Teknatool - Generations of Innovation

Teknatool - Generations of Innovation
ConsultingWoodworker.com
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, lathes
have been driven by belts. At first they were powered by
water, then steam and finally by electric motors, but always
with belts. Teknatool has done away with belts and pulleys
bringing lathes into the digital age with their DVR (Digital
Variable Reluctance) motor technology. This technology
has been developed over the last decade by Harold
Latimer and his sons in Auckland New Zealand and brings
so much more to their lathes than just eliminating the belt
drive.
Teknatool’s DVR drive monitors the stress on the drive as a
tool is cutting and compensates with more power as
needed to keep the work turning at the speed you set.
Better still, it can detect the sharp spike in resistance that
indicates a tool “dig in” and shut itself down instantly to
minimize the risk to you and your tools!
Teknatool’s Brian Latimer, director of
sales and marketing has this to say
about his family’s drive to innovate;
“Others may take a more traditional
approach to woodturning, we never
have. We have constantly threw
preconceived notions and started with
a clean slate.” And that fresh thinking
has helped make Teknatool the
benchmark against which other
companies compete, and won them
millions of loyal customers worldwide.
Interestingly, the Latimer story does
not begin with turning. After World
War Two, Harold Latimer used his training as an engineer making parts for other companies.
“My father was naturally innovative and didn’t know what he ‘couldn’t do’.” says Brian. “His
knowledge of the foundry business and metallurgy were a good fit for starting Teknatool
International doing light manufacturing. Boating was big business in New Zealand in the 50’s,
Harold Latimer at his drawing board
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so Dad made marine fittings and hardware. He even developed a new way of molding plastics
for navigational lights!”
As they branched out into making parts for woodworking manufacturers in the 70’s, they
realized that lathes had not kept pace with the advances in other types of woodworking
equipment, and saw an opportunity. “At the time, lathes were built for commercial purposes
such as turning posts and columns. No one was really making a lathe for the hobbyist. We
knew that few home woodworkers had need of an all cast iron, 12” lathe, and few could afford
the cost.” The Latimers decided to launch the NOVA line in the early 1980’s to serve this
neglected market. The New Zealand market was small, but the opportunity was clearly there.
“But we had to choose our products with care.” remembers Brian.
The first successful model lathe was the
TL1000, featuring steels tubes for the bed
and aluminum head and tail stocks. It
came with a ¾ horsepower motor and
priced out at $600.00 “Our goal was to
make a hobbyist’s tool that was great
quality but still within reason in price.” The
TL 1000 was a hit. “We sold several
thousand machines throughout New
Zealand, Australia and Canada. An
affordable option for home wood turners
helped create a revolution in this part of
the world. We really had no idea where
this would lead! Many are still working
today.”
An original TL 1000 still working today
With that success driving them forward, Teknatool set their
sights on turning tools. They created a line of chisels with
hardened steel tips inserted in the ends. These offered simpler
sharpening and superior performance at less cost than
‘premium’ tools available at the time. But Teknatool’s breakout
success was just around the corner.
The NOVA Chucking System was introduced at the end of the
1980’s and changed work holding for the hobbyist turner
forever. Previously, home wood turners were making do with
shop-built jam chucks and other less than ideal techniques.
Jaw chucks were known in the metalworking field, but had
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never crossed over into woodworking. “We saw some of the strategies that turners were using
and asked ourselves; How can we make this safer and easier? The obvious answer was the
multi-jaw scroll chuck technology being used by machinists, so we designed a wood turner’s
scroll chuck from the ground up. We developed the NOVA Scroll Chuck with four self-centering
jaws and created a range of jaw shapes to handle a range of work holding needs. We really
set out to solve a specific problem, but the four-jaw chuck created a revolution in the wood
turning hobby!”
Self centering chucks have since become common among wood turners, but not content to
rest on their laurels, Teknatool began looking for the next breakthrough. Over the next ten
years, they focused on the age old technology powering the lathe. The result is the game
changing DVR motor technology.
Teknatool’s DVR (Digital Variable
Reluctance) drive does away with
belts and pulleys, but goes much
further than that. The direct drive
motor is controlled by a powerful
onboard micro-processor that
monitors both torque and speed.
The computer instantly
compensates for detected
resistance during turning and
applies power to keep the stock
turning at the selected speed. The
computer reads the RPM up to 400
times per second to keep the motor
on track.
In Brian Latimer’s words; “Lathe drive technology had
not changed much since the electric motor was
attached to the bed. We knew we would need to
develop our own drive system to improve the
performance, safety and efficiency of lathes. DVR
technology is a complete departure from mechanical
speed control systems. We deliver power from a trickle
to full for complete variable speed over the entire
range. The system saves energy because it uses the
exact amount needed at the moment. Best of all, the
onboard computer monitors the cutting resistance and
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shuts the motor down if the force exceeds parameters. This detects “Dig Ins” and shuts the
motor down instantly to help minimize the chance of injury and damage. We are convinced that
DVR is the “Holy Grail” of lathe drives.”
NOVA Comet II
NOVA DVR 2024 Wood Lathe
NOVA 1624-44
NOVA DVR XP Wood Lathe
Teknatool continues to combine innovation with common sense to bring turners award winning
products with the traditionally driven NOVA Comet 12” Midi Lathe and NOVA 1624 Wood
Lathe. Brian Latimer is particularly proud of the latest lathe in the NOVA lineup, the DVR driven
NOVA 2024; “It brings the power and capability of a larger horsepower lathe, but the DVR
technology has the finesse for everything from 25 inch bowls to pen turning. It does not take up
a lot of floor space and can be easily moved with optional casters. No other large lathe is
capable of the range that this one is.”
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The NOVA DVR 2024 Lathe comes equipped with the unique and world leading wireless
remote control that you can wear on your wrist or magnetically attach to the lathe for easy
control wherever you need it.
Three decades of innovative thinking and manufacturing have helped revolutionize the world of
the hobbyist and professional wood turner. Stay in touch with Teknatool to see what the next
30 years brings!
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