# It's Time to Step it Up a Notch



## Frank A (Mar 15, 2017)

Well, after a couple years working on the Harbor Freight 10x18 its time to say goodbye. You helped me cut my teeth on wood turning but its time to move on.

My wife bought me a Laguna Revo 1836 today. I can't wait to give that badboy a spin. Any tips on stepping into something this size from the vets?

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 10


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## TimR (Mar 15, 2017)

woohoo...wait a go. All I've heard about it is good. Look forward to your impressions. Congrats!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## gman2431 (Mar 15, 2017)

Very cool man! 

I'm thinking of upgrading and have been looking into it for awhile. Depending on what your looking to turn the biggest thing I noticed is buying good heavy duty chucks. Getting a good chuck and some jaws will be my first step when I upgrade.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Spinartist (Mar 15, 2017)

Frank A said:


> Well, after a couple years working on the Harbor Freight 10x18 its time to say goodbye. You helped me cut my teeth on wood turning but its time to move on.
> 
> My wife bought me a Laguna Revo 1836 today. I can't wait to give that badboy a spin. Any tips on stepping into something this size from the vets?




YES FER YOU!!!  Absolutely get a good heavy chuck. Turn only good wood!! TAKE THE TIME & LEARN TO HAVE FULL *BEVEL* ( the grind mark left by your grinder) contact when using gouges & skew.
& keep that wife happy!!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## DKMD (Mar 15, 2017)

Congrats! There's nothing to know about getting a bigger lathe... just enjoy the quiet stability! Bigger chucks and tools may be needed for larger projects, but that'll come with time.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 15, 2017)

Bigger tools, face shield, bigger dust pan to shovel the mountains of chips that thing will make. Wax the ways good after you clean all the oil and grease off. As the others have said a good chuck. My super nova seems to work well on it. But a bigger vicmarc would be cool. I didn't like the leveling feet that it came with, so I took them off and set it on rubber pads, seems more stable this way, plus I added about 5 or 600 lbs of weight to mine. I really like this lathe, was a step up for me too.


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## Frank A (Mar 15, 2017)

I've got a Supernova 2 that I had been using. I understand there are bigger ones out there but what's the groups consensus on what size bowls that can take me up to safely?


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## David Hill (Mar 15, 2017)

Honestly it depends--- on how big a cut you take, a bigger chuck will handle the torque and not launch. Support (= tailstock) is important too.
The larger Vicmarc does me really well, but with that being said--- I also use a couple of PSI's Barracuda 4's--they're good for the money.


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## TimR (Mar 15, 2017)

IMO, SN2 should be fine.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## woodtickgreg (Mar 15, 2017)

I like to use the sn with a dovetailed recess instead of a tennon, seems to hold much better. The sn clamps and holds really well. I would say use what you have at first and then see if you really need to get a bigger chuck.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Mar 15, 2017)

I think you'll need to get a larger insert for your SuperNova2 chuck -- if I'm remembering correctly, the HF 12 x 18 has a 1" x 8tpi spindle, the Laguna is 1.25" x 8tpi. Those inserts are easy to find, in the $20 - $30 range.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## duncsuss (Mar 15, 2017)

Also ... I have the 100mm (4") jaws for the SuperNova2, and have held a big lump of green birch in it close to the maximum my Nova 1624 would swing (about 15" diameter). With a properly cut tenon it seemed rock solid and I had no concerns. They do have even larger jaws (130mm) available, and some that are designed for gripping tenons on large end-grain pieces (hollowforms and vases).


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## DKMD (Mar 15, 2017)

I think jaw size is more important than chuck size when turning larger items. A set of 4" jaws should be fine for bowls and platters up to about 15" diameter... larger jaws are more stable, so bigger is better. There's a lot of wiggle room on the jaw size, but you probabaly don't want to turn a 15" bowl with 2" jaws. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's not ideal.

If you're in the market for a new chuck, I think the Hurricane chucks are comparable to Vicmarc at a much better price. You can do a lot with the SN2, but you'll eventually want more chucks(no matter how many you already have).

If you're looking at big bowls(especially big, deep bowls), you'll want a beefy bowl gouge. I use a 1/2" gouge for a lot of stuff, but a 5/8" (or even a 3/4") gouge sure is handy when hollowing the inside of a deep bowl near the bottom.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Frank A (Mar 15, 2017)

DKMD said:


> If you're looking at big bowls(especially big, deep bowls), you'll want a beefy bowl gouge. I use a 1/2" gouge for a lot of stuff, but a 5/8" (or even a 3/4") gouge sure is handy when hollowing the inside of a deep bowl near the bottom.



I was definitely wondering about this. I would like to start getting into bowls once I have this so I'll add this to my list of stuff to pickup. Any specific recommendations?


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## duncsuss (Mar 15, 2017)

Doug Thompson V bowl gouges are excellent, I have several. I've also used a few Stuart Batty gouges and can only say good things about them. I've heard good things about D-way gouges but I don't have any.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## DKMD (Mar 15, 2017)

Frank A said:


> I was definitely wondering about this. I would like to start getting into bowls once I have this so I'll add this to my list of stuff to pickup. Any specific recommendations?



The 1/2" bowl gouge is my workhorse tool... I've got several of them. I probably use a 5/8" gouge second most. I rarely use my 3/4" gouge except when roughing out larger blanks. The little 3/8" gouge is great for detail work and cleaning up endgrain near the rim. If you're in the market for your first bowl gouge, I'd suggest a 1/2" tool to begin.

I like Doug Thompson tools, but there are plenty of good tool makers out there. Sorby makes good tools also. D-way tools are nice also, and there are others. Plenty of folks start out with the Benjamin's Best tools with good success. Some people like a V flute while others prefer a U shape or parabolic flute... they all cut wood, so it's a matter of preference.

The Wolverine/varigrind combo is a popular sharpening tool for bowl gouges, and sharpness is probably more important than brand or flute profile. If you're just getting into sharpening gouges, some folks suggest starting with less expensive tools(like Benjamin's best). With the jig, sharpening is pretty straight forward, so I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea of starting with a cheaper gouge.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## Frank A (Mar 15, 2017)

DKMD said:


> The 1/2" bowl gouge is my workhorse tool... I've got several of them. I probably use a 5/8" gouge second most. I rarely use my 3/4" gouge except when roughing out larger blanks. The little 3/8" gouge is great for detail work and cleaning up endgrain near the rim. If you're in the market for your first bowl gouge, I'd suggest a 1/2" tool to begin.
> 
> I like Doug Thompson tools, but there are plenty of good tool makers out there. Sorby makes good tools also. D-way tools are nice also, and there are others. Plenty of folks start out with the Benjamin's Best tools with good success. Some people like a V flute while others prefer a U shape or parabolic flute... they all cut wood, so it's a matter of preference.
> 
> The Wolverine/varigrind combo is a popular sharpening tool for bowl gouges, and sharpness is probably more important than brand or flute profile. If you're just getting into sharpening gouges, some folks suggest starting with less expensive tools(like Benjamin's best). With the jig, sharpening is pretty straight forward, so I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea of starting with a cheaper gouge.



Great, thanks for that. When I got my HF lathe I picked up their better (a relative term) tools but did invest in a Rikon slow speed grinder and the complete Wolverine/varigrind system. I've used to a okay result with the HF tools but I've been thinking of investing in a nice set of carbides as well as some bowl gouges. I was thinking in the near future of moving to a wet grinder. The Grizzly system seems to get good reviews and can use all the Tormek tools without quite as high of a price on the grinder.


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## DKMD (Mar 15, 2017)

Frank A said:


> Great, thanks for that. When I got my HF lathe I picked up their better (a relative term) tools but did invest in a Rikon slow speed grinder and the complete Wolverine/varigrind system. I've used to a okay result with the HF tools but I've been thinking of investing in a nice set of carbides as well as some bowl gouges. I was thinking in the near future of moving to a wet grinder. The Grizzly system seems to get good reviews and can use all the Tormek tools without quite as high of a price on the grinder.



I've never used a wet grinder, but I know several folks who love them. I chose to go the CBN wheel route, and I've been really happy with them. Either option would be an improvement over dry AO wheels in my opinion.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## larry C (Mar 16, 2017)

DKMD said:


> I've never used a wet grinder, but I know several folks who love them. I chose to go the CBN wheel route, and I've been really happy with them. Either option would be an improvement over dry AO wheels in my opinion.



Hey Doc, where would be the best place to buy the CBN wheels you mentioned? Thanks


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## Nubsnstubs (Mar 16, 2017)

Dway tools might be you best bet for having better quality wheels. I have the 8" 80 and 180 grit wheels from Woodturners Wonders. The wheels perform as expected for getting a sharp edge. One slight issue for me is the wheels are called 1 1/2" wide, but with two 3/8" radius's, it only leaves me with a 1" face for grinding. I accepted that as I should have been more aware of what I was getting. Another factor, after about 6 months, I put a 1" piece of steel with a factory ground edge up to the cbn surface. When I pulled it back, I noticed it ground only on the outer edges of the wheel. I believe the wheels should be a little thicker instead of what they are.

Dway's wheels have more mass, and will probably give a flatter grind than the wheels I have. 

I'm not endorsing either supplier of cbn wheels. Just posting an observation from what I have................ Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 2


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## Mike Mills (Mar 16, 2017)

Congrats on the new lathe.
Your SN2 should handle anything you wish. As to jaws, Nova make 100mm and 130mm bowl jaws but I would go with the Powergrips (100mm). They are not a lot more $$ than the 100mm bowl but allow you to mount with a long spigot for a hollow form.
I also have a Hurricane HTC100 and it is just a little larger than the SN2. If you get another chuck make sure the jaws will swap between them (the jaws for the HTC100 will not fit the HTC125) and the same applies to some other brands.

I agree with a stout bowl gouge. UK made (Hamlet, Sorby, Ashley Iles, Crown, and others) are 1/8 larger than US specs. So a 1/2" UK will be the same size as a 5/8" US. Some retail brands are UK spec (Packard, Hurricane, etc). Just brought it up so that you do no end up with two of the same size (that happened to me because I did not know... of course that gave me a window to order another new tool).


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## DKMD (Mar 16, 2017)

larry C said:


> Hey Doc, where would be the best place to buy the CBN wheels you mentioned? Thanks



I got mine from Dway several years ago before many others were offering them. I'm perfectly happy with mine, but I can't speak to the other makers/vendors. I've got an 80 and a 180, but if I was only gonna get one, I'd get the 180


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