another mark (Sharpie) on the tenon or workpiece aligned with the jaw mark. This makes it easy to re-mount the workpiece if you need to remove it from the chuck. Works 99.9% of the time for accuracy.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I have turned a number of metal face plate rings and beveled disks that can be screwed to the work piece and quickly mounted and unmounted
from an adjustable chuck. Both of these systems will register correctly when remounting onto a chuck. I have several different sized lathes, so you also end up needing a number of chucks with the correct thread pitch adapter to mount on the different spindle sizes. I turn a fair number of diverse items, so a smaller lathe works fine for the smaller items, and the larger machines are used for the larger work pieces.