Call to all Robust lathe owners.

[Brian Weick]

You said "LARGE" turnings, I am not familiar with the Robust lathe, I only know about these lathes through Chris ~ . I don't mean to ruffle any "feathers" on here but have you considered an Oliver? A 2257 or a 20B, I only say that because you said you want to turn "large" blanks on the outboard side. You can turn up to 22" inboard and any size on the outboard size "within reason". they also come with a carriage on the bed ways which is a real cool feature on these lathes. I don't know what lengths you are shooting for as far as spindle length - the 2257 can go as far as 52" (roughly) and the 20B -72" (depends on the original order). the swing inboard usually is.
the draw back on these lathe is they are very heavy 1 ton and up, but they will not want to dance with you when you put an out of balance piece of stock on her.
If you opt for a lathe with less weight and don't care about a carriage- based on what I have read on here about certain lathes- If it were me I would go for the "Robust" lathe. It seams that there are a lot of cool features on this lathe and along with it's ridged construction make it a very "high end" professional piece of wood working equipment.
BW

[Paul Engle]

Matt , check out Serious Tool Works , this would be an American made also. http://www.seriouslathe.com/. they are in Medford OR. check em out. I do not have any financial or other intrest in this company, ( cept I like their gouges ) .

[Frank Kobilsek]

Matt,

The line in your orginal thread that caught my eye was 'starting a woodturning business' and in a later responce 'full-time income'. I've written the business plan, I've studied production work opportunites in the area. I've calculated the potential output of work I could produce if I worked at it 10 hours per day six days a week. All that said the Catholic Republican Engineer MBA in me just can't take the leap. Good luck, I wish I could muster the guts to take the step you are taking, but it would be a dumb move for me (at least on paper).

There is an old joke about farmers that might work here: 'What's a woodturner do if he wins the lottery? Keep turning until he runs out of money."

I don't mean to discourage just curious how you have come to the decision. One local businessman that I do small production runs for kept encouraging me to quit the real job and turn full-time. I asked him how he came to his business. He kept getting laid off and was doing it part time. On one occasion when called back to his real job he didn't have time to go because the part itme gig had him so busy. Then he realized he was in business. So I explained the salaries and benefits paid in the corporate world and he quickly changed his encouragement to strike out on my own to 'you can do this when you retire'.

Again I wish you well.

Frank

[Jim Becker]

Matt, Laguna Tools Make A Lathe Called The Pinnacle.it Dose Just About Every Thing. The Phone # 800.234.1976. I Talked To A Guy Named Richard Otto. He Sent Me Broshurs And A Video On All The Tools They Make. Just Another Suggetion. Happy Turning.

Unfortunately, the Pinnacle is represented as something beyond what I'd find "comfortable" to turn on, IMHO. It's like a fine production spindle machine, but it's design, etc., is not what I'd really want for bowls and vessels. And at $9K...it's way over the top. I don't prefer the big OneWay either, but I'd take it in a heart-beat over the Laguna machine for a variety of reasons; especially because in the high-end lathe space, a great deal of credit has to be given to companies who are dedicated to "the sport". Laguna doesn't have credibility in that respect.
-----

OP, the Robust is getting a lot of good press and reviews from owners. It's a fine machine. David Ellsworth recently put one in his studio and Bill Grumbine also has his now. And given you can order it in the custom configuration you need for the work you intend to do, it's worthy of your consideration. (If you were not needing the large spindle capacity, I'd also suggest you look at Stubby)

[Bob Hallowell]

Matt , check out Serious Tool Works , this would be an American made also. http://www.seriouslathe.com/. they are in Medford OR. check em out. I do not have any financial or other intrest in this company, ( cept I like their gouges ) .

Wow! Ithink I have a new dream lathe to lust over!!

Bob

[Reed Gray]

When I went to Portland this summer, I wanted to check out 2 lathes for if and when I upgrade from my PM. They were the Robust and the VB. Oneway wasn't even considered, because they don't have a sliding headstock. The VB looks like it could take more abuse than the Robust, but the difference is so close as to not really be a factor. The Robust is more of a combination lathe which will turn large bowls and large spindles. The VB, although it can turn spindles is more of a bowl lathe. The only other lathe I would consider is the Nichols lathe. John Nichols quit making lathes several years back because he lost too much business to Oneway. I saw one of his lathes. He would custom make them to whatever specs you wanted. Don't know if he would still make one or not, or if there are any used ones out there or not. Last time I talked to him, he had one in the shop that was returned because the turner retired and wanted to travel. He was told to sell it whenever he could. All this being said, I would take the Robust. I will probably never turn to the full capacity of that lathe. Bowls in the 24 inch range are more of a specialty market, and don't move that well for me. My PM is a little light weight for the turning I do, I abuse it severely. To date (after almost 8 years) I have gone through one set of headstock bearings, and one speed control switch, and one on/off button assembly. I never use the tailstock when turning bowls, so getting that off and on isn't a problem for me, just an inconvenience.
robo hippy

[robert hainstock]

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE WOODTEC No1? TSARTING AT $4771+ w three hp and in one variation up to $8639.49 weighing over 800lb it seems to be as the manufaceturer states, "THE WHOLE ENCHILLADA".

[Phil Powell]

Matt,
I've been turning on my Robust 25 for more then two years. I've never
regretted the purchase of my lathe. I mostly turn bowls in the 12 to 20
inch range and for that this lathe is a work horse. Never a burp! You
should also consider the Serious lathe it's also a great machine. No sliding
headstock but very solid and powerful. The headstock on my Robust is
parked about half way down the ways and I rarely move it from that
spot. In that position I'm allowed to work from the side or the end of the
lathe while turning. Oh, by the way being able to swing the tailstock out
of the way is an excellent option and I wouldn't be without it. Phil

[Bill Wyko]

VB-36 if you want to turn big. Try googling VB-36 lathe. you can turn a forest on that thing.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Wow! Ithink I have a new dream lathe to lust over!!

Bob

Bob, It is an impressive lathe, more so even then the earlier model. But, might I suggest waiting? You will note that it hasn't starting shipping yet.

The guys that are currently running Serious are not the guys that used to run the firm, which is neither bad nor good, just a fact.

The also run the business part time. That is they have another job to pay the bills, as they attempt to build Serious into a going concern.

Also (this last if a bit hazy), but as I recall from talking with them, this is lathe is actually made in a job-shop plant, overseas. To their specification, what this might mean for parts I have no idea. They should be using standard, easy to come by parts, but that doesn't mean they are.

If they make a go of it, and produce a quality product. Great for them, but...

That being said, I find their modular camlock tool system VERY impressive, as are all of their chisels (having had a chance to play with them)

[Brian Weick]

I have just started a woodturning business, and I am loving it. I have an awesome lathe, but it's old (see Turning Group Members and Their Lathes). It's great for bowl work, but it has issues with spindle work. Granted, I haven't done many tweaks and upgrades, but they would run a couple thousand dollars and up. So I was thinking that I would get a new one. So far Robust is winning the race. I personally don't find the Oneways as impressive as people make them out to be. (Sorry Oneway owners.) In fact, I know of one owner who tried everything he knew, including hiring a professional woodturner, to try and get a large unbalanced black to run well enough to turn. Maybe it was a lemon, but something in the headstock assembly wasn't able to handle it. With that knowledge I looked into what seems to be a better choice. I have corresponded with the president of Robust, and I am liking the features and engineering innovations. I was hoping I could get some personal stories and opinions of those who already own one. I am especially interested in pushing its weight bearing ability. Has anyone done HUGE outboard work on it? Thanks all.

Hutch

Matt,
what happened with the Oliver (turning members and thier lathes) did that fall through/
Brian

[Bill Fleming]

I too have been looking and evaluating different lathes and like the Robust as well but the others mentioned are still in serious consideration on my end. So a few questions to others who have provided great comments and insight to this thread:

Shannon - very impressive use of the Oneway - if you were to do it again today would you still go with Oneway?

Chris - I too like the American Beauty - you got all the bells - any you would defer just because you haven't used as much as maybe you thought? Did you get the tailstock bore option?

Jim - The Stubby looks like a great option as well - do you have the 750 or 1000 model? and have you had the problems with the banjo or have you implemented the fix? Is your Stubby bolted down or just sitting on the floor and can it be moved with add-on wheels or such similar to Oneway or Robust?

Jude - The VB does look like an amazing machine - do you think that unless you are turning very large or heavy items that it can also just sit on the floor or must it be bolted down? Any experience with the optional bed extensions?

All look like great options - like Robust and they are a short drive from me, like the Stubby size, like Oneway's history and that they simply build lots of quality products for turners and wouldn't it be fun to turn a giant bowl on a VB..... choices choices.....

Cheers - Bill

[Jim Becker]

Jim - The Stubby looks like a great option as well - do you have the 750 or 1000 model? and have you had the problems with the banjo or have you implemented the fix? Is your Stubby bolted down or just sitting on the floor and can it be moved with add-on wheels or such similar to Oneway or Robust?

I have the Stubby 750. The Stubby 1000 is special order only and very difficult to come by at this point. And from a practical standpoint, 30" swing (inboard) on the 750 is quite enough for anything I'd ever turn. The 750 also has more flexibility relative to spindle height. I've had no issues with my tool rest bases. Mine is not bolted down...it doesn't move no matter what I mount on it. I do have a Vega mobile base in the closet that I can use to move it, but I'd never have any kind of wheels on the ground. (I use a car jack to raise it off the floor if I need to assemble/disassemble the mobile base under the machine) Further, it's not a great idea to move a lathe around outside of very occasionally. Most folks don't realize it, but cast iron bends. When you move a machine, unless you have an absolutely flat and true floor, you may be "bending" the machine out of alignment. (the centerline of the spindle to the centerline of the tailstock) This is quite true with the Stubby.

[Jude Kingery]

Jude - The VB does look like an amazing machine - do you think that unless you are turning very large or heavy items that it can also just sit on the floor or must it be bolted down? Any experience with the optional bed extensions?

Hi Bill, sorry, just now caught your question. We bolted ours to the floor. It weighs about 400 lbs. without the tail stock, but we bolted it so I can do larger items and just to be on the safe side anyway. I don't have any information on bed extensions (we have a very small shop) but I did buy the shorter tail stock last year and it's nice. I mostly like bowls, platters, things like that so the bowl lathe with almost unlimited capacity was/is what I like(d) about it. VB fits what I like to do. It'll drive anything and the limited amount of spindle work easily. Best to you! Jude

[M Toupin]

Why mess around with the little stuff Matt? Since you already got a bit of rust in your blood go large!!! The only downside I can see is the cost of that new crane to load a log on it...

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