In the market for a new lathe.

I don't want to start a religious war (or a flame war for that matter).

Would love a oneway, can't afford it. Heard both good and bad about the Jet and Powermatic. I know nothing about novas.

Is there a site (or 40) out there that has relatively unbiased and accurate reviews of all, or at least a good selection, of the above lathes? Preferably all by the same person or small group of people, comparing the good and bad of each

Thanks! Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Bowler
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You can find reviews on some lathes by doing a google search on the brand name. I don't know if any magazine has done a comparison of several lathes, but if so I'm sure somebody here will know. My club is looking at getting a new lathe, so I have just put together an Excel spreadsheet comparing basic features of many lathes out there. It isn't all inclusive and does not contain any lathes with swings less than

14". If you like I can e-mail you a copy either in Excel format or as a PDF. I will send a copy to anyone else interested, or to anyone that would like to put it onto a web site. The problem with having it on a web site of course is that the information will become outdated, and someone would have to maintain it, delete it or put in sufficient disclaimers. Martin
Reply to
Martin Rost

I'll repeat my usual refrain. You can often find good deals on big old cast iron lathes - such good deals that you can outfit them with nice VS motors (VFD or DC) and still come out _way_ ahead of a new lathe. Check estate sales, check with real estate agents (they can't stand to have a lathe in the house when it sells, for some reason), check the classified ads and/or the outfit that is nothing but classified ads that covers your region (want ad digest, uncle henry's, etc...).

Reply to
Ecnerwal

Bruce, a lot depends on what you have presently and what you can afford to spend.

I bought a Jet 1442, with a Reeves drive, a few months ago and am extremely happy with it. Southern Tool had the best price of $765 plus free shipping. Their website is:

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Deb

Reply to
Delbert Freeman

I think these guys are right... a Google search of the net, and then a search of this newsgroup is in order.

Lots of great opinions here by actual users, not someone that uses it for a day or two and then moves to the next lathe.

All the lathes out there have good and bad points, and with so much being made in Taiwan and China, you never know about the quality anymore. Some stuff is good, some is not. Some production runs are good, some are not.

The are ONLY two reasons I bought a Nova: because I could NOT find some old iron over a period of about 2 years (which I really, really wanted) and because Woodcraft closed out the Nova that came with the American (Leeson) motor and controller at an excellent price about 5 years ago.

If you have time, I would vote with Ecnerwal. Find some old iron. They are completely rebuildable, and easy to make into what you want. There is plenty of info here to get you on the way to getting motors and controllers if you want variable speed, etc.

Many here have taken these machines and made them into the equivqlent of the high dollar machines. With the right kind of question, I believe you would find as much help as you need right here for your project.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

But...

So many of the older machines just don't have the inboard swing of the newer and better machines. Yes, I know that many of them will let you turn on the outboard side but dealing with the tool rest issue when you do that -- there are few satisfactory solutions. Also, being able to start a large bowl blank or hollow form between centers gives you both artistic advantages and safety advantages.

I think that for most of us, the new, high-end lathes are superior to the old machines in every way. If one does not have the budget to go that way and one has the mechanical skills necessary, then an older machine may make better sense than buying an inferior new machine.

Just some thoughts on the subject...

Bill

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote:

Reply to
Bill Rubenstein

When I was shopping for a new lathe a few months ago, my wife blew my decision ( the 14" delta) out of the water by going to a few sites that sold each of the lathes that I was considering, and read the reviews of folks that had purchased them... she found that the Jet had the best reviews and delta the worst... Since she was ENCOURGING me to get the one that was more expensive, it was a no-brainer to buy the jet..*g*

It would have been nice if a Oneway or Powermatic was in the budget, but I wasn't going to buy anything that I couldn't pay cash for..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Me too... Me too... lol You did better than I did, though..... I got a local dealer to match the $850 price on most web sites at the time... I really like the lathe and feel that it was worth the extra $150 - $200 higher price than the delta..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Please send it along, PDF prefered (email is OK "as is").

To answer some of the other q's (thanks for the input, it's useful).

Currently I have the delta 46-700. I HATE the thing. The reeves drive is constantly f***ing up - it seems like I spend more time tightening and realigning things than I do turning. I can use it but it drives me nuts.

Mostly I'll be turning bowls and platters. Some boxes, occasional spindle work, but not lots of it, and what I do do will be small (pens, xmas ornaments, etc)

I wouldn't blanch at spending up to about $2K. $3.5K is out of the realm of possibility.

I see people talking about the Jet 14 (not me, it's got that damned reeves drive), anyone using the jet 16?

Thanks!

Reply to
Bruce Bowler

Just buy a new Sears Crafstman. they are actually Palmgren engineered and built.

Reply to
AAvK

I had a Delta 14 40 and was not at all happy with it. Sold it after about a year for half what I paid and got a Jet 14 42. Very pleased with the Jet and think it's the best value in it's price range. If the 14 42 fits your size requirements I feel sure your won't be sorry if you buy one. The following review might answer some answers for you.

Good Luck and hope this helps,

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Reply to
Q47M

Well, YMMV on that. I got 20 x 60 inboard for $250, and 17 x 60 inboard for $400. Due to location, the $400 lathe cost me another $250 to move, since I'm a wimp who likes to let riggers deal with getting 1000 lb lathe beds out of basements, rather than doing it myself. I did save the riggers time (and thus myself money) by stripping all the small parts, first. I got the $250 lathe moved for about $30 worth of pizza, since it was conveniently located at ground level to start with, and there was plenty of room for 6 guys to pick it up. The smaller lathe is actually heavier, since it is a full-on metalworking, threadcutting lathe, while the bigger one is more of a wood lathe with possible metalspinning accessories. And these came with _all_ the accessories, since people were interested in getting the house cleaned out. A quick look at the local classified paper reveals 6 lathes, some metalworking (they make a nice heavy wood lathe, and you can stand a level of wear that precision metalworkers cannot).

This is one of those cases where a larger one can actually cost less, because the present owner is damned if they can see how they'll get it out of the house if you don't take it. If you hand some money to riggers, you can still come out way ahead. But it does depend on finding the things in the first place, and thus can be time consuming (or they all show up just after you give up and buy one).

Reply to
Ecnerwal

Bruce Bowler wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@bigelow.org:

I have several friends using the Powermatic 3520a (& later?), who rave about them. That's sorta in your price range...

I use the Jet 1442, because I'm a rookie firewood modifier.

Patriarch

Reply to
Patriarch

Thanks.

Owen Davies

Reply to
Owen Davies

Ask and you shall receive:

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They are the only ones I know that have it in stock. I swear to you, someone in this group, somewhere, knows where EVERYTHING is on this planet.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Bruce, Have you ever considered a General? I've owned 2, the first having the reeves drive, gave me nothing but grief. Last year I bought the General 26020 and absolutely love it. It's made in Canada (not China or Taiwan), it's just a solid hunk of iron, it doesn't vibrate, have a lot of bells and whistles, it's just green and dependable. I turn a lot of spindles (architectural repo work), bowls (up to 20"), ornaments and bottle stoppers on that sweetheart.

When I was looking for my first upgrade from the Craftsman monotube, I did a search like many have suggested here, and the only lathe no one registered any complaints about was the General 26020. I got it at a show (best deals!) for $2999.00 including tax and delivery.

Check it out.

Ruth

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Reply to
rthniles

I have played with one of the above and was -very- impressed. Impressed enough it's on my short list, which is the General and Woodtek's clone of the General (goes a little slower). I eliminated several for (IMO) good reasons, like the Grizzly's with their "odd-ball"

1x12 tpi. I'd love the WoodTek #1, but that might be more then I want to spend
Reply to
Ralph E Lindberg

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