Hi Turners,

I currently have a Delta mini lathe. I'm looking at purchasing a Nova 1624 II. Does anybody have 1? Are there any negatives to that lathe? It seems like a lot of lathe for the money. Thanks,

Kevin

Thanks, Steve. I would plan on the upgrade down the road, also.

Hey Mike, Ha, I didn't realize the paint was all they changed. I looked on Teknatool's site, and it said about the same thing. I met the owner of Nova lathes about a month ago, at a local Rockler. Nice guy, and they do have some innovative ideas.

I am not sure if you have purchased the NOVA 1624 yet or not, but right now Woodcraft has a sale going on and it is $849.  I bought one from them in November for $999 and the shipping was another $199. 

That said, mine arrived with a defective spindle, and resulting spindle wobble. The customer service I received from them was terrible to say the least.  However, it seems as many on here have had great customer service, so maybe I am just unlucky.

Once I got the new spindle and bearings installed it has ran great though.  It is surprisingly well balanced for the larger out of balance logs/blanks for its relatively low overall weight.  Changing the belts hasn't been an issue for me other than the flimsy cover that you have to open.  I'll be getting rid of the screw in knob/latch for it and using magnets soon though, but that is an easy fix for what is more of an annoyance than a problem. 

I'm torn on whether I would recommend it or not though.

On one hand it is a good running lathe that performs like a bigger lathe than it is. 

On the other side, it arrived in unusable condition and the customer service was horrible at best. But like I said, maybe I was just unlucky in that department.

Best of luck with whatever lathe you decide to go with, and don't forget to check craigslist, you never know what you might get lucky and find on there.

Kevin Did You get your 1624? Is it ok?
         I just ordered One.

Anthony, tomorrow is the day for me. Hopefully, I'll have it together, and running by 5.

I am one of those who had a bad spindle on my 1624. Putting it together was a snap though, took less than an hour.  I would recommend putting blue or red locktite on the studs that go into the headstock housing though (the ones that the motor slides on to.  It will help keep the tight as they can loosen when the motor is rotated when changing the belt speeds.

One other thing I would recommend doing when you get your lathe, is to make sure that the front bearing is seated all the way. Before you put the motor on, swivel the headstock 180 degrees and run the tailstock up to the back of the spindle to give it support, then use a piece of pvc pipe to go over the the front of the spindle (make sure that it is only resting on the inner metal part of the bearing, not the plastic) and just give it a few light taps to start. It should sound and feel solid, if not, you may need to tap it a few more times to get it back to where it needs to be.

Mine 1624 was a nightmare upon arrival, but now that I have replaced the parts, it is a good running little lathe.  Price wise it is tough to beat as well.

Hopefully yours are good upon arrival, but if not pm me. I have the contact info for the people there who can actually help get things straightened out, I had to go way above the regular customer service department to get things done.

Mine is in the bed of my truck. I'm waiting on someone to come look at my little Delta, and maybe buy it. Either way, after they look at it, I'm going to clear out a space, and get to putting it together.