Opinions on Nova DVR XP

I have owned a couple belt drive lathes, one reeves drive and one variable drive. As they get more use vibration has been a problem. I have replaced the belts.

So my question, is the Nova DVD really vibration free and is the motor/computer reliable?

Thanks to all that respond.

L Bledsoe

Reply to
Q47m
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I have had mine 2 or 3 years. I has been a world of difference from the reeves drive machine I had. Quiet, vibration free, true variable speed. Never any problem. I did wire in a remote stop button.

Reply to
Gerald Ross

Reply to
robo hippy

I've the DVR XP for a while.. Probably done 200 pieces on it, several of them pushing the edge towards abuse.. The motor is amazing... Smooth, very quiet and has great torque at all speeds.. The computer that monitors the spindle is incredible... Keeps rpm constant under load, 3 adjustments for how much of a catch you need to stop the spindle, etc.. I've pushed the limits several times and got what would have been a bad catch on other lathes.. and all it did was stop the lathe.. Another nice feature of the spindle monitoring is that when it detects a catch and turns off the power, the spindle then free wheels, so it stops quickly..

Compared to my Jet 1442 with Reeves drive, it's about 10 times smoother and quieter.. It's very energy efficient and has enough power for me to not convert it to 220v for the extra 1/4 hp it claims.. Also, your warranty is void if you don't use a surge suppressor and 220v suppressors are out of my price range..

As Reed said, Reeves drives are problematic.. I was always adjusting, fixing or just putting up with small problems on the Jet..

Vibration? The Nova vibrated at certain speeds, but not nearly as much as either of my jet lathes, which I was very happy with until I got the Nova.. The up & down arrows that adjust the speed by 5 rpm let you find the best speed for whatever you're doing, allowing you to eliminate a lot of vibration..

My mistake in buying the xp was in getting the "Universal stand" IMHO, it's a piece of crap and not worthy of such a nice lathe.. I should have bought the cast iron legs, but that would have taken another 4 or

6 weeks to ship and I WANTED the damn lathe ASAP..

I didn't opt for the bed extension, so maybe that contributes to the stand vibrating, but it's very annoying.. It buzzes and clanks and since I hang a lot of stuff on magnets, such as the chuck key, it clangs like hell if I don't ease them onto the magnet.. IMO, there's no substitute for cast iron for absorbing vibration..

Would I spend $2,000 for this lathe again? In a heartbeat.. YMWV

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

I've had an original DVR and I really like it but there are a few things to note -

- the computer control is ok but it it's annoying to have to sit there holding the speed up/down buttons to go from one end of the range to the other (eg when going from drilling or sanding at low speed to turning at much higher speeds). I understand that the DVR XP allows you to program

5 preset speeds though, so this won't be as much of a problem. I'd prefer it if the control panel had a large, raised stop button in case of emergencies.

- if something goes wrong with the headstock it's possibly going to be something you can't fix yourself. I've had to send my headstock away for repair once before and I'm again getting an error state message on the console (which you should be able to fix by getting rid of dust around the spindle speed sensor, but I tried that yesterday and it didn't fix it).

One good feature of the lathe is that if you open up the control panel you can fit a home-made break out box which gives you access to all the controls when eg. the headstock is rotated or when you're hollowing a large vessel and you don't want to have to reach round for the controls. I've heard that Teknatool are working on their own (wireless?) remote but have heard nothing from them about this in the last year.

As for vibration - I've never really used any other lathe so I can't say if it's more or less than normal. There are a couple of locations in the speed range where there's some vibration even with the lathe running without a load, but 5 or 10 rpm either side it's fine.

We have an original DVR for our club lathe at it always performs well.

If you're not aware - there's a yahoo group at

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and a my family group (I think you need an invite for this, but just ask if you want one). Hope that helps

Duncan

Reply to
Duncan Hoyle

Even the Cutler-Hammer protector (mounts on a breaker box) costs less than $50 in Lowes.

Reply to
westom

I owned a DVR for about 5 years. Great lathe. The headstock is well built and, without any load, it did not vibrate. But I did get some vibration from the DVR lathe at certain speeds and certain situations. This was more a problem with the stand that I used and not the headstock (I used the sheet metal stand made by Nova). I also had trouble with any piece of wood that was large and/or the least bit out of round. That is because the machine was not heavy enough for what I was trying to turn.

I now own a Oneway 2436. I has a belt drive and again, when spinning without a load there is absolutely no vibraton. It is 900 pounds as opposed to the DVR's 200 lb. Even though I don't get anywhere near the vibration problems with the Oneway, with large and/or out of round logs the fact is vibrations can still be a problem - even with a 900 lb gorilla.

With any lathe their seems to be some RPM's that you will get a vibration depending on the load and situation. The point is that your problem is likely more about what you are turning and not a problem with the DVR.

Ted J.

Reply to
Ted

translation please, Is that a 220v surge protector?

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Yes. Of course. One surge protector for everything including the dishwasher and your 240 VAC air conditioner. Those also need protection. "220 volt" protection means one protector for everything

- 120 volt and 240 volts appliances.

Reply to
westom

Thanks for all the helpful information. Now that Woodcraft has the the lathe on sale for $1699, I think I'll take the plunge.

Thanks again,

L Bledsoe

Reply to
LBledsoe

A couple more points. The through head is nice for vacuum chucking, but the factory vacuum adapter prevents the use of the factory knock-out bar. The "motor stall" on a hard catch is nice, and you can adjust how hard the stall has to be to stop the lathe (I have left mine at factory).

Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

Wow..very cool... We have a lot of small power fluctuations here and have surge protectors on most things..That sounds like a much better way to go! Thanks..

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Funny that you mention that, Ralph... I didn't realize that since I don't use the Nova bar... I didn't like the "no-knob" design and use the rod from my Jet 1442, so I never realized that the one for the lathe didn't fit... must be a smaller diameter..

BTW: I use the vac adapter a lot, but with plastic hose to the vac pump, not a shop vac as it was apparently designed for.. YMWV

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Small power fluctuations are ignored by every surge protector AND are made completely irrelevant by protection inside every appliance. Get specs for each protector. Not the color glossy sales brochure. What are numbers for each type of surge? Notice the let-through voltage: 330 volts. Minor voltage fluctuations never get to 330 volts.

Notice a severe shortage of facts in many protector specifications. It does not do the many things they got you to believe in a sales brochure. Brochures make many half truth claims.

Protectors are for making even direct lightning strikes irrelevant. Any protector that fails even during a direct lightning strike was not effective. Protectors for direct lightning are also for lesser transients. So that transients do not overwhelm protection found inside every appliance. That is what the one 'whole house' protectors does. But only more responsible manufacturers sell 'whole house' protectors.

As true for every protector, it will only be as effective as the quality of and distance to its earthing electrode. Just another reason why that Cutler-Hammer product sold in Lowes for less than $50 is so effective. An effective protector means protection for all 120 and 240 volt appliances.

Reply to
westom

The vacuum adapter can be quickly removed by loosening one setscrew. I keep the allen wrench for it stuck to a magnet on the motor housing

Reply to
Gerald Ross

I epoxied an air hose quick-connect into the bearing on mine, and the knockout bar won't go through that for certain. :>)

Reply to
Gerald Ross

The best information on surges and surge protection I have seen is at:

- "How to protect your house and its contents from lightning: IEEE guide for surge protection of equipment connected to AC power and communication circuits" published by the IEEE in 2005 (the IEEE is the major organization of electrical and electronic engineers in the US). And also:

- "NIST recommended practice guide: Surges Happen!: how to protect the appliances in your home" published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology in 2001

The IEEE guide is aimed at those with some technical background. The NIST guide is aimed at the unwashed masses.

Service panel suppressors are a good idea. But from the NIST guide: "Q - Will a surge protector installed at the service entrance be sufficient for the whole house? A - There are two answers to than question: Yes for one-link appliances [electronic equipment], No for two-link appliances [equipment connected to power AND phone or cable or....]. Since most homes today have some kind of two-link appliances, the prudent answer to the question would be NO - but that does not mean that a surge protector installed at the service entrance is useless."

The NIST guide suggests most equipment damage is from high voltage between power and phone/cable wires. That is primarily computers (with phone connection) and TV/related equipment (with cable connection).

Service panel suppressors do not prevent high voltages from developing between power and signal wires. To limit the voltage you need a *short* wire connecting the cable/phone entrance protectors to the "ground" at the power service. A ground wire that is too long is illustrated in the IEEE guide starting pdf page 40.

For equipment with just power connections, like a lathe, a service panel suppressor should provide good protection.

Most "responsible manufacturers" that make service panel suppressors also make plug-in suppressors.

w believes that surge protection must directly use earthing. Thus in his view plug-in suppressors (which are not well earthed) can not possibly work. The IEEE guide explains plug-in suppressors work by clamping (limiting) the voltage on all wires (signal and power) to the common ground at the suppressor. Plug-in suppressors do not work primarily by earthing (or stopping or absorbing). The guide explains earthing occurs elsewhere. (Read the guide starting pdf page 40).

Note that if you are using a plug-in suppressor, all interconnected equipment needs to be connected to the same suppressor. External connections, like phone, also need to go through the suppressor. Connecting all wiring through the suppressor prevents damaging voltages between power and signal wires.

w is a well know internet nut that searches google-groups for "surge" to post his beliefs. Some of what he says is very good. Some is nonsense.

Both the IEEE and NIST guides say plug-in suppressors are effective.

Reply to
bud--

Good point.. I've never used a knockout bar when the vac adapter is on, not only because of the hose, but what would I knock out?? I guess some folks leave the adapter on all the time?

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

I'm a bit worried about magnets near the computer, so all my stuff like that is on magnets on the stand or bed rails.. My adapter hangs on my DC hose and the wrench & set screw are on a magnet..

Have you heard anything about Nova developing a remote switch like you made? The more "sit down hollowing" I do, the more I'd like to not have to reach over a spinning chunk of wood to turn the lathe off...

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Despite having made one for myself (and it working well), I've contacted Teknatool several times in the past about the possibility of them producing their own. When I last asked them about it (early 2007) there was one mentioned on the website, but I've had a quick look and couldn't find it. At the time they told me that it was a work in progress and almost ready. When I didn't hear anything further I gave up asking. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was going to be wireless - which would be nice, but probably expensive. If you have some basic soldering skills the DIY version is relatively easy to make but it involves opening up the control box and unplugging/plugging cables. When I was building mine I got connections the wrong way round and it didn't do any damage (maybe I was lucky).

I've mailed them a couple of times about a possible upgrade from my DVR3000 to the DVRXP control software/board (to give me access to the new functions). I haven't had any response yet.

Duncan

Reply to
Duncan Hoyle

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