Hi everyone,
I am looking for some advice, not on which lathe to purchase but more on type of lathe.
I have a small harbor freight 12x somthing 1/2 hp lathe that has been decent at turning muskie lures for along time, but I have recently started turning bowls. This machine has done great for smallish 5 inch bowls but recently I have been trying some 8-9 inch ones and am having problems both with vibration on blanks before I get them 100% true and HP (not getting catches but stalling the motor very easily with even moderately aggressive cuts).
I see three options
1. Get something like a Jet 1221 VS right now. This would not improve swing size but would make turning bowls up to 8-9 inches much easier due to doubling HP, adding weight and, and with VS controls. I would likely want to add a larger lathe eventually but could keep this one for smaller stuff.
2. Get a larger lathe without the EVS right now like the Nova. This would give me size and HP to last some time but not have EVS which I really really want.
3. Wait about a year, save up, and get a larger lathe with EVS, somthing like a Jet 1648, Nova DVR, or Laguna.
I suppose the 4th option is to keep watching craigs list, I have not seen anything in the last few months though that was not either junk, or barely below price of a new lathe.
What are your thoughts? Thank you for your help