Posts: 10,682
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Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Orlando, Florida
You shouldn't have any problems with your Robust. It's all about how secure your blank is and how stable the lathe is. The AB is a pretty substantial hunk of metal with plenty of weight to handle out-of-balance blanks. Just keep the RPMs slow until you've got it roughed out. I have a Nova DVR and I've done 16" outboard with no problems. My DVR is way less weight than your AB will be.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
Posts: 1,334
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Joined: Oct 2004
I considered the outboard as well when I got my AB. It's pretty tempting.
But I decided to wait and turn some pieces as large in Diameter as the AB can swing - 25" - and really reconsidered. 25 inch diameter is pretty freaking huge and intimidating when its spinning, no matter how experienced a turner you may be. There's a HUGE increase in wood mass between the 16" I was turning before and the 25" I can turn on the AB, and once I got some pieces spinning that large, it was MORE than enough to convince me to stop there.
My own experience was to think about how often I would really need/want to turn something larger than 25 inches, and found for my own work, that I could live without it.
That said, enjoy your new AB. It's an amazing piece of machinery that you will truly love.
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Czarcastic (Steven)
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
Posts: 14,711
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Joined: Mar 2004
In my opinion large turnings are something everyone wants to try to test their limits. After you do a few most turners are over it. If you plan on selling the market is real small for anything bigger than 16" (salad bowl size). Not many cabinets can hold anything over 16" so that means dedicated counter space. Even if you go from user to art the larger size reduces display options.
I guess it depends on how deep your pockets are and do you want to spend that kind of money for a few huge pieces.