http://www.novatoolsusa.com/product.sc?productId=133&categoryId=2
In October 2012 I purchased the Nova 16-24 lathe from Woodcraft for $899.99 on sale. This was an upgrade for me from a General International “Maxi-lathe VF" 14" X 17" wood lathe (variable speed). After purchasing my lathe I soon found out I really did not like changing the belt. It seemed easy at first but what a hassle.
Turn the cover knob to access the belt and pulleys.
Turn the “T” handle to loosed the cam; pull the “T” handle forward to give enough slack to skip the belt over the pulleys.
Turn the spindle to make sure the belt was seated in the pulley groove.
Retighten the “T” handle to put enough pressure on the belt to prevent the belt from slipping.
Turn on the lathe too make sure you have everything running and check for noise, if not turn off the lathe and realign everything.
Close the cover and retighten the knob for the cover. Go back to turning or sanding.
Did I mention the bolt that holds the cam plate come loose after several belt changes? Yes I tried thread lock to keep the bolt from coming loose. The supplied lock nut also does not grip any longer after several tightening.
The complete upgrade was completed in 30 minutes.
Unscrew the covers.
Unbolt the motor and cam plate.
Remove the motor pulley and mounting plate.
Attach the control box to the new motor (which is smaller and more hp than the original).
Attach the mounting plate to the motor.
Install the pulley.
Mount the motor to the lathe using existing bolts and cam mechanism.
Install the belt to 1440 rpms and lock the cam. This is the last time you will need to make a belt change. Now my speed change is three buttons for preset speed change and one button for small incremental changes.
Plug in the two leads from the controller and plug in the motor.
Turn on the lathe wait for the instruction on the controller display to clear.
You are ready to turn.
Note: it is important to read all of the instructions before you start especially speed control, changing, and programming. I down loaded the manual from the Nova web site. Since my unit was a Bata unit I save the set up instruction and printed that part of the manual that interested me for future reference.
What about price?
$899.99 + $799.00 = $1698.99 total, you can add $100.00 more for the current upgrade cost, but when all is considered I was able to get this upgrade for about the price of the DVR on sale. Don’t forget the legs do not come with the DVR. My goal was to get something similar to the DVR over time because I could not afford the initial outlay of money.
Performance
My lathe has never run quieter.
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