Twister FU-200 lathe

[fuzzyturns]

Gents,
I am seriously considering upgrading from my engineering lathe to a proper wood lathe. After some searching I found the Twister FU-200 on Simon Hope's site. Looks like a serious piece of kit to me. Now I do wonder whether anybody on this forum has ever used one, or maybe even has one? And could I be cheeky and ask whether any such owner would consider letting me have a look?
I would go and see Simon, but he's right on the other side of the country and that's a long way to go.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

[bodrighywood]

As Simon uses one himself I would guess it is a good lathe. German made means decent quality as well.

Pete

[MCB]

.......... German made means decent quality as well.

Pete

NOT always!

I  have bought items from well known “budget” supermarkets that were manufactured in Germany that have turned out to be poor quality.

MCB

[bodrighywood]

.......... German made means decent quality as well.

Pete

NOT always!

I  have bought items from well known “budget” supermarkets that were manufactured in Germany that have turned out to be poor quality.

MCB

Perhaps a generalisation but my experience has been that quality items from Germany are usually well made. The items you refer to that I have bought have been better than I would expect for the price in general. One mans opinion perhaps.

pete

[MCB]

.......... German made means decent quality as well.

Pete

NOT always!

I  have bought items from well known “budget” supermarkets that were manufactured in Germany that have turned out to be poor quality.

MCB

Perhaps a generalisation but my experience has been that quality items from Germany are usually well made. The items you refer to that I have bought have been better than I would expect for the price in general. One mans opinion perhaps.

pete

Some, NOT all, of the items that I  have bought from budget supermarket have turned out to be poor quality.

For example, the emergency stop button on the pillar drill failed on the first occasion that it was used. That suggests poor manufacturing quality to me!

I  have been promised a replacement within 28 days of 14th May - I'm  still waiting

MCB

[Graham]

Sometimes the country things are said to be made in has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Chinese imports ( not all of which are bad ) can be assembled or have bits added to them and then be said to be 'German made'.

Bit like English Lamb being driven through Wales overnight and then being called Welsh lamb 

[fuzzyturns]

Guys,
you need to be careful here not to toss out the baby with the bathwater. Firstly, it is unrealistic to buy special offer items at a discount supermarket and expect them to be top notch quality. Secondly, the 14th of May was only 14 days ago. Thirdly, not everything sold under a German brand is necessarily made in Germany. I googled this lathe via google.de, and ended up on a number of websites selling them. One of them sells them under a brand named "Drechselmeister", and under that very same brand you can see lathes that are either clearly the same model as Jet or some of the Axminster lathes.

What does this mean? Simply that most likely these lathes are actually manufactured in China, albeit possibly from a European design. That's not in itself a bad thing. As George (BF) will confirm, the At1416VS lathe from Axminster is a very nice little machine, and very good value for the money. I have an engineering lathe from Warco, which was manufactured in China, and I can tell you that it is of very decent quality, especially for the money I paid for it.

All I am really looking for is somebody who has one (other than Simon, who sells them and is therefore almost obliged to praise them) to give me some honest feedback. You know, warts and all, that kind of stuff.

[GBF]

I recommend Axminster tools  in my opinion they are good value for money and their after service is second to none.

Regards George

[MCB]

Firstly, it is unrealistic to buy special offer items at a discount supermarket and expect them to be top notch quality.

Secondly, the 14th of May was only 14 days ago.

Thirdly, not everything sold under a German brand is necessarily made in Germany.

Firstly, I  don't expect cheap item to be of top notch quality but I  do expect them to last longer than a few minutes.

Secondly, If I  was the supplier of an item that I  was replacing under guarantee, I  would  want the customer to recommend my products in the future and would  ensure that the replacements were sent as a matter of urgency

Thirdly, the law should  be changed to reflect where goods were manufactured rather than just where the finishing too place. The current situation is  misleading.

MCB

[Richard Stapley]

Simons page for this Lathe indicates that the Lathe is delivered direct from Germany and also has a 2 year German Warranty [what ever that is?] I cannot see anywhere saying where it is Manufactured.

Richard

[Graham]

the law should  be changed to reflect where goods were manufactured rather than just where the finishing too place. The current situation is  misleading.
MCB

That is so true.

I have a Jet 3520. A Swiss/American business selling a Chinese made machine......... But what a brilliant machine. Love it.

[edbanger]

Hio Fuzzy

I have never used one of these lathes but stock Simon Hope tools and have got to know Simon a little, I can be confident in saying that Simon would not sell anything that was not up to his standards.

Simon is an extremely good woodturner and has been woodturning for a long time and understand what makes a good lathe.

If you have not done so already give him a call he's not a salesman first and foremost, he's a tool maker and woodturner and I'm sure that he would be more than happy to answer as many questions as you have.

Regards

Ed 

[GBF]

I will second that he is a gentleman and will give honest advise.

Regards george

[Eric Harvey]

from the research I did a couple of yrs ago,its seems most cast iron castings come from china these days,the detail is in the finishing,the jet`s get shipped to america to be milled and painted and become either powermatic for the american market with american electrics or milled and painted white then sent to europe for euro electrics to be fitted for our market,the onlty real difference between the cheapies and dearer machines is the cheapies are hand milled to a finish instead of being milled on a big machine,hence the difference in prices,these german machines are probably the same as the jet/powermatic ones,milling and electrics done in germany,castings made in china.

[Graham]

The Twister 200 is much the same price and spec as the Axi 1628, a known good machine..... I see your dilemma.  If anything goes wrong with the Axi there is a reputation there for excellent customer service, If anything much goes wrong with the twister would it mean shipping it back to Germany ? and at whose expense ?