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Looking for my next lathe need advice

W

wab

Joined
Sep 24, 2005
Messages
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Location
Vacaville Ca
I'm looking to move up from my delt midi lathe and have only been turning for 1 year. I turn mostly pens and small items. I have the strong urge to move up to bowl and the like. I'd like to turn decorative pieces. I'm not sure what size lathe to move to. I've heard about Powrmatic, nova, jet and of course oneway. I'm thinking of a 14 inche modle or bigger. I'm thinking of giving my midi to a friend so I'd still like to be able to turn pens with the same lathe. One last thing, I have a budget of 2 thousand give or take a little probably give. My locale rockler place is recomending a POWERMATIC modle not sure the number but its about 2 thousand in cost.

Thank you all for your help to a new turner.

WAB.
 
Get a Powermatic 3520a from Southern-tool for $2,350 and no tax and no shipping. No more stepping up required after that. Needs a 220 volt 15amp circuit and extra muscle getting it into the shop.
 
I am another Powermatic 2035 fan. I stepped up from the Nova 3000. I'm glad I did. Even when I turn small stuff it's just so much smoother. If you could go further I would look at the STubby, Oneway and Vicmarc 300. They are all good lathesbut are a lot more expensive.
 
The 20" Powermatic most lathe you can get in the $2000-2500 range.

The Jet 1642 is sort of a baby powermatic and It is a good choice if you can find it for around $1500 to $1600. This should be a real popular machine except that it big brother the 20" powermatic is usally avauilable for $4-500 more and it seems that everyone will by a powematic at $2300 instead of the Jet at $1900.

I think wood craft is running a sale on 1642. This machine will work real well for bowls up to about 14" in diameter and most hollow forms you are likely to turn any time soon.

For a top end lathe it is hard to beat the Oneway. If space is an issue the Stubby is a good choice although it now seems to be costing more than the Oneway. In between the Vic Marcs and General are solid machines too.

Happy Turning,
-Al
 
I am also a happy Powermatic 3520 user and gladly recommend it. My next choice would be the 16" Jet it is the 3520's baby brother.
 
Woodcraft has the 1642 JET on sale this month for $1600, IIRC- which makes it a decent deal- but as the new PMs are hitting the shores (mine's on order :cool2: ) the prices should be dropping on the 3520A's. If you can wait it out (hey, who's kidding who, but it's still worth saying) there are bound to be some great deals on the "old" PMs to be had, I would bet.

Here is the mustard monster for a cool $2099 (free shipping), just in case you're the instant gratification type... 😉

HTH
 
"Stuuuuuuuuuby..............."

"Ooooooooooneway................"

Ooooh, I can hear them calling...............

They whisper in the night..

"We're only $5000 ($7500 with extras, preeeetty extras), we're worth it....."
"and we're muuuuuuch prettier....."
"not yeeeeellow...."
"looooove us......."
"ooooown us......."
"we're meeeeeeant to be....."



(heh, heh) 😀
 
I use my 3520 to turn pens, spindles, goblets and a host of items too numerous to mention. It has plenty of power for large turnings and plenty of finesse for the most delicate of projects. It also is reversible at the flip of a switch. I love mine .
Jim
 
Powermatic

I just got my Powermatic a couple of months ago. Everything said before is on the money!! You can't appreciate variable speed and reversing until you've experienced them.

On the other hand - consider retaining your Midi. You've already got a lot of accessories, several with #2 MTof that can be used on both lathes. When you need to prep a jam chuck, having the option of not disturbing the setup on the Powermatic is nice. I also find Midi portabilitiy great for demos and other club support.

ChetB
 
If you're not in a hurry, it may be worth waiting a little while and see what the new Grizzly looks like. Saw something on it the other week, by description looks like it's similar to the GI 20" or PM 20". Supposed to be going for around $1400 plus shipping so it could be a good deal for the right person.

I have a Jet 1642-2 with the 20" bed extension, and do mostly spindle turnings on it and for that, it's a great lathe.

Paul
 
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