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Keep Jet 1642 -2HP or buy Powermatic 3520B

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Is the difference worth the trouble of selling my 1642 and buying a 3520b?
I don't need the extra capacity but it would be nice.
Any opinions will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob
 

odie

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Rob......Out of curiosity, what advantages do you perceive by the "upgrade"?

Those two lathes are virtually identical in how they're engineered.

A little extra weight is always nice, too.......but, if you're not doing much out of balance work, the difference doesn't mean a whole lot.

I've had my Australian Woodfast lathe for 23 years now......and, I've contemplated buying another lathe quite a few times. I never do seem to be able to make that decision, because I can't convince myself I could do something I can't do now. As with you, the only real answer to that question, is capacity, and that, in itself, doesn't make big enough difference to push me over the edge. I'd say 99% of the bowl wood available to me is between 6" and 12"......with an occasional piece in the 12" to 16" range. Every once in awhile, a really big piece of wood makes itself an opportunity for me......but, not often enough to completely re-tool my shop to cover.

There are those turners whose whole basis for self worth revolves around equipment, rather than their own performance. Not that a very desirable lathe isn't nice to have, but that it's only supplementary to what the skill level of the turner is.

ko
 

Bill Boehme

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My perspective is that it is like any other hobby in that "needs" are really "wants".

A person who takes up golf or photography or sailing doesn't need to buy the fanciest equipment available, but if they do, it's their business. Will better golf clubs make you a better golfer? I don't know since I don't play golf, but they probably won't make you a worse golfer. Is there the possibility of a placebo effect creating untold benefits? Will you get more miles per gallon of Good Karma?

The club that I belong to used to have a 3520B and we now have a Jet 1642. I'm not sure if it is the 1.5 HP or the 2 HP model, but I do know that it is a real wimp on power and that it seems to be bad about vibrating in comparison to the old Powermatic. The toolrest banjo is the worst part of the lathe. If I were shopping for a lathe and had to choose between the Jet and Powermatic, I would probably choose the Powermatic.
 

Mark Hepburn

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Rob,

I also have the 1642 and another, large lathe. I spend about 90% of my time on the Jet. I've never turned on a Powermatic but have turned on a couple of Robust lathes.

Bill is right about the banjo, but you know that already. As Al Hockenbery mentioned elsewhere, you can change the banjo. I like the Jet pretty well and have no plans to change it out, but I wish it had a large handwheel on the headstock (not enough to look for an aftermarket part though :)

But I'm a tool junkie and totally get the idea of moving up to another lathe. I'd just say that if you want to replace the Jet, this might be an opportune time to consider all of the other lathes out there and not just the Powermatic. I looked long and hard and, for me, I ended up buying what I believe is my "lifetime" lathe and am happy.

I get Odie's point about chasing after tools, but I confess that I'm a tool junkie and so I'd say if you want another lathe and you can justify it to yourself (and perhaps a significant other) then why not?

And who knows, buying that lathe creates an economic benefit that helps someone, somewhere, and so you're maybe building a bit of good Karma after all. :D

Good luck and happy rationalizing!

Mark
 

hockenbery

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White has been shown to be the best background color for turning! :)

A noted turner painted his Stubby white to improve the visibility of turned objects.

Stick with white.....

Other than weight, swing, and possibly HP two machines are about the same.
Both are more than adequate for the "needs" of most tuners.

the locks on the banjo, tailstock, and tool post clamp are about identical.
 

Mark Hepburn

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White has been shown to be the best background color for turning! :)

A noted turner painted his Stubby white to improve the visibility of turned objects.

Stick with white.....

Other than weight, swing, and possibly HP two machines are about the same.
Both are more than adequate for the "needs" of most tuners.

the locks on the banjo, tailstock, and tool post clamp are about identical.


Al, I'm sticking with white for the foreseeable future. :)
 

john lucas

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I turn daily on the Powermatic and Demo on a Jet quite frequently. I like the Powermatic a lot more. I still think the Jet is the best buy in it's price range for a lathe and the same is true of the Powermatic. The Jet is an excellent lathe. The 2 things I don't like about it are the banjo and the handwheel. Neither one is a deal breaker. The Banjo has the tool rest right over the banjo lock so you can't lower the tool rest very far below center. I do this a lot on pull cuts so it's pretty obnoxious for me but most of my cuts work fine and I don't mind demoing on that lathe. the handwheel is a minor thing. It's a small diameter spindle rather than a handwheel like most lathes have. It works and if I owned the lathe would get used to it pretty quickly. It's frustrating when your used to a regular handwheel.
Other than that it is a great lathe. The main reason I like a larger heavier lathe is off center work. When you turn square platters or rectangular natural edge pieces the diameter from the outer square edges can quickly get bigger than 16" even though the platter may be only 12" across. The extra few inches of swing usually cover this kind of work. the extra mass pays off if you do offcenter work.
So it's really up to you to consider what you turn. The only other consideration is moving the lathe if you need to do that. The Powermatic is quite a bit heavier than the Jet and might take several neighbors to help move it or set it up.
 
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I have both a 3520B and a 16/42 and when I am turning on them I can hardly tell the difference. There are a lot of differences of course, and the Powermatic wins out on most of them. What I miss most, though, is that 7 inches in length. I don't have to remove the tailstock as much on the 16/42 as I do on the 3520b in order to have swinging room for my gouges.
 

john lucas

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Bill I have the short extension bed on my Powermatic so now it's actually longer than the Jet. :) They do Paint the Jets a different color overseas. Maybe we could convince them to let you choose the color when you order one.
 
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I have turned a few times, for demo, on the 1642 that had a 1 1/2 hp motor, and it was pretty wimpy. I haven't tried the 2 hp model though. For production turning, the PM has the advantage of more mass, that you can't quite make up for with sand bags. I believe the foot print is a bit wider with the PM too. Buying new, I would probably go with the PM, though I have heard rumors of a 3520C model coming out for Pittsburgh.

I believe the Jet is white over seas, and the 3520 is sold as a Jet and painted white.

robo hippy
 

john lucas

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Of course you could always go to the AAW symposium and with luck win the 3520 they are giving away. If I remember correctly it's painted by Binh Pho. Or maybe I have that confused with last year. Anyway you could still win one.
 

Mark Hepburn

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Of course you could always go to the AAW symposium and with luck win the 3520 they are giving away. If I remember correctly it's painted by Binh Pho. Or maybe I have that confused with last year. Anyway you could still win one.


Here's the lathe from last year:

2014.jpg


And this is the one for Pittsburgh:

2015.jpg
 

odie

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I have turned a few times, for demo, on the 1642 that had a 1 1/2 hp motor, and it was pretty wimpy.
robo hippy

......Just one more of my crazy beliefs that the majority of turners won't agree with......but:

It's my belief that the more skilled a turner is, the less horsepower he'll need. The only real advantage to horsepower is bulk removal of waste material.....which can be accomplished just as easily with 1 1/2hp, or even a 1hp. Certainly, there is a limit to how little power can be used comfortably, but it is much less than the general thinking of "the herd".

When sharp tools, tool shape, presentation, and smooth body movements are all mastered together, there isn't as much requirement for sheer power, as someone who hasn't perfected these things yet. When these things are working in harmony, you can remove just as much wood as someone who requires more power to force the tool through the cut.

As many turners make progress, and hone their skills to a more perfect state, they all eventually learn that power isn't as important as they thought it would be.......;)

I have been using a 1 1/2hp motor for close to 30 years now, and I seldom bog my lathe......and when I do, I don't take much more time at all, by simply taking smaller cuts during that phase of the turning.

ko
 

john lucas

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How about coring. It takes more horsepower unless you are incredibly patient. I turn quite a few 16" or bigger platters and even with very sharp tools It can really slow down a lathe. On my powermatic I don't stall it but I believe I could with less horsepower. Do you need a lot. No. I turned bowls a whole weekend on a Jet mini variable speed. However I was only able to turn about 6 8" bowls because I had to take extremely shallow cuts when roughing especially because I had to use the minimum speed to keep the lathe from vibrating and the DC motor doesn't like low speeds. More Horsepower would be wonderful. Should have been able to turn about 6 a day on a lathe with more power. Damn I guess that makes me part of the "herd"
 

odie

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How about coring. It takes more horsepower unless you are incredibly patient. I turn quite a few 16" or bigger platters and even with very sharp tools It can really slow down a lathe. On my powermatic I don't stall it but I believe I could with less horsepower. Do you need a lot. No. I turned bowls a whole weekend on a Jet mini variable speed. However I was only able to turn about 6 8" bowls because I had to take extremely shallow cuts when roughing especially because I had to use the minimum speed to keep the lathe from vibrating and the DC motor doesn't like low speeds. More Horsepower would be wonderful. Should have been able to turn about 6 a day on a lathe with more power. Damn I guess that makes me part of the "herd"

Good point, John.......and, you are absolutely correct.

I don't core, specifically because it limits the shape that is possible.

ko
 
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Odie,
Not with the McNaughton. Many shapes possible and coring saves on wood rather than turning them into shavings. If you don't like the resulting core I am sure there are folks in your club or area that could sure use them rather than waste wood.

I understand your point of horse power but horse power does limit the depth of cut. When I am rough turning 14" to 18", which is all the time, I can make a 3/4" to 1" slice. If I didn't have the 3hp I would have to reduce that to maybe a 1/2" to 5/8" slice or bog down. In the end it doesn't make that much difference in time since it would only be a cut or two. However in production turning those minutes add up yet I understand most don't do that type of turning either. You're right though sharp tools and good technique can trump force/power any day.
 

Bill Boehme

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Sometimes I wish that I had chosen the 3 HP option when ordering my lathe, but I didn't have an unlimited budget. As it turned out, I am able to do everything I need to do with 2 HP and I don't really feel the need to turn fast oir aggressively. I might change my perspective when I get a coring rig, but working slowly is my style anyway.

Odie does a lot of bowls with rolled over and wide rims which really isn't compatible with any coring systems unless he cuts very thick cores.
 
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hockenbery

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Sometimes I wish that I had chosen the 3 HP option when ordering my lathe, but I didn't have an unlimited budget. As it turned out, I am able to do everything I need to do with 2 HP and I don't really feel the need to turn fast oir aggressively. I might change my perspective when I get a coring rig, but working slowly is my style anyway. Odie does a lot of bowls with rolled over and wide rims which really isn't compatible with any coring systems unless he cuts very thick cores.

I don't do much coring. When I do I generally core at 1.25 to 1.5". These I dry and return.
The mcnaughten gives lots of options on shape besides hemispherical.
And unless the blanks warp a lot there is plenty of wood to do things like add beads on the outside, undercut the rim, etc.

I would rarely core a bowl smaller than 12" since that core would be a 10" bowl.
A cut rim bowl less than 10" diameter is too small for the effort, unless it is a burl or something special

Al
 

Bill Boehme

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I have only cored once using the McNaughton system. A member of my club has both the Oneway and the McNaughton. The Oneway is pretty restrictive, but like you say, the McNaughton enables you to be far more flexible.
 
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I recall that Odie uses mostly "prepared" blanks on his lathe - perhaps "store bought" would be a better description

throw a big chunk of unbalanced green wood on there and try to make a heavy roughing cut. You'll be screaming for more HP after the first pass.
 

odie

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I recall that Odie uses mostly "prepared" blanks on his lathe - perhaps "store bought" would be a better description

throw a big chunk of unbalanced green wood on there and try to make a heavy roughing cut. You'll be screaming for more HP after the first pass.

Howdy Shawn........Yes, I do use prepared wood blocks, as much of what I turn can't be had any other way. Much of it is rough cut and not seasoned. If a turners intention is to turn wood that is extremely heavy, and out of balance (over 25lbs, or so), I think your point is valid. Please think of whatever I say here to apply to MY turning, doing what I do.....not that my intent is for my experiences to be applicable to everyone else. I do believe my experience can be applied to the great majority of other turners, though.....just not the entire group of turners.

There was a time when I did wish for more horsepower.....but, time and practice with lathe tools and techniques eventually convinced me that other things are more important, and did produce equivalent results. Now, don't get me wrong about this.....I'm not advocating having less horsepower. All I'm trying to stress here, is the need for more power isn't as important as many turners think. Just to make it clear.....If I were going to purchase a new lathe, and I had the option of more power, I'd probably take it. Having more horsepower would be nice, but not as necessary as it would have been a couple of decades ago......

On another thought, having less horsepower may have been a good thing for me, because it was something to overcome, and not become dependent upon. In an abstract sort of way, think of a race car driver who doesn't have the fastest car, but wins races. There are other things that come into play that enables him to be a winner......and, it will be things that he has to develop through experience, and within himself, that makes it happen for him. In his case, it's not the car, it's the driver! Bringing this reasoning back to the lathe turner.....If that turner learns to turn with more power available to him, those things that could be developed within himself may not occur at all, simply because he relies on things he can possess, rather that what is possible to develop within himself, and his soul.......

One more thing to consider: Other than coring, this whole exchange is revolving around the notion that one would need more power for roughing purposes in order to reduce the time element of that phase of the turning. Even with a very experienced and skilled turner, it would certainly reduce the time element.....no question about that. The roughing stage is 10% of the effort to produce a completed turning. When the roughing and seasoning stages are done, there is now the other 90% of the real work involved in bringing it to completion.....and, none of this will have the same requirements as the roughing stage, because all of this is done with smaller, and more precise cuts.

ko
 
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I'd like to add, I currently own 2 jet 1642 lathes- one 1-1/2 HP, one 2 HP at 2 different locations. There is a significant difference with the power. The 1-1/2 HP lathe stops easily when roughing or when I'm aggressive. Coring is very frustrating - hardly worth the effort. Otherwise I like it. I've only stalled The 2 HP 1642 a few times. Haven't tried coring yet. It requires a 220V hookup- an issue for some. I will be selling the 1-1/2 HP to help pay for the new one. I'll probably make the decision at Pittsburgh.
Lots of good advise, thanks.
 
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Well, with coring, I think a lot of turners do it at too slow of a speed. Consider that most coring tools have a tip that is about 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide at the most. That is a small scraper to me. If you are using the McNaughton at 300 to 500 rpm, that is too slow, but may feel more 'comfortable' until you get used to it. I am often at 1000, depending on how balanced the bowl blank is. I can finish turn a 3 bowl set in slightly more time than I can turn out one big bowl, and a lot faster than I can turn a 3 bowl set with 3 blanks of the different sizes. You don't need the power to turn. Brute strength with out technique is just about useless and I should know because I am on the Brute Squad (Princess Bride fans here I hope...). It is dangerous as well. When you can combine the two, well, it is hypnotizing..... Long streams of shavings.

As far as prepared blanks, they are easy to do with a good eye and sharp chainsaw. I don't like commercial blanks because they take a bandsaw mill to a log and cut slabs, then section the slab. I take a section off, and cut each section with best bowl selection being the priority, which means no knots of defects. With the chanisaw chopsaw video clip on You Tube), it is fairly simple to make a slab with almost parallel sides, which cuts roughing time in half.

robo hippy
 

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Well, with coring, I think a lot of turners do it at too slow of a speed. Consider that most coring tools have a tip that is about 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide at the most. That is a small scraper to me. If you are using the McNaughton at 300 to 500 rpm, that is too slow, but may feel more 'comfortable' until you get used to it. I am often at 1000, depending on how balanced the bowl blank is. I can finish turn a 3 bowl set in slightly more time than I can turn out one big bowl, and a lot faster than I can turn a 3 bowl set with 3 blanks of the different sizes. You don't need the power to turn. Brute strength with out technique is just about useless and I should know because I am on the Brute Squad (Princess Bride fans here I hope...). It is dangerous as well. When you can combine the two, well, it is hypnotizing..... Long streams of shavings.....

Stating RPM without qualifying it with diameter can be misleading. The one piece that I cored, a very wet piece of box elder, had an exterior diameter of slightly more than twenty inches. I don't remember the lathe speed when coring, but it wasn't very fast when starting the largest core. If the lathe speed had been around 1000 RPM, the cutter speed would have been over 5,000 feet per minute (over 85 feet per second). I am sure that the streamers would have been spectacular, but so would the kinetic energy in that big flywheel had things jammed up. If the diameter was something in the neighborhood of 12 to 14 inches then 1000 RPM would seem more reasonable to me ... but then I live by the adage that I often heard when I was a pilot learning to fly aerobatics, "there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there aren't any old bold pilots". Augering a plane into the ground never did impress me.:rolleyes:
 
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Bill Boehme

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I'd like to add, I currently own 2 jet 1642 lathes- one 1-1/2 HP, one 2 HP at 2 different locations. There is a significant difference with the power. The 1-1/2 HP lathe stops easily when roughing or when I'm aggressive. Coring is very frustrating - hardly worth the effort. Otherwise I like it. I've only stalled The 2 HP 1642 a few times. Haven't tried coring yet. It requires a 220V hookup- an issue for some. I will be selling the 1-1/2 HP to help pay for the new one. I'll probably make the decision at Pittsburgh.
Lots of good advise, thanks.

That is very useful information. I think that our club lathe must be the 1½ HP model because it seems like demonstrators occasionally bog it down and in a few instances have stalled it doing work that doesn't appear to be something that I would expect to cause that sort of problem.
 
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Bill,
In 'refining' my earlier statement about speed, on larger blanks I do start slower when near the rim, and speed it up as I go deeper. Well, as long as the blank is balanced. When I am down to the nub, I slow it down. Those cores rolling across the floor do have a rather sharp edge, and even given my Hacky sack skills (footbag to we purists because Hacky is a registered trademark), I can slow them down, but don't want to catch them, especially at high speed....

robo hippy
 
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2HP vs 3HP..... I had a PM 3020B with 2HP and had no issues. When I had the opportunity to purchase a Robust AB I opted for the 3HP not because I thought the 2HP was lacking but because it was an option I could not easily or as cheaply add to the lathe in the future. To be honest I don't notice any real difference between my PM and Robust with regards to power, probably because I rarely ask or demand from the lathe it's maximum HP.
 
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Of course you could always go to the AAW symposium and with luck win the 3520 they are giving away. If I remember correctly it's painted by Binh Pho. Or maybe I have that confused with last year. Anyway you could still win one.

Hey, I happen to love my bright orange paint job!

I would of course have to admit that I am a bit biased toward the Powermatic now. I turned on a jet before, but it was the smaller 14" and was no comparison. The Powermatic has allowed me to way expand what I can do on my lathe.
 
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We have both the 2 hp Jet and the 2 hp Powermatic at our club workshop. I measured the circumference of both motors and the Powermatic is 2" larger than the Jet. The amps are pretty close. I make some pretty heavy cuts on both. The Jet banjo seems to have more trouble with vibration and holding the rest in position. The legs on a Powermatic is about 2" wider than the Jet. Also the belt on the Powermatic is a 10 rib while the Jet may be a 6 rib.
 
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xraydog,
Interesting comment about the 2 lathes as I switched from the 3520A to the Beauty. With the B model, I found the slow speed range way too slow for most of what I wanted to do. The high speed range did not have enough torque due to the gear ratio. With my Beauty, which is the older 3 speed model, I found the low speed range way too slow, but pretty good torque. With the mid range, after Brent helped me change the inverter programming, the speed is much better, and plenty of torque for coring. I can't really tell if there is more 'power' or not. I can still stall it, and probably just as easily as I could my PM. With my 3520A, I kept it in the low speed range, which topped out at 1500 rpm. I believe the B tops out at 1200. So, I am thinking that the torque delivered to the spindle depends as much on gearing/wheel sizes as it does on hp. I know Brent now has a different inverter than he had when I got mp Beauty, and it is supposed to improve performance. Maybe I will have to upgrade..... Don't need another Beauty though...

robo hippy
 

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Love my VB with the short extension. It's a bit of an oddball in some ways but smoooooth. And powerful. The tool rest can be a bit cumbersome once in a while depending on what you're doing, but for the most part is a joy to use.

But as I said, most of my turning is on the 1642 (2hp) and I like it well enough that I don't plan on changing it.
 
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You can never really justify moving up to a better tool if you are a fiscally oriented hobbyist. When something will do 95% of what you want to do and there is little financial reward to gain from that last 5%, how can you justify the expense of an upgrade. After Katrina in New Orleans, all of my cast iron went out onto the curb. There was no longer a question of an incremental upgrade.

There is now a lot of mustard yellow in my new shop. But, being a real tool junkie, I now wish that I had chosen a Robust AB instead of the 3520B. But, as before, I can't justify selling my now depreciated 3520B to upgrade to an AB. My advice would be to skip the 3520 and go to where lust ends, or you will never get there.
 

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You can never really justify moving up to a better tool if you are a fiscally oriented hobbyist. When something will do 95% of what you want to do and there is little financial reward to gain from that last 5%, how can you justify the expense of an upgrade. After Katrina in New Orleans, all of my cast iron went out onto the curb. There was no longer a question of an incremental upgrade.

There is now a lot of mustard yellow in my new shop. But, being a real tool junkie, I now wish that I had chosen a Robust AB instead of the 3520B. But, as before, I can't justify selling my now depreciated 3520B to upgrade to an AB. My advice would be to skip the 3520 and go to where lust ends, or you will never get there.

Paul has a really good way of looking at it. For me, it's been very difficult to do an upgrade, because there would be very little benefit to my turning, other than possibly a small amount of swing that I'd seldom need, a small boost in power that means little to me, and a bit of convenience for turning bowls........either sliding headstock, or swivel head. I've been turning bowls on a fixed headstock, long bed lathe for so long now, that I've come up with ways to satisfactorily overcome things that have evolved to be minor inconveniences, and not necessities.

I do think, however, that Paul makes a very good point about "going where the lust ends". I'd second the notion that a turner is well advised to get the very best lathe he can possibly afford, right from the start. Otherwise he'll likely find himself in similar situations like Paul and I have found ourselves in. He's very correct in concluding the last 5% of usefulness is very difficult to justify the huge expense it would represent......not to mention the time and effort required to set-up a new lathe and sell the old one......!

ko
 

Mark Hepburn

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I think that, for most of us hobbyists, there's no way we can really justify our purchases. It's something we want to do, we spend a bunch of money to do it, and so that's just the way it goes. If you're a hunter, fisherman, photography enthusiast, train modeler or whatever, that's the price you pay to enjoy it. My dad was an avid N and Z scale railroad modeler most of my life. Talk about cost!

And at the end of the day, that's really the best rationale in my opinion: to enrich one's life in a way that is personally satisfying and meaningful. For me, I've turned about 60 pieces in total. So if i spread the cost of just my lathe purchases, then that's about $75 per piece. Yikes! And even when, at some point, I've turned 10 times that amount, it's still $7.50 per piece.

The ROI kinda just sucks if you're looking at money (as a hobbyist I mean - not if you're a production turner). But for me, I have two things mainly: Saints games and woodworking and primarily turning now.

So I agree with Paul (in my usual long-winded way). I lost some stuff in Katrina too and you just move on. Damn the torpedoes and buy that lathe that you want! :D
 

john lucas

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Mark I am a bicyclist. I ride all the time with guys who have 3 to 5,000 dollar bicycles. Part of their reasoning was to get a lighter bike. I just went on a diet and lost a few pounds and me and my bike now wieght what theirs way. :) Of course you can't do that with horsepower and swing on a lathe but I reference it because we all spend what we can on our hobbies and in reality can't justify any of it. Sure is fun trying to figure out ways to justify it though. Heck that's why most of us are here.
 

Mark Hepburn

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Mark I am a bicyclist. I ride all the time with guys who have 3 to 5,000 dollar bicycles. Part of their reasoning was to get a lighter bike. I just went on a diet and lost a few pounds and me and my bike now wieght what theirs way. :) Of course you can't do that with horsepower and swing on a lathe but I reference it because we all spend what we can on our hobbies and in reality can't justify any of it. Sure is fun trying to figure out ways to justify it though. Heck that's why most of us are here.

John, I love your logic. And good old common sense applied. Plus, using that heavier bike helped you lose some pounds too didn't it?!

I rode too until my back just wouldn't tolerate it any more. Not like some guys but about 6 or so miles a day. I'd ride to the local hospital parking garage and go up the 5 levels as fast as I could a couple of times, coast down and then go back home. Really loved it but had to quit for a while. I had a $150 bike from WalMart :)

My buddy Clarence is a serious rider with a group and one of those $$$ bikes and well, that's what he likes and, like you said, we really can't justify any of it but what the heck, right?

:)
 

Bill Boehme

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I used to buy what I wanted if I could afford it and then I made up some lame excuse to justify why I "needed" it. Now, I just forget about the lame excuse part as if I ever actually needed an excuse. Other people don't care to hear my excuses (AKA rationale or logic) and vice versa.
 

Mark Hepburn

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I used to buy what I wanted if I could afford it and then I made up some lame excuse to justify why I "needed" it. Now, I just forget about the lame excuse part as if I ever actually needed an excuse. Other people don't care to hear my excuses (AKA rationale or logic) and vice versa.

Jeff Goldblum's character from The Big Chill:

"Rationalizations are more important than sex... Ever gone a week without a rationalization?"

:)
 

Bill Boehme

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Jeff Goldblum's character from The Big Chill:

"Rationalizations are more important than sex... Ever gone a week without a rationalization?"

:)

Come to think of it, I did rationalize today. I talked Mrs. B into having brunch at a place which is just a couple doors down from the new Rockler Hardware location. I suggested a table next to the window where we could see the new RH and while we were eating and, . . . . .

I said, "I believe that I just saw xxxxx (fellow club member and great friend) go into RH".
She: "Well, don't you think that we ought to go say hi to him?"
Mr. Rationalization: "Of course, we should. And, you might even see something that we need while we are there."

A little thing like the remnants of tropical storm Bill wasn't going to interfere with visiting a good friend. The old location of RH was close to home and the new location is almost within walking distance. This could be bad (in a good way, with the right rationalization). I guess that our good old friend must have left by the back way since we didn't see him there.
 
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