New Turner Lathe Purchase

[Steve Eure]

I am wanting to get into light turning, (bowls, spindles, candlesticks, etc.), nothing large for the moment. I've done some research on the web and have decided on the Rikon midi that is on sale this month. It seems to have good reviews overall, compared to other lathes in that price range. With the stand it will run around $630 approximately.
Anyone have any dealings with this machine and is it a decent lathe for the money? I also don't have the room for anything larger.
What do you experts say?
Thanks, Steve

[Gary Baler]

I would spend another $220 and get the Nova 16-24 that is on sale at Woodcraft. It will be the cheapest $200 you ever spent and allow you to grow into other things. It is not a large footprint. Just my opinion. And, if you get ready to sell it, it is an easy sell.

[Lamar Wright]

Steve.... I agree with Gary's reply. At some point you will probably won't to turn something larger and the Nova would handle it.

[John Sanford]

Or, if you can't spring for the extra $200 currently, then get the Rikon but skip the stand. Every commercial stand I've seen for both Mini and Midi lathes is horrible for storage. Not only do they have no storage capacity of their own, but they virtually eliminate the possibility of using the space under the lathe for storage. You can build yourself a stand, or just take a pair of cast-off kitchen cabinets. Use the $130 you'll save for something of greater value.

[Randy Heinemann]

The Nova 16-24 is a great deal. Check, though, but I don't believe that model has speed control. Rather, I think, turning speed is controlled by moving the belt between pulleys. I might be wrong, but the descriptions don't indicate speed control. Nothing wrong with that, but it would be good to know before buying. I own a Nova Comet II and I find the speed control feature very useful. It allows you to start slow and ramp up the speed after truing up a blank without moving the belt. On all the other stuff, though, the others are right. Being able to turn up to 16" inboard will keep you busy for a long time (The Comet II will only do 12" diameter max.). Also, being able to swivel the head stock and turn even larger bowls outboard is great as you grow into turning. I am relatively new to turning and am still below the 12" diameter bowl but expect that someday I'll want to try something bigger. I love my Nova lathe so far. Rockler has the Comet II on sale with a G3 chuck for $599 right now. The chuck is a about an $80 accessory and I use mine all the time for bowls.

[Gary Baler]

Have to disagree with Randy re: the speed control. The low speed on the Nova is about 200 which is good for turning most large out of round pieces. The variable speed costs about $1,000 more for the same lathe. I turn bowls for a living ... hundreds ... I still use my Nova 16-24 without speed control daily.

The head turns to 180 degrees. That is good for sanding. If you get to the point that you need to turn larger than 16" bowls it will be time to upgrade to a very large lathe. I would bet that less 1 bowl in a thousand is over 16".

If money is no object, start big ... Am. Beauty ... Robust... Oneway ... Vic Marc.