I have a nova comet which is quite similar to hte Jet mini (I thought it had
better bearings, and it came with no motor) - I went from that to the
stubby. I keep the commet for small things because I find the big lathe
cumbersome for miniatures, pens and so on. That said, let me try and offer
some answers:
4inch tall, 7 inches diameter - too big for my comet, 5 inches was max
diameter it could turn successfully - beyond that, serious vibration would
mess up whatever I was up to, and I had to be really really careful to get a
tolerable result. The greater mass of the Stubby solves this nicely - there
is no vibration at 7 inch diameter - the VL 100 would probably be fine at 7
inches, but you would know better than I, but my Comet would not be.
12 inch cherry platter - haven't tried an N3K, it's probably fine,
particularly if you have the variable speed option - you may or may not
notice more stability with the heavier machine. What you would notice is if
your platter started out wiht something that was not round and not balanced,
the greater mass would really help - I like to make natural edged platters,
when I find a slice through a suitable trunk, and that does require a lathe
with enough mass to handle the unblananced load, and enough swing to let it
go around.
Neither of these reasons should make you run out and buy a stubby, or
anything else. I wanted to turn bigger stuff than the Comet would handle,
and I have learned that it is a lot cheaper to buy the good tool you want
once, than to ratchet yourslf up through a bunch of inadequate
intermediaries - so I looked at all the usual high end suspects, oneway,
stubby, seriouslathe, nichols, vicmark and several others. My trade study
convinced me to get a Stubby 1000. If I already had the other lathes you
mention, I might not have needed to buy the Stubby. And, I'm aware of at
least one turner who decided the stubby wasn't heavy enough for him and got
a larger, I think custom, lathe - but for me, it will meet my turning
needs.
hope this helps - I am not a stubby salesman, I don't really care if anyone
buys them, but I do have one and so if asked, I can explain why I got it and
why I didn't buy a oneway (actually a key reason for "not oneway" was that
the local dealer was a real jerk - if the lathe had been really really
perfect for me, I probably would have gotten it anyway since several folks
in the turning club I frequent have them, but .....)
"Arch" wrote in message
...
Bill, Leo V. & interested others,
I don't mean to be disagreeable. Just asking questions of knowledgeable
friends. I turn things that fit on people's tables or on their shelves
from decent native timber blanks and I _sincerely want to know what
important advantages I am missing or at least compromising.
****************************************
Everything else being equal as possible:
For turning say a 4 in. tall X 7 in. d. maple blank to make a bowl, why
is a Oneway or a Stubby superior to my Jet mini or my VL100?
For turning a 1 1/2 in. X 12 in, cherry blank to make a platter, why is
a Oneway or a Stubby superior to my N3K ?
I assume there are good reasons why and I'm happy to listen to them.
TIA.
Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter
http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings
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