Nichols for nickles

[Kevin Jenness]

One of the newer members of the VT Woodturners Guild told me that he recently picked up a Nichols lathe through an online auction site for $350. Now that it has been shoehorned into his 175 sq ft shop he needs to run a 220 v circuit to power it. Apparently it has an onboard material hoist, a sliding bed with 42" swing in the gap, an auxiliary banjo support extending from the headstock and a 1 1/2" spindle. I look forward to checking out the wee timorous beastie. Watch out for those mythical auctions, they might be all too real.

I believe this was the auction listing. Nichols lathe

 

[Alan Weinberg]

really cool. Look forward to hearing more.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Talk about pennies on the dollar... that is a once in a lifetime find. Good for him!

 

[hockenbery]

That is a grand bargain indeed.

 

[Ricc Havens]

That's a great deal. But the auction description states "110v plug, 2hp Lesson motor,"

 

[Steve Tiedman]

That's a great deal. But the auction description states "110v plug, 2hp Lesson motor,"

Yeah, not with that motor being 180v DC.

Doesn't mean a previous owner didn't use a 120v receptacle wired for 240. I've seen people do dumber things.

 

[Dean Center]

Our local high school wood shop acquired a Nichols lathe, similar to the one above. It's been unused since. If anybody is seriously interested, the school district might be willing to part with it at this point. It's in SW Montana.