Lathes & Tools

Robust lathes and accessories

All Robust lathes and accessories are made in Robust’s own machine and fabrication shop in Barneveld, Wisconsin. The items they don’t make are made to their specification by nearby manufacturers. For instance, all of the castings come from Austin Foundry in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, started just after WW II. Many of the CNC machined parts come from Production Machine & Enterprises in Madison, Wisconsin. Laser cut parts come from Laser Dynamics in Allendale Michigan.

Robust Tools proudly certify that all their products have a US content of over 85%.
Robust was founded January 1, 2004 by Brent and Deb English and is a limited liability corporation.

Kurt Hertzog wrote a great introductory story about Robust for Woodturning Design Magazine. Read about it here

The only lathes to feature a full 7 Year warranty.

The American Beauty Lathe

£0.00

Brand: Robust

Turners who bought it named it The American Beauty .

Standard features are:

S tainless Steel Ways: Stainless steel ways are standard equipment on all our lathes. Whether you turn wet wood or exotics, your Robust ways will not rust.

Spindle:The spindle is pre-hardened 4140 Chrome Moly alloy with an 1 1/4"-8 spindle nose drilled and readily equipped for vacuum. There is a groove for a safety set screw and a #2 Morse taper. A metric spindle, threaded 33 x 3.5 is also available.

Spindle lock: The spindle lock electronically disconnects the controls when it is engaged. No more burnt belts when you forget to unlock the spindle.

Bearings:Heavy duty permanently lubricated bearings are fitted. They carry 40% moreload than leading competitors. That's why Robust is the only manufacturer that warrants the headstock bearings, and warrants them for seven years.

Handwheel:All lathes are equiped with a highly polished and comfortable handwheel.

Indexing: 48 position indexing is standard

Motor and Drives: We use Leeson or Baldor motors and quality matched drives. All systems are 220v single phase, with the exception of the 1.5 HP motors which are also available in 110v. The drive can be slowed to a creep for operations like applying finishes. Because we use a vector drive with auto-tune, full torque is available at ALL speeds.

Controls:Variable speed and forward/reverse are standard. All the lathe controls are on a corded pendant with a magnetic back. Place them on the headstock, tailstock, or anywhere else that is convenient for you.

Sliding Headstock:The American Beauty, Liberty and Independence feature sliding headstocks that can be slid the length of the bed, allowing full access to the work from a variety of natural body positions. Sliding headstocks quickly release and lock down via a lever extending from the end of the headstock. Because it is bigger, actuating the lever on the American Beauty engages two lock-downs. The headstock on the Sweet 16 is fixed.

Bed Construction:Beds are constructed of structural and stainless steels, fully welded and stress relieved before final finishing. 16 " bed extensions are available for the American Beauty, Liberty and Sweet 16.

Comfortable Center Height:Adjustable legs easily adjust the spindle height from just under 42" to almost 50".

Warranty: Robust offers and exclusive seven year warranty on all mechanical parts, including the headstock bearings. Electrical components are warranted for one year.

Standard Accessories:Every Robust lathe comes with these standard accessories at no extra cost:

Handwheel
Spindle Lock with electronic interlock
Magnetic backed, corded pendant remote control with variable speed, forward/reverse and stop
48 Position Indexing
Knock-Out Rod
12" Robust Tool Rest with Hardened Rod
Spur Center
Robust Live Center - Cup Style with adjustable point
Operator Manual
3.5" Aluminum Face Plate