In 2015 I bought a Nova Galaxi 1644 lathe as a Beta tester. I did not like 3 things about it (1) the quill operated backwards. They sent out new quills to all buyers of that lathe. (2) The indexing sucked- you had to use a flashlight to see inside the 1/2" diameter window to see what notch you were in. I fixed that my self with a new 72 hole EXTERIOR index wheel that I built off the detents on the wheel inside the cover. and (3) I did not like the touch switches especially in that the off and on switches were in 2 different locations. I asked the guys in Florida if I they could tell me the wires to hook up a SPDT momentary contact switch for off and on and they said it could not be done. In 2021 The touch switches failed to work and Teknatool sent me a whole new switch box with all the electronics in it. This year the on switch took 3 hits to work . I took the old switch box and pulled out the touch switches and tried to make a wiring diagram to put in mechanical switches but I did not know if I had the right wires to the right switches. I called my Teknatool rep in Florida to verify the wiring and he said they were bankrupt and gave me the address of Teknatool in New Zealand. I sent a letter and my diagram to New Zealand. The engineer gave me a list of what prong in the switch box went to what switch. I bought mechanical momentary contact switches and a SPDT toggle for Off and ON. I made a box for the switches and wired them according to the list from the engineer. I mounted the revised switch box on the lathe and it works perfect- ONE SWITCH FOR OFF AND ON !! Some photos of the progress below: Here is the 72 hole index wheel with a spring loaded plunger to lock in a location: Here is the way I have been using the second switch box with tape to keep the dust out of the touch switches and also a shot of the new vinyl touch switch panel they sent me: Here is the box I made to house the new switches: Here is the inside of the switch box showing the prongs and how I wired it:
Here is the revised switch box mounted on the lathe and running: Now I can't wait for a lathe project to enjoy the new arrangement!!!!!!!!!..............Cheers, Jim
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
Great job on that indexer JJ. I use my laser to cut indexing holes, but haven't come up with a satisfactory method for attaching to my DVR... hate the thought of drilling into it.
If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD
A great post on Craftisian about this wood lathe. The Nova lathe is only available from one supplier here in the Netherlands. But I always thought and still think it's a beautiful lathe. On one hand, I like the technology, but what if I need new parts? When choosing my machines, I often check whether the parts used are remanufactured. That's why I chose the Laguna Revo. This lathe also has shortcomings, and it's also difficult to obtain here. In short, the future will show whether I made the right choice.
Thank you all for the nice comments. Hi Bruce, I have run a lot of lathes and every other one had the on and off in one switch and now I have it on this one.
Hi Dutchy. I had a buddy on Lumberjocks from Croatia who had a lathe from Australia and the pulley cracked on the Reeves drive and he could not get parts sent there. He sent me a photo of the pulley and the size shown with his caliper. It was very close to the one I had on the lathe from Harbor Freight. I ordered the part and sent it to him and it fit perfect. The lathes were probably made in the same factory in China and had different names on them. My Nova came from Peoples Republic Of China!!
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
Hi Dutchy. I had a buddy on Lumberjocks from Croatia who had a lathe from Australia and the pulley cracked on the Reeves drive and he could not get parts sent there. He sent me a photo of the pulley and the size shown with his caliper. It was very close to the one I had on the lathe from Harbor Freight. I ordered the part and sent it to him and it fit perfect. The lathes were probably made in the same factory in China and had different names on them. My Nova came from Peoples Republic Of China!!
If my machine breaks down, I know where to find you😉 . In the past, Gr8hunter has sometimes sent me parts from Toys & Joys. Wooden wheels and axle pegs are very hard to come by there.
My 1998 Unisaw was bought during a store sale where the factory reps were present. I almost chose a Jet, but the Delta guy threw in some extras (mobile base and 52" fence). He claimed that you could yell out "Hey Bubba!" in the factory and half the workers would stop and look.
Hmm, I hadn't heard that Teknatool US had filed chapter 11. A quick search said that they had laid off most of their US employees. I might need to buy a couple of accessories for my Nova chucks that I might want down the road, just in case availability becomes an issue.
BTW, how is the indexing plate attached to the spindle?
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Hi Alex. I wondered about that since all their other stuff is made in Communist China. Hi Bruce, I think you made a wise choice of delta over Jet . I personally won't have any Jet tools in my shop. I had two of their metal lathes and got rid of both of them when I had to so some work on one and saw how badly it was made. We had two Jet wood lathes at school and they both crapped out and we got rid of them. I had to repair a Jet table saw where the trunnions "moved" and threw the spindle out of alignment with the fence!! Hi Lazyman. My contact in Florida quit Teknatool just before they filed for bankrutpcy but he still had some information for me. I have an E mail for an engineer in New Zealand if you need it. As for the indexing wheel, it is bolted ( with 4 bolts) from the inside to that outer chrome ring that is part of the original spindle wheel. I believe that whole assembly is then screwed on the the back spindle thread. It has been years since I made that index wheel but I fitted it to what they had any way I could. The index wheel is two pieces- the big diameter at 3/4" thick and that smaller ring that has the big holes through it for tightening that assembly to the spindle. I think there are 2 dowels in there too!
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
I got worried a few days ago. The Teknatool website was down for about a day. All you got was a message from Cloudflare. It is back up now but I was thinking that did not bode well.
I have noticed that both Rockler and Woodcraft have only limited Nova products available on their website. The stuff that Woodcraft still has in stock on their website seems be marked down so they might be in clearance mode. All of the few Nova products on the Rockler's website appear to be marked down as well. I also read that Teknatool is now selling direct in the US from their website, which may be part of the reason that WC and Rockler seem to be clearing out their inventory.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Being bankrupt, they are very limited in what they have left to sell. They said these Galaxi lathes did not sell well here. I think they would have a done a lot better if they made the changes to the indexing and switching that I did. I used mine today for a couple of projects and I love the new switching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Their main office in New Zealand is still going strong but I don't know how this model lathe is selling there. It it a long way to go to get parts!!
Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day
