Dream lathe

[Webb Willmott]

Remove the $$ sign, what lathe would you have?

 

[Brian Gustin]

Remove the $$ sign, what late would you have?

Robust AB hands down.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

For over 20 years, I have been smitten by the curvy good looks of the Union Graduate.

 

[Odie]

My 1992 16", 1.5 HP, 525lb Australian Woodfast lathe is everything I would ever need in a lathe.

However, if I were to replace it.....it would be heavier, have a swivel headstock, and 20" swing.

=o=

 

[Odie]

My dream lathe would be a heavier Robust Sweet 16 with a swivel headstock!

The Powermatic 3520c and Vicmarc VL240 are also very appealing......with a few changes!

=o=

 

[Tim Hunter]

My 30” New Haven.

Tim

 

[Richard Coers]

Bought my dream lathe in 1998. Oneway 2436.

 

[Michael Bamford]

My dream lathe is a Vicmarc VL240 just like the one in my workshop.

 

[Kirk Amidon]

I love the old patternmakers lathes, and Tim's is as fine an example as you'll find. Floorium is what stops me.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Most likely a Vic VL240 with outrigger. I’ll make do with my Nova Galaxi until the time comes.

 

[Michael Anderson]

One of the old massive Oliver pattern maker lathes would be pretty cool. Modern equipment, I’d settle for a Vicmark VL600.

@Kirk Amidon floorium made me laugh

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

I already have my final lathe, a Robust Sweet 16. Still works like perfection, 3 years since purchase!

 

[Dave Landers]

American Beauty for me - mine is on order.

And I've always thought a VB36 or maybe a Nichols would look pretty good in the corner of the shop, but I really would have little use for it these days.

Floorium is what stops me.

Yes, but that can be fixed with the original premise that $$ is not an issue

 

[Richard Coers]

My dream lathe is a Vicmarc VL240 just like the one in my workshop.

View attachment 75705

That's a lot of lathe for cantilevering that tiny chuck out so far from the headstock!

 

[Odie]

That's a lot of lathe for cantilevering that tiny chuck out so far from the headstock!

I noticed that. Looks like the two chucks I see are attached to a Morse taper adaptor.

That might have some convenience, but it would be better to use the spindle threads.

=o=

 

[Ed Sandle]

My dream lathe is a Vicmarc VL240 just like the one in my workshop.

View attachment 75705

That is just too clean to be a real shop.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Probably an AB. My psyche would never let me buy it, though.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

That is just too clean to be a real shop.

All hat, no cattle.

Edit: That's a joke, Michael B.

 

[Bill Boehme]

My first lathe (Delta 46-715) was the wrong kind of dream (nightmare). I stopped dreaming fourteen years ago and got my forever Robust AB.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, no one makes what I REALLY want in a lathe for my bowl turning, which means I would have to design and build my own.... 2 to 3 hp 3 phase motor with a converter. Pivoting headstock, or just a short bed lathe so I can stand up straight for turning. Probably stainless steel ways and frame. Minimum speed maybe 5 rpm for sanding my warped bowls. Oh, 3 speeds/pulleys. Probably a huge headstock shaft, bigger than anything currently on the market. I do not like using the tailstock for bowl turning, just an extra step in production work. I think the Vicmark lathes have the best headstock design since it actually angles back away a tiny bit from the base. Probably the worst one, in my opinion are the Laguna lathes with a cone that projects out 3 or 4 inches. This means you would have to engage the tailstock for bowl turning to reduce vibrations. If I was younger, I would be manufacturing my own, and maybe selling them. I do once turn my bowls. I do realize that the cones like on the Laguna, and the bell housings like on the Oneway and Robust lathes are in part for easier access to the base of a bowl for twice turning. Still, not necessary in my opinion. They do make for it being easier for removing the headstock spindle assembly if the bearings ever need to be replaced, but I am not sure if it is possible to make spindle shaft bearings that will not wear out. I would expect that bigger headstock spindle shaft sizes would get rid of a lot of that wear and tear, especially if you don't use the tailstock. Yes, a lot of my design options come from all of the lathes I have turned on. Sliding headstocks are great, and I do not like turning bowls on a long bed lathe at all since that makes me have to extend my arms out away from my body to turn my bowls. I would say that ANY lathe that has a sliding or even pivoting headstock needs a much bigger pressure plate under the headstock than what is used on the tailstock or banjo. Some of the "cheap" lathes use the same plate on all 3, and that just is not right, but it does save them some money. My AB has a pressure plate that is the same dimension as the headstock tower, and I consider that a plus. Not sure if it is the same or not now days. My 3520A had about a 4 inch by 5 inch long pressure plate under the headstock, and I considered that to be sufficient. I am always trying to "new and improve" just about everything.....

robo hippy

 

[Nate Hawkes]

I would love a Serious Toolworks lathe. Almost 1600lbs, 3hp. Integrated mobile base and everything. However, I wish it were available with a stainless bed like the AB. I find the 3520B Powermatic to be a little underpowered when I'm turning big bowls. It's been a while since I've turned anything of size, but I can stop the lathe when doing roughing cuts with a shaving bigger than 1/2".

 

[Jon Rista]

Robust American Beauty!

I had my eyes on this right as I started turning in 2020. If I'd had the money back then, I'd have bought one and never looked back. I always loved its swing-away design, but there are so many other things about it that I like. The diamond-shaped bed and the way it causes the chips to just fall away. Stuff like that. Oh, and a SEVEN YEAR warranty...with all American made parts!!!

Some are things I've come to like, SINCE buying a Powermatic (which is a good lathe, but its not my dream lathe. ;P ) One of these is the strait up and down nature of the headstock and tailstock. The Powermatic tailstock design, is angled...so that the front of the quill ends up back-set from the front bottom edge of the tailstock (which itself, is even further backset a bit, because of the size of the round clamping plate underneath the ways). The banjo then is also rather wide, with the tool rest front-oriented. This means that between the backset of the front of the quill, plus the width of the banjo, you have to extend the quill quite a bit just to contact the wood. The quill is stable, but, so much of its potential extension is just wasted over empty space. That made me notice and appreciate the design of the American Beauty all that much more, as you don't have to waste any quill extension that way.

The Robust was about eight grand when I first looked at it in 2020. I think its ten grand today...phew!! The Powermatic 3520C is really quite good, cost me $4600 for the black anniversary edition, and I like most of what it does and how its designed. The only complaint I have is the need to extend the quill so far, however, its really a minor complaint (and, the design of the Powermatic tailstock I guess has some of its own advantages, too.) Still, the Robust will always be the DREAM for me!

 

[Michael Bamford]

That's a lot of lathe for cantilevering that tiny chuck out so far from the headstock!

That's my setup for turning pendants. I didn't want to over do it when I first got the lathe. ;-)
It has had a good workout since then.

 

[Jim McLain]

Magma Titan 400G with a 4hp motor. I have the Titan 400 with a 3 hp motor and a bed extension which will be my last lathe. The G has cast iron headways which I like. Sliding and pivoting headstock, excellent indexing system and 8 inches of quill travel on the stair stock. 32 inch swing over the headways. Hard to imaging a better lathe.

 

[Michael Bamford]

I noticed that. Looks like the two chucks I see are attached to a Morse taper adaptor.

That might have some convenience, but it would be better to use the spindle threads.

=o=

That's a Niles pendant chuck in the lathe on the MT2 adaptor they sell.
My old lathe, a Pren Colt, had MT4 in the headstock and no spindle thread. It had a MT4 adaptor that threaded into a Nova chuck like the one on the shelf below the lathe. If I was buying today, I would use the spindle threads.

 

[John Whitley]

For my part, I'm really loving my Harvey T-60S. We'll see if I outgrow it, but it's already proven to be a much higher mark than I was originally aiming for when I upgraded from my Galaxi.

I love the old patternmakers lathes, and Tim's is as fine an example as you'll find. Floorium is what stops me.

One of the old massive Oliver pattern maker lathes would be pretty cool.

I'd seen photos of patternmakers lathes and I've even known woodworkers who've acquired, rehabbed, and put into production other kinds of patternmakers machinery... but I didn't really get the lathes until I saw the cover of Woodturning Magazine #401, with Ashley Harwood turning a truly gargantuan platter on her Oliver lathe.

That is just too clean to be a real shop.

When I put the dust collection ducting in my shop, I added a floor sweep near the lathe. Why do I now feel like I've ... transgressed?

 

[Jon Rista]

Ok, I'm rather ignorant here: What is floorium?

 

[Dave Landers]

Ok, I'm rather ignorant here: What is floorium?

Floorium would be that element on which one places one's lathe. AKA the floor. Before obtaining a larger (or additional) lathe, one might first need to acquire and install additional floorium.

 

[Jon Rista]

Floorium would be that element on which one places one's lathe. AKA the floor. Before obtaining a larger (or additional) lathe, one might first need to acquire and install additional floorium.

Hah! Thanks!

 

[Aaron Harris]

Having gone to check out Mark Hancock's Magma Black Titan 400 here in town on a local trip for Helen-downed black walnut with my friend Tim Tucker, that would be it, hands down. In fact, Tim is due to take delivery on his if he hasn't already. It is just an amazing, beautiful machine, exquisitely engineered and tank solid. Out of my price range, but I do hope Tim lets me take his for a spin. To me, it's beautiful in an almost ArtDeco kind of way, the same way classic streamlined locomotives of that era were. Pics and specs (in German) here: Magma Titan 400

I will say that sort of off-topic, but now that I'm two and a half years in, my dream lathe PowerMatic 3520C aka The Beast has given me mostly excellent service in almost daily use and with lots of heavy, out of round wet blanks. It is capable of far more than I can do, but I'm learning every day. But I now get some of the common criticisms leveled at the Mustard Monster. The lockup is kinda spongy everywhere-I may need to slightly tighten the cams? The tailstock creep as you're cranking down on a big green blank like the 20-poundish 14" wet maple blank I turned this morning is maddening. And I've had to replace the lock-handle internal assembly recently. It was under warranty, but dealing with JPW is like any other too-big company. You keep getting passed around to different people who all tell you something different. But be patient, and you will (probably) get your part in a couple of weeks and several emails/phone calls, case numbers, etc. And of course the on-switch can go all crazy on you and even quit working at all until you blow all the dust out of it and futz around with the power knob. The little rubber seal they sent was worse than useless. It fits so loosely that it just collects dust. I went back to the big ziplock bag over the remote box. A lot of people grouse about the fiddly swing-away tailstock. I don't mind it, part of the ritual just like the post-turn cleanup and my favorite part, cleaning and waxing the cast-iron bed.

That said, I love literally everything else about it. In the obsessive way I have, I probably bordered on idol worship for the 1st year I had it. Its power and solidity helped me to dramatically upscale my turnings of larger green blanks and other big projects. I will die a happy man if I never have another lathe. Some of the most amazing guitar players I have ever seen were playing Mexican Strats or some cheapo acoustic. Get the best lathe you can afford and grow into it. I started on a Laguna 12/16 and outgrew it quickly. Just stay on the journey.

 

[Jon Rista]

The lockup is kinda spongy everywhere-I may need to slightly tighten the cams? The tailstock creep as you're cranking down on a big green blank like the 20-poundish 14" wet maple blank I turned this morning is maddening.

I also have a 3520C... Trying to decipher this. Do you mean the locking of the tailstock in place? I have a bit of tailstock creep on my small Wen lathe. One of the things I've loved about my Powermatic, is that it has ZERO creep, even when I really have to crank the quill in really tight.

Have you ever tried to adjust the clamping plate below the ways? I think you can adjust a nut, probably just a very small amount, to increase the clamping force there. That might help stop any creep you are getting in the tailstock. Worth a try, at the very least, maybe? If it does help, let me know. I suspect over time that nut can probably slightly work itself looser, and that would lessen the clamping force for the tailstock. Same thing happens with my Wen, just a heck of a lot more often, and tightening that nut a bit helps improve the clamping force. The wen ways, apparently, were machined very slightly incorrectly, and they have a very slight taper to them. At the end closest to the headstock, they are very slightly thicker than the end farthest from the headstock, so...I don't think any amount of adjustment will prevent some of the creep I get with the Wen (which is where I turn my pens and other small items.)

The powermatic, however, seems to be perfect and the tailstock clamps down like a giants maw, so I would think you should be able to tune yours and eliminate the creep for your large blanks.

 

[Aaron Harris]

I also have a 3520C... Trying to decipher this. Do you mean the locking of the tailstock in place? I have a bit of tailstock creep on my small Wen lathe. One of the things I've loved about my Powermatic, is that it has ZERO creep, even when I really have to crank the quill in really tight.

Have you ever tried to adjust the clamping plate below the ways? I think you can adjust a nut, probably just a very small amount, to increase the clamping force there. That might help stop any creep you are getting in the tailstock. Worth a try, at the very least, maybe? If it does help, let me know. I suspect over time that nut can probably slightly work itself looser, and that would lessen the clamping force for the tailstock. Same thing happens with my Wen, just a heck of a lot more often, and tightening that nut a bit helps improve the clamping force. The wen ways, apparently, were machined very slightly incorrectly, and they have a very slight taper to them. At the end closest to the headstock, they are very slightly thicker than the end farthest from the headstock, so...I don't think any amount of adjustment will prevent some of the creep I get with the Wen (which is where I turn my pens and other small items.)

The powermatic, however, seems to be perfect and the tailstock clamps down like a giants maw, so I would think you should be able to tune yours and eliminate the creep for your large blanks.

Thanks, John-I need to try that asap and I suspect you are correct. Honestly, I could (and should) shut down for a week and just do pm's, clean, dust, organize, grind, etc, etc. If I don't return everything to its proper place, then I spend half my time looking for my 3-inch sanding head or my sanding pad rubber cleaner stick (lost in the shavings, of course).

Anyway, with our Wens we sort of get what we pay for, eh? They work (sort of), but all the fittings are cheap and rough, with poor tolerances. I have their famous $250 Amazon drill press. It has issues.

 

[Jon Rista]

Thanks, John-I need to try that asap and I suspect you are correct. Honestly, I could (and should) shut down for a week and just do pm's, clean, dust, organize, grind, etc, etc. If I don't return everything to its proper place, then I spend half my time looking for my 3-inch sanding head or my sanding pad rubber cleaner stick (lost in the shavings, of course).

Anyway, with our Wens we sort of get what we pay for, eh? They work (sort of), but all the fittings are cheap and rough, with poor tolerances. I have their famous $250 Amazon drill press. It has issues.

Heh, finny you should talk about shutting down. I actually just did that! I had gone a real long time without...and while I do clean up the bulk of my shavings, I had SO much dust, EVERYWHERE. Layers of it, even different colors, on top of eveyrthing. I ended up getting fed up with the cramped nature of my shop, which is a third car slot in my garage, and decided to rearrange some things that did indeed help open it up a bit, make it easier to move around in it and get about. Was a heck of a messy, DUSTY job, though!! And it took a darn week!

Well, hoping adjusting that nut, solves your creep problem.

Wens. You know, I actually have that same drill press! It was my first! I still have it. Wen is definitely not built to high spec tolerances like a nice Powermatic or Robust or one of the many great brands. That said...I've owned some really CHEAP lathes, or mid grade lathes that just...had IMO some serious design flaws. Overall, while Wen is never the best...I've come to learn, they are never the worst either. That little drill press, actually got me through a fair amount of little projects. And the Wen lathe, has actually done a far better job over a significantly longer time, than other cheap ~14" swing lathes I've either owned or used. So, eh, ikt has its issues, but...its been a strong little workhorse, and despite its shortcomings, it actually a rather robust little lathe that has been doing strong for over four years now. It has actually helped me turn the majority of my items, which were for a while smallerish, and it was just easier to turn them on the Wen than the PM (kind of a scale thing...a 14x20 just keeps everything closer at hand compared to a 20x35. )

When I need to do any serious work, its always the PM. But I appreciate the slot that the Wen brand seems to occupy: Not the best, but not the worst either! ;D

 

[Isaac Litster]

Floorium would be that element on which one places one's lathe. AKA the floor. Before obtaining a larger (or additional) lathe, one might first need to acquire and install additional floorium.

So you're saying my walls and door shouldn't rock at 300 rpm with a 10" bowl on my PM3520 in my wooden cabin?

 

[Isaac Litster]

would you have?

Would I have... Having a lathe is different from using it daily. Because of this, I want a Wadkin RU. With infinite money, I would refurbish it and modify it with some modern features, such as a VFD. How much would that weigh?

 

[Bill Blasic]

I would love a Serious Toolworks lathe. Almost 1600lbs, 3hp. Integrated mobile base and everything. However, I wish it were available with a stainless bed like the AB. I find the 3520B Powermatic to be a little underpowered when I'm turning big bowls. It's been a while since I've turned anything of size, but I can stop the lathe when doing roughing cuts with a shaving bigger than 1/2".

Nate I got to try one out years back and I could easily stop it with a 1/2" cut and I have never seen a lathe that the bed discolored so quickly from the damp chips.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I have owned 14 lathes in my 25 years of turning. For many of those years 11 were in the shop at the same time and used for hands on with my club. When I decided to no longer to do the hands on I sold a few of them. I have 6 in the shop now that I will keep. A few years back I saw an ad for a Chinese 12" 3/4 HP lathe delivered to my door for $288 from California, I bought it just to see. Well the lowest speed is not what you would want to rough out a piece but for the hands on we always started with round pieces so it was not a problem. I have kept this lathe and it is my dedicated pen lathe. I have always wondered how they could sell a really well built lathe and get it to me for that price. I have also kept the Powermatic 3520b, the DVR3000, the 16" Jet, the little Vicmarc and the Nova Neptune. These are my dream lathes as they for the most part are dedicated to certain turning and all have been trouble free. They are between 26 and 3 years old.

 

[Dave Landers]

So you're saying my walls and door shouldn't rock at 300 rpm with a 10" bowl on my PM3520 in my wooden cabin?

As long as you're all rockin' together....
Your floorium may be a bit more flexible than some...
The important bit is having enough of it for your lathe.
Wall, door, and roof are bonus.

 

[robo hippy]

Oh, absolute best tailstock mechanism for getting it out of the way, Robust, by a long shot! I have never been able to get mine to line up perfectly with the lathe bed though. Probably me....

robo hippy

 

[John Grace]

Magma Titan 400G with a 4hp motor. I have the Titan 400 with a 3 hp motor and a bed extension which will be my last lathe. The G has cast iron headways which I like. Sliding and pivoting headstock, excellent indexing system and 8 inches of quill travel on the stair stock. 32 inch swing over the headways. Hard to imaging a better lathe.

View attachment 75730

Goodness gracious...4HP! What are you looking to turn?