What is the ABSOLUTE best lathe made?

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GouletPens

GouletPens

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Putting money, practicality, and space restrictions aside, what is the absolute best lathe that money can buy? I'm really just wondering. I'm talking for all things, turned, not JUST pens. I've looked at the Laguna Pinnacle lathes and they are pretty frickin' sweet....48" bowl turning capacity, 1500lbs, ornamental capabilities, copy tools, the works. At over $8,000 it sounds like a dream lathe to me! Any others?:rolleyes:
 
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Robust Sweet 16 will likely be my last wood lathe.

Made in America, has a 16 inch capacity but a removeable section to increase that to 32 inches, and the section can be as an extention to the bed. Pretty sweet lathe.
 
I've always admired the Oneway 2436...very nice machine from the looks of it...

Although there are a lot of nice ones at the top of the spectrum - Robust jumps out at me too...and there are some nice bowl lathes out there...

(Meanwhile, I happily turn on my Harbor Freight...)

Andrew
 
How about the lathe you own right now. Cost & size of your lathe will not make you a better wood turner!

Several years back (AAW article) man with one of those Harbor Freight $159.99 tube lathe, beat out fellows in his club with OneWay & General lathes turning a platter.
While don't know if HF still sells that lathe or not, and no would not recommend that lathe to anyone.

Does hit home my point the best lathe is the one you own right now. Another reason why never laugh at a gal or guy wanting to know about bowl gouges needed to turn bowls on their mini lathe.

Yes, wish had the money to replace my Jet 1642 & Jet 1014. Once sales get over $1,000/ month or more every month might buy a Oneway, Powermatic, Robust, Stubby, or Vicmarc.
 
A couple other great lathes are the Stubby S750 or the Vicmarc VB36.

All of the high end lathes (Oneway, Robust, Stubby, Vicmarc, Serious etc.) have their fine points. For me the more general purpose nature of the Oneway, Robust or Serious lathes make them preferrable to the short / no bed Stubby and Vicmarc.

Personally I would go with the Oneway 2436 if I had the money and the room. It's an amazing piece of machinery and with a huge installed base in North America you have great support and spare parts.
 
Does anyone actually own the Robust sweet 16? The transformer like function intrigues me but I would be curious to ask about tail stock alignment.

I am already super sensitive to it on my little Jet 1220 VS.

Is it an issue?
Manny
 
Yup ---Powermatic 4224---Mustard Monster.
The Big sale point of buying any expensive machine-----Customer service
You just can't beat these folks.
My lathe is about 3 years old---way out of warranty---last month I needed some parts---they gave me a 25% discount-----they didn't have to do that----of course having a happy customer makes it a great deal for me and them both.
Their support is based in just outside Nashville Tn----same guy that helped me set the machine up helped me out three years later---must be a good place to work.
I could of bought any lathe on the market and I am still glad I bought a Powermatic.
 
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