Vicmarc VL200

I will assume the "not 100% Vicmarc lathe" you refer to is the one sold by Craft Supplies USA. I have the shortbed version of that lathe and have been entirely satisfied with it. I made my purchase based on the experience of another friend who bought that same lathe, but in the longbed model. The stand is made up by/for Craft Supplies and is fine. My very first test on my lathe was a badly unbalanced 14-inch bowl blank that had not had its corners rounded off. There was no bouncing around on my cement basement floor.

I did experience some harmonic vibration sounds from the stand that would come and go depending on the turning speed. Some carefully wedged in 2 x 4's across the stand's frame seemed to take care of that. I certainly would vote for the variable speed model on this lathe. My lathe came with a 1 1/2 hp Leeson DC motor and Minarik controller, a very nice combo. You'll need a 220v circuit.

Shipp> I've been looking at the VL200 and I'm curious about the 2 retailers

Charles, Yes that is the company I was refering to and you gave me the answer I sort of expected, but wasn't sure if the difference really mattered. I figured it best to ask the people who would know. The shipping for me , Western NY, from Texas was quoted at around $400. I haven't heard back yet from Craft USA as to what the shipping would be, but I'm expecting about the same. So getting the variable for the same money as the 6 speed is really a no brainer now. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. Sharon

Hi Sharon:

Before you jump, if you haven't already, a couple of thoughts:

You may want to get in touch with Craft Supplies to see if they would sell you the same stand package with a variable speed AC motor. The price differential that they show on the web site for the motors alone in the 1 1/2 HP size is $400. I believe that you would see a consensus in the group that, size for size, you will get better performance from the AC version.

If CS is not willing to make the motor swap, you might consider buying the bare lathe, building your own stand, and supplying your own motor. Depending on where you buy the motor, you can probably come out ahead or at least break even doing it this way. I guess that it just comes down to time and money--like everyting else.

Bill