On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:25:01 -0400, Q47m wrote:

I have owned a couple belt drive lathes, one reeves drive and one
variable drive. As they get more use vibration has been a problem.
I have replaced the belts.

So my question, is the Nova DVD really vibration free and is the
motor/computer reliable?

Thanks to all that respond.

L Bledsoe

I've the DVR XP for a while.. Probably done 200 pieces on it, several of them
pushing the edge towards abuse..
The motor is amazing... Smooth, very quiet and has great torque at all speeds..
The computer that monitors the spindle is incredible... Keeps rpm constant under
load, 3 adjustments for how much of a catch you need to stop the spindle, etc..
I've pushed the limits several times and got what would have been a bad catch on
other lathes.. and all it did was stop the lathe..
Another nice feature of the spindle monitoring is that when it detects a catch
and turns off the power, the spindle then free wheels, so it stops quickly..

Compared to my Jet 1442 with Reeves drive, it's about 10 times smoother and
quieter..
It's very energy efficient and has enough power for me to not convert it to 220v
for the extra 1/4 hp it claims..
Also, your warranty is void if you don't use a surge suppressor and 220v
suppressors are out of my price range..

As Reed said, Reeves drives are problematic.. I was always adjusting, fixing or
just putting up with small problems on the Jet..

Vibration?
The Nova vibrated at certain speeds, but not nearly as much as either of my jet
lathes, which I was very happy with until I got the Nova..
The up & down arrows that adjust the speed by 5 rpm let you find the best speed
for whatever you're doing, allowing you to eliminate a lot of vibration..

My mistake in buying the xp was in getting the "Universal stand"
IMHO, it's a piece of crap and not worthy of such a nice lathe..
I should have bought the cast iron legs, but that would have taken another 4 or
6 weeks to ship and I WANTED the damn lathe ASAP..

I didn't opt for the bed extension, so maybe that contributes to the stand
vibrating, but it's very annoying.. It buzzes and clanks and since I hang a lot
of stuff on magnets, such as the chuck key, it clangs like hell if I don't ease
them onto the magnet..
IMO, there's no substitute for cast iron for absorbing vibration..

Would I spend $2,000 for this lathe again?
In a heartbeat.. YMWV


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing