Lathe Choice

[Grumpygnome]

As a newcomer to this forum please be gentle with me for asking a question which has, no doubt, been asked before . Although a search throws up no results.

I am considering upgrading and consolidating my lathes, currently a Jet 1221vs and Record Power CL0.  Due to restricted space I really need a swiveling / sliding headstock hence the current interest list:

Killinger KM1450 or 1500
Axminster AT1628VS
Jet 2424B
Stratos FU-230

I would be interested to know if anyone has experience of these lathes and would recommend one.

My main interest is green turning and I tend to throw the largest piece of wood that will fit on to the lathe and then balance it up. So something that won't bounce around the 'shop would be ideal.  I was tending towards the Jet until I found out that the headstock only slides and there is no remote control box, which I consider to be an oversight.

I have seen a video of the Stratos and it seems to tick all the boxes but would like a second opinion.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx75jbm9YyY

Comments welcome.

Regards

Nick

[John]

Hello Nick,
I have the Axminster AT1628VS. It was one of the first sold.
I have had no trouble with it at all.
I use it foe coring uneven blanks up to 18in dia 6inch thick and wet with no problems at all.
The largest item turned was a top for a coffee table 27inch dia.
Its also good for minature work
The only down side is the indexing. For this I use my Hegner.
Hope this helps
John

[fuzzyturns]

I have the Twister FU-200, which is the smaller sister to the Stratos. The only real difference is the height over the bed (16" instead of 20"). I have now had this lathe for about 6 months, and it is a dream to work with. It is almost identical in construction to the Axminster AT1628VS, I believe the main difference are the legs.
Mine is mounted on a piece of kitchen counter top, which itself rests on a couple of 3"x2" pieces (I am about 6" tall, and the lathe was a little too low for me). I also stow the bed extension and various other tool pieces underneath the lathe to add weight. It is quite a solid machine, but obviously if the imbalance gets too great, it will start to move.
The sliding and swiveling headstock is great, adjustments are made in seconds, and it is ideal when hollowing bigger pieces (allows for a much more comfortable working posture). Similar to the AT1628VS, the indexing is not great, very fiddly, so I mostly use the indexing ring on my chuck. The change from lower speed range to upper range is quick, all the clamping levers work extremely well, and the lathe is silent up to about 2000rpm (in high speed range). After that the motor fan starts making some noises, but that's to be expected.
If I remember correctly, my Twister came with a European plug, so you'll need to cut that off and fit a UK plug. The manual is very good and detailed, and as far as I can tell, both the UK distributor and the German OEM are very good with their customers.
I am very happy with it and would absolutely recommend it to anybody who is serious about turning, but cannot afford one of the really big guns.

[Eric Harvey]

only six inches tall fuzzyturns,how do you reach the lathe and hold the tools,must be very difficult  .

have been looking up the FU-230,on youtube and google, and Simon Hope is the distributor in the UK,it seems you can have a long or short bed in Europe or 700 mm between centres over here and 460 mm swing,178 Kilos and at £2000 seems a great deal,when you think the Jet 3520B is around £3.800 nearly double the price for another 2" of swing over the bed for the same HP.

[seventhdevil]

only six inches tall fuzzyturns,how do you reach the lathe and hold the tools,must be very difficult  .

have been looking up the FU-230,on youtube and google, and Simon Hope is the distributor in the UK,it seems you can have a long or short bed in Europe or 700 mm between centres over here and 460 mm swing,178 Kilos and at £2000 seems a great deal,when you think the Jet 3520B is around £3.800 nearly double the price for another 2" of swing over the bed for the same HP.

who is charging that much for the jet eric???

it's £2599 from axminster.


as an owner of the jet 3520b i must say that it's an excellent lathe and at 326kg (nearly 350kg with the extension) takes alot to unsteady it and as a 6' 3" guy i am happy with the spindle height.


i must say that the stratos FU-230 looks like a good lathe although potentially a bit light at 178kg to handle larger lumps???

[richardpeers]

I have no knowledge of the other lathes, but my club (East Surrey Woodturners) replaced our aging Poolewood with the Axminster a couple of years ago, and are very pleased with it. Visiting professionals no longer struggle along, desperately putting a brave face on it, as they were with the Poolewood - now they are openly complementary about the lathe. It is big, solid, quiet and reliable.

[fuzzyturns]

only six inches tall fuzzyturns

Yep, Eric, all good things come in small packets. 

[Eric Harvey]

seventhdevil,I`ve just looked on the Axminster site to make sure what I said was true,and the 3520B ( I have one of these ) are £2799.96p,sorry I put a 3 instead of a 2 in my post on the thousand part of the price oops must have been the beer haha. I don`t have the extension but the freestanding toolrest,but have found it very stable no matter what I put on it and if it does start to wobble about,I just turn the speed down till it stops.

[seventhdevil]

they've just jacked the price for the jet up by £200...

it was £2599 when i made that post.


i do have the bed extension for this lathe and think it's well worth the money if you have room in the workshop.

the biggest bowl i've turned to date was 28" and weighed 70kg.

[John D Smith]

 Hi Steve,
              If it was 28" in dia & 154 lbs in weight finished what weight was it before you turned it and how did you get the "Blank" on the Lathe 

                                                        Happy New Year John

[edbanger]

Hi Nick

Always good to see new people join in.

I have run a AT1628VS for two years and had all sorts on it, it's done over 30 hours a week and been great.

I spoken to Simon Hope about the Stratos & Twister he tells me that they are great lathes you would get a more personal service from Simon and he would not stock something that was not great.

Happy New Year

Ed

[seventhdevil]

 Hi Steve,
              If it was 28" in dia & 154 lbs in weight finished what weight was it before you turned it and how did you get the "Blank" on the Lathe 

                                                        Happy New Year John

my mistake, that should say "bowl blank" not just "bowl".

rough turned it still weighed 23kg and ended up at 28" so started at about 30" in places and is about 6" thick.

it now weighs about 15kg and has lost an inch in width and is waiting for me to get round to finishing it.

it's this one.

[seventhdevil]

that boot is a size 12.

[Grumpygnome]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your comments.  Still no further forward in the decision making process !

I understand from Simon Hope that the Stratos will be on display at the Welsh show later this month so will meander from North to South Wales and have a look at it.

Nick