OneWay 2436 Checklist

[Jake Gevorgian]

Hello friends,

I'm a full time cabinet maker and a part time bowl turner.

I currently have a Delta lathe in my shop which is fine for spindle turning, however, when it comes to bowlturning, it has a very minimal swing diameter.

So, I'm planning on purchasing a new OneWay 2436. / Just to note, I've also had couple of other choices, for example the Vicmarc VL300 and VB-36---but I've given up on those, because the financing wouldn't work out the way we wanted. /

Now, before I place my order with the OneWay dealer, what should I know or what should I customize to get the perfect lathe for the bowlturning as well as spindle turning.

I know that I can customize the lathe spindle height---which is about 42" to 44" from the floor to my elbow.

And I also use lot of force while roughing a blank---for round spindles I use a skew in flat position with planing cuts, and for bowls, I use a gouge with scraping action. The Delta lathe has a 3/4 hp motor and it stalls. Should I get 2hp or 3hp motor?

I think these are the primary questions I've right now. If you can come up with more suggestions, please let me know!

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Jake

 

[KellyDunn]

Jake,
1st off make sure they have the bearings changed to the ones that are quiet.
If you want it to be the last lathe you will probably ever get?
3Hp motor, stainless steel ways, Swing to get the tailstock to the side, large outboard, remote on/off. I did not care for the cast toolrests so had solid steel ones made. That was in 99 so dont know what they are like now. I dont have the swing for the tailstock but it would be nice. I have 3hp, large outboard and remote switch. Non stainless ways. I have to sand and coat the ways all the time for rust. If I was in a drier climate no need maybe. But roughout wet timber and you can see the rust form. I spray with wd before roughing wet stuff. Helps a tiny bit.
Large outboard gives you lots of room.
You have, at least mine does, three belt settings depending on the size and how heavy a piece is. It has safety measures. So depending on setting you can stop the lathe with heavy tool work. Or make it click off. You then have to let it sit a minute and restart. Mine has a quick or slow stop setting. A super heavy work even on slow can cause the machine to click off. I am not saying this as a negative. Its just something you should know. For almost all work I use the medium belt setting and use the slow stop for more heavy work. But thats all just a learning curve. I like that I can flip it in reverse with the machine running. I think oneway has fixed some of the small things that bugged me. so a newer machine will have all those tiny things resolved. The quiet bearings though is a recent thing so get the loud ones gone. It should be very quiet when running.

 

[Steve Worcester]

Kelly is spot on, but you may not need the outboard attachment now, and it can always be purchased later.
2 vs 3HP, depends on size of the items really, even the 1.5HP works fine, but it is an expensive upgrade to get it vs buying it that way stock. I had a 2036 with a 1.5 for years and only had stalling on the outer sizes of what it could handle. On my current 2436 with 3HP, only stalling when coring real large bowls, but more likely it comes out of the chuck before that happens.

 

[Jake Gevorgian]

Thanks Kelly and Steve for the comments.

Kelly, the bearing noise is very important---I've heard and seen a fellow woodturner's YouTube video, where he was showing "bad oneway noise". I assume OneWay has two bearings, noisy and very silent ones.

Steve, I think I'll get the outboard bed attachment later, since right now I want to keep the costs as minimal as possible, and spend the money on things, for example the 3hp motor and the swinging tailstock.

Anyhow, I want to let you know that I've checked with OneWay and they said that each bearing at the back of the spindle has 800 pound load capacity. Then I asked them if I could, for example, turn 600 pounds maple log on the outboard. I've not got any replies yes --- I hope they don't think I'm being sarcastic (or I'm a nutcase.) But is it really possible to do this on a OneWay? If not 600 pounds, how heavy have you turned on a OneWay?

Cheers,
Jake

P.S. Hopefully this won't be my last lathe

 

[robo hippy]

Jake,
Have you considered the Robust American Beauty? Made in the USA. It also has a 2 or 3 hp option, and a sliding headstock, which I prefer as that was what I had turned most of my bowls on.

robo hippy

 

[Jake Gevorgian]

Jake,
Have you considered the Robust American Beauty? Made in the USA. It also has a 2 or 3 hp option, and a sliding headstock, which I prefer as that was what I had turned most of my bowls on.

robo hippy

Thanks Robo,

I'm not very familiar with the Robust lathe. I don't know if anyone in our woodturners guild has one, so that I can see it in action. I've got to ask them on our next meeting--hope that's soon.

Cheers,
Jake

 

[hockenbery]

The American Beauty is the strongest competitor for the ONEWAY.
Or One way is the strongest competitor for Robust.

The one-way with a 17" bed on the outboard side gives you the short bed bowl lathe.
With a second banjo you can start and turn the outside of a bowl between centers inboard and immediately mount it in a chuck on the outboard side. With the robust you remove the tailstock unlock the headstock, slide the headsock, lock the headstock.

Robust has a small network of dealers. They are all woodturners. I know the ones in Fl, Co, PA, VT, plus. Check the Robust web site.
These dealers will gladly show the lathe or they may know of ones near you.

You can get the Robust with m33 x 3.5 thread and a #3Morse taper in the tailstock just like the ONEWAY.
I still prefer the ONEWAY but the Robust is a great machine and a pleasure to Turn on.

Have fun, Al

 

[Hugh]

Jake,
Make sure you get a remote on/off box attached. And also the RFI part that cuts out the radio interference. I would get the 3 hp motor and the stainless ways. I do not have the humidity problem that Kelly has, but when I turn wet Oak or Walnut the ways rust instantly. I am not sure I would get the large outboard attachment - I hear it is a shin biter. But I would get the short outboard extension and an extra tool rest "banjo".

Hope you love your new lathe as much as I like mine which I have had for about 8 years.
Hugh

 

[robo hippy]

I don't know what your time frame is, but the AAW Symposium will be in San Jose next year, and you can see them all side by side. I consider the Oneway and Robust to be very close in overall quality. I chose the Robust because of the sliding headstock. My lathe sits in a corner, and I can't turn outboard. If you want an all round lathe, it is great for big bowls, and long heavy spindles and hollow forms. I seldom turn bowls over 16 inches, but love the extra hp which isn't available on 16 inch lathes.

robo hippy

 

[KellyDunn]

Jake, not sure how heavy. It took two of us and it was a grunt. I have some heavy duty six inch faceplates that take more than 12 #14 2 inch screws. Even though the big outboard can do more than 40 inches I think I have only done 37. I am getting to old for that. I also have my lathe on concrete where the bolts into the concrete were cast in place with the lathe. I raised the lathe so the spindle was chest high so I stand straight when I turn. I use a platform for some operations. An out of balance work will still rock the whole thing. One more thing. when I got my lathe I was a production faceplate turner so got the adapter to go to 1 1/2x8 thread. The harmonics from the adapter was horrible. So I paid a turner machinest to make me a new spindle with 1 1/2x 8 threads. He also put in larger shoulders on the new spindle. I asked oneway and got grief. I now work by myself so use a chuck more than faceplates for smaller work. and many more folks are making after market items that fit the oneway. So I would probably be just as happy with the original spindle.

 

[Jake Gevorgian]

One again, thanks Al, Hugh, Kelly and Robo for the attention and very helpful replies.

Something I've learnt from the elders, is measure twice cut once---I definitely don't want to rush on this big purchase.

By the way, right now I'm trying to see if anyone in our area has a Robust American Beauty lathe, that I can check it out myself. I've seen the OneWay, looks good, but I also think the price tag is high because of the name...I may be totally wrong on that.

Another thing that I like the idea of getting an American made Robust, is the customer service. I've got couple of American made machines in our shop, for example the Woodmaster Molder from Kansas City, Missouri, and whenever I've a question, I give them a buzz. We not only solve the problem, but we also learn new ideas from each other...With this said, since Robust is mainly sold by woodturners, I think it's a great idea to think about getting a Robust.

Anyhow, I'm still waiting for some final proposal from the dealer (we're getting other tools as well from them, so I'm hoping to get a cool deal...) And if everything goes as planned, then I've no choice but to get a OneWay. If not, then I'll just reconsider my decision about OneWay and put the Robust in my preferences.

Cheers,
Jake

 

[Royce Wallace]

For what is worth, I own a 2036, with large outboard attachment and 5' extension. The lathe is no. 369, puchased in 1999. I have no way to describe how many hours it has been used, both inboard and outboard.
I attended the recent SWAT symbosium. Robust has a large display of products. I took the time to examine all on display.
Given all that I know at present, I would choose the Oneway with stainless beds and 3hp today--making sure the bearings are the latest--less noise. It is certain that Robust is a quaility produce--I like the structure and layout of the Oneway better. I would still go with the 2036 and opposed to the 2436.