Nova 3000 Lathe
Sid Leben
I am considering the purchase of a Nova 3000 bench lathe rom
Woodcraft. I am making a sturdy base.
Does anyone have any experience with this lathe?
I will be mainly turning small bowls..
Thanks for the comments..
Sid Leben e-mail s...@compassnet.com
Jim Marstall
Sid,
Following is a review of the Nova 3000 that appeared in the
rec.crafts.woodturning newsgroup during the Spring. I saved it and put it
into an "Internet Tips" newsheet that I publish for my local Woodturning
Association Chapter. I'm attaching the entire sheet just in case you can
read that too, but the bulk of the text is contained within this e-mail
reply.
Jim Marstall
Capital Area Woodturners
Washington, DC
Review of the NOVA 3000 Lathe
On Monday, April 1, 1997, Kevin Brown from Juneau Alaska sent in the
following post.
For years I've been turning on a Shopsmith. As I've progressed, and have
been exposed to other turners (mostly through teaching videos sadly), I've
become aware of limitations in the SS and so began my quest for a new
lathe. Not that the SS is a bad lathe - it has served me well over the
years, but it's a bit light for some of the bowls I'd like to make, and
the lowest speed is 600-700 rpm.
I've probably looked at a dozen different models in various catalogs and
web pages, but everything was either not quite up to what I was after or
too expensive. Last fall I came close to buying a Grizzly G1495 which
looks to be a pretty good machine - 14" swing, 1"x12 spindle, 1 hp motor,
etc. for $700 give or take. A couple of folks who own one told me they
were very pleased w/theirs, but it just wasn't quite what I wanted - if I
had to save for a Woodfast, or General 260 or similar, then so be it.
Then along came the Nova 3000. 16" swing, 1 1/4"x8tpi spindle, 1 hp
variable speed DC motor, 8 speed step pulleys ranging from 214 to 3600
rpm, handwheel (add-on), 360 degree swivel head, cast iron bed, #2 MT
spindles on both headstock and tailstock, etc. Although approx. $500 more
than the Grizzly, and I had to build a stand for the critter, it seemed to
have all the major components I wanted in a lathe. I got hold of a couple
of other folks on the i-net who had recently purchased one, and solicited
their opinions. All very favorable, so I called Woodcraft Supply to order
one.
Everybody I'd talked to had warned me that the Leeson DC motor &
controller were backordered so I expected that. Sure enough, the folks at
Woodcraft mentioned that it would be a couple of weeks on the motor. Fine
says I; I just want to get my name in the queue.
They rang up the order over the phone, and they quoted me $166 for
shipping. Ouch. Well, there's a store in Seattle, so tightwad that I am,
I ask if I could order from there instead of corporate.
Sure - they immediately transferred me out there which amazes me, because
if you call my work I'm lucky to be able to transfer you to the next
office. Guess they have a better phone system than I do, but I digress.
In the past I've ordered equipment from other catalog houses that
advertise free shipping in the lower 48 states and had them drop ship it
to Alaska Marine Lines, then just pay freight from Seattle. Woodcraft had
never heard of this approach but was willing to try it.
Anyway, I am now talking to a nice fellow in Seattle, who takes down my
pertinent information but strangely doesn't want my credit card number
right then - they figure they'll just go ahead and order the lathe like
they would for any in-store item, then ship it out to me. The fellow lets
me know that the floor manager, Carl Brame, would be getting back to me to
let me know when it outta be coming in and such. Over the course of the
next 2 weeks, he called me 3 times to let me know that it had left the
warehouse, it had arrived but the motor was still on the way, and finally
that would pick it up the following Tuesday. I was impressed - they were
not only not overly anxious to get my credit card number, they went out of
their way to keep me posted on the progress! Sure made me feel good as a
customer.
A couple of days later the lathe arrived. I opened it up, and set to
putting it together. It wasn't difficult - it was already 99% done. I
just had to clean up a little cosmoline, mount the step pulleys on the
motor, mount the motor on the lathe, and a couple of other minor items.
The manual was pretty lame - a photocopied tome of a couple dozen pages
but it was enough to explain the basics of assembly so now I was all set
to begin turning.
I had a bunch of segmented coffee jars glued up waiting for the big day so
I grabbed one, mounted it on my OneWay 4-jaw chuck and let 'er rip.
Sweet. The motor is much quieter than my SS, and the large spindle and
weight of the lathe and bench really made for a smooth ride. I was able
to hog off more wood, and get a cleaner cut than I ever have before! They
were naturally a bit out of round, but I didn't expect too much vibration;
I was really surprised at just how smooth it was tho! The center height
is now quite a bit higher than the SS which took a bit of getting used to
at first, but it really made Raffan style hollowing a lot easier. I used
to have to stoop over and the vessel would chatter like a 2 year old, but
now I just bend a little, and take healthy cuts w/minimum fuss.
The motor (which is an optional accessory) seems to have plenty of power
throughout the speed ranges. I have managed a couple of good belt
squealing catches when I wasn't paying attention but for normal cutting it
has all the power it needs. I haven't spun anything larger than 13" or
14" yet however. When you come off a cut the motor will seek a bit as it
re-establishes the speed w/out a load, but that's to be expected on a
variable speed motor.
One thing I don't like about the Leeson controller is the forward/reverse
switch is directly under the run/brake switch. The forward position is
up, which means that if you're not looking when you switch it off, you can
easily hit reverse instead. A friend did this on his and blew an internal
fuse. It would have been a more intelligent choice on Leeson's part to
make the switch down position the forward selection. It may be that
simply rotating the switch will correct this - I haven't yet opened up the
controller to look. Naturally, the label would be backwards but that's
minor. As mentioned, the motor/controller assembly is an optional
accessory from WoodCraft; a person can use a different brand if so
inclined. The bed is cast iron, and comes in 21" segments. The standard
model has a two foot span, but is easily increased by adding another
section. The only physical limit on the number of sections you can add is
the length of your bench. I expected the tailstock to bump just a bit as
I slid it over the intersection, however the machining is excellent and I
can't detect when it passes over the joint by feel.
An out-board toolrest assembly is also available for those inclined to do
very large turnings. I believe the maximum diameter with it is 39" but
don't recall for sure. Since I haven't invested in this I cannot comment
on it's functionality.
The lathe comes stock w/a 6" aluminum faceplate, a #2 mt live center and a
4-prong drive center.
Do I recommend the lathe? Wholeheartedly! While I don't have access to
information on every lathe on the market, I believe this to be an
exceptional value and can easily recommend it. I fully expect to still be
using mine many years from now.
Standard disclaimers apply - not affiliated w/Teknatool, Woodcraft, or
anybody else. Just a happy customer. Hope this proves useful to someone
in the quest for "the best lathe" they can find in this price range...
...Kevin
In article <33d0b12f...@news.compassnet.com>, s...@compassnet.com (Sid
Leben) wrote:
> I am considering the purchase of a Nova 3000 bench lathe (snip)
> Does anyone have any experience with this lathe?
>
> Sid Leben e-mail s...@compassnet.com
Jim Marstall
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