NOVA DVR 3000 Lathe

You will get a lot of responses on this one. I've had a DVR since they came out. No problems whatsoever. It was a marked improvement over the original Nova3000.

As an attachment, I'd get the outboard tool rest attachment, it really lets you get big, not deep, but big.

-Bruce

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

Where are you located? If you have an AAW chapter nearby someone is likely to have a DVR. If you have a Woodcraft nearby, go play with theirs.

I've had mine for about 6 months now, other than a few little problems out of the box, (Which Woodcraft and Teknatool handled exceptionally), it has been wonderful. The outrigger is a pain, but it is worthwhile if you want to turn really big (18+ inch) stuff. I've done 16" Madrona and Maple bowls so far, and they are plenty big for me. Switch it to 220 Volt operation if you are able, the increase in low rpm torque is nice.

Mike

The DVR has been my primary lathe for over two years now. It has served me very well. I sometimes think of getting some "Super-lathe" but it's hard for me to pull the trigger on such a purchase as in some way or another, all the Superlathes lack something I really appreciate about my DVR and don't want to give up.

I make hollow forms a lot, the pivoting headstock makes free hand hollowing a pleasure, and the ability to extend the bed with a couple of extra sections makes fitting torsionally restrained hollowing rigs to make very deep forms quite convenient. The swivel head also makes doing larger bowls both possible and practical.

The integral motor/headstock, is quite powerful. I find all the power I need to core large bowls and take agressive roughing cuts. The DVR is one of the smoothest drives you will find regardless of price. I really appreciate that smoothness for finish cuts, particularly on smaller boxes and spindle work.

The electronic motor control not only adjusts power to your needs, but can recognize a catch and stop the motor briefly, restarting in a couple of seconds if the load on the workpiece has become reasonable. This is a great feature for novices, and is a good safety feature even for experienced turners who may have something go wrong (say jamming a coring tool, or having a large hollowing tip drop into a void).

Its not a perfect lathe, and can't handle the largest, deepest bowl and hollow forms, nor is it ideal to deal with hugely heavy out of balance work (be it an out of balance raw blank that needs to be roughed out, or deliberate off-center turning), though the latter limitations can be overcome to a very great extent by accessories like the Kelton Balancer. Every lathe in this price range will have some limitations and compromises, but I think Teknatool has made very wise decisions in what to emphasize, and what to skimp on (for example, the color is a rather drab gray, and the castings are far from polished).

There is much more to say, and indeed I wrote 30 or so pages of critical analysis on the DVR when it first came out (someday I'll get the latest electronics boards for my DVR and write an updated, extended use, review for More Woodturning). But to close these commments out for now, the only lathe I'm really interested in replacing my present DVR with, would be an upsized "DVR on Steroids." If only we could all convince Teknatool that such a lathe should become available.

Lyn

Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions

Doug Dubowski wrote:

I think that when making a lathe-buying decision, there is no substitute for a test drive. I also think that turners are a friendly lot and if you go about it right the chances of getting a test drive are pretty good almost anywhere. For those lathes where there are internet users' groups, the chances of getting a test drive are even better.

Clearly there is the potential of a legal problem if someone allows someone else to use his machine and the someone else gets hurt. Most of us, though, refuse to run scared from the too-many-lawyers syndrome in this country. I'll invite and watch. If I feel comfortable with their skills, no problem. If not I'll teach, suggest, ...

Now, for a maybe more controversial idea...

Maybe it is worth getting a test drive on a lathe which might be out of your price range. That will give you a point of comparison and you will have a much better idea of what you are giving up by buying the less expensive and less capable machine.

A test drive is really worth doing, I think.

Bill

Bill Rubenstein wrote: snip

price range.

of what you are

To the extent this is pratically feasible, I think this is an excellent proposal, not only with lathes but many woodturning items (not to mention nonwoodturning devices).

So often I read some folks dismiss a product that they have little or no experience with (the Tormek being one prominent example), and thus little pragmatic basis for comparison. It is one of the reasons I much prefer doing comparative reviews, rather then single product focus articles. Virtually every product design is a compromise, sometimes due to price, sometimes size, sometimes complexity, sometimes realiability, etc. etc. I believe one can best determine which constellation of compromises is desirable for oneself if one is aware of what can be accomplished without the particular compromise.

Chris Stott made an obervation that I have always found instructive. Chris has long been associated closely with Poolewood. He has been able to use and own the excellent lathes at the top of their line. Despite greatly appreciating the outstanding capabilities of his high high end lathe, he later obtained one of their smaller lathes as well. His reasoning: Chris mostly makes small boxes. This involves lots of small positionings of the tailstock and banjo. He simply found the massiveness of the banjo and tailstock of his big lathe to be unnecessarily fatiguing and more awkward to obtain fine changes in positioning, than a quality lathe with smaller lighter components. To me this illustrates that compromise is inherent in all products (granted more expensive products often can have fewer compromises--except for price, of course) and which set of compromises is best for a individual can be better discerned by both experience with what is possible and understanding of one's own needs.

Lyn

Good stuff, Reyd!

Thanks for letting us know.

djb

Good posts Bill & Lyn, no argument here. I figure that there is no universally best lathe. Each of us needs to decide the best mix of many variables: cost, size/wt. pride of ownership, purpose, seller's ethics, tooling, adaptability, parts, life expectancy in a changing industry, space & time available, on and on. Stretching to acquire any machine that fits only a few variables and is all wrong for others is risky. The best lathe is the one that's best for you _now. The past is over and the future isn't predictable. Once, street car stock was a sure investment. :) I can probably afford a black one or a white one, but all those variables considered, the gray lathe is best for me today,.. and I'm turning today. IOW, a big Bridgeport is great, but my little Clausing is a much better miller ..for me. Arch

Fortiter,

what was your old lathe?

I used a grizzly for more than a year but started seriously looked for 6 months before settling on the DVR.

I could have gotten a bigger lathe but I needed to keep some portability.

The DVR fit several needs such as size, power, speed controls and price range. When I describe the speed control to anyone not familiar with the DVR their eyes open wide. Contolling the rpm in 5 rpm increments from 100 rpm to the top speed of the lathe and getting a digital read out of the speed is something that not many have on their lathes.

I've turned bowls as large as 15 >I am in the market for new lathe and I am seriously considering a Nova DVR

I currently use a Shopsmith as my lathe. I use a speed reducer to get the speed down to a manageable level when turning large bowls (12- 16") but I continuously have a problem with the piece "whirling" with the reducer, making it impossible to get the piece round. In spite of its shortcomings, speed adjustment with the Shopsmith is actually quite good and variable. The speed reducer has one speed range and the lathe without it another so it is quite convenient. You lose quite a bit of length with the speed reducer installed, and the tail stock is too flimsy for large pieces for support. For smaller pieces it is actually quite good if one equips it with the cast iron banjo and tool rest available. The major drawback with this piece is that you lose a considerable amount of swing ( at least 4 inches on the diameter). I have had the speed reducer checked out, but to no avail. I still run into this whirling effect and I would like to move up to a dedicated lathe that has sufficient features that it will last me for a very long period of time. The DVR's small footprint, extendable bed length (I predominantly do bowls), and swivalling headstock really appeal to me. The only comparable lathe I can think of in the same price range are the new Jet

1642 lathes, but they are not available here in Canada as best as I can tell and maybe too large. The Powermatic 3520a is certainly another option, but it's too large and too expensive.

Doug, I think that almost any decent lathe designed specifically for turning wood will be a big improvement over your present setup. The DVR certainly fits the bill, but the N3K does too. I have used a N3K for some time and with all its warts, I have not considered a DVR to be a warranted upgrade, but I confess to have never turned on one.

Before making comparisons I ought to test a DVR, but from my armchair the N3K's smoothness, power, speed control, 'human' torque adjustment, headstock size and tailstock stability and overall usefulness seem quite adequate.

I know that some very savvy turners have found a N3K to DVR upgrade very worthwhile overall and their decisions are reliable. I would like to hear from some equally competent turners who haven't thought it worthwhile to switch. Maybe it's economics, stupid, but what else?

Arch

Fortiter,

Arch,

IMHO I think it boils down to - Are you sattisfied with what does the job at that level, or do you need the latest whizbang. I find nothing compelling in the DVR, nothing lacking in the 3K. I consider the DVR hype. I know it's risky to say that but I have to be honest.

Larry

Hype? In woodworking & turning? Noooooooo!

Barry

what! ever

buying a lathe is like buying a car some seem to choose because of the color

wait until they start putt>Arch,

You might be interested in a kludge I came up with while I was waiting for parts after my vintage 1954 ShopSmith Mark V speed control died, horribly, but I needed to do some turning on it before parts would come.

I had a 1/2 horse variable speed DC motor kicking around from another lathe project, so I kludged up a block & strap to hold that in the right position to line up with the jointer output shaft. I put a Shopsmith accessory connector on the motor shaft, and used the motor and a Shopsmith coupling to drive the jointer shaft (which drives the main shaft at reduced speed). The belt from the jointer shaft to the motor of the ShopSmith was disconnected due to the broken Shopsmith mechanical (Reeves) speed control.

Other than having to loosen the motor mount as well as the headstock when moving the headstock, this was a wonderful solution; full DC

0-whatever speed control, and a lot quieter without the squealing of the Reeves drive in the headstock. It ate up some length on the bed, but that was irrelevant for what I was turning. It's made me give serious consideration to re-engineering the guts of the machine to replace the motor and mechanical speed control with a dc (or 3-phase) motor and appropriate speed controller - I've always been frustrated wth the high speed of the "slow" speed, and the speed reducer looked like a hokey and overpriced solution to me (somewhat supported by both of your comments about it).

That's fantastic. What kind of work are you doing?

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Welcome back Reyd:

Glad you're doing well. My hobby has also started to produce fruits. A local Specialty shop in an upscale mall has taken some 30 pieces and they are selling at prices I would not have thought possible for an "unknown" artist.

Good luck with your new job and shop.

The Other Bruce