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Lyn J. Mangiameli
 
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The DVR has been my primary lathe for over two years now. It has served
me very well. I sometimes think of getting some "Super-lathe" but it's
hard for me to pull the trigger on such a purchase as in some way or
another, all the Superlathes lack something I really appreciate about my
DVR and don't want to give up.

I make hollow forms a lot, the pivoting headstock makes free hand
hollowing a pleasure, and the ability to extend the bed with a couple of
extra sections makes fitting torsionally restrained hollowing rigs to
make very deep forms quite convenient. The swivel head also makes doing
larger bowls both possible and practical.

The integral motor/headstock, is quite powerful. I find all the power I
need to core large bowls and take agressive roughing cuts. The DVR is
one of the smoothest drives you will find regardless of price. I really
appreciate that smoothness for finish cuts, particularly on smaller
boxes and spindle work.

The electronic motor control not only adjusts power to your needs, but
can recognize a catch and stop the motor briefly, restarting in a couple
of seconds if the load on the workpiece has become reasonable. This is a
great feature for novices, and is a good safety feature even for
experienced turners who may have something go wrong (say jamming a
coring tool, or having a large hollowing tip drop into a void).

Its not a perfect lathe, and can't handle the largest, deepest bowl and
hollow forms, nor is it ideal to deal with hugely heavy out of balance
work (be it an out of balance raw blank that needs to be roughed out, or
deliberate off-center turning), though the latter limitations can be
overcome to a very great extent by accessories like the Kelton Balancer.
Every lathe in this price range will have some limitations and
compromises, but I think Teknatool has made very wise decisions in what
to emphasize, and what to skimp on (for example, the color is a rather
drab gray, and the castings are far from polished).

There is much more to say, and indeed I wrote 30 or so pages of critical
analysis on the DVR when it first came out (someday I'll get the latest
electronics boards for my DVR and write an updated, extended use, review
for More Woodturning). But to close these commments out for now, the
only lathe I'm really interested in replacing my present DVR with, would
be an upsized "DVR on Steroids." If only we could all convince Teknatool
that such a lathe should become available.

Lyn

Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions


Doug Dubowski wrote:
I am in the market for new lathe and I am seriously considering a Nova DVR
3000 lathe. I haven't seen one personally and don't know anyone who owns
one. What does everyone who owns or has used this lathe think about it?
Are there any accessories that should be purchased with the lathe? Thanks.

DD