I picked it up in May of this year at Menards for a whopping $80.00 on sale. It was the last one they had or I would have gotten two. One for my daughter. So far it works well but do not expect it to act like a large machine. The motor cannot take aggressive pressure for long continuous cuts like my old shopshith could. This is not a 1/2 hp motor!!! I did start turning some larger pieces as it does have an 8" swing but the machine takes a drastic hit on pieces larger than 5" dia. http://www.fantasticsales.com/urnturn/gallery You can see some of my work in my gallery. (lots of pics. Gonna take awhile to load)
http://www.fantasticsales.com/urnturn/gallery
The basic tool set of 5 pieces cost $15.00 and are good enough to keep you going for quite some time. I would suggest learning to sharpen your tooling well as this is the key to good turning. I have seen quite a few people walk away from lathe work because of the frustration in dull tools. I like making my own tooling as well and encourage all of you to try your hand as name brands like Sorby can cost you a bundle. I have one Sorby multi-purpose tool I use frequently but any other I will copy and turn my own handle. I generally use cold steel chisels purchased from Ace as they hold an edge well and are easy to grind to shape.
I'm not a big fan of cast iron but the bed has held up well so far. Alignment is excellent and I have not yet and any issues with that. I thought at first the supernova2 would be too heavy a chuck but that too is good so far. The spindle has not yet taken any hit and I check it weekly with my indicator. I broke both tool rests that come with the machine. A 6" and a 3" both made of heavy cast iron but when subjected to a catch while turning both broke at the stem. 8O You can see from the pics I now use wooden tool rests. They work nicely.
A side note on my floor set-up; seven years ago I hurt my back and now suffer from three damaged discs all nice in a row right between my shoulder blades. Standing for long periods of time does not work for me and so I made a box from 2x4's and 7/8" plywood. I filled this box with concrete and then using concrete epoxy I secured the whole thing to the floor. I then mounted the lathe on the top piece of plywood and mounted that to the top of the secured box. Very nicely done I might add. Vibration is still going to happen with off center or out of round pieces such as pipes but its not hopping across the floor like a scared bunny rabbit.
All in all I am pleased with this machine. You certainly can't beat the price for what you're geting. Just the variable speed motor alone would cost you that. Too tho, it's not the cure all. You WILL need a scroll chuck of some sort. My SN2 was on sale for $170.00. Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy a cheap scroll chuck. :naughty: You will kick yourself in the a$$ forever. I am extremely pleased with the SN2 (although imho I think Oneway is the best) and even at the normal $200.00 price range I would have made this purchase. Soon, I'll be looking into modified jaws.
I'm sure I could ramble on but the shop is calling my name... If I left anything out or you would like to know more, just ask.
