The lathe prices appear to be the same for Thanksgiving, but the bandsaw prices appear to have dropped $200 (at least for the 18 incher)... figures I would wait on the lathe purchase until now, but jump on the bandsaw two months ago
The lathe prices appear to be the same for Thanksgiving, but the bandsaw prices appear to have dropped $200 (at least for the 18 incher)... figures I would wait on the lathe purchase until now, but jump on the bandsaw two months ago
Hi-Tec Designs, LLC -- Owner (and self-proclaimed LED guru )
Trotec 80W Speedy 300 laser w/everything
CAMaster Stinger CNC (25" x 36" x 5")
USCutter 24" LaserPoint Vinyl Cutter
Jet JWBS-18QT-3 18", 3HP bandsaw
Robust Beauty 25"x52" wood lathe w/everything
Jet BD-920W 9"x20" metal lathe
Delta 18-900L 18" drill press
Flame Polisher (ooooh, FIRE!)
Freeware: InkScape, Paint.NET, DoubleCAD XT
Paidware: Wacom Intuos4 (Large), CorelDRAW X5
If you are concerned about making bowls over 16 inches, first choice would be the PM. I turned on one for 8 years. I now have the American Beauty. My second choice for a 16 inch lathe would be the Sweet 16, then the Jet 2 hp 220 volt lathe. I do prefer the sliding headstock. The Nova DVR is a good lathe, but not my choice. One thing I don't like is the minimum speed of around 100 rpm (I think, it used to be about 200 or so). I turn green to final thickness, and to sand out my warped bowls (I let them dry first as it is much easier to sand them out dry rather than wet) I have to have rpm speeds of 10 to 20 or else I can't keep the abrasives on the wood, and would have to use the spindle lock. The Jet and PM converters can be programmed down to those speeds, and the 3520 A used to come that way, but now they shut off at 50 rpm. A bit fast for my taste.
Best tool purchases I have made for my shop, are lathe, centralized dust collector (Oneida), and a big bandsaw (Laguna 16HD).
robo hippy
One of our members Dave Schell, bought a bare bones Vicmarc VL300 and did the wiring, motor, and VFD himself. I belive he came in just over your figure.
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=102818
$2300 - Barebones VL300 lathe from Craft Supplies
$250 - Leeson motor from Bearings Direct
$255 - Fuji motor drive from Drives Warehouse
$75 - Switches from Automation Direction
$100 - Wood and bolts from Home Depot (for cabinet)
$50 - Misc - hardware, wire, paint
Total: $3030
Price for complete VL300 from CS: $4500 - Savings $1575
Price of Oneway 2416 with 3HP: $6350 - Savings $3320
Last edited by Gary Conklin; 11-22-2010 at 12:53 PM.
Two lathes Grizzly G0694 @ $2500.00 or PM 3520B @ $3200.00 Maybe a little less. I would go for the PM. Grizzzly seems to have tiny detail problems that keep popping up. Likely the majority of owners never have a problem and we just hear from those that do. Life is not always fair.
Consider that if you go Grizz $600. - $700. will buy a lot of goodies, vacuum stuff, chucks, thompson chisels. I might go Grizz. It is indeed a difficult choice. Which one is the heavier?, there is a lot to be said for mass.
David Woodruff
If you don't know where you're going, it doesn't matter how you get there.
David, mass is certainly a major consideration in all of this for me. I'm doing my best to take my time, so far the PM is in the lead. Unless I just decide to keep saving and get a Sweet 16, it's really tempting... by that time, it might be hard for me to give up that much cash LOL
Since no one else has mentioned it, what about a Vicmark 300CS with a motor,controller, and stand added on? The price would be comparable to the PM 3520B. Of course it is more work to do in order to have a fully functional lathe.
Missed Gary Conklin's informative post.
Last edited by Glenn Weathington; 11-22-2010 at 7:17 PM. Reason: bad eyes
Go Mustard!
A few hours south of Steve Schlumpf
Glenn, I only briefly got a chance to look at the Vicmark, I will definitely consider it, I need to do more research on it though. It was just one that I had "come across" in a search for something else, so I didn't spend the time to research it like I should have
The Vic is a great lathe. Worth looking at as above!