Odie,
I agree come to our symposium. Woodworkers Emporium comes every year. If you contacted Christian I am sure he would bring one for you to have a look. He was/is great to work with and quite knowledgeable.
Thank you for the invite, Dale
It's unlikely I'll make it to the symposium because of my family obligations....among other things. I'd probably take a plane to LV and see the lathe in one day.....if I get serious about a Vicmarc 240 purchase. I honestly am not ready to pull the trigger, at the moment.....but, you never know! My "old girl" is like a lady that you get used to over decades of building your life around her......she'd be a hard one to let go, because, even with her quirks, there is nothing I can't accomplish without her help! I shot an email to Christian at woodworker's emporium, and he said the spindle is 1 1/4x8tpi, and the banjo comes supplied with a 1" sleeve to adapt to my numerous tool rests (19 of them, I think!). The specs say #2 M.Tapers in the HS and TS......so, it looks like all my tooling and special home built jigs will fit without special adaptation.
Odie, I have a VL 300 and as soon as I will have my addition to the shop finished (it was supposed to be finished by the mid September but the contractor did not start it yet...) I'm planning to get a second lathe and I'm leaning toward a VL 240. The reason is becouse of the excellent reviews from Glenn Lucas and other that have seen it (not me) at the AAW in Las Vegas. I actually spoke to a well known machinist who sells lathe accessories made in his shop and he was amazed by how secure and easy that head moves and register itself in the perfect position. Furthermore the concept of the turning head has been in the Vicmarc lathes for years with the VL 175 so it is not new but well tested. There is a very good turning guy that uses the VL175 lathe and you can see him on you tube. In one of his clips he defined his VL 175 as a "dream lathe" as an answer to a subscriber question. Here the link to hisyou tube channel
http://youtu.be/QuMjAVsQuGE
The tool rests of the Vicmarc lathes all have a 30 mm diameter and... I love it. I believe it is much more solid than the usual 25.4 mm i.e. Oneinch. I really feel the difference. In fact, although I have a bushing to fit the usual inch post in that banjo, which I use regularly with a oneway bowl rest and a trent Bosch hollowing tool stabilizer which is subject to a lot of stress, I bought two Robust rests with a 30 mm post which are obvioulsy more expensive. Much more solid and vibration dampening then the little inch post. This is at least my experience. Once you use a 300 mm post you wonder how is it possible to use a smaller one which feels really small.
My VL300 is the older model without the outboard option so now I'm debated betwenn the VL240 and the new VL300 short SM EVS that has that option. Priceisvery similar. Will see may be next spring.
Regards.
Sergio......the VL300 and VL 240 would be a great combination of two lathes in a shop. I thought about this myself, but just can't afford the room in my shop for two lathes. Yes, I did see some comments from Glenn Lucas about the VL240, and I think his endorsement is a good one to have. I'm wondering about the sleeve for the 1" tool posts....how is it made? Is it a machined sleeve that you slide on each tool rest as you use them? Some of my tool rests vary in diameter slightly (.010"-.020", or thereabouts), so I'm wondering how well that would work....? I assume the sleeve isn't pressed into the banjo....so, that the option of either diameter post would be available......but, I'm not planning on buying even more tool rests!
I've had the VL240 for getting close to a year now so maybe I can answer some of your questions.
With regards to alignment of the head there is a machined pin which locates into indents at 0, 30, 60 and 90 degrees. Once this pin is in place the headstock can't be moved, it's a firm fit. So if it isn't accurate from the beginning it's not going to be! (not that that should be an issue with Vicmarc)
The handle that you use to lock things in place basically takes up any slack. The headstock is not pulled down onto the bed like you see in other systems or sliding head lathes. This is the system Vicmarc have been using for about a decade on the VL175 (which is no longer made) and has held up to professional and club use without any reported problems. I'll admit to being sceptical about this set-up when I was looking it. One thing to take into consideration, which I found out about after my purchase, was that swivel or sliding head lathes tend to have more vibration when coring. I'm honestly not sure if it matters or what effect this would have over time. (this observation came from two full time production bowl turners)
The 30 degree indent.
Fantastic! I love it! If you like the slightly undercut or calabash forms that require the tool to be over the bed when cutting under the rim, you'll love the 30 degree indent. It's much more ergonomic to turn and you don't need to lean over the bed (this of course depends on your turning style). The standard banjo is very solid and long enough to turn at this indent without setting up an out rigger (I'll try and get some photos for you this week)
I can't comment on the other indent points as I haven't had reason to use them. The lathe should only be used in the set points with the aligning pin in place and the handle tightened.
Another feature I like is the lockout on the indexing pin. If the pin is in the lathe can't be started...I just like that...not that I've accidentally started a lathe while the spindle lock was on lol
This was my first short-bed lathe which I thought would be great for bowls and hollow forms but I found I was constantly removing the tailstock as it was getting in the way of my tool handles when hollowing (again this depends on how you turn) which is why I bought the extension bed. I honestly can't see the point in a swivel head short bed lathe...but that might just be me. The extension bed is a very heavy affair and unlike the the one on the VL300 it has to have a supporting leg at the end (it's also much more expensive)
If I had the space to set up a VL300 with the outboard bed (which doesn't require a stand) I think I may have gone down that path instead...until I use that 30 degree indent and then I change my mind. Oh, to swivel the head you loosen the handle and remove the pin and then turn the head...very easy and fast.
That's all I can think of for now but if you have any questions I'll answer them if possible (not straightaway as I have a crazy workload at the moment)
Cheers
Josh
Josh.....thanks for posting. I knew, sooner or later, someone with "hands on" experience on the VL240 would show up! Everything I've ever heard from anyone familiar with Vicmarc lathes, have nothing but good things to say about them. If I ever did get a VL240, I'd opt for the extension bed, as well. I don't think the current VL240 has a leg support for the extension bed.....looks like it's the exact same extension that the VL300 uses.
Question: What is the distance between the two bedways? I have numerous jigs and tooling that are adapted to the gap between the bedways of my Australian Woodfast.
Yes.....I am making "slightly undercut or calabash forms ", and it is my exact reasoning for wanting the VL240 in the first place. I suspect the 30° swivel setting is the only one I'd ever use.....for the same reasons you do. I am able to do any shape I want with my Woodfast, but it does require me to lean quite a bit. I also have grown accustomed to going to the back side of the lathe, and doing some of the work on undercut rims there. A swivel head lathe would be more convenient, but would not enable me to do anything I can't already do.
I had wondered if the banjo was long enough to handle the 30° indent, and see you find it does.....great!
Yes, a swivel head short bed does seem to be self-defeating. Maybe someone else can explain why the VL240 was designed this way.
Glad you are keeping busy.....I'm finding more work for myself since my retirement, that I'm wondering why I ever thought it might be "leisure time"......Ha,ha!
Have a good day, my friend....and, thank you again for giving us your personal insights into this 240 lathe!
ko
Note: Below are some examples of typical undercut rims that I do.........