Try some lessons with Phil too. They will be using the same lathe as
you have ordered but he is a great teacher. I have just had a two day
hollowing course with him and it was superb. There is also a
farmhouse bed and breakfast within 1/4 mile and they charged me £20.
The breakfast was fantastic.

Phil charges about £250 for the 2 day courses but what you learn is
phenomenal.

No I am not paid by our Mr. Irons.

On the subject of lathes, my mentor John Berkeley
(www.johnberkeley.co.uk has two of the smaller Vic 100 and he too
thinks that they are the best thing since sliced bread. I know now
why he sold me his Poolewood (although I love that)

Regards

Paul

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 14:02:26 +0100, "charles jones"
wrote:

Hello Everyone,

After my quest for information from the newsgroup about the DVR, and my
subsequent visit to Stoneleigh, I said I would give a resume on the lathes I
considered buying. Well here it is! I don't expect you all to agree with my
opinions, but that is all they are.

Firstly I was looking for a lathe to replace my old Poolewood ( it's
actually a Delta or Axminster 900 in disguise). I set myself a budget of
£2000 ( 3500US$), sent off for literature, read reviews and surfed the net
as well as asking you to help.

On paper the DVR was my first choice with the Poolewood DVSL and Wivamac 801
following and a Vicmarc 175 seeming over the top pricewise.

On visiting the show at Stoneleigh I went first to look at the DVR.
Everything had read well, but my first impression was that it was basically
a stepper motor on a cast iron bed that seemed very narrow. The controls
were on a soft touch screen and it all looked a little strange. Not as big
as I had imagined either. I then made tracks to a demonstrator who was using
one. He didn't have a lot to say in it's favour and reckoned it took a long
time to change speed. After that it didn't seem to shine. I moved on to the
Poolewood stand and had a look at the DVSL. This one had the appearance of
being built down to a price with the stand being lightly fabicated in square
section steel tube. The sales rep tried hard to sell it to me but I wasn't
convinced so I moved on to the Wivamac stand that was run by a guy who only
lives about 10 miles from me. This was a very good lathe, extremely
versatile and unrivalled for accessories. Built in Belgium and used by Jimmy
Clewes who is probably the UKs top turner. I spoke with him on the Hamlet
stand and he was full of praise for it. However it was still fabricated from
steel so I moved across to Phil Irons who was selling the Vicmarc. This is
where everthing changed for me. The quality of this Australian machine is
just outstanding. It was priced just over my budget with the Wivamac being
just under. I just left a deposit with Phil there and then and took delivery
yesterday. Shavings were flying last night andI just can't seem to get this
satisfied grin off my face. Guess that's it. YOU CAN'T BEAT A VICMARC!

Charlie