Someone mentioned threads and stuff.

I got my four-jaw to fit both my Coronet and the old Myfod metalworking lathe I got at an antique fair. I had an adapter made up. It isn't  a difficult job for a good engineer, but you'll probably be without your chuck, while it gets done.

John

 Yes John adapters are another way to get round different thread sizes Axminster do a very limited range.

George

Hi Guys

have a Nova DVR purchased just over 2 years ago. It has now been superseded by the NOVA DVR XP and is also marketed under the Record Brand as well. The XP has some improvements over my verison but the basics are the same.

The basic spec gives a 24" between cebntres with a 16" swing over the bed. The headstock swivels and allows a maximum size of 29" diameter using the optional outrigger attachment. The bed can be extended in 20"increments.

I have the outrigger and extended the bed by 20". Both work well although the join between the bed sections required a little fettling to enable the tailstock to slide smoothly acrss the join (about 20 minutes by hand).

The lathe is designed by Teknatool International and is, I believe, now manufactured in China. Their website adress is <!-- m -->http://www.teknatool.com/<!-- m --> and it is possile to download a user manual in PDF format from the site which will give details of the full technical spec.

DVR stands for Digital Variable Reluctance (see the website for the full technical details) but basically the motor is driven by strong electro magnets which increase the torque in response to the resistance sensed from the turning activities. This means you can take really big cuts without the lathe slowing down.

Plus points - easy to use, powerful, variable speed (100 - 3500rpm), reverse drive which is useful for sanding

Down side - variable speed requires pressing a button on the headstock and it takes a few seconds to increase/decrease the speed (as opposed to turning a knob which is faster). I understand the XP has the facility to preset regularly used speeds (up to 5 of them which I think addresses this minor moan). Secondly, if you lean on the headstock where all the controls are you can stop the lathe by accident and similarly you can start it up as well. Neither of these are of any significance in my view as I only lean on the headstock when parting off, so I've never accidentally started it - I think you'd have to work hard at doing that.

I love the DVR and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It will do all I want and more. I have turned some large logs (12 inches diameter by 24inches long) and once brought to round these were turned at 750 rpm plus without vibration. I started turning these at 250 rpm and increased the speed as I brought it to round.

I am going to set up an "Emergency Power Off" button near the tailstock as I've spotted it's hard to get to the on/off switch when you are hollowing a log , espcially if you've swivelled the headstock. (yes it nearly went horribly wrong one day  )

I still have my original Record DML24 which I upgraded to swivelhead etc and it's still going strong.  I use it for doing the odd demo with. 

Cheers Dave

 Thanks Dave  when I started this thread  I had hoped there would have been a lot more lathe owners ready to put forward what they found with different lathes so far we have only heard of three manufacturers Nova , Axminster and Coronet, I  know Axminster are much the same as a lot of the imported lathes although they have 1in spindle and no2 m/t .

Welcome to the site I don't think I have seen your name before,  but a really good  write up perhaps it will encourage more comments from other uses of lathes.

George

I recently bought my lathe from Damatomacchine in Italy. The headstock shaft is 1"x8TPI. I have had a quick dabble with the copying device but will really get down to some proper turning later on this year, as I am making three grandmother clocks for my kids and each clock has four spinles around the pediment. But at the moment I'm playing with my multifunction Discovery 260/7 planing and thicknessing 6x10' lengths 10" wide mahogony down to correct sizes. Pediment details come later.

John

Thanks George

I've only been a member a short while.  My main interest is in Turning but I dabble with most things.

Cheers Dave

 Dave

You will find plenty of different subjects to to put your view on, I don't  know what set up you have for grinding your turning chisels ,Sparky put forward what looked like a good set up that he uses

 John I do not know much about your tool manufacturer it will be interesting to hear how you get on with it once you are up and running.

George

Hi George

 I have a tormek which I think is great.  if I want to reprofile anything I either take my angle grinder to it or use a white wheel that I used before I got the tormek.

I know they're expensive but being water cooled I never blue the edge, an favourite trick of mine.  I also use it to freehand sharpen some of my tools.

Cheers Dave

 Hi Dave

How do you get on with a wet grinder if you do not use it on a regular basis? does it dry out how do you maintain it, of course when you buy a Tormek you are not just buying a grinding wheel but a whole sharpening system,

George.

Hi George

About three years ago an aged relative died and left me £3K and I spent the lot on new lathe (the Nova)), a PLaner thicknesser (SIP) and the Tormek plus a few other bits and bobs!  I was like a kid in a toffee shop!!

The Tormek needs very little maintenance.  The water evaporates between weekends and I just top the tray up each time I go in the shed.  It usually needs a bit of a top up initially as the stone sucks up the water.  Periodicaly, I clean out the water tray as it fills up with slurry.  I also have a rare earth magnet in a plastic bag in the water tray and this attracts all the steel swarf and stops it sticking to the wheel.  As it's in teh bag it's easy to get the stuff off - I usually use a paper towel.

I've used some of the wheel of course as it has to be dressed and I guess it'll last me another year or so before it needs to be replaced and then I shall look at the replacement wheels that Peter Childs sell.  I think they are pink - there is also a diamond one which I believe lasts for ages.

When sharpening you need to be careful not to wear a groove in the stone as they are soft.  Having said that I love it and find it takes no time to get a keen edge on my turning tools and my chisels are fabulous as I hone them as well.  I don't bother honing the gouges very often as the edge is usually good enough.  I do hone the skew on a regular basis.

If you can afford one then go for it.  It is a luxury and I've seen some look-a-likes on the market which will take the Tormek accesories although I've no idea whether they are any good or not.

 Hope that helps

Cheers Dave

 Thanks Dave

Ive seen reports of other makes and they do not come up to  the Tomek  quality. I suppose it's the old story you only get what you pay for.

George

I agree with you George, I've usually gone for the best I can afford and it has always served me well.  When I didn't, I have regretted it.

If you can get hold of a Tormek I'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed.  Having said that I know two people in my club, one who can't get on with it at all, and the other only uses it for chisels as he makes grooves with his gouges. 

I'm in Macclesfield and if you're around this way you're very welcome to have a look, but I'm usually only here at the weekend - work takes me away in the week.

Cheers Dave

  Dave

 Thanks for the offer but I am in Bedfordshire, a bit far to travel, There is a thread on this site where we had a long discussion on the ins and out of different grinders. if I can find it I'll put  the details on this page.

Thanks once again George.