New lathe questions

[Jeff Hounshell]

I have cut my teeth in turning on a Steel City mini lathe. I'm ready to move up to a larger machine. My interest is in turning larger bowls, the length of the bed matters little to me. Of course, I don't want to spend a ton of money. I'm looking at a Grizzly...

http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/Wood-Lathe-With-Digital-Readout/G0462

I like the 16" swing, the pivoting head, 2hp motor and the price. I don't like the fact that it's slowest speed is a whopping 600 rpm.

Anybody have any other suggestions for a good bowl lathe without a monster price tag? Also, are there safe work-arounds for using a lathe like the above Grizzly if you put a big chunk of wood on it, and try to round it out at 600 rpm?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Jeff

[alex carey]

We all love the price but alas IT IS too good to be true. 600 is far too high to round out a blank. That tailstock looks like it weights under 8 pounds. I don't see the need for spindle read out if you only have 10 speeds... The tool rest looks very flimsy. Its just not a good lathe by looking at the specs. Its weight is 304#. The Jet 16" weight 450.

I haven't used it so I can't say for sure but these are things to consider.

My advice...save your money and get something that is actually good. The 16" jet is a good way to go.

Alex

[Gordon Seto]

I would look for something else. Last week, I have seen that lathe in action. Even on a rounded blank, it was scary. When the lathe gets into over drive speed, it vibrates and shakes. You can't get a smooth cut. 16" diameter at 600 rpm is 28.57 miles per hour. That is unsafe speed. A lot of time, the wood we are turning may have internal flaws that we can't see. It can blow apart without a catch.
Using the guide line from Dale Nish, that speed is too fast for even perfectly balanced blank.
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/woodturners/Images/safe_lathe_speeds.pdf

[Jim Kountz]

I know it may be more money but take a look at the Jet 1642 or the Nova lathes. Both are excellent values and have a reputation for being nice machines. I have the Jet and just love it.

[alex carey]

I don't think the Grizzly has a warranty either. I am not sure though.

[Jeff Hounshell]

I know it may be more money but take a look at the Jet 1642 or the Nova lathes. Both are excellent values and have a reputation for being nice machines. I have the Jet and just love it.

The Jet 1642 is an option, I might just have to pony up to such a model. How comfortable are you with putting a large chuck of wood on that, and feeling safe about doing such? The Novas look like they have a lot of bells and whistles, but to me they seem a bit light weight or flimsy. I might be wrong, I'd welcome a Nova owner to comment.

Any other options? The Powermatic is out of my price range is out of my price range at this time.

Jeff

[Jeff Hounshell]

We all love the price but alas IT IS too good to be true. 600 is far too high to round out a blank. That tailstock looks like it weights under 8 pounds. I don't see the need for spindle read out if you only have 10 speeds... The tool rest looks very flimsy. Its just not a good lathe by looking at the specs. Its weight is 304#. The Jet 16" weight 450.

I haven't used it so I can't say for sure but these are things to consider.

My advice...save your money and get something that is actually good. The 16" jet is a good way to go.

Alex

What are you turning on?

Jeff

[Gary Max]

A lot of the answer you are looking for depends on what you call a large chunk of wood.

[Jim Kountz]

The Jet 1642 is an option, I might just have to pony up to such a model. How comfortable are you with putting a large chuck of wood on that, and feeling safe about doing such? The Novas look like they have a lot of bells and whistles, but to me they seem a bit light weight or flimsy. I might be wrong, I'd welcome a Nova owner to comment.

Any other options? The Powermatic is out of my price range is out of my price range at this time.

Jeff

I consistently turn the largest dia I can which in reality is about 15.75" by anywhere from 6-10" blanks and the lathe doesnt bat an eye. I also then core all these blanks with a Woodcut coring tool and again the Jet just hums right along. No problem.
Cant comment on the Nova's but alot of folks here have them and love them.

[Jeff Hounshell]

A lot of the answer you are looking for depends on what you call a large chunk of wood.

I'd like to be able to turn a 12" to 16" bowl. To me, that is a big chuck of wood.

[Gordon Seto]

I don't think the Grizzly has a warranty either. I am not sure though.
Grizzly should have a one year warranty.
Under warranty, their service is very good. One of our Club member had this lathe. He had a major problem while brand new. The warranty service was top notch. But the problem re-occurred on the 13th month. He was not going to have it repaired out of his pocket. He got a used old lathe (one of those removed from high school workshop) instead. He is happier now.
Jet has 5 year warranty. Nova also has 5 year warranty (one year on motor).
The Nova and Jet 1642 are lathes worth saving money for.

[Jeff Hounshell]

Which Nova do you like? There is more than one model.

[Jim Kountz]

I don't think the Grizzly has a warranty either. I am not sure though.


Well they do but its only a year vs 5 years on the Jet.

[alex carey]

I have the Powermatic 3520B and love it. The Jet 16" is basically a smaller version of it and would be a good way to go.
12-16" bowl is WAY too big for this lathe in my opinion. Roughing at 600 rpm is just too fast. I did this on a smaller lathe and long story short ended up going to a hospital.

Bottom line is this, you get what you pay for. 500$ will get you a 500$ machine. 1800$ will get you an 1800$ machine and peace of mind. Wait and save up. It'll be worth it.

[Gordon Seto]

I have the DVR (pre-XP model). But that is a lot more money than the 1624. As I see it, the mechanical parts-lathe bed, tool rest and tail stock are interchangeable. The major difference is the DVR is direct drive (no belt) Electronic Variable Speed; and the 1624 is 8 speed belt positions.
If you like to turn off-balance turning, the EVS is a must. Otherwise, manual speed change is nice to have feature; it won't take that long to change speed.
For me, I would rather have the manual speed change than mechanical Reeves Drive speed change.
It's your money. Don't let us tell you how to spend them. Find a local turning Club and attend their meetings. Take some first hand look at the lathes you are interested in and form your own opinion. That is the best value in wood turning.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have the Nova DVR XP. I have about 300 lbs of sand on my stand. It doesn't move anywhere. Like Jim K. I can turn 15 3/4" and have had some 8" or so in depth. I use a oneway coring system for nested bowls and haven't had any problems at all. I turned on both the Jet 1642 and the Nova. Both are excellent machines but chose the Nova because of it's small foot print. That was the only reason.

[Wayne Kuhn]

and got very frustrated with the low end speed. Unless your blank is perfectly balanced forget about anything over 12 inches, more like 10 inches, and that was with the lathe leveled and bolted to the floor.

I is a great spindle lathe, but not a good bowl lathe. I upgraded to a Jet 1642 1/12 HP and have not looked back, great machine.

The mechanical problems I had with the Grizzly were minor, they included:
2-stripped handle on tool rest tightening knob. I replaced with after market after grizzly sent a replacement.
Broken pulleys- I kinda blame myself for that one, I put a link belt on it (too wide.)
The digital display went out after roughing an out of balance blank,-But I did get it working again.

Not so sure about the 2 hp. I'm sure it is inflated like all HP ratings these days.

Its not a terrible lathe but save you pennys for an upgrade with electronic variable speed. All reeves drives have a high low end speed.

[Reed Gray]

2 big negatives on the Grizzley for me. First, a true 2 hp motor needs to run on 220 volt power, not 110. Second is the Reeves drive. Adjustable pulleys seem to need a lot of 'adjustments' as they age, and hand adjusting the belt on a standard lathe may be a bit of an inconvenience, but mechanically it is hastle free. A true variable speed isn't a necessity, but once you have it, you never want to go back.
robo hippy

[Jason Clark2]

I had the Grizzly G0462 for about 18 months before I upgraded to a Powermatic 3520b. I wouldn't recommend it for large bowls for all of the reasons already mentioned, primarily the lack of a slow speed.

The Nova 1624, Grizzly G0632, Jet 1642 EVS, and Nova DVR-XP (in ascending price order) are much better options.

Jason

[Alan Trout]

There are a lot of better options as Jason has suggested. I own A Nova DVR that I have really enjoyed. I think the Nova 16/24 is a heck of the lathe for the money and the Nova's being a bench type lathe add a lot of options to stand design. They can be as heavy or light as you want. Mine is over 800lbs. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=99001

Of course it seems everyone that has the Jet 1642 like them and the Grizzly 0632 has had good reports. If you want to do bowl only or very short spindle work the Vega bowl lathes The 2600T and the less expensive 2413B might be options to look at.

Any of these should perform well and last you for a long time.

Good Luck

Alan