Lathe purchase question?

[Chris Lee]

Hey everybody,

I am going back and forth trying to decide on a new lathe. I am wavering between a Stubby S750 and a Robust American Beauty. They're similar prices at about 6k but I could easily spend an extra 2k on Robust accessories though.

I have concerns over the stubby only having a 2 hp motor but I imagine it will be fine as many seem happy. I like the small footprint of the stubby as I dont have much space and I dont really see myself ever wanting to do much spindle work.

I have turned on the Robust up at Bill Grumbines and it was a great lathe to turn on, I'm just not sure if I would rather have it over the stubby.

Any thought from the gallery? With the costs involved I dont want to regret my decision.

Thanks,

Chris

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris,

I have turned on a fully loaded Robust American Beauty. It is a fine lathe!

It really would have to be determined by you the user. While you might think you will never do any spindle turning, neither did I. That was before I turned the spindles for the ship's wheel on a fellow Creeker's sail boat....and chair legs extenders........

I really doubt if the 2 hp motor on the Stubby will ever leave you wishing you had more power.

Tough decision! Good luck with it.

[Chris Haas]

i too thought i really wouldnt do much spindle work. thats why i got the vega 2600 bowl lathe.

now i'm looking for a midi lathe because the vega is very limited for spindle work.

i havnt seen either of these lathes in person, but i think i would go for the stubby. it just seems like such a cool compact lathe.

this probably didnt help, but i wish i were in your shoes making this decision.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Chris - good luck with your decision!

Have you tried to find anyone in your area that owns a Stubby? Here is the S750 brochure and the info for joining the Stubby Owners Group: http://stubbylatheusa.com/S750_Brochure.90.pdf

I figure you would have good luck finding an owner fairly close by through the owners group.

Looking forward to seeing which lathe you choose! Good luck!

[Walt Bennett]

I've owned a 750 for over five years, turned several bowls that started out at over 80 lbs and never had a problem with it having 2hp instead of three. I've bogged it down a few times with 25" diameter bubbinga blanks and one very dry 24" oak burl, but very seldom with anything else. While the Robust is a very well made and good lathe, I'd say there are two major differences to think about:

The Robust is steel vs. the Stubby's cast iron. Cast iron will dampen vibrations much better than steel and won't 'ring'. Although a 750 weighs over seven hundred pounds, it can be taken apart into manageable sized pieces to move or ship.

There's absolutely no other lathe as flexible as a Stubby. I selected mine because of it's small footprint, yet I've turned quite large pieces on it. Having both the main bed on a turret that rotates and slides, as well as an auxiliary short that can be mounted almost anywhere means I very seldom need the kind of bent tools required by conventional lathes. A standard one has a 30" swing. I've even added 2" riser blocks under my headstock so I can turn larger oval pieces with a VOD (check my profile page for link to my site). You can see what some other owners have done on the StubbyUSA website.

And then there's the very active user's group, with members from all over the world including Omega, the manufacturer.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Well, you could get both of them. Use them for awhile and when you decide which one you are are willing to let go at a significant loss, PM me.

[Wally Dickerman]

Yes, a new lathe purchase can be an exciting process. The final choice is an individual thing depending on your needs. A couple of years ago I bought my ninth lathe, starting in 1936. My choice was a Oneway 2416. 2 HP. Also about 7K after all of the extras. I chose the short bed because my present shop is a very small one. It has a tailstock swinger, which adds about 4 inches to the bed capacity. It has an outboard bed. I do all of my hollowing there. I'm a lefty and turn in reverse when using the OB.

I'm very happy with my choice. At my age, 89, it will no doubt be my last lathe.

Good luck with whatever lathe you choose.

Wally