Hello Everyone,
After my quest for information from the newsgroup about the DVR, and my subsequent visit to Stoneleigh, I said I would give a resume on the lathes I considered buying. Well here it is! I don't expect you all to agree with my opinions, but that is all they are.
Firstly I was looking for a lathe to replace my old Poolewood ( it's actually a Delta or Axminster 900 in disguise). I set myself a budget of £2000 ( 3500US$), sent off for literature, read reviews and surfed the net as well as asking you to help.
On paper the DVR was my first choice with the Poolewood DVSL and Wivamac 801 following and a Vicmarc 175 seeming over the top pricewise.
On visiting the show at Stoneleigh I went first to look at the DVR. Everything had read well, but my first impression was that it was basically a stepper motor on a cast iron bed that seemed very narrow. The controls were on a soft touch screen and it all looked a little strange. Not as big as I had imagined either. I then made tracks to a demonstrator who was using one. He didn't have a lot to say in it's favour and reckoned it took a long time to change speed. After that it didn't seem to shine. I moved on to the Poolewood stand and had a look at the DVSL. This one had the appearance of being built down to a price with the stand being lightly fabicated in square section steel tube. The sales rep tried hard to sell it to me but I wasn't convinced so I moved on to the Wivamac stand that was run by a guy who only lives about 10 miles from me. This was a very good lathe, extremely versatile and unrivalled for accessories. Built in Belgium and used by Jimmy Clewes who is probably the UKs top turner. I spoke with him on the Hamlet stand and he was full of praise for it. However it was still fabricated from steel so I moved across to Phil Irons who was selling the Vicmarc. This is where everthing changed for me. The quality of this Australian machine is just outstanding. It was priced just over my budget with the Wivamac being just under. I just left a deposit with Phil there and then and took delivery yesterday. Shavings were flying last night andI just can't seem to get this satisfied grin off my face. Guess that's it. YOU CAN'T BEAT A VICMARC!
Charlie
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---------------------------------------- Mr Charlie Jones Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Oxford University,South Parks Road Oxford, OX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
tel. (44) 1865 275441 or (44) 1865 275168 fax (44) 1865 275410
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