Lathe Opinions.

[Askland09]

To all fellow turners out there which lathe(s) have you worked with? Which are your favorite(s)? And why? 

Unfortunately I cannot have anything with a large bed because my constraint is 36” for the bed length. However I can do something with a large(r) swing. As I primarily turn bowls this is fantastic. I’ve been looking at Laguna, and Nova brands but I would love some other opinions. 

Thanks!

[Mark J]

I am a Nova fan, because I strongly prefer a rotating headstock.  Nova just released their new model, the Nebula.  I got to see it at the AAW meeting and it looks sweet and very solid;  much more of a "big lathe" than the Saturn model, which it replaces, or the 1624 that I have.  

If I were looking for a new lathe I would look very closely at the Nebula, and compare to Nova's other models, the Orion and Galaxi.  The Galaxi bed may be too long for your requirements, but the other two are short bed.   

Beyond Nova, Vicmarc has a 240 model with a rotating headstock that I would also study.  

Laguna, Powermatic/Jet, Harvey, Grizzly, Rikon all make good lathes, but without rotating headstocks.  So not so much for me, but I wouldn't dissuade you.   I should make special mention of Robust and Oneway, which are considered the premier makers, but alas their headstocks don't rotate, and Oneway's doesn't slide, either.  

[JohnG]

I believe the Harvey T-40 head does rotate 90* to allow for outboard turning. Sounds like the T-60 would be too large for his space.