I got the 1524 about 6 months ago and have been happy with it so far. I got the wheel kit, which seemed overpriced, but the machine is heavy and I’m happy I can move it around. I like the adjustable legs as well, not trivial to adjust, but you CAN adjust them.
I’m in a garage workshop, so preferred the smaller size but to compensate I got the extension which can adds length +20, or diameter up to ~20. I have not used it beyond testing it to make sure it didn’t have defects. It bolts on and took a bit of effort to get things to line up, so if you plan on doing a lot of longer pieces the 1836 would avoid the hassles and have a single smooth bed. For bowls the extension bolts to the legs several inches below the bed and you move the headstock to the end giving you the extra swing. The extension also has a mechanism for the tool rest when setup for end turning. For me, I‘ll rarely need the length or swing, so the smaller overall size + extension was preferred over a bigger machine.
There is a difference in the motors between the 1524 which is a DC with PWM. Vs the 1836 which is AC with VFD. I cannot speak to advantages or trade offs between them, but noted the DC is less common than VFD, just hope it’s reliable enough it never needs to be replaced. I do love the upgrade to variable speed and ability to reverse which I didn’t have in my old Rikon midi lathe. I have also had a few jams where the tool catches and the motor stalls, but prefer that to having my chisel yanked out of my hand.
One thing I miss, The Rikon midi had graduations etched in the tailstock, so when drilling it was easy to know the depth. No graduations on the Laguna 1524.
The other nit, and this may be due to my inexperience, but since the tool supports reverse, there are set screws in the faceplate and for the chuck. I have tried to be careful, but have scared the threads a bit on headstock when seating them, Would have expected they would have been positioned to avoid having the set screw from hitting the threads.
There are belts for 3 ranges of speeds. i typically just use the center setting, bit sometime use the low for roughing out of round blanks. It’s not too difficult to adjust, but it’s enclosed and you have to reach into the little door and peer into the box to see what you are doing. I noticed there were no instructions in the manual about changing the belt, and looking at it, it looks like might requiring removing the shafts to get a new belt installed. The belt is pretty wide, so hope it’s going to last a long time. Disappointed this wasn’t covered in their instructions.
I did consider the Technical Tool lathes but they were not available in the local stores, and looked to be limited availability due to COVID. I was bit hesitant about the Laguna as some folks have had less than ideal support from the company. I was very happy with support from Rikon for my midi lathe, but they didn’t have a larger model for the upgrade in size that I wanted.
Happy Shopping and Good Luck. For myself, hope the holidays brings some free time to do some turning on the lathe.
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