shopping for new Lathe

[dickwatson]

I am ready to graduate from my shop smith to some serious bowl turning.

I have narrowed it down to The Powermatic 4224 (because it looks so much heavier that the PM3620) The Oneway 2436 and the Nova 3000 DVR.

I have read lots good about the Power matic and Nova on here but not much on the oneway.


Any input on these lathes or others in this class would be helpful. Price is not as important as getting the right lathe.

 

[Norm Smith]

I have a Powermatic 3520a and love it. The price was right and it was the best bang for the buck. However , my opinion is that if money isnt an object there is only oneway and that is Oneway.
Good luck,
Norm

 

[john lucas]

I don't think the Nova DVR is in the same league as the Powermatic and Oneway just because of the mass of the machines. I have the Powermatic 3520 and have turned on the the 2442 and the Oneway. I think the Oneway is a better lathe but is quite a bit more expensive. It's hard to go wrong with the Oneway.
Another popular lathe for bowls is the Stubby. Perhaps someone can give you a clue as the where to buy them. I know John Jordan used t sell them.

 

[Nice Bill]

Good Morning Dick,

All of the lathes you, and others, have noted are very well designed lathes. However one must consider the size of the bowls one wishes to make. Will they be of the small soup/candy size or in the class of the large family style Caser salad type. You realy don't see many 24" bowls, .

Why buy a strech-limo, if you have to drive it.

A lathe with a good drive train, and substantial power, would be one of the priorities to consider.

 

[Steve Worcester]

Let me give you my opinion (since I am never short of one

)

I bought a 2036 in 1998 (I think) and a 2436 about two years ago. I have turned on most larger lathes, Poolewood, Stubby, Powermatic so I have some background for the opinion.
I have turned up to 36" platters and 24" bowls and do larger than 16" with some regularity on my Oneway.

I really like the Stubbies, the versatility of the gap bed and how well it realigns after moving the bed out (I was real impressed with that). I think they both have ample power and I have never met a disatisfied Stubby owner.
I liked the Poolewood, but found too many (minor) issues with it. Didn't like the solid spindle, I like a through hole. I know you can get vacuum adapters that work with it. It had good power, strong torque at low RPMs. The floor standing controls with LED speed was kind neat.
As far as the Oneway, I have only minor compaints. (My 2436 is 3HP with a remote and the outboard attachment with tailstock riser to allow a tailstock to be used up to 48" swing.) You can no longer get the braking resistor, so there are times when you hit the stop (not power off) and the box resets and the piece will free spin. Not an issue really except the box needs to be opened and reset. I am told that when they changed manufacturers of VFDs or invertors, whichcever it is, the new one will not use the braking resistor. This only occurs with larger, out of balance items. When in balance, even the 100+ LBS items slow as normal. The other item is the outboard setup. I don't think that it is heavy duty enough to actually accomodate that much swing. I have done two pieces too large to fit on the "inboard" and it can be a scary experience with that outboard. I think that it twists too much for the amount of downforce that the toolpost and banjo get. A better option may be a floor mount toolrest, but I have never found one that gave me a stable enough feeling (comfort leads to confidence).

As a 24" bowl and spindle lathe, it is great. I have turned large bowls , done deep hollow work (up to 24") and it is a great machine.

If I were do it all over again (about every 4 years I get an itch) I would look at the VB36 also. From what I see in the uber lathe (money is no object area) it would hold it's own as well. I am still of the opinion that you need a tailstock for safety.

my $.02 worth - Steve

 

[C Edward Moore]

Hi Dick,

Steve made some excellent points. I think one can adapt to the Stubby 750 and be very happy. I have the S500, which is smaller, and it is very nice.

I think one can be very happy with a Oneway 2436.

There are many Powermatic 3520A and 4224 happy owners.

The lathe which has not been mentioned is the Vicmarc 300 series. Some of the best known turners have one and are extremely pleased. Craft Supplies USA carries them. They are a little less expensive than the Oneway and Stubby, and are preferred by some. I'm doing more spindle work, so the larger lathes are not a hot item for me right now. But if I head back into bowls it will be the Vicmarc VL300, item 191-3316 in the catalog, that I will aspire to.

 

[TEK]

Nova 3000

The Nova 3000 series lathes are good lathes too! I bought mine used, a Nova 3000 with a 1HP DC variable speed motor. I was looking for a decent lathe and didn’t want to spend as much as a new Oneway or Powermatic would cost me. The previous owner was happy with it also. He was selling it so he could buy the Nova 3000 DVR. Buying a tool usually involves compromise. I traded some of the weight and power of bigger machines for cost, a machine that I could carry into the basement, where my shop is, and one that has a swiveling headstock. Some people hate the swiveling headstock; they worry about it lining up with the tailstock. I found with a little care, less care than you have to use to make a skew work correctly, it’s not hard to line up. I like to swing it to the 45% off the ways position to work on the insides of turnings. If I was doing a lot of large diameter work, say over 14†diameter I’d probably go for a heavier lathe.
Some people claim the Oneway lathes are the best product on the market, and some claim because they are made of steel instead of cast iron they develop harmonic vibrations at certain speeds. I don’t have any experience on them; I tend to believe they are great tools. I am fortunate enough to belong to a rather large turning club. We have over 100 members. We have groups that are fans of each of the lathes you mention. I know the Powermatic owners are happy with their lathes. The General Lathes also have a pretty good following. I could be wrong, but I thought that I read Stubby was getting out of the US lathe market. Good luck! Whatever lathe you buy I’m sure you will like it. I moved up from an old ½ horsepower Craftsman lathe. I haven’t missed it yet!

 

[Duane]

Lathes???

I looked a lot before I bought my PM 4224. I realy like useing it's 3 hp. almost 1000 lbs solid cast iron and a lot of other goodies. I to have turned on other lathes, Oneway, Stuby, Vicmark, Nova,And others. But when you look at the price compared to what you get . The PM4224 at $3,500 or less comes out on topin my book.
First, The nova dosn't belong in this class, price, weight, or HP not even close.
Next the One Way 2436 A good lathe to be sure But at $4,555. ( I'm not sure that includes the 3 hp motor) it is not $1,000 better lathe.Unless you are on an image or ego trip.
Next the Stuby Model 1000 at $ 5,499. I used a Stuby at a well known turning school and would never buy one after that experience. Most of the adjustable parts were hard to get aglined correctly and would not stay tight. Even after adjusting the adjustible parts they would not stay tight. And lots of other problems with it also. Way over priced for what you get.
Next is Vicmark . The only problem I can recall about the short bed version VL 300 is the stand it comes on.The foot under the headstock is in the way. You either stradle it or put both feet together to the right of the foot. Uncomfortable but i could get used to it. At $4,000. not a bad deal but It needs to gain a few pounds.
The VB 36. She is a step or two above these lathes so may be later we'll talk about her.
NOW I know there are other lathes out there but I haven't turned on those yet so i can't talk about them.
I am sure i have ruffeled a few feathers here but I have given my opinion based on my experences. The Powermatic 4224 is best lathe for the price. And that is my $.02 worth Duane

 

[dkulze]

Hullo.

I drive a Nova myself and do enjoy it, but my dream lathe is the Oneway. I've turned on several (including some PMs, Vicmarks, higher end Novas, etc) and the Oneway is just a slick machine. Well built, good service, great folks at the company, etc. The only other lathes I've experienced or talked to folks about that really compare are the very high end Vicmarks and the Stubby.

A friend who is a large hollow form turner recently got a Stubby. He's been very happy with its performance but we were both astounded by the one page, poorly illustrated and largely absent instruction sheet. He's still trying to figure out how to use some of his features cause he can't find any documentation to support his lathe.

Have another friend who has the 2436 and 48" outboard. She regularly turns platters in the 40-45" range and has had no problems (well, except for the 40" bowl that blew up and almost killed her).

Personally, for quality, versatility, ease, and shear beauty of the machine, I'm a Oneway fan.

Congrats on the opportunity to choose your dream lathe,
Dietrich