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