Question for Rags or Hank

[DonHo]

I'm thinking of buying the Rikon lathe before it goes off sale at WoodCraft. I've found some of the information I need like #2 morse taper. I can't seem to find if the spindle is 1" with 8 tpi or the diameter of the tool rest shaft. I'd like to be able to use the chucks and tool rest I have if possible. My PSI lathe has 1" 8tpi threads and the tool rest takes 5/8" shaft. Since I have more invested in chucks and tool rest that the lathe cost I don't want to have to replace them.

DonHo

[ragswl4]

I'm thinking of buying the Rikon lathe before it goes off sale at WoodCraft. I've found some of the information I need like #2 morse taper. I can't seem to find if the spindle is 1" with 8 tpi or the diameter of the tool rest shaft. I'd like to be able to use the chucks and tool rest I have if possible. My PSI lathe has 1" 8tpi threads and the tool rest takes 5/8" shaft. Since I have more invested in chucks and tool rest that the lathe cost I don't want to have to replace them.

DonHo

The spindle is 1" 8tpi per Wood Magazine review and just verified by me and the tool rest shaft is .625 or 5/8", just measured it. If you are buying locally I would suggest that you have them take it out of the box and run it and check for any abnormal noise. I had to replace the headstock bearings in mine right out of the box. I am not saying its a bad lather, in fact I like it very much, just a word of caution in case there was a bad run of lathes.

It took about an hour for me to replace the bearings, not easy but not too hard either. If I had it to do over I would still buy the Rikon.

[leehljp]

Thanks Rags for answering. I was off sleeping!

[DonHo]

Thanks for the quick answer, I'm glad to find out my present chucks and tool rests will fit. I do plan to pick it up from the WoodCraft in OKC so I will try to get them to fire it up so I can listen for a bad bearing. I love my turncrafter but I've got to stick to a mini lathe in my small shop and want to step up to the 12" swing. I think the indexing could be handy also but don't have any plans that need that right now.

DonHo

[ragswl4]

Good luck. I think you will like the lathe.

[DonHo]

Well, I now have a green and white(Rikon) lathe sitting where my red(PSI) used to sit. It turns out the OKC WoodCraft store was having a WW show Friday and Sat and they were giving $10 gift cards for every $100 you spend so $199 for the Rikon and a $1 bloodwood pen blank got me a $20 gift card. I feel pretty good about the deal. I did have them open the box and fire it up to check the bearing( it was good ). I haven't made any shavings yet because I have a project I need to finish first but soon I hope. Thanks for all the info and help.
DonHo

[leehljp]

Congratulations and I hope you enjoy it. I would like to read your comments (later when you have time) about the differences, objectively or subjectively, between the PSI lathe and the Rikon.

[ragswl4]

Congrats Don. As Lee said, please provide some comments about the differences, good or bad, between the PSI and the Rikon. Careful lifting it out of the box, its heavy.

[DonHo]

Just a quick note as I have now got the Rikon setup but haven't used it yet. I'll do a more complete comparison later after I've got to make a few shavings.

I found the fit and finish on the PSI to be good but I think the Rikon is a little better. I'm not sure but I think I'll like the speed (belt) change on the Rikon better as I only have one place to open to make the change on both pulleys. I never mined the speed change on the PSI however so don't find this a big deal. I do like that all the handles on the Rikon are metal, a couple on the PSI are plastic which I think would be more prone to wear. Not a big deal but I think I"m also going to like the onboard storage for the knock out bar, live center, spur center, etc. Also not a big deal but the flip up handle is handy to help lift the lathe although with it bolted to the stand I won't be using it a lot. The PSI had big rubber pads for feet and I didn't even have it bolted down and didn't have a problem with vibration. I guess with the larger swing bolting the lathe to the stand is a good idea but I think some rubber pads would be a good idea anyway. I don't find the Rikon to be "loud" but it is louder than the PSI when it's running. Since Hank had problems with mounting his chucks and having to "mill" the head behind the spindle threads I wanted to check with him to see if his Rikon came with the teflon washer on the spindle behind the threads. My lathe does have this and I was wondering if this might be how Rikon addressed that issue. I'll report back in a couple of weeks after I get a chance to make some shavings.

DonHo

[leehljp]

. . . Since Hank had problems with mounting his chucks and having to "mill" the head behind the spindle threads I wanted to check with him to see if his Rikon came with the teflon washer on the spindle behind the threads. My lathe does have this and I was wondering if this might be how Rikon addressed that issue. I'll report back in a couple of weeks after I get a chance to make some shavings.

DonHo

No, mine did not have a teflon washer. I will email them and see if they are available. Mine is nearly 2 years old, purchased 20 months ago. Thanks for the note. I look forward to your other comments.

When I got my Rikon, I did not have another big lathe to make a comparison with. My first (usable) lathe was a Taig mini - pen size turning only. Some years ago, I did have an old Sears lathe that I used twice, and decided that I didn't like turning, and gave it up.

[DonHo]

I was going to look up the part number for you but can't find it mentioned in the parts list. It actually may be just part of the packing, although it is a plastic (maybe not teflon) washer a few mills thick. It was behind the face plate (which was mounted on the spindle), maybe I just put 2 and 2 together and got 5 I'll continue to look and see if I can find any info on it.

DonHo