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RIKON Model 70-450 20 x 37 Woodfast Lathe EVS

Bart.......

What is it about that lathe that you like?

I don't have any hands on experience with a Rikon, and from what I hear, the only resemblance to the original Australian Woodfast lathes is the name. Matter of fact, I've heard a few complaints about quality......and, don't remember hearing anyone with any real background in lathe turning really praising it.

Maybe someone who has one of these can give you a better idea.

I see it has a six-step pulley......wonder why six? Slowest speed is 50rpm, and I know for a fact that this is just too fast to run a Grex random orbital sander. That would be a deal breaker for me.

Don't see where it says what the outboard swing is, but it's got to be huge. I doubt that outboard setup is going to be adequate for anything really heavy and out of balance. I'd guess only platters over 20" diameter are feasible.

For me, the largest I can go inboard with my Aussie Woodfast is 16", and at this point, I don't feel I'll ever need anything bigger. The Rikon has a 20" swing over the bed, and to my thinking, that's more than enough.

1 1/4" x 8tpi and No.2 Morse tapers would be what I would want.....it's got those.

ooc
 
Odie,
50rpm is to fast when you are using the Grex? Wow, I usually am around 250 -350 depending on the size and shape. I would think 50 to be to slow.
On the Rikon - for just a few dollars more you could get a PM. 1.5hp on a 20" seems underpowered. Most lathes in that capacity size have either 2 or 3hp.
I saw seine had aboriginal Woodfast for sale just last week but it was a short bed version. The guy said the bed was less than 20". Never saw one that short.
 
Brian McInturff said:
Odie,
50rpm is to fast when you are using the Grex? Wow, I usually am around 250 -350 depending on the size and shape. I would think 50 to be to slow.
On the Rikon - for just a few dollars more you could get a PM. 1.5hp on a 20" seems underpowered. Most lathes in that capacity size have either 2 or 3hp.
I saw seine had aboriginal Woodfast for sale just last week but it was a short bed version. The guy said the bed was less than 20". Never saw one that short.
Click to expand...

Brian........best rpm for a random orbital sander is around 10-20rpm.....there abouts. (Speed is my best guess, but it's about as slow as I can go.) I have not been able to hold it steady with much more speed than that. There are times when I use the Grex in one hand, and turn the lathe with my hand on the handwheel in order to get the quality of surface I want. I would think at 250-350rpm the effectiveness of random orbit sanding would be completely lost, and all it would be doing is "skipping" across the surface. Random orbital sanders were designed to be used on stationery objects, so we've got a whole nuther set of physical laws at play here.......😉

If you've got a link to the short bed Woodfast lathe you mentioned, I wouldn't mind taking a look.......thanks

ooc
 
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Brian McInturff said:
Odie,
On the Rikon - for just a few dollars more you could get a PM.
Click to expand...

I can only assume you are talking about the 3520B. In that case, "a few dollars" = $1500.

No doubt the PM is a better lathe, but Rikon pushing 20" lathes at a price point well under the usual suspects may gain some serious traction in the market, especially if the pulley system does indeed provide ample torque for most work.

Rikon is also offering a heavier 20" with a 2HP motor that came out early in 2011 for about $500 more, still $1000 less than a mustard monster.
 
Oh, I thought the PM was around $3000. Didn't realize they had gone up that much. When I was in the market they were around $2200 on sale.

I went out to the shop and my 250-350 rpm should be cut in half due to the setting of my vid. Anything slower is just too slow for me but I use an electric and control the speed on the Sioux.

I'll look and see if I can find the link to the Woodfast. it was located in Wilmington NC which is only about 70 miles from me and that's why I even considered it for a second lathe. My Stubby is more than enough and I don't have the space so I passed.
 
Bart;
I'm from the UK and I have had the original version of this lathe for the past 15 years (Woodfast C series) and am very happy with it. Little has changed in that time except that mine has the 2 hp motor and 33- 3.5 mm spindle thread. My speeds go down to naught but the highest is the same. It copes very well over the bed and on the few occasions I've had to swivel the head stock it was OK. The six speeds give good torque over the whole speed range but for the majority of my work (over the bed) I leave the belt on the 2nd highest speed pulleys and changing the belt position is quick and easy. Its a good solid lathe and if it does me for another 15 years I shall be quite content.
Is it possible to have a hands on try first - when you spend this sort of money it could be worth a try.
 
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