OK here's a subject very close to my heart.
"What's your dream lathe?"
We all have our ideal lathe or close to ideal lathe in mind. In these days of modern manufacturing and technology, lathes are offered in various configurations. from short bed mini lathes to the titans of the world with huge distances between centres and larger than life swing over bed dimensions, etc.
So my question to all you wood chipping folk....
What is your dream lathe? feel free to mention makes and models as reference or even your own designs, go into as much detail as you like or can do. This would be a good place to introduce lathe manufacturers to specifications which we'd all love to have available to us.
It doesn't matter how big or small your dream lathe is... just feel free to inspire others. it may be an existing lathe in manufacture, your own design, a model which you'd like to see redesigned and improved or even a lathe from the past.
To set things off... Here's my dream lathe.... well it's one of two lol.
1: a custom made version of the DVR XP lathe. As we all know, the DVR lathe is a 16in swing lathe inboard and 24in between centres. I'd been the proud owner of a DVR which was purchased by a very good friend who is also a woodturner and lover of all things shavings based. It got me thinking.... Why don't teknatool produce a larger specification lathe for professional work and mass production, etc?
So Here's my idea of a custom spec DVR. Take 1 DVR motor and upgrade it to offer upto 3HP or so, a much more flexible speed range. nin speed... 20RPM, max speed.... 3500RPM. Much larger, heavier castings with a 64 point indexing system. a much heavier spindle to support heavier projects. A fixed headstock with outboard at the reverse side of the head. Lets talk specifications...... yes folks the real dirt..... Inboard swing 28in... outboard swing, 48 or 50in. distance between centres. 5ft standard with option to extend to whatever length you need (keeping the same bed extension method but on a more industrial specification). The tailstock to offer 8in travel on the quill with a 3MT spindle bore. Solid frame as a complete casting to the lathe instead of the original leg stand, why not a full solid iron casting box to the headstock with mounting for outboard turning attachment (same heavy casting as I refer to the main bed with a heavy duty toolrest and rock solid banjo. Now the tech side.... Sticking to the same inverter technology but on a heavier, more industrial specification, the user interface could benefit from improvements. why not make the main panel larger and more tactile, then a data port for an optional remote switch. not forgetting the EMERGENCY STOP function on a magnetic base which could be placed anywhere on the lathe.. etc...
2: a suped up JET 4224 lathe with the added extension bed, bowl rig, etc. (this is my planned new lathe for all work.
Have fun. If there's a lathe you want to design, the possibilities are endless lol.
lew