Refurbished Nova Galaxy

[John Hutchins]

Is it a bad idea to consider this refurbished Nova Galaxy on Ebay? $1999 including shipping. A new model is $2,429. So $430 savings. There is a 1 year warranty. Other $2000 lathes I'm considering are the Jet 1640EVS, Nova Saturn and Laguna Evo 1524 with the Jet at the top of that list.

Any thoughts appreciated!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

1 year warrenty on refurbished lathe.....questionable

the 1640 evs jet good lathe....is it new
I have 1642 jet and I think I had 5 year warrenty....have not had any problems

 

[Robert D Evans]

My question would be, What exactly got refurbished? Did they just put on a new motor that was faulty or is there some other issue that was "patched" up? I also would be checking into that one year ebay warranty on a refurbished lathe. That's a lot of money for something "refurbished" that you haven't personally inspected.

 

[Timothy White]

I own a Nova DVR XP I like it a lot. The galaxy is a better lathe. No way would I buy either used or refurbished without trying them out.

 

[Russell Nugent]

I have a saturn, I like it but I don't think I'd buy it again. I do like the galaxy having seen it in person many times, much beefier than the saturn. I think refurb by the manufacturer should come with a full warranty. I've never seen a jet, they don't seem to be available in canada.

I do have a laguna 12/16 that I really like, I'd assume the 15/24 would be as good quality, I wasn't even aware they had a lathe between the 12/16 and 18/36.

 

[John Hutchins]

Thanks for all the responses. You all mostly confirm my reservations about a purchase like this. The seller, Striatech, is the supplier of Nova's motors and DVR controllers so probably a safe assumption the problem and fix was with that and hopefully done right. I sent a message via Ebay to see if I could get more information. I also asked if all of the accessories were still included (tool rest,live and spur centers, etc.) no accessories listed in the Ebay ad. We'll see if they respond. I sent them a message about a Nova refurbed 1624-II pointing out that their price plus shipping and and optional 1 yr. warranty (none included in the sale price) was only $5 less than the current price of a new lathe and so far heard nothing. FWIW, lack of response to that inquiry doesn't instill confidence.

Jet has a 10% off sale through 3/16 which gets the price to $2,030 and is available at Acmetools.com with free shipping and no sales tax. I was able to inspect a floor model locally and liked what I saw. On paper the Galaxy is beefier.

 

[Doug Freeman]

John, new Galaxi for $2350, where I bought mine Dec ‘18 https://m.tools-plus.com/nova-lathes-55214.html

For refurb, 1) is it Nova warranty, 2) have to know what was refurbed

Lot of folks make a big deal out of length of warranty, as if it means better quality. Not really - warranty is no different than insurance, built on actuarial tables. In effect you pay up front for what might break. A shorter warranty allows a lower price. Most wood lathes are fairly easy to repair, although a new evs drive or motor can be several hundred.

If you want to see a Galaxi in the flesh and play with it, Im about 2-1/2 hrs sw of you down I-44 in Lebanon.

 

[John Hutchins]

Doug,
Thanks for the generous offer. I'm 7 weeks out from rotator cuff surgery and shouldn't be turning now. However it mihgt be worth the drive to inspect, watch one run and here what you have to say. My first college dorm roommate was from the home of the walnut bowl when I was at SMSU (Missouri State these days).

This is the reply from Striatech about the refurbished Galaxies.

"Per the NOVA/Teknatool supply chain manager, these were simply just ecommerce returns. Fully functional, basically new. Some have very light wear and tear. They a been 100% overhauled and are fully functional. Minor cosmetic scuffing possible. Original packaging has ware. All inclusions and accessories are there. Motors have been tested and certified to be working. All refurbished items have a one-year warranty on both electronic and mechanical items.

And yes, Striatech is the supplier of the DVR motor but we share a warehouse and many team members with NOVA/Teknatool, so all refurbished items are shipping directly from the manufacturer."

I found that encouraging except for the "100% overhauled" comment. I sent a followup question asking what that involves on a returned unit described as fully functioning.

 

[Russell Nugent]

John, new Galaxi for $2350, where I bought mine Dec ‘18 https://m.tools-plus.com/nova-lathes-55214.html

For refurb, 1) is it Nova warranty, 2) have to know what was refurbed

Lot of folks make a big deal out of length of warranty, as if it means better quality. Not really - warranty is no different than insurance, built on actuarial tables. In effect you pay up front for what might break. A shorter warranty allows a lower price. Most wood lathes are fairly easy to repair, although a new evs drive or motor can be several hundred.

If you want to see a Galaxi in the flesh and play with it, Im about 2-1/2 hrs sw of you down I-44 in Lebanon.

It was certainly a good thing for me to have the longer warranty since I just had to change the main board in the guts of the lathe, I'm pretty happy I didn't have to pay for the part and then pay to bring it across the border, after having the lathe for just over a year.
There's not much to repair inside a DVR. Either the optical sensor needs cleaned or replaced or your control panel or main board are shot.

 

[John Hutchins]

FWIW, I heard back from Striatech today. They said the 100% overhauled comment was a misstatement. They say the units were only fully inspected and tested. No repair necessary. That sounds consistent with internet sales returns. Makes this a tempting choice for someone willing tom take the risk the reduced price works out better than the longer warranty at full price. I think the warranty on a new lathe is only 2 years on the motor and DVR, 5 on mechanical.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

One comment about warranties in general. Sometimes it takes a while to notice that something is amiss. I bought a bandsaw. I probably didn't check the table for flatness (my bad) and most of a year had gone by before I noticed (doing a different saw operation) that the table was significantly off. The manufacturer made good, but the take home point for me was when un-boxing that new baby "trust, but verify".

If your interested in their deal (and I'm a Nova fan), but not sold on it at their price point you might just tell them so and offer them a dollar figure at which you'd be willing to pull the trigger. Or ask for a longer waranty, or whatever smoothes the way for you. If these refurbs are selling at their price they won't budge. If they're starting to gather dust they may do a deal with you, it's eBay after all.

 

[John Hutchins]

Good point about warranties and also about the price. When I noticed this the listing said 3 available and that hasn't changed. I was thinking of giving Striatech a call tomorrow to see if I could talk to someone directly. Although a Striatech person may need to defer to someone with Nova. To answer my last question about being rebuilt they said they had to check with Nova to see what was done. It's not like that is a big issue. Striatech is wholly owned by Teknatool and they are located in the same building in Clearwater FL. I think they said they shared some employees. So not a big operation

I had the opportunity to spend the day with Doug Freeman, yesterday, and was favorably impressed with his Galaxi. I really like the ease of use and flexibility of the DVR drive. And it is a very stout machine. I was also impressed with examples of Doug's work. I learned a great deal and he gave me much to think about and look into further. Thanks Doug!