The Vicmarc VL300 is the best wood lathe I’ve used. The rest assembly is easy to move using one hand, the rest height easy to adjust. And Vicmarc chucks are second to none.

After an extreme length of time and research into exactly what tools I would upgrade to and make an investment in I decided to go with Carter and Sons (C&S) M42 tools and I wanted to deal with a Canadian distributor. The people at C&S directed me to Branches to Bowls. I placed a request for a quote and was shocked that 30 minutes later Ken called me to discuss my order. Not only did he review my order with me, but offered a wealth of information about turning. I appreciated the exchange so much I had to send him some of the blanks of a type of wood he had never turned before. He promptly sent me a quote and we were able to finalize it the next day.

Thank you very much Ken and I look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

I purchased a Vicmarc VL240 from “Branches to Bowls Ltd” in October, 2017. Negotiations, details, and agreements were all done long distance (phone and email). I was very pleased with Ken’s friendly, informative, customer friendly approach throughout the process (and since). Now I am enjoying an excellent lathe that is versatile, stable, powerful and precise! This workhorse runs for hours without any sign of heating...all sizes and types of wood keep changing shape...and I...enjoy!

...and I hum my theme song (from the Byrds)...”There is a season, turn, turn, turn...”

Hey Ken,

Quick email to say how pleased I am with the Carter and Son tools. I’m re-learning how to turn all over again it seems but what a joy to get covered in a pile of curly shavings, lol. These tools are like being handed the keys too a Porsche after driving a Russian Lada. I’ve just started working with the bowl gauge, the spindle gauge is amazing, especially on higher speed, the shavings fly off.

The bowl gauge works so well at my lowest speed, it’s just so much safer. The only problem I have now is that all other tools fail in comparison... Starting too think about a couple more down the road once I get more time flying curly shavings.

Cheers,

I have chucks from all the major manufacturers, but my VM-100 is by far the best! I love that it is easy to use but more importantly its holding power!