Lathes

[Katchin]

Hi all,
Been pondering new lathes recently,  and would appreciate some input.

The main two that I have been looking at are:-

Jet 3520b
Record Maxi range.

My power supply is single phase,  and my current thread is 1" x 8tpi (ref T04M).

Any suggestions?

[Les Symonds]

Hi....I bought a Maxi 1 several months ago and think it's superb. I've turned some fairly hefty logs, grossly off-centre and out of balance, never had a minutes trouble from it, beyond a build-up of dust on the threads of the tail-stock spindle. I understand that Mark Sanger also uses one of these lathes and a look at his web-site should suggest that there really can't be much wrong with it, given the large hollow-forms that he produces.

On the other hand, I have a small jet for  use as a portable lathe, and whilst I'm pleased with it in general, a few little things have bothered me, like the 4-prong drive that was supplied with it actually bend all its 4 teeth and round the tops off when I tried putting it through its paces. Now I know that the drive is an ancillary piece of equipment, but I've never had a problem like that with the Maxi.

Les

[seventhdevil]

i would go for the jet as it is capable of handling heavier work. the maxi 2 is only 270kg whereas the jet is 326kg.

i own one and think it is the dogs wostits and have had no complaints as yet.

im 6'3" and its the right height for me and industrially rated but it could depend on what you are turning. i've been doing nothing but skittles and balls all last year and since december nothing but nests of bowls and huge platters up to 26".

not short of power on any of it...

i've never used it's 4 prong drive bu i think its just milt steel so wouldn't expect it to stand up to much.

i got stebcenters...

[Eric Harvey]

I have a Jet 3520B and also went from 1" x 8 thread to 33 x 3 1/2 mm.I have a Vera Chuck so just bought a new backplate,if you have one of the smaller makes of chuck you might have to get an exert that matches your current thread on the male thread and matches the 3520B`s thread on the female section.I looked for about 2 yrs before I came to the conclusion that for the money you can`t beat the Jet lathe,I looked at the defunct Axminster lathe,18" swing and 2hp,but not heavy enough,Wiva Mac same thing 2hp but to light and a couple of thousand more to buy,the record Maxi 2 is good for weight and power,but for the lefthand thread on the outboard facility,it would have been easier if they`d put reverse on it and then only righthand thread on both sides like the old Jet 4224 lathe was,the record DVR 2hp is good on power but again very light,you also have the killinger lathe,again 2hp but less than 200 kilos(440lbs),or the Axminster version,same castings,different motor and electrics,but after saying all that,my Jet weighs 326 kilos (720 lbs) and has a shelf with about another 100 lbs of wood on it,it still shakes about if the speed is to high with offset work and big lumps of tree,its the best investment I`ve made and it does everything I ask of it,from micro goblets to 16" deep vases,cheers,Eric.

[edbanger]

Hi Katchin

I did a lot of looking around and a few months ago and landed up purchasing the Axminster Trade Series AT1628VS I've mounted pieces of wood up to 40kg on it and turned platters to 30" diameter and it been great it get around 40 hours used a week and its been running since Christmas, They are well worth looking at.

Ed 

[Nick Arnull]

Personally your question is a no brainer. Jet or Record well it has to be the jet it is better even than a Vic marc and I am a owner of a Vic Marc but I have also demonstrated on The Jet 3520, so impressed with it I came  home and considered selling the Vic Marc thats how good they are with the bed extension it is versatile powerful and stable,what more could you ask for.
I may even at some point in the future sell the Vic Marc and replace it the with a 3520 Jet. It seems to be very good value to boot.
And my Vic Marc is around 18 yrs old.
Nick Arnull.RPT.

[Richard Findley]

im 6'3" and its the right height for me

Jet every time.

Would question the height though? I'm 6ft and nearly all lathes are way too low for me... Unless there's a height changer I don't know about?

Cheers

Richard

[seventhdevil]

the spindle height is 45 1/2" which is enough for me.

i have thought about raising it up a bit by either winding up the adjustable feet or i was thinking of getting a 1" mild steel plate and sitting it on it to raise it and give it extra weight all in one...

[Katchin]

interesting reading, thanks all. Thread inserts are expensive I see, might end up being a better choice to sell current chucks and other 1x8 items and buy new

[Sevilla]

Sorry, I did not want to interfere but...somebody said that the Jet 3520b (Powermatic in USA) is better than the Vicmarc. I believe he referred to the VL 300. I have one,  and certainly can say that although the Jet is a fair lathe the Vicmarc is in another league. Sorry, but I had to say this. Vicmarc is in the same league of the Oneway or Robust and these are made not under commission in China or Taiwan but in house and this makes by itself a difference.
PS: no affiliations or interest except my fair opinion and experience.

[George Watkins]

I owned a jet 3520b for nearly a year.... and it was one of the worst years I’ve spent with a lathe.

The bed is extremely heavy but the quality is awful- underneath was a forest of razor sharp metal waiting for an un-expecting hand.

The lathe vibrated and judderd even when trying to turn a 3" tall wooden box.

I spent hours on email and the phone trying to get the lathe looked at and my money back, after trying to pin the blame on everything from the chuck to the wood to me!! eventually they did accept that it was faulty and I did eventually get a full refund, never again!!
and instead of an apology and maybe some compensation... i got a telling off from the company for sending a "help email" and the wrong person responding to me!!

I have since been told this isn’t an isolated incident and there are several other machines all with similar problems.

I would strongly advise you to try before you buy and really look over the machine very carefully.

[Nick Arnull]

The question was Record Maxi range  or Jet 3520 I went of track a little with my replyappologies.
Vic marc VL 300 295 kgs.
Jet 3520 362 kgs.
RecordMaxi 1209 kgs.
RecordMaxi 2 270kgs
I would suggest the maxi lathes are those in another league not the Jets.
The bed on the jet is longer than the Vic marc the head stock on the jet will slide along the bed to allow you to work of the end allowing with the lathe to operate with greater flexibility.
As much as my old VL300 is part of me the 3520 has a place in the market it is also considerably cheeper than the vic marc I would also consider that the after sales at present isn't what it was regarding the Vic Marc products Jet well what better device could you get from Axminster Power tools.
Another consideration when you look at the Vic Marc it looks like a machine that costs serious money the jet on the other hand looks like many of the others available from Axminster and just looks as though it has beefed up on steroids.
Which if teaching is a little less intimidating for absolute beginners to the craft!
2 yrs ago I was Vic Marc through and through but  that opinion has changed having demonstrated on the lJet 3520 on several occasions.
Nick Arnull.RPT
Just some of my observations and opinions.As I have composed this reply I have seen Georges comment and would add there are always good and bad machines in the system but after sales service is expected and a legal obligation  from the retailer or manufacturer.

[Mark Sanger]

I have the Maxi 1 and at the time of purchase some years ago it was a good lathe for the money.

It still is, however times move on and other makes and models come onto the market.

The reason I purchases the maxi was that the Jet was not swivel head, it slides, which meant for my personal situation with workshop space meant that I would need another 4-5 feet at the end if I wanted to hollow form turn for any length of time, leaning over a bed is never a good idea if you want to prevent back problems so my preference is a swivel head.

I have recently returned from away demonstrating on the Killinger lathe which is designed and made in 'Germany' not in Asia as with the others. I was so impressed with the power, fine engineering and accuracy (which lets face it the Germans excel at), and power that I am thinking of changing to their 1450 model in the near future.

Using the Killinger was like driving a high powered Mercedes, solid beauty in motion. The other benefit that I liked is that not only does the head swivel but it also slides along the bed, I would seriously consider looking at the Killinger's with Phil Irons being the contact for these in the UK.

The weight of the lathe is a big consideration but the be all and end all, it is how it is engineered so to send the forces down into the floor again the Killinger leg/stand system has this covered, it is a 3 phase 2 HP motor that works off of a standard 13amp single Phase domestic supply.

So when the Maxi 1 was available for £1600 all in it was a good lathe for the money, it is like everything getting a bit pricey for what it is. I am very happy with mine, but am changing if I can.  Have a look at the Killinger before you decide, you will really notice the quality of German engineering over both the Jet and Record.

http://www.killinger.de/en/shpSR.php?A=575&p1=255&p2=1307

http://www.philironswoodturning.co.uk/

I appreciate you asked about the Record and Jet, but I think you may be interested in looking at others.

One thing that niggles the hell out of me with the jet is that the controls are set in the head. When you are turning a large form you don't want to keep walking up to the head end to turn the lathe on, this for me is such a basic piece of design that is wrong, you want a control that you can move for on off and reverse, I soon got peed off using the jet for this reason.

But out of the Jet 3520 and Maxi 1 I would go for the Jet, but after trying the Killinger I would not go for either now for my money.

Problem is, ask 10 turners a question !!!

[burywoodturners]

 club member bought a Sheppach lathe when we unpacked it the first thing I saw was the 33mm * 33.5 thread. He contacted sheppach and they sent, free of charge , an adaptor to fit his headstock and concert it to 1"*8 It will be worth a try to ask Axminster if they will supply one.
Ron

[julcle]

I will agree with Mark about the Killinger Lathe it is a wonderful piece of kit, however and I am not sure about the Model 1450 as I haven't seen this one advertised. The 1400 Lathe is the smaller of the two what I would call domestic lathes that Killinger make and this one Doesn't have the sliding head stock, the larger of the two Model 1500 does have the sliding headstock but the price was too high for me at nearly £1000 more. I have had mine for nearly 18 months now and it has performed faultlessly.