what is the ultimate, BEST lathe?

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studioso

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hi,
if money was no object, what lathe would you say is the best lathe for penturning?

my definition of best for penturning is:

-not a full size lathe: midi or smaller only.
-accurate: what lathe has the best tolerances?
-flexibility: it should be able to accept standard tooling, eg. it should have a taper morse 2, and a popular thread size.
-reliability: it should be a quality machine, made well.

extra goodies, like variable speed etc. are welcome!


did I miss something?
 
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VICMARC VL100 choose extra options or as I did fit your own variable speed , my own sit down bench it is made by a firm used to making metal lathe quality therefore tolerances are beaut. I took the belt drive to motor out the head stock to mount the motor on top of the bench, all clear under, dust extraction is through the rails then under the Mandrel. The chucks etc are real quality.

Suits me extremely well. Had it for years now still works and looks as new.

Kind regards Peter.
 
I have a Rikon and a Jet midi lathe and I prefer the Rikon. It is heavier so there is less vibration. It is very easy to change the speed and I can turn up to almost a 12" bowl. It is not a variable speed, but the belt changing is very easy.
I like the Jet, it is variable speed, but changing the belt is difficult and it feels smaller then the Rikon with a smaller turning diameter.
 
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I'd have to go with either the oneway 1018, or for current production the 1224.
http://www.oneway.ca/lathes/1224lathe.htm

The entire oneway line is, to my knowledge the finest group of woodturning tools available in the world today. There may be some handmade, jewelers quality lathes made somewhere that are better quality, but if so I have never heard of them.

If I hit the lottery, I would have a 2336, a 1018, and probably a 1236SD (just because I could) in the turning section of my new 25,000 sf luxury shop. (I already have drawn up some of the floorplans, just as an academic exercise) Of course if I really wanted to make it happen, it would probably help if I actually bought lottery tickets from time to time.
 
What ever spins round and round....

My personal observations.
1. The tools and the turner are far more important than the lathe to turning good pens.

2. More error is introduced in the bushings and mandrels etc than the lathe.

3. A great lathe can't compensate for a dull tool or an out of round bushing.

4. Sharp tools, round bushings and an excellent turner can compensate for a lot of sins in the lathe.
 
Love dreaming posts like this, but I would go a different direction. I would like a CNC lathe that you could stand at with a milling head and the lathe function. Program the miling head to make my blank perfectly round and then come in and finish it up.

I would also like a sanding arm attachment that used hook and loop sand paper with a rotating head that would march up through the finish grits.

Since we are dreaming.. ;)
 
It seems that it boils down to just 3-4 models.
Interestingly the oneway costs a few times over the delta lathe.
It definetly has a design that is significantly different, but I wonder if the difference in price reflects a difference in quality (or is it just a difference in perceived quality...)

Of course a better lathe doesn't necesseraly translate in a better pen, but I think that turning ( or any other hobby/ activity for that matter) is much more fun when you have the best tools!

We all have that tool that brings a smile to our face whenever we look at them, in fact some tools make definetly make come to the shop more frequently!
 
If one goes by the "most expensive is by definition the best" school of thought that my wife subscribes to, then I do believe the oneway is at the top of the heap. Now are you paying at least part of that price simply for the privilege of having the most expensive? Probably so. But, you are also paying for on of the few wood lathes still made in North America, by a privately owned company that has a vital interest in the quality and reputation of their company, not somebody who is just ordering a tool from some factory somewhere, putting their name on it, and trying to sell it for a profit. Are they the only company still doing that, I don't know, but they may very well be. I know that such companies and products are very VERY rare in today's world. (and worth supporting if one can afford to, which I unfortunately can not) I also personally know and have visited with one professional production turner who uses a lathe to earn a living day in and day out who swears that nothing can beat a oneway on quality and durability. Again, YMMV.
 
What the better lathes do is provide more features and conveniences that translate into sharper focus for the task at hand in creating the pen.

As an example, some people do everything at the same speed and they have perfected it for themselves, but ideally 1. rough turning and turning to size, 2. sanding, 3. applying finish and 4. sanding/buffing to finish . . . are done at different speeds, including different speeds for lathe drilling and segmented turning.

How many times did I get belt grime on my hands or rubber gloves when changing the belt on the pulley and then have to stop and clean hands or change gloves to go to the next step. Can't remember the number of times I wished I could have just touched a button and changed a speed for a different process. I finally got a VS and it GREATLY increased its functionality and let me focus on the pen instead of the mechanics of the lathe.

Some lathes come with other conveniences and features such as indexing and these often translate into a higher quality lathe that requires less maintenance to stay in tune, leaving the operator to focus on the task at hand.

For most people, until they experience and use these features and increase quality, they don't miss them.
 
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Since I am a romantical dreamer, I would have to choose the Robust Lathe since they are all custom built and in the USA. Like the man said, you cannot turn "big wood" on a mini-lathe, but you can turn just about anything on a big lathe (within reason)!
 
nativewooder said:
Since I am a romantical dreamer, I would have to choose the Robust Lathe since they are all custom built and in the USA. Like the man said, you cannot turn "big wood" on a mini-lathe, but you can turn just about anything on a big lathe (within reason)!
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I did mention hand made jewelers quality lathes, and I believe this one would be close to fitting that bill. The price is actually pretty competitive with the big oneway. I'd have to spend a while comparing specs to make a call, but it looks close at first glance, and while I don't have anything specific against our neighbors up North, I would go for made in USA vs made in Canada as a matter of pride, all things being equal (or even pretty close).

See there, learn something new everyday, now don't I? (some days it's just learning I should have stayed in bed, but it's still new :-)
 
I have a Jet 1220 VS and I love it. I've worked on a couple of larger ones but this one is a great Lathe with out moving up to a really large one.
 
NOT the one I have! :smile:

(25 year old JWL-1236) Really too big for pens. But it works for now until I can get a Delta 46-460 or Oneway. Something bigger!
 
Coysquibbly said:
nsfr1206 said:
I have a Delta 46-460. Great little lathe. Haven't hardly turned my PM 90 on since I got the Delta.
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I have the same lathe and have been having a lot of difficulty getting parts. Where do you get parts from.

:smile:Kevin
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If you own the Delta 46-460 and need parts it should be under warranty. (The warranty period is 5 years on that lathe)
Call them!
 
Fuzzy

Lenny said:
Coysquibbly said:
nsfr1206 said:
I have a Delta 46-460. Great little lathe. Haven't hardly turned my PM 90 on since I got the Delta.
Click to expand...
I have the same lathe and have been having a lot of difficulty getting parts. Where do you get parts from.

:smile:Kevin
Click to expand...

If you own the Delta 46-460 and need parts it should be under warranty. (The warranty period is 5 years on that lathe)
Call them!
Click to expand...

The company (Delta) recently changed hands and warranty work and parts might be a tad fuzzy for awhile.
 
I was lucky enough to find a guy who was upgrading his Oneway 12x24 to a bigger lathe and got a heck of a deal. I still use my Rikon midi on occasion but with the Oneway in the shop it is mostly a dedicated buffer. It is not so big that a pen is lost but big enough and with enough power to core an 11 inch bowl blank. The variable speed is as smooth as it gets. When I save up enough to build a bigger shop I will be adding a big brother to the 12x24 but can't see ever getting rid of it.
 
I'm left wondering how anyone can say this lathe or that lathe is the best one if they have only turned on 1 or 2 lathes out of the many fine lathes that are available.

The best one in my estimation having only turned on 3 different lathes is the ONEWAY 1224 that I presently turn on!:biggrin:
 
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?????
 
Any lathe is the ultimate lathe when compared with not owning one at all. Yes I have a metal lathe, but it does not cut it for wood.
 
arw01 said:
Love dreaming posts like this, but I would go a different direction. I would like a CNC lathe that you could stand at with a milling head and the lathe function. Program the miling head to make my blank perfectly round and then come in and finish it up.

I would also like a sanding arm attachment that used hook and loop sand paper with a rotating head that would march up through the finish grits.

Since we are dreaming.. ;)
Click to expand...

I like that, but lets upgrade your CNC Lathe to a CNC swiss screw machine! Now it can turn your blanks, thread your blanks, sand your blanks, eject the blanks and the next one is already loaded up right behind the last one! Go for a feed rate of about 20 pens per minute. :wink::biggrin:
 
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