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Type of lathe You use

Lathe size of the lathe you use most

  • Mini lathe mechanical speed control

    Votes: 10 10.1%

  • Mini lathe electronic speed control

    Votes: 4 4.0%

  • 12" mechanical speed control

    Votes: 13 13.1%

  • 12" electronic speed control

    Votes: 2 2.0%

  • 16" mechanical speed control

    Votes: 6 6.1%

  • 16" electronic speed control

    Votes: 22 22.2%

  • 20" mechanical speed control

    Votes: 1 1.0%

  • 20" electronic speed control

    Votes: 29 29.3%

  • 24" and over mechanical speed control

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 24" and over mechanical speed control

    Votes: 12 12.1%
  • Total voters
    99
  • Poll closed .
D

Dave Beringer

Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
47
Likes
0
Location
Pittsburgh PA
Just wondering what tpe of equipement most of us turn on. The lathe doesn't reflect on the quality of the turning but I sure we all agree it may allow a turner to be better.
 
The last option in the poll should likely be 24" and over electronic speed controled.
 
i am thinking the poll needs a ittle revision ?

myself and many others use a 14 inch lathe and that size is not listed.

also, how about the reeves drive system that is so popular.
it is not an electronic speed system nor is it a manual belt change system as far as stopping the lathe and changing to different pulleys goes .

would it be classified as a operator assisted modified belt changing via external lever or something to that effect ?
w. y.
 
mechanical speed control

By mechanical speed control I meant belt changes and reeves drives and such. I said mechanical and no :cool2: t manual.

Yes I did make a mistake on the the last 24 inch is should have been electronic my cut and paste didn't work and once posted no edits are possible.
 
More than one lathe?

I know a lot of people, myself included, have more than one lathe. A "full-size" lathe and a mini-lathe seems to be a popular combination.

Which one counts?
 
lathe size

I tried to take that in to consderation by asking the size of the lathe you use the most. I also have a 2nd lathe ( a mini) I mainly use for demos.
 
Well I voted using my Poolewood as the main machine, but I split my turning time between it and my Vega, which is in the next category up. Personally, I think it is much more informative to see what is coming off all these lathes. Anyone can buy a lathe - it is what they do with it that counts, and I have seen a lot of very good work come off of lower end lathes.

Bill
 
thanks david for clearing up what you are referring to as mechanical versus electronic speed control . that makes sense.

i suppose that myself and many others will not be able to vote in the poll as it now stands seeing as it does not include 14" lathes so i will vote here in this message on the missing size 🙂
one vote for 14" lathe.
w.y.
 
Where is the 14 inch?

I voted for 12 inch size mechanical variable speed, but my lathe is actually a 14 inch. There are a number of 14 inch lathes available including Delta and Jet. For what it is worth, what type of useful data can be garnered from this survey?

Bill
 
boehme said:
I voted for 12 inch size mechanical variable speed, but my lathe is actually a 14 inch. There are a number of 14 inch lathes available including Delta and Jet. For what it is worth, what type of useful data can be garnered from this survey?
Click to expand...

About the same as can be gathered in the barracks shower room, I'd guess. Only here it's not just size that counts.
 
Size doesn't count

Bill

As I said in my original note size doesn't make the turner. I do believe however size and mass and hp makes the turning easier. You probably need to be more skill to produce the same product off a mini lathe than a full size lathe. I do think it is interesting to see what most of us use however.
 
boehme said:
MichaelMouse,

In that case, I want to change my vote to 24".

Bill
Click to expand...

Ah yes, there seems to be a difference between bar room and locker room.

Now it may not be quite as bad as judging other things by stag movie actors, but the participants on this board are in no way "average" turners, either. As already noted, a lot of us have a couple of lathes to choose from.
 
Size - Which Size...

Which Size...

I have been looking at a number of lathes lately for future consideration...
I notic a number of them have Outboard turning capacity which is larger then the inboard size (without using a floor stand toolrest).

In that case, which size should be selected...?
 
I notice very few of us opt for the electronic variable speed. Is that because we can't afford it or because it offers less HP?

Myself I'd like to know how many of us prefer to manually change belts?

I've had a run of bad luck with mechanical variable speed control and would just prefer to change the belts manually. I prefer the simplicity because there is less to break down.
 
Jim,

There is no reason that mechanical variable speed lathes couldn't be perfectly good machines with a long MTBF. Unfortunately, that is not the case these days because all of the mechanical variable speed lathes that I am aware of currently being produced are made using die-cast zinc pulleys. If they were made with quality Reeves or Dodge machined cast iron pulleys, they would last much longer and run much more smoothly.

And, as you mentioned, mechanical speed control does have an advantage over electronic speed control -- the motor is always capable of putting out rated HP and only 10 - 15 percent power is lost in the drive train. With electronic drive, power decreases linearly with speed when operating below base speed (motor speed when operating on 60 Hz). Not only that, but most lathes with electronic drives also have drive trains involving belts and pulleys so that loss is also there with electronic drives unless you have a Poolewood or Nova DVR. Don't smirk, you Poolewood and Nova owners, you give up low speed torque when using direct drive compared to something like the Powermatic with two drive ratios.

Bill
 
boehme said:
There is no reason that mechanical variable speed lathes couldn't be perfectly good machines with a long MTBF. Unfortunately, that is not the case these days because all of the mechanical variable speed lathes that I am aware of currently being produced are made using die-cast zinc pulleys. If they were made with quality Reeves or Dodge machined cast iron pulleys, they would last much longer and run much more smoothly.
Click to expand...

I suspected as much... But I've priced those better variable speed units. $$$! 😱

And that's probably why we don't see them on stock lathes, it keeps the price down....
 
boehme said:
on't smirk, you Poolewood and Nova owners, you give up low speed torque when using direct drive compared to something like the Powermatic with two drive ratios.

Bill
Click to expand...

Hi Bill

I suspect that you have me way beat in the science dept, but I do know that I have not had any torque problems as low as 200 rpm on my Poolewood. I don't know about lower because I haven't gone lower than that except for finishing or parting off, neither of which requires a lot of torque.

Bill
 
so the last one was 24"+ electronic speed control? 😕
 
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