- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
- Messages
- 41
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- 1
I've had my 25-650 for a couple of months, now. At the request of another member, here are my feelings about it so far.
Good things:
Not so good things:
It really is a ton of lathe for the money, and I'm quite pleased with my purchase. Hope this is helpful.
-Joe
Good things:
- I was able to get it in the shop and set it up myself in about an hour. Most of that time was spent agonizing on where to put it
- Everything went together easily and fit well.
- The lathe is very solid, and everything lines up accurately.
- The rotating headstock slides and rotates very smoothly, and is a snap to re-align when you're done playing with it.
- The EVS is awesome. I can dial down to about 50 RPM in the lowest speed range.
- 3 speed/torque ranges are available to suit your turning. 0-1000, 0-2000, 0-3750. Changing ranges is very quick and easy. Plenty of torque down in the low range.
- 36 Indexing positions.
- Quiet and vibration free.
- Good capacity for the money.
- It's not bright yellow
Not so good things:
- If you'll be turning out-of-balance blanks, weight in the base would be a big help. The ability to dial the speed way down does compensate quite a bit for this. I haven't added any weight, yet, and I've turned blanks up to 15" diameter without any drama.
- The only way to immobilize the spindle so you can remove a chuck/faceplate is by screwing in the indexing pin. It's a 3/8" bolt, and you've got to screw it in about 1/2". Kind of a pain.
- No handwheel. I've never used a lathe with one anyway, so I don't care, but it may bother some.
- Instructions could be more detailed.
It really is a ton of lathe for the money, and I'm quite pleased with my purchase. Hope this is helpful.
-Joe