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My new lathe arrived

Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
I can't say enough good things about Brent and Deb English. They were a joy to deal with and the American Beauty has exceeded all of my expectations. Great build quality. The lathe arrived a couple weeks earlier than I anticipated, was very well crated and with the help of my neighbor's tractor it didn't take long for it to find its way into my shop. I plan on making some shavings today!


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Martin Groneng

Dances the Gouge Jig
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
61
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169
Location
Peterborough, Ontario, Cananda
Now, wouldn't we all like to have a delivery like this!!!!! Now we can all look for pictures of Damon, "the rich and famous woodturner"!!! Go for it Lad and enjoy, as many of the rest of us weep for your joy!!! Great pictures!
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
Dang! They always deliver to the wrong address!!!! :mad:

A friend picked up the crate at the shipping terminal and was amazed how well the lathe was crated. I was amazed that he actually brought it to my house instead of taking it to his.


"the rich and famous woodturner"

On the contrary, definitely not rich. Just frustrated with my previous lathe purchase experience that drug on for four months. I now wish I had just taken the plunge sooner but I suppose I needed a little nudge to do it. It was definitely worth the purchase.

Great pictures!

Thank you!
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
1,173
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611
Location
Evanston, IL USA
Yes, dealing with Brent is always a pleasure. You'll never regret that purchase. I live a few hours from the factory so I carted my machine home, un-assembled, in the back of my pickup. I had a carpet in the truck bed and Brent was so fussy that he actually swept the carpet clean so as not to scratch the paint on the new Beauty.

I see in your pics that you got the big bowl steady rest. I hope we can get a future report on that accessory, as I'm tempted to get one.

Have fun.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
Thank you guys for your shop compliments. My shop is a 12x16 building. I have my table saw (mostly bench space), a cheap bench which I use as my finishing station, bandsaw, drill press, and old metal air force desk that I use as my embellishing station. Where the Powermatic lathe is sitting I usually have my mobile workbench there. I use it as my assembly table. I can roll the table saw out when I need it and use the mobile work bench as my outfeed table. And of course the Robust AB is in there too as are two large mobile tool cabinets. Its a lot and I still have a lot of floor space to move around. Because the shop is small I can't let it get too dirty, otherwise I can't move around! So I clean up at the end of each day or two.

I used the tractor to move the AB from the pallet to just inside the doors. Then I used my Harbor Freight 1000lb hydraulic table to move it inside the shop until it was set in place. That table is worth every penny! It only took a few minutes to adjust the height and then settle the lathe.

Tom, the steady rest is, well, very 'robust'. Pun intended. The friend that helped me unload the lathe has two Serious lathes. He uses the larger Carter multi rest and said there was no comparison. He was impressed at the over engineering of Brent's steady rest. If you do get one I can't imagine any reason why you would be disappointed. I'll let you know after I use it what I think about it. Right now I'm waiting to get my Monster hollowing system modified to fit this lathe.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
Wow, a Powermatic and a Robust??? That's awesome! What a beautiful workshop you have there as well! Congratulations on the new lathe, that is my dream lathe right there!

Is that motor a 110v or 220v?

The motor on both lathes are 220 volts. The Powermatic is 2hp and the Robust is 3hp. The Powermatic is not sticking around. Because of my experience with the company I sold that lathe. I'm just storing it until the new owner can come pick it up. Thank you for the compliment on the shop. Its small but its nice.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
307
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
That is one incredibly idilic spot! (and a shop thats MUCH too clean)
You definitely mess it up with flying shavings from your new toy....
Congrats!

:)

It'll get messy tomorrow! I usually keep my shop clean on a daily basis. Because its a small shop if it gets too messy it gets hard to move around in. I was going to turn a platter today but had a long day at the air force base teaching spinning tops. Had a great turn out, sure am tired!
 
Joined
Sep 27, 2018
Messages
73
Likes
30
Location
Auburn, MA
The motor on both lathes are 220 volts. The Powermatic is 2hp and the Robust is 3hp. The Powermatic is not sticking around. Because of my experience with the company I sold that lathe. I'm just storing it until the new owner can come pick it up. Thank you for the compliment on the shop. Its small but its nice.
The Robust is absolutely beautiful, it really is the lathe of my dreams. Did you have a problem with the Powermatic lathe? I always thought they were the Cadillac of lathes? I would be happy with either, but the Robust is my favorite for sure!
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
The Robust is absolutely beautiful, it really is the lathe of my dreams. Did you have a problem with the Powermatic lathe? I always thought they were the Cadillac of lathes? I would be happy with either, but the Robust is my favorite for sure!

Hi Dylan,

I personally didn't have a great experience with Powermatic which led to my Robust purchase. I can't say that the experience I had was typical of Powermatic, just for me personally it didn't go well. They have a great reputation with the 3520, 3520a and 3520b. In the end the company came through but I couldn't find myself satisfied after four months of trying to get a working lathe. My experience shouldn't be taken as a typical one. I would be happy to talk to you more via private messaging if you have any detailed questions.

While Robust is twice the price of the 3520c the two lathes really just can't be compared as they are in different classes. I think a better comparison is with the Powermatic 4224. I believe that once you get into considering the Robust, Oneway and comparable Powermatic you really can't go wrong. They are all good lathes. I really wish I had just bit the bullet sooner. I've already forgotten the price tag. The build quality is outstanding, the folks at Robust were easy to talk to and they were quick to answer all my questions. My expectations were far exceeded. If you're ever in my neck of the woods you're more than welcome to stop by and give it a try. That goes for any AAW members.
 
Joined
Sep 27, 2018
Messages
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Location
Auburn, MA
Thank you for the reply Damon, I really don't have any specific questions regarding Powermatic, I was just curious. Thank you for the offer as well, you're a very kind man! If I'm ever in the area I would love a tour of your property, it looks beautiful and serene!! Good luck with the new lathe and be sure to post pictures of your projects.
 
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
712
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187
Location
Montfort, Wisconsin
Damon, I'm surprised that little Kubota had enough lift. I'm sure it was at it's max. I have one like it and if I have anything heavy to lift I have to get the neighbors Bobcat.
Beautiful shop, very efficient.
 
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
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414
Location
Eastern Washington
Damon, I'm surprised that little Kubota had enough lift. I'm sure it was at it's max. I have one like it and if I have anything heavy to lift I have to get the neighbors Bobcat.
Beautiful shop, very efficient.

I'll be honest, I was surprised too. The original plan was for the friend that picked up the lathe to drop it off, drive back to his house and get his big tractor and come back. But since I had my neighbor's tractor we figured we would at least try. At full bucket height the lifting capacity is almost 500 pounds at the pins. At 1.5 meters from the ground the lift capacity increases to almost 700 pounds. The rear tires were loaded too for the winter which added a lot of rear weight. What I did was lift the lathe an inch off the pallet so Carl could kick the pallet out of the way. I don't think I lifted it more than three or four inches off the ground getting it into the shop. Anyway, really glad it worked out.
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
78
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99
Location
Joplin, Missouri
Nice set up Damon and welcome to the AB club. It is a GREAT lathe and does a heck of a job on turning. I've had mine just over 4 years.

Tom--I have the Robust steady rest, and like Damon said, "It is robust." I really like it and use it all of the time. The one thing that I had Brent do when he built mine was set the arms at 1, 5 and 9. Instead of 12, 4 & 8. I had him do this so that I could use the laser mount on my Monster hollowing system. (Since then I've upgraded to the Trent Bosch hollowing system.) I had built a Jeff Nicol style steady rest for my JET 1642 but decided to purchase the one from Robust. Even thought it was more expensive, I was glad I did. Really a very well built, and for me, a necessary accessory for hollowing. PM me if you have any questions.
Steve
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
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2,792
Location
Eugene, OR
One of the biggest differences between PM and Robust, if you call because you are having problems, with PM, you get a tech who is reading from a manual about FAQs. If you call Robust you get to talk to Brent who makes the lathes. Big difference.

robo hippy
 
Joined
May 4, 2010
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Location
Bozeman, MT
Gramps,
It's a Robust. Stainless steel ways don't rust. There's hardened steel on the edge of the tool rest so it won't rust ( or chip or get grooved by the corner of tools). Nothing else is gonna rust, either. That's why it costs more than both our vehicles combined. ;)
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2012
Messages
105
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33
Location
Cuero, Texas
Yes--``Welcome" to the AB club.
While I did not get mine from the maker, it belonged to another person for a year who decided to go into other woodworking and needed room for a CNC, etc. Never regretted the purchase---kind of like having a Ferrari in the shop, absolutely love using it. I do use my other large lathe (Laguna) occasionally so it doesn't feel left out.
 
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
65
Likes
25
Location
Athens, WI
Going on 10 years with my AB, and its been a pleasure and joy to own and work with for every bit of it. In the last couple of years, I've only had two very minor switch replacements, about $40 total. Lathe runs like new, is as quiet as new, and is just a pleasure to work with, something I cannot say about my last high end lathe, I had before my Robust. My last lathe was so bad that I was ready to give up woodturning. Bret is the best
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
694
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498
Location
Lummi Island, WA
Reading this I’ve just realized that the warrenty is due to expire on mine next June - that’s six years so far of trouble-free turnng. Almost hoping for something minor to wear out so I have an excuse to talk to Brent or Deb...
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
5,436
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2,792
Location
Eugene, OR
Going on 10 years with my AB, and its been a pleasure and joy to own and work with for every bit of it. In the last couple of years, I've only had two very minor switch replacements, about $40 total. Lathe runs like new, is as quiet as new, and is just a pleasure to work with, something I cannot say about my last high end lathe, I had before my Robust. My last lathe was so bad that I was ready to give up woodturning. Bret is the best

Hey Musky, do you have the 3 speed model like me? I did have Brent help me adjust the speed settings. Low range was too slow, and mid range was too slow also.....

robo hippy
 
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
65
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25
Location
Athens, WI
Yes, mine is the three speed model. Bret helped me adjust the speed on mine also, slowed the low speed substantially, and slightly raised the high speed. Never use it to turn at the low speed, just use that for sanding and finishing. The speed range is so useful now, that for my needs I just leave it on the middle pulley.
 
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