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Adding Second Lathe: Boutique Small Lathes Worth It?

Joined
Dec 7, 2018
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Port Angeles, WA
Hi All,

While our Laguna 18|36 is out of service, my wife and I have been revisiting our shop needs for lathes. Since we're both around 30, it's doubtful to expect to find the coveted 'last lathe I will ever purchase' but with how much we both enjoy turning and the fact that our Laguna paid for itself nearly 7x over already, all of a sudden the prices on the truly high end lathes that should last for a very, very long time seem much more palatable.

Also, with our big (for us) lathe is out of service, I've been turning small projects on a small lathe (an old beat up Nova Comet) and forgot just how pleasurable it can be moving big tailstocks and banjos, and fighting for space when bringing everything together for something like a bottle stopper or ornament. Also, 85% of what we make and sell could (theoretically) be done on a standard Midi lathe. So, as opposed to the long term plan of having two big lathes, I've started looking at some of the higher end smaller lathes to pair with the eventual upgrade to a Robust, Oneway, or Vicmarc monstrosity.

So, my question comes down to this: who has actually dropped the cash on one of the truly high-end smaller lathes: a Oneway 1224, Robust Scout, Harvey Turbo T40, Vicmarc VL150? Pricing seems pretty ludicrous on these-- literally 3-5x the price of what seems to be the best standard market Midi, the Jet 1221VS-- so, for anyone that has any of these, what makes them that much better?
 

hockenbery

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I bought a ONEWAY 2436 in 1997. A great lathe. The best out there for me.

I then bought a ONEWAY 1018 in 1999 partly to take to demos and workshops and partly to use for small stuff. $1800 I think. One season of Christmas ornaments paid for it.
Bob Rostand was using one at the time and found it convenient to haul around so that sold me on the idea.

it is a dream to turn on. Solid, smooth, 4K top speed, positive locks on the banjo&tailstock. Easy to use index wheel, simple belt change.

I enjoy the intimacy of the smaller machine for ornaments. I can get a little closer to the work and everything is not dwarfed by the big machine.

the 1224 replaced the 1018 and I have turned on those about 8 times for demos. Very similar machine.

the only issue I have had with the 1018 was breaking the handwheel when I tilted it on end to put it on a dolly to go somewhere without locking the tailstock. The tailstock slid off like rocket because it moves some easily. My bad but the :) break away hand wheel design :)/. saved the tailstock casting. Got a new hand wheel from ONEWAY.

I also have a Jet 1221vs. I enjoy turning on the 1018 more banjo and tailstock are superior.
However the Jet has so many features that I think most people would be happier with it at the lower cost and spend the savings on classes or other tools.
The Jet looses to the ONEWAY on the controls, little bit of stiffness in the moving the banjo and the tailstock. And of course the ONEWAY banjo is the best there is.
 
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Emiliano Achaval

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Hi All,

While our Laguna 18|36 is out of service, my wife and I have been revisiting our shop needs for lathes. Since we're both around 30, it's doubtful to expect to find the coveted 'last lathe I will ever purchase' but with how much we both enjoy turning and the fact that our Laguna paid for itself nearly 7x over already, all of a sudden the prices on the truly high end lathes that should last for a very, very long time seem much more palatable.

Also, with our big (for us) lathe is out of service, I've been turning small projects on a small lathe (an old beat up Nova Comet) and forgot just how pleasurable it can be moving big tailstocks and banjos, and fighting for space when bringing everything together for something like a bottle stopper or ornament. Also, 85% of what we make and sell could (theoretically) be done on a standard Midi lathe. So, as opposed to the long term plan of having two big lathes, I've started looking at some of the higher end smaller lathes to pair with the eventual upgrade to a Robust, Oneway, or Vicmarc monstrosity.

So, my question comes down to this: who has actually dropped the cash on one of the truly high-end smaller lathes: a Oneway 1224, Robust Scout, Harvey Turbo T40, Vicmarc VL150? Pricing seems pretty ludicrous on these-- literally 3-5x the price of what seems to be the best standard market Midi, the Jet 1221VS-- so, for anyone that has any of these, what makes them that much better?
What I always tell beginners is that I can turn a thimble on my Stubby 750. My new Stubby 1000 is on her way to Maui. Very reasonable priced compared to the Robust and Oneway. I believe Rod Caddaye still makes the bench top Stubby.
 
Joined
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I assume I could adjust the brake time on my Oneway 2436 to turn ornaments and tops, but prefer a midi lathe for quick on and off. I detest the soft starts of new midi lathes. I want an on and off to make a quick inspection and get right back at it. The small Oneway and Robust have common VFDs on them and are easy to change the parameters. With Jet you get a DC motor and no adjustment to parameters. I'd love to replace my Delta 46-460 with a Oneway or Robust, but have dramatically reduced my turning time this year. So I'll just have to suffice with a HAPFO 16' duplicating lathe, Oneway 2436, Jet 1640, Delta 46-460, and two older 10" Jets that are a buffing station and a rose engine lathe. LOL
 
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You can't go wrong with a second lathe as long as it is high quality to begin with. I'm curious why your Laguna is "out of service". I can't say that I have had that experience yet in 40 + years of turning.
Like everything else, you get what you pay for. I am sure that the small Oneways are nice, and speaking from personal experience you can't beat a Robust Scout-- that's my "Second Lathe".

Whatever you get, you should find a way to take a test ride either from a dealer or a local club member.
 
Joined
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I'm curious why your Laguna is "out of service". I can't say that I have had that experience yet in 40 + years of turning.
Like everything else, you get what you pay for. I am sure that the small Oneways are nice, and speaking from personal experience you can't beat a Robust Scout-- that's my "Second Lathe".

Whatever you get, you should find a way to take a test ride either from a dealer or a local club member.

In 40 years you've never had a lathe break down? I'm jealous. Maybe I just had bad luck. My first lathe was a third hand Shop Fox and the DC motor burned up after 40 or so hours. I replaced it with a Nova that had it's spindle machined terribly off center on the handwheel side, which led to the spindle warping. Warranty replacement had the same problem.

As far as the Laguna-- in the last month or so it's develop some awful chatter, worse on light cuts or cuts perpendicular to the axis of rotation-- facing off with a skew or cleaning up the bottom of a bowl. Laguna CS won't help, as the unloaded, unpowered runout measures to .002" (the only number they cared about) I gave them numbers showing that the runout during use is triple across the board compared to the same drives and chucks on the Nova. They just tell me "it's probably an accessory issue" and won't give me suggestions on how to track down the problem. Releveled the bed, realigned the Headstock and Tailstock, reseated the spindle... Cleaned and inspected the MT2 socket, tried brand new chucks and drives. My best numbers are .008" and worst is .022" (which run at .003" and .006" on the Nova I'm using)

Anyways, I have bearings on order to have swapped. While it's apart I'm also needing to replace the on/off switch-- cheap plastic buttons that easily jam up. It's been a waste of time trying to solve the wobble and chatter without assistance. I'm over buying low end tools, or from manufacturers that won't stand by their products. Which is a shame, as the Laguna is a fantastic lathe when it works.
 
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The small Oneway and Robust have common VFDs on them and are easy to change the parameters. With Jet you get a DC motor and no adjustment to parameters.

That's one of the most attractive things to me-- along with the reliability and low-speed torquecompared to DC. The torque of the Nova drops to nothing when you drop the speed down-- tothe point of being able to stall it by gently grasping the handwheel.
 
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One problem with the 'techs' at the machine companies, well, just about any other product you buy, they are not people who use the machines, so they have to read from a manual or FAQs list... That being said, I want a machine that is 'issue' free as humanly possible, which is where the boutique machines come in. These machines would be the Oneway, Robust, Vicmarc at the top of the list, with a bunch of other less popular, well less known, right up there, like Stubby, Vega, VB36 and some European models. I would put Powermatic up there as well as being a step or two above the rest of the pack. Not sure if the Jet comes up to the PM level or not, even though they are made by the same company. The Nova DVR is a pretty good lathe, but I don't have much experience with it. What little turning I have done on it left me with the feeling that it wasn't 'heavy duty' enough for my tastes. I did concrete construction for years, and prefer things to be overbuilt rather than underbuilt.

I did a couple of demos on the Oneway 12 inch model, and even in low range, found it to be way underpowered for a 1 hp lathe.

robo hippy
 
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In 40 years you've never had a lathe break down? I'm jealous. Maybe I just had bad luck.

Okay, I stand corrected. I bought a used Jet Mini lathe a couple months ago and donated it for my High School pen turning classes--- the plastic switch busted after 2 days. Other than that, I do not mean to be a snob, but I have not owned any inexpensive Asian lathes--- the Woodfast was from Australia, the Oneway from Canada, (not cheap) and the Robusts are from Wisconsin.
 
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Okay, I stand corrected. I bought a used Jet Mini lathe a couple months ago and donated it for my High School pen turning classes--- the plastic switch busted after 2 days. Other than that, I do not mean to be a snob, but I have not owned any inexpensive Asian lathes--- the Woodfast was from Australia, the Oneway from Canada, (not cheap) and the Robusts are from Wisconsin.

You're definitely not a snob there. If you've never had problems with the boutique brands in 40 years, that greatly reinforces my inclination to spend the money of one of these machines.
I did a couple of demos on the Oneway 12 inch model, and even in low range, found it to be way underpowered for a 1 hp lathe.

robo hippy

What other 1HP lathes have you turned on ? Is it underpowered compared to the crop of sub $1k 1HP DC powered Midis? (Jet, Rikon, Laguna) or is it more of a function of lack of torque due to the gearing on the "low" speed range?
 
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I have 6 lathes setup in my shop and have had a total of 12 different lathes since I started turning. A Powermatic 3520b, a DVR3000, a Jet 1642, 2 Delta 46-460s and a Vicmarc VL100. I just had to get a new control board for the Vicmarc. All the rest have been trouble free, some for over 15 years. The other 6 I got rid of were not to my liking as the ones I kept but none had problems and all are still running. The DVR is not a Powermatic, the Jet is not a DVR, the Deltas are not Jets and for sure the Vicmarc is not a Delta but they all do the job that they are there for. My club has 4 Delta 46-460s and when I was president for 10 years we had 2 or 3 named demonstrators every year for 2 or 3 days of hands on in my shop. 6 of these lathes for the hands on were the Deltas and like the higher priced lathes they have been bullet proof not counting the fact that the club lathes when not being used for hands on are lent out to club members and mine are used for students. You know I can't turn a 20" bowl on a Delta but I can turn a 12" bowl on the Delta without a problem if I had to. For what I paid for these lathes they are hard to beat and they continue to work day in and day out.
 
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Other 1 hp lathes I have turned on.... Well, one of the Jet 14 inch lathes with the Reeves drive, which is a big no to me... My first lathe was an Atlas 4 pulley lathe that came with a 1/2 hp motor. I switched that out to a 1 hp motor which was a big help. I have one Jet mini, but don't remember if it has a 1 hp or 3/4 hp. I only use it for threaded boxes. I think most of the modern 1 hp variable speed lathes are pretty good machines overall.

robo hippy
 
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I have four lathes. PM 3520B, Delta 46-460 and 2 jet 10-14's.
I have a longworth chuck and an after market indexing wheel that will not fit on the Jets.
I will be getting rid of the smaller jets and go with a Delta.
Consider your jigs and accessories, power required and height over bead in your decisions. My 2 cents. Thanks.
 
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. Would love to get a hands on with the Oneway or the Robust at this point. The Stubbys look interesting, though I'll doubt I'll even get to lay eyes on one. I should probably take a second look at the higher-end Midis, too (Delta, Jet, Laguna). I hadn't looked at the speed ranges, I had assumed they were all similar to what I was familiar with (the Nova Comet and Rikon 70-220 VSR have a terrible jump in speed between medium and high ranges... a hard NO, as I like to do anything smaller than 1.5" quite fast, and the lowest fast speeds are too quick for sanding).

The Jet felt a bit low-end in quality when handling in the store, and the Laguna is only 16" (26" with the extension looks nice, but the cost starts stacking up). It did feel pretty quality, though. Not to sound entitled, but the cost isn't really a big deal. If the Oneway is twice as nice and/or lasts twice as long, it doesn't actually cost more in the long run. Hard to believe the Robust would be *that* much better, but a Robust Scout would do about 98% of the turning between my wife and myself, and 100% of the turning that I enjoy doing most.
 
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