Shop Fox W1758 lathe

[Tony Cognato]

Hello guys, I have had such great response on my first post and hoping for more. I am looking into any and all equipment and I keep coming across the Shop Fox W1758. Can anyone enlighten me? I trust the opinions here much more than the ones on Amazon, etc. Thanks.

[Roger Chandler]

That is a lathe that looks good on paper.........if you want to turn bowls, then the rpm's on the low side are way too fast......the lowest rpm is 600, which is too fast for roughing out an unbalanced blank..........it will shake and dance across the floor [even without music :rolleyes: ]

The tool rest is very flimsy in comparison to some of the bigger lathes and the swing arm on it will induce vibrations on your tool and affect the quality of the cuts you get as well.

When I first thought about getting a lathe, I took a good look at the SF W1758......our local vendor has one on display.......it is also fairly light weight. Have you considered the Grizzly G0632? It is a clone of the Jet 1642 evs and I think it is about $1300..........numerous owners have good experiences with it, and will put you up to what is cosidered a large lathe class, with electronic variable speed, and features most desired by most turners.

[carl mesaros]

Hi Tony. Roger is spot on with his comments on the Shop Fox. I'd look for something more substantial.
Variable speed drive is not a must have but awful nice once you've had a lathe that required belt changes.
Roger mentioned the Grizzly 632. A great value but for $150 more you can have the new Grizzly GO766!

[Tony Cognato]

I am beginning to be swept up in the Grizzly tidal wave! The new machines look really good!




Hi Tony. Roger is spot on with his comments on the Shop Fox. I'd look for something more substantial.
Variable speed drive is not a must have but awful nice once you've had a lathe that required belt changes.
Roger mentioned the Grizzly 632. A great value but for $150 more you can have the new Grizzly GO766!