# Review of the Nova Galaxi DVR 1644 Wood Lathe



## CampyRon

Jim Happy Holiday to you and yours. Looks like a great lathe.
Are you in AZ. I will be doing a patina class Jan 16th. It is at the Flowing Wells shop with the Southwest Arizona Woodturners Guild. It is a demo

Ron


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## Jim Jakosh

Merry Christmas, Ron. I am still in GR until the 28th. I don't know what my wife has planned for me yet! I'll have to play it by ear.

Jim


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## peteg

Great Xmas present Jim, sounds like you're pleased with the Nova, guess there'll be no stopping you now.
That's a great little review you made, covered all the bases
Hope you have a safe trip down to AZ & all the very best for the season to you & Carol, looking forward to catching up in the new year
cheers Bud
Pete

Xmas morning here in NZ Jim, yep we are the first to see the new days sun, just finished our traditional bacon & eggs breakfast, then on the "real meal" later this afternoon with all the family, usually about 30 of us


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## JoeinGa

Thanks Jim. Looks like a nice machine (in fact there quite a few things you pointed out that seem to be about the same as pieces on my Grizzly. The legs, the ground ways and the tailstock for some. )

*Please tell me about the "rounded nut" you made to put under the banjo. My Grizz has that plate (same as yours came with) and I'm not thrilled with it either. *

Merry Christmas to you and yours !


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## 2436

Hi Jim, best of the holidays to all. The new lathe looks great and it sounds like you have some good suggestions for the manufacturer. Is there a way to lock the spindle for chuck removal? I think my indexing pin is tapered so it fits in the holes tight.


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks Pete, Joe and John.

hi Pete, this is a Real nice machine from down your way in NZ. Very fine product and I have a few miles on it already. My steady rest has been used twice on it .
I failed to mention that this lathe has a 1 1/4"-8 spindle and #2 Morse taper on both ends, but I have an adapter in there to use my 1"-8 tooling right now( until I get some 1 1/4-8 things made.).

Hi Joe. Actually I made a round stepped washer to replace that stepped plate from the Craftsman lathe. It goes up about 3/8" into the ways and the head is thin enough so I could still use the locknut on the bottom of the banjo. I also put very little clearance in the center hole so it could not cant to on side when dragging it forward or backward. What a difference that makes!!! I almost bought the Grizzly 1642, but it didn't come in 120 volt. Just 220. I called them and asked if it could be wired 120 and they said no.

Hi John, they tell you to engage the index pin for chuck removal. I'm probably going to make a new pin down the road. One that goes in further and maybe with a lot more spring pressure to insure engagement. The diameter will have to bigger to fit tighter in that threaded bushing that holds it in. It does wiggle just a bit!!
Merry Christmas, Jim


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## JoeLyddon

That's quite a State of The Art Lathe!!

You must have a good "IN" to get one of the 20 beta lathes! Good for you! Did they give you a good price break as the result? Hope so!

Looks like it has a few bugs in it… purpose of Beta… to find'em… etc.

Have FUN!

You have a Barn? On a farm?

Merry Christmas!


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## HillbillyShooter

Looks like a great machine and one that has found a well deserved home where it can give its best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks Joe and John.

Hi Joe, I have been bugging them about getting a DVR XP head for on my Craftsman lathe bed for months and then I met the Sales manager for Teknatool in Charlotte at a wood show and he told me that these new lathes were coming out and I got to be on the list from that. They did give a considerable price reduction to test it out for them. The things that bug me, the normal guy would live with but I'm a maverick and a fussy one!! I like my tools to be the best that they can be for the money!!
I have a barn in the township. I could never be a farmer!!I have no green fingers of thumbs. Everything planted would die!!

Hi John. you should see it now after the video. It is covered in chips.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year…...............................Jim


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## MLWilson

And all this time, I thought you were just a schmuck like me. I'm green, Jim. The color of kelp, am I.


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## Cliff

Hi Jim. Great Choice of Lathe. New Zealand makes and invents some incredible equipment. Really good quality too. I have some of the Teknatool Supernova 2 Chucks, they are superb.

Well made video Jim, very informative and easy to understand. Great photos also. Yes, I really think that Teknatool would be a leading quality Lathe and would take some beating. I had a Chuckle at the burning of the crate and it keeping the Shop warm for quite awhile. (It is Summer here and I am about to have an ice cold drink)

Your background in Fitting and turning and toolmaking in your metal work days certainly is a wonderful asset in your ability to make and create and modify.

Safe trip to Arizona and best wishes for Christmas and the new year.

Cliff


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## Bob Collins

Great looking lathe and a well done video Jim, you will have the Rolls Royce of lathes once you finish your additions and improvements. All the best for Christmas and have a safe New Year. Look forward to seeing work from your new toy.


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## aussiedave

Great choice Jim. I have the NOVA DVR 2024 and it a strong smooth running machine. I like it for much the same reasons, no belts, bushes ect. I know you are going to be really happy with your new machine.
Merry Christmas and lots of turning time in 2016.


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks Bob and Dave. I am enjoying it a lot already!! That DVR motor has got to be a real breakthrough for wood working machine motors.

cheers, Jim


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## JoeLyddon

So, what do you use the Barns for?

... to give the rodents a home? 

Or heating it up once in awhile? LOL

Store more equipment, etc. there? I don't think your shop is in it… is it?


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Joe. the barn is storage and another shop. Welding, metal cutting metal and wood turning plus 2 cars, a trailer, a boat, and 2 lawn tractors. It is 32' x 48' with 4 lathes and mill in it!. No rodents in my barn! They know better!!

Jim


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## JoeLyddon

> Hi Joe. the barn is storage and another shop. Welding, metal cutting metal and wood turning plus 2 cars, a trailer, a boat, and 2 lawn tractors. It is 32 x 48 with 4 lathes and mill in it!. No rodents in my barn! They know better!!
> 
> Jim
> 
> - Jim Jakosh


*R O F A L M A O !!*


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## doubleDD

Hi Jim. Good video and I will have some questions for you as soon as I get back to the lathe. Hope you won't mind. As for now I'm surprised with your welding capabilities you don't get some 1'' round bar stock and weld it for tool rest in different sizes. I had my neighbor weld me a 8'' and a 4'' one. My thoughts on the indexing window were the same as yours. Small dark, can't see. I thought of putting some kind of LED light in there to light it up and some kind of magnifier in front of the window to enhance the size. That's as far as I got since I'm not into the indexing stages yet. Maybe some day. Something for you to chew on and come up with a good idea to make life easier for me. Ha ha.
Hope you enjoy you winter heat in Az. 
p.s. Must be hard to leave that new lathe behind.


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## Kentuk55

HoHo was good to you Jim. Merry Christmas. I know you'll be spinning some awesome things on this baby


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## Grumpy

Nice bit of gear Jim. I have had a Nova for several years, very reliable. also has a great range of interchangeable chucks.


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## Wildwood

Outstanding video, any word on when expected to hit the market and final cost? Have not been a big fan of Nova lathes but this one looks like the best one they have ever made.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with new lathe.


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## JollyGreen67

Watched your youtube demo - very interesting. I like all the new controls. The only thing was the slight movement of the indexing pin, of which my XP is tight. IF I had only waited a little while longer I would have gotten the Galaxi, but my XP will have to do for now. Good turning with yours. ;o)


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## groland

What is the price of this machine? I am unable to locate the price.

Thanks,

George


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks Dave, Roger,Tony Bill Jim and George!

George. The smaller DVR XP was selling for $2599 at Woodcraft but they never had one in the store when I went in there. It was in their ad and I stopped 4 times with no luck.
This new one is 66" long and has 2 #100 legs so I'm guessing this will be in the $2700 range.
Jim


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## Jim Jakosh

Well Dave, I now have indexing that I can see up front and it picks up every 5 degrees. I used the wheel inside the machine for the locations and transferred it to a big external wheel which is now mounted on the outside of the lathe and it is rock sold when pinned.

Here are some photos:
Picking up each 5 degree increment from the wheel inside the lathe



















Drilling the index wheel on the front side of the lathe









The completed aluminum wheel bored to fit the back handle of the lathe and with it mounted on the back hand wheel

















The index pin block to be used on the new external index wheel .( It is aluminum, steel and brass) it is spring loaded with deep and shallow detents under the handle to position the plunger retracted or extended.
Plunger retracted:








Plunger extended


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## doubleDD

WOW, doubled, tripled. That's is a super job. It's almost as if that is original equipment. I don't think it could get much better than that. Your skills on that metal lathe match your wood lathe skills.
How do you have the plunger mounted to the lathe?


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## peteg

Great mod's there Jim, boy you now have a hell of an indexing range @ 72 as opposed to the standard 24, but guess I'm not surprised to see all that tricky machining. It will be nice & firm I bet, that standard has a wee bit of slop in it which would be annoying if you were doing 5* indexing.
Thanks for sharing, I will keep this in mind for my own DVR
cheers Bud
pete


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks Dave and Pete.

Hi Dave, I machined that block with a step the fits against that red cover. I jig bored the hole to match the distance of the centerline of the holes in the index wheel to the side of that cover. Then I screwed it down with 2 10-24 bolts into the lathe frame,

Hi Pete. That is the second of the three concerns fixed that I had with the new lathe. The first was the quill and I had to relocate the pin to the bottom of the tailstock hole for the new quill to be able to read the graduations. The new lates for sale have the pin on the bottom.

The third, that I again wrote to Teknatool about, is the on/off buttons. I don't like them being in different locations. Every lathe I own or have ever worked on had that switch in one place. But this one also does not turn on when I push it many times. And last night I found that the emergency stop button is loose as a goose and I went inside to maybe tighten up a nut and there is no nut. It looks as if that switch is glued to the black cover. There is a glob of clear something at the base and it is loose. The switch will turn all around.

I hope they don't get annoyed with me but I am to be a tester of this beta model and I want this lathe to be the best that it can be. Anyone that does indexing would not be happy with the current method so I hope they change that on a newer model. I notices that the Delta and Jet lathes I use at school have no indexing at all so I can't do a demo on that there.

Cheers, Jim


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## gsmarvel

Thanks Jim….This is helpful. I purchased one of these.


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Gregg. Did you buy one of the 20 beta models or a new first production one? Is your tail stock wheel going in the right direction?
If it is a production model, how much do the cost now?

I think I may have a remedy for the touch on/off touch switches but have not had time to them to test it out. I use it all the time!!

How do you like yours??

Jim


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## doubleDD

Hi Jim. Woodcraft is now offering the Nova Galaxi DVR at a special introductory price of 1,999.99. Not a bad price considering it has the stand too. If I didn't have the last model, I would of considered this one.
I would be interested if you come up with a solution to the speed touch switches. The set speeds are OK, it's the touch buttons to raise it higher or lower I believe can have a better solution.


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Dave. Wow, that is a heck of a good price!!
I agree with you on the set speeds but the touch switches goof me up all the time. If you take off the cover, you can see a couple wire ends sticking out of the solder under each switch. I plan to unplug it and check them with a VOM meter to see if those come off those touch switches. If I can confirm that , I plan to solder wires to each of them and then run the wires to a double pole, double throw momentary contact switch that I mount on the right side of that cover . I think it would do the same thing as the touch switches only it would be a more positive contact, be in one place and I could do it out of the corner of my eye. Plus the touch switches would still work as normal.

I just remembered that you don't have the Galaxi. You have the touche switches for up and down speed .
What I just wrote was for the on and off. I don't have the touch speed button on mine so I can't tell how they are wired. That was one of the reasons I did not buy the original DVR . But since they do have this new rheostat on the Galaxi, you might call them and see if you can convert it or buy a new front panel with the turn switch in it. I see it is just a plug in to remove the whole front panel.

Cheers, Jim


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## doubleDD

Thanks Jim. I think I will look into these touch switches this winter. Having a dial switch to set the speed up/down like you have is what I really want. I remain skeptical to try any tampering cause of the 5 year warranty. I think I have 3 more years yet. I guess looking doesn't hurt to see what options I have. Regardless of what kind of switches are on them, you can't beat the DVR technology.


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Dave. Right on. No belts or Reeves drives to worry about!

Cheers, Jim


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Dave. I called Technatool on that emergency shut off switch being loose and they told me there is a nut under that glob of hot melt glue. They offered to send me a new switch bit I declined their offer and cleaned the nut and put a lock washer under it and tightened it right up- no more problem with that.

Cheers, Jim


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## JoeLyddon

Sounds great… You did good in fixing it…!!


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Joe. I love shake proof lock washers. They are thin and they work very well. Too bad Nova did not spend a penny to use one instead of a glob of glue to try to hold it in place. 
I showed the lathe to a guy from Alabama who is looking to buy one and he will probably joint Lumberjocks too.

Cheers, Jim


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## stevepreslar

Great review, I love my Nova DVR Galaxi 1644


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## Jim Jakosh

Hi Steve. So do I!!i

Cheers, Jim


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## JimmyME

Hi Steve and Jim. I'm glad you like your Galaxi lathes, I have one coming on Monday. Thanks for your review Jim, there aren't many reviews on the Galaxi. I've seen some people who have had some problems and hope the one I get runs well.

Best wishes,
Jim


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## restored

Thank You Jim. I think it's safe to say, Nova picked the guy guy to to put one of their Beta lathes to the test. I have hemmed and hawed for well over a year, on which one, brand and size was going to be my next and maybe even last lathe. Also safe to say that your review was a huge deciding factor in my decision to purchase the Galaxi. Of which I did,about 2 months ago. I couldn't be happier. I never gave Nova much consideration, mainly due to their appearance. To me they looked like one of those collapsible metal saw horses, legs at least. When I saw this one and your review, the cost, my mind was finally made up. Yea the bigger lathes are nice, but I had to really ask myself, how many times have I seen a bowl, made out of anything, 16" in diameter. You would be hard pressed to find a location that sells a lobster pot in this diameter. I told my wife to watch, within a years time the same lathe will be selling for at least 500.00 more at the lowest price you can find. It's more than 2/3rds of the way there in 2 months. One of the things I was most impressed with how quiet and smooth the young girl runs. I have a Powermatic #90, and it's actually frightening when the on switch is hit. And this lathe has equal the power plus. Before Nova starts to creep up to the machines real value, anyone considering this lathe or one in this size, don't wait. I have turned on some of their main competitors same size machines, and this dosen't take a back seat to any of them. In fact, I would say about 95% of the Galaxi owners don't know how to utilize all the features, this machine offers. If you have a copier, you can hook up your computer to this machine, and let it go. I can't even set the speeds but very impressed with the machine so far. 
Thanks for the great advice.


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## Jim Jakosh

Thanks for the note, Restored. What do you copy with the copier hooked to it? I don't understand.

Thanks, Jim


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