Laguna revo 18/36 lathe

barry richardson

Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
Full Member
Messages
10,276
Reaction score
16,761
Location
Buckeye AZ
First name
Barry
Only 1 weird thing so far, the variable speed knob is backwards + is slow and - is fast. It's probably just a matter of switching a couple of wires but I haven't messed with it yet.
Seems like it is just printed wrong on the lathe, normally you rotate clockwise to increase speed. Looks like a sharpie can fix it.....
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #42
Seems like it is just printed wrong on the lathe, normally you rotate clockwise to increase speed. Looks like a sharpie can fix it.....
Well that is indeed how it works, it works perfectly but the labeling is confusing. I'm still going to call Laguna and see what Torbin has to say about this.
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #44
Today I went to woodcraft and purchased the new insert for my supernova chuck to get it mounted on the lathe. It is a 1 1/4" - 8tpi.

In this pic you can see the old 1" insert on the right and the new 1 1/4" insert on the left.
20160315_201624.jpg

Here the insert is installed and a plastic button and set screw locks the insert to the chuck body. You can also see a set screw that locks to the lathe spindle so you can reverse the lathe aND not have the chuck spin off!
20160315_201925.jpg

Last pick shows the chuck installed and the set screw being locked down. One thing I like about the lathe spindle is that it has a non threaded portion for the set screw to jam against and not damage the threads.
20160315_202317.jpg
The piece that is Monted in the chuck was rough turned 2 years ago and has since dried and done it's moving. I spun the lathe up to 1000 to 1200 rpm before there was any noticeable vibration. I'm sure that will improve as material is removed and it comes into better balance. I do plan to make a box on the shelf brackets of the legs and add weight to it. I am very happy with this lathe. It is super quiet and smooth, all the handles lock down securely and when released things move freely. The red button on the front of the headstock is a self ejecting spindle lock, a easy to get and and use feature. I have yet to put a chisel to it but with a 2hp 3 phase motor I don't see any problems there.
 
Last edited:

Kevin

Wood is good.
Full Member
Messages
30,917
Reaction score
37,259
Location
Texas
First name
Kevin
WOOOOOHOOOOO and Hot diggity damn it's a finally a makin stuff!!!! :yipee:

But has anyone else noticed something peculiar? It looks just like :old:'s lathe . . . . it doesn't have any shavings on it at all! :unknown:
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #46
So here is my frst nit pick. See in the photo that the variable speed knob is all the way to the left turned counterclockwise and is pointing at the plus sign. I would think that this would be maximum speed, but it's not, it's the slowest. And when you turn it fully clockwise to the right and it is pointing at the - sign it is going the fastest. 20160315_202433.jpg
So I called laguna to see if it was just a matter of switching a couple of wires or something. After talking to a girl that new nothing, I asked for a tech, he was aware of the problem but said that they have no fix as the dash plate was made wrong. I wanted to speak to the owner of laguna but he was away on business. If they don't have a fix for this I will make my own label to correct this as it can be confusing and a safety issue in my opinion. But really Laguna? You build a world class lathe and screw up the dash plate and tell your customer that your aware of the problem but have no fix and that I should just get used to how the speed control works.
So I guess Laguna still has crappie customer service. That's kinda too bad as it is an excellent lathe and I know they make a great bandsaw too. I really wanted to give them a better review of their customer service and gave them every opportunity to come up withe a solution, but they didn't. They even tried to convince me that the label on the dash really doesn't mean that is how the speed works. I said that is a safety issue then, I got no comment after that. I will wait until Torbin, the owner returns and talk to him and see what he has to say about this.
 

Kevin

Wood is good.
Full Member
Messages
30,917
Reaction score
37,259
Location
Texas
First name
Kevin
That would drive me crazy too. But it's weird because my Laguna is just opposite . . . .

laguna.jpg

Did you ever think about getting some silver and black nail polish? I know . . . you shouldn't have to paint an $800 machine geez the danged Taiwanese these days can't get nothing right.



























:sofa:
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #48
That would drive me crazy too. But it's weird because my Laguna is just opposite . . . .

View attachment 99523

Did you ever think about getting some silver and black nail polish? I know . . . you shouldn't have to paint an $800 machine geez the danged Taiwanese these days can't get nothing right.

:sofa:
Its stamped in and then painted.But I garuntee you if I have to fix it my self it will be cool. But yes, I don't think I should have to do that on a $2500 dollar lathe.
 
Last edited:

Kevin

Wood is good.
Full Member
Messages
30,917
Reaction score
37,259
Location
Texas
First name
Kevin
Its stamped in and then painted.But I garuntee you if I have to fix it my self it will be cool. But yes, I don't think I should have to do that on a $2500 dollar lathe.

Yeah I see it's stamped in. Joking aside I bet dollars to donuts the cause is because orientals do pretty much everything backasswards to us. Some engineer just forgot that. That's my guess anyway.
 

gman2431

Member
Full Member
Messages
6,265
Reaction score
8,157
Location
Michigan
First name
cody
Interesting to hear what they had to say... Definetly let us know what the owner says. They should Definetly be held liable for a fix. Maybe ask him him attorneys name so when you twist it the wrong way and cause an accident your attorney knows who to contact. :deal:
 

barry richardson

Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
Full Member
Messages
10,276
Reaction score
16,761
Location
Buckeye AZ
First name
Barry
It's those darn Chinese Greg, they read from right to left, all their books are printed backwards too:sarcastic:
 

WideOpen

Member
Messages
3
Reaction score
7
Location
Ohio
First name
Mark
So Greg, I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these, maybe this weekend while they are still 10% off. You have by for the most comprehensive impartial user review I have found. My question is, would you do it again? Do you recommend it, all things considered?
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #53
So Greg, I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these, maybe this weekend while they are still 10% off. You have by for the most comprehensive impartial user review I have found. My question is, would you do it again? Do you recommend it, all things considered?
Yes I would do it again. I researched a lot of different brands of lathes before I finally settled on this one. It is well thought out and innovative. I love the way you can add bed extensions to various places on the bed. Has great speed, it's smooth and quiet, I have always been a fan of 3 phase motors run off a vfd. I truly believe that this lathe is the best bang for the buck in it's price range. so far the only thing that I don't like, and I will fix it, is the miss labeling of the speed control. The tool rest and live center are decent quality and everything clamps down easy and tight. This lathe is everything and then some that I wanted in a lathe for this price. The only other thing I will do for it is to build a box under it to fill with a few hundred pounds of weight, that helps all lathes.
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #54
I finally got to use the lathe! It aint a virgin no more! I waxed the bed and had a go with a nice green chunk of ambrosia maple from @davduckman2010 . Turning green maple is so much fun!

laguna turning 001.JPG
What an awesome machine! This is a serious upgrade from the pos delta I had. So smooth, plenty of power, infinite variable speed, reverse, self ejecting tailstock. Everything locks down as it should and unlocks just as easy. The tool rest had a little extra paint on the top edge that had to wear of before things started to slide real nice. I will be adding weight to the legs of the machine with the shelf brackets that are there, it will need more weight down low as most lathes do. It will help cancel vibration, especially with large out of balance loads. It did pretty good with this size blank but it was pretty close to balanced. I just turned the dial up as it came into round. I think I ended up spinning this one about 1200 to 1300 rpm. Carbides like higher speeds.
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #55
Made a little video. No talking, just me in my element and having a good time in my happy place.
 

Kevin

Wood is good.
Full Member
Messages
30,917
Reaction score
37,259
Location
Texas
First name
Kevin
Just finished watching. Great vid. What do you do to hide the flange screw holes in the bottom?

Fantastic blank!
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #57
Just finished watching. Great vid. What do you do to hide the flange screw holes in the bottom?

Fantastic blank!
I just mounted the faceplate to the side that I was going to hollow out. After I got the rough shape I dovetailed a recess for the chuck and reversed it. When I get to finish this the last thing I'll do is mount it in a set of cole jaws and remove the dovetail.
That duckwood is awesome. The shavings were coming off so fast and sticking to me so that I looked like swamp thing, lol.
The whole thing was done with carbides. A full size square on the outside, round on the inside, and a hollower to do the under cut.
 
Last edited:

gman2431

Member
Full Member
Messages
6,265
Reaction score
8,157
Location
Michigan
First name
cody
So jealous!!! That's a nice lathe and I remember the special they ran when you got it. Wish I would have done the same...
 

woodtickgreg

scroll, flat, spin
Staff member
Administrator
Global Moderator
Founding Member
Full Member
Forum Moderator
Messages
19,651
Reaction score
29,413
Location
Eastpointe, Mi. usa
First name
Greg
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #59
So jealous!!! That's a nice lathe and I remember the special they ran when you got it. Wish I would have done the same...
Cody I absolutely love this thing! I have not one regret. I was so very overdue for an upgrade. Now I have a real lathe!:yipee:
 
Top