I have had my new Nova about a month now and have done half dozen
projects so far. I can't believe how smooth it is. I can get a finish
off the gouge that requires very little sanding. Never could do that
with old 1642 Jet,or any other belt drive machine.

I don't get anymore shaking with an out of balance piece than I did with
the old lathe. The lighter weight of the Nova has not been a problem, in
fact is an asset.

It's Derby time here in Kentucky, so my most of my time has been devoted
to lawn care, emptying out the greenhouse and planting the flower
gardens. So my pride and joy of wood turning is getting a little rest.
Give me a couple more weeks and the shavings will be flying again.

I would certainly recommend the DVR to anyone that is serious about wood
turning. It has a smaller footprint, great speed control, offset banjo
and it even sounds good. I could go on and on.

L Bledsoe

On Fri, 01 May 2009 09:31:21 -0400, LBledsoe wrote:

I have had my new Nova about a month now and have done half dozen
projects so far. I can't believe how smooth it is. I can get a finish
off the gouge that requires very little sanding. Never could do that
with old 1642 Jet,or any other belt drive machine.

I don't get anymore shaking with an out of balance piece than I did with
the old lathe. The lighter weight of the Nova has not been a problem, in
fact is an asset.

It's Derby time here in Kentucky, so my most of my time has been devoted
to lawn care, emptying out the greenhouse and planting the flower
gardens. So my pride and joy of wood turning is getting a little rest.
Give me a couple more weeks and the shavings will be flying again.

I would certainly recommend the DVR to anyone that is serious about wood
turning. It has a smaller footprint, great speed control, offset banjo
and it even sounds good. I could go on and on.

L Bledsoe

The only thing I would have liked to have is a bit lower RPM, but I can live
with 100..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

In article ,
mac davis wrote:

On Fri, 01 May 2009 09:31:21 -0400, LBledsoe wrote:

I have had my new Nova about a month now and have done half dozen
projects so far. I can't believe how smooth it is. I can get a finish
off the gouge that requires very little sanding. Never could do that
with old 1642 Jet,or any other belt drive machine.

I don't get anymore shaking with an out of balance piece than I did with
the old lathe. The lighter weight of the Nova has not been a problem, in
fact is an asset.

It's Derby time here in Kentucky, so my most of my time has been devoted
to lawn care, emptying out the greenhouse and planting the flower
gardens. So my pride and joy of wood turning is getting a little rest.
Give me a couple more weeks and the shavings will be flying again.

I would certainly recommend the DVR to anyone that is serious about wood
turning. It has a smaller footprint, great speed control, offset banjo
and it even sounds good. I could go on and on.

L Bledsoe

The only thing I would have liked to have is a bit lower RPM, but I can live
with 100..

There are times that 10 rpm ish would be nice

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

Well, I got my first chance to turn on one at our last club meeting. I
was demoing bowl turning. It is a nice little lathe. Pretty smooth,
and does a good job of keeping its torque for a smaller motor. Most of
my turning was on a PM, and now I have a Robust. Smoother than my big
lathes, no. I found the speed increase/decrease button can be memory
set for certain speeds, and that would be faster, but a dial is easier
for me. This DVR was on the stamped metal stand. Turning an 8 inch
bowl blank at 1000 rpm, it did vibrate a bit till the blank was
rounded. Part of that could have been an uneven floor, and/or it
wasn't leveled in place. My other heavier lathes wouldn't have noticed
it at higher rpm. The angling of the headstock was okay, but I am used
to the sliding headstock. No read differences there, but at 45
degrees, the banjo won't reach. Getting the shavings out from
inbetween the ways would drive me nuts, I don't know why they have the
bed sitting flat on the stand with no clearance under it. Maybe
because of the bolt together ways which are in 2 ft sections. A good
lathe,. but not done the way I would do it.

I agree with the 10 rpm as a nice speed to have. I had it on my 3520A,
and had the converter tweeked on my Robust so it would go that slow.
The converters on the other lathes can be done that way, but get this.
This has been changed. The PM now shuts off at 50 rpm. I could never
sand my warped bowls out at that high of a speed. I contacted PM to
ask them about changing the B models so they could do that. Their
comment was it could be done, but you would have to send the converter
back to them so they could do it, and the warrantee would be void.
They said excess heat would destroy the motor. Well, I sanded out
several thousand bowls at that speed on my old PM, and a thousand or
so on my new one, and the motor doesn't get any hotter than when I am
turning. There was a discussion about this over at the AAW site. I
think it is bull. The converters can be tweeked in all sorts of ways
for higher or lower speeds, and torque, and other things only an
electrical engineer would know or care about. They just don't want us
messing with it.

robo hippy

On May 2, 7:15*am, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
In article ,
*mac davis wrote:





On Fri, 01 May 2009 09:31:21 -0400, LBledsoe wrote:

I have had my new Nova about a month now and have done half dozen
projects so far. I can't believe how smooth it is. I can get a finish
off the gouge that requires very little sanding. Never could do that
with old 1642 Jet,or any other belt drive machine.

I don't get anymore shaking with an out of balance piece than I did with
the old lathe. The lighter weight of the Nova has not been a problem, in
*fact is an asset.

It's Derby time here in Kentucky, so my most of my time has been devoted
to lawn care, emptying out the greenhouse and planting the flower
gardens. So my pride and joy of wood turning is getting a little rest.
Give me a couple more weeks and the shavings will be flying again.

I would certainly recommend the DVR to anyone that is serious about wood
turning. It has a smaller footprint, great speed control, offset banjo
and it even sounds good. I could go on and on.

L Bledsoe

The only thing I would have liked to have is a bit lower RPM, but I can live
with 100..

* There are times that 10 rpm ish would be nice

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found athttp://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

On May 4, 12:47*am, robo hippy wrote:
.. The converters can be tweeked in all sorts of ways
for higher or lower speeds, and torque, and other things only an
electrical engineer would know or care about. They just don't want us
messing with it.

The DVR-XP allows you to access, and change, many of the electronic
setups for the controller. Despite the fact that I -AM- and EE, with
35 plus years, I don't dork with mine. I figure FACTORY settings are
going to be good enough

On Mon, 4 May 2009 00:47:37 -0700 (PDT), robo hippy
wrote:

Well, I got my first chance to turn on one at our last club meeting. I
was demoing bowl turning. It is a nice little lathe.

"Little" is a relative term, Reed.. lol

Pretty smooth, and does a good job of keeping its torque for a smaller motor. Most of
my turning was on a PM, and now I have a Robust. Smoother than my big
lathes, no. I found the speed increase/decrease button can be memory
set for certain speeds, and that would be faster, but a dial is easier
for me.
Yeah.. I've gotten used to it and have pre-set my favorite speeds, but would
prefer a dial or something...
Being my first DVR, it's not a problem, though..

This DVR was on the stamped metal stand. Turning an 8 inch
bowl blank at 1000 rpm, it did vibrate a bit till the blank was
rounded. Part of that could have been an uneven floor, and/or it
wasn't leveled in place.
For sure... The metal "universal" stand sucks... Universal usually means not bad
for most things and not good for anything, IMO..
Did the lathe you used have the bed extension?
I've heard that it vibrates less with the extension in place..

I really wanted the cast iron legs, but that would have required a 30 day wait
for them to be shipped from the manufacturer, and I'd already been waiting for
the lathe for 2 or 3 years..
Using 20-20 hind sight, I should have ordered the legs and set the sucker on a
bench until the legs arrived..
Another factor was a time window in which a friend was coming down for a visit
and he lived a few miles from a Woodcraft store.. Not like I can just order big
stuff shipped here..

I added 200 pounds of sand and it helped a LOT..

Getting the shavings out from in between the ways would drive me nuts, I don't know why they have the
bed sitting flat on the stand with no clearance under it. Maybe because of the bolt together ways which are in 2 ft sections. A good
lathe,. but not done the way I would do it.

The Nova's spindle was about 2" lower than the spindle on my Jet 1442, which I
thought was strange on a 16" machine..
I solved both problems by adding about 1 1/2" of pine 1x4" under the mounting
points..
Raised the spindle height and adds "shaving removal" room..
I'm assuming that this wouldn't be a problem with the cast iron legs..

I was told (here and by Nova) that because of the design of the motor and it
being beltless, that 100 rpm was as slow as it can turn.. Not an engineer, but I
believe it..

In general, I'm very happy with the lathe and it's features, except for the POS
stand..

I agree with the 10 rpm as a nice speed to have. I had it on my 3520A,
and had the converter tweeked on my Robust so it would go that slow.
The converters on the other lathes can be done that way, but get this.
This has been changed. The PM now shuts off at 50 rpm. I could never
sand my warped bowls out at that high of a speed. I contacted PM to
ask them about changing the B models so they could do that. Their
comment was it could be done, but you would have to send the converter
back to them so they could do it, and the warrantee would be void.
They said excess heat would destroy the motor. Well, I sanded out
several thousand bowls at that speed on my old PM, and a thousand or
so on my new one, and the motor doesn't get any hotter than when I am
turning. There was a discussion about this over at the AAW site. I
think it is bull. The converters can be tweeked in all sorts of ways
for higher or lower speeds, and torque, and other things only an
electrical engineer would know or care about. They just don't want us
messing with it.

robo hippy

On May 2, 7:15*am, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
In article ,
*mac davis wrote:





On Fri, 01 May 2009 09:31:21 -0400, LBledsoe wrote:

I have had my new Nova about a month now and have done half dozen
projects so far. I can't believe how smooth it is. I can get a finish
off the gouge that requires very little sanding. Never could do that
with old 1642 Jet,or any other belt drive machine.

I don't get anymore shaking with an out of balance piece than I did with
the old lathe. The lighter weight of the Nova has not been a problem, in
*fact is an asset.

It's Derby time here in Kentucky, so my most of my time has been devoted
to lawn care, emptying out the greenhouse and planting the flower
gardens. So my pride and joy of wood turning is getting a little rest.
Give me a couple more weeks and the shavings will be flying again.

I would certainly recommend the DVR to anyone that is serious about wood
turning. It has a smaller footprint, great speed control, offset banjo
and it even sounds good. I could go on and on.

L Bledsoe

The only thing I would have liked to have is a bit lower RPM, but I can live
with 100..

* There are times that 10 rpm ish would be nice

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found athttp://www.ralphandellen.us/rv


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

In article ,
mac davis wrote:

.....

I was told (here and by Nova) that because of the design of the motor and it
being beltless, that 100 rpm was as slow as it can turn.. Not an engineer,
but I
believe it..

Well, I am (and EE) and I suspect that they meant "and retain enough
torque"

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

In message , Ralph E
Lindberg writes
In article ,
mac davis wrote:

....

I was told (here and by Nova) that because of the design of the motor and it
being beltless, that 100 rpm was as slow as it can turn.. Not an engineer,
but I
believe it..

Well, I am (and EE) and I suspect that they meant "and retain enough
torque"

One of the issues of low speed is that their is insufficient rotational
speed so that the internal fan will provide enough cooling. In my case a
controller was added to a 3ph motor, and it was advised not to run at
less than 50rpm for periods in excess of 30 minutes without providing
extra cooling/ fans.

My own view on this is that the time/speed factor is a safety net, as
all motors will have slight varying performance, and the safety net is
probably to accommodate the worse case scenario of maximum heating. My
own motor exhibits very little heat externally, but internally things
are probably quite different.

As I also have a 10 speed gearbox on the lathe I can adjust motor speed
relative to gear ratio for best torque

--
John

In message , John
writes

As I also have a 10 speed gearbox on the lathe I can adjust motor
speed relative to gear ratio for best torque

Just out of interest I found a simple idea on Youtube for an alternative
slow speed system, that can apply to probably many different lathes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qJN9wd4CjE
--
John

Hey Mac,
I don't check in here as much as I used to. Right now I am doing a lot
of sanding. Going down to Davis again this year.

Yea, the lathe had 2 bed extentions on it. I reall don't know why they
don't make a long section and then a short add on one if you want it.
I was asking at the local WC store about the cast iron legs, and how
the lathe spanned that distance. Aparently with just the bed. To me,
and with my experience with my PM and my Beauty, the bed wouldn't have
enough mass to span that distance without serious vibration problems,
but having never tried it, I don't know. If I had that lathe, I would
also put the bed up on riser blocks.

One really nice thing about the Robust is that the legs on it extend
if you want the lathe higher. I had my old PM up on a 4 x 4.

Well, off to California. Still doing better at getting famous than I
am at getting rich.

robo hippy

On May 6, 8:35*am, John wrote:
In message , John
writes

As I also have a 10 speed *gearbox on the lathe I can adjust motor
speed relative to gear ratio for best torque

Just out of interest I found a simple idea on Youtube for an alternative
slow speed system, that can apply to probably many different lathes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qJN9wd4CjE
--
John

...the lathe spanned that distance. Aparently with just the bed. To me,
and with my experience with my PM and my Beauty, ...


Robo,

I've never had the opportunity to turn on a really upscale lathe. Would you
care to comment on what motivated you to upgrade from the PM to the Robust?

I currently own a Jet 1442. I hear testimonials about the DVR that indicate
that it is like "night and day" compared to the 1442. I've got to wonder
(besides the obvious: capacity, HP EVS) what it's like. The comments in this
thread shed some light on the differences bertween turning on a $1K machine
and a $2K machine. So what motivated you to upgrade from $3K machine to a
$6K machine?

Curiously,

Steve