About me and two questions.

[Doug Whitson]

Hi All, I'm not really new here but don't think I've posted an intro. So, my name is Doug Whitson, live in sunny Phoenix AZ.- yea, I know, but it's a dry heat-lol. I've been building furniture and out door projects for going on about 17 years. The shop has all the standard goodies, TS, SCMS, BS, JOINTER, PLANER, DP,PLANER, ROUTERS, WB etc. Last year my dear sister thought I needed a lathe so she bought me a HF special. I finally had enough with the da*n thing and decided to purchase a real lathe. The wife is not a happy camper about it so I can't get what I really want, but I can sneak a griz model, http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0462, in the budget. So the first question is: Are these things worth the bucks for an occasional user like me? The second question is, I have two different stones (no-not those kind) and don't have the foggiest what the grades are, is there a way/place I can find out? I know you guys love pics, these are my two latest projects.

38752

Later,
Doug in AZ.

[Bob Noles]

A big ole creeker welcome to ya Doug even if you aren't totally new :)

Here is a recent thread that may answer some questions for you about a Griz and several other models. Just like any other tool, there are a great many opinions in this thread, but also some helpful information as well.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36501

btw... thanks for the project pictures. You do some mighty fine work.

[Mike Ramsey]

Welcome Doug, when you say stones do you mean grinder wheels
or whet or ? If your talking about grinder wheels then there is usually
a code on the side of the wheels that will identify the grit. If you know
the maker, for instance Norton, you could visit their site to id your wheels.
If you didn't mean grinder wheels disregard the above rambling!

[Don Baer]

Hey Doug,
Nice to hear from you here on the dark side. AS to the Grizz. One thing that leaps out at me is the low speed. I think a min speed of 600 RPM's is just a tade to fast. Especily for something that will turn 16". I know on my little Rikon is I get an out of round piece on it I want the low speed on 430 RPM's and I'm limited to 12". Corse that just my opinion.

[Doug Whitson]

Thanks for the reply guys, the stones are the flat kind, not the round ones. One is brown/gray the other is gray/dark gray and that is about all I know about them.

About the speed of the lathe, I don't intend on turning anything "big" on it but I think I can come up with an old vfd from work. If need be, I don't see why a fella couldn't put a smaller pulley on the motor, or a larger one on the driven part.

Later,
Doug

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Doug..........Welcome to the Abyss!.........600 RPM is too fast. I was gifted with a Jet Mini VS. It's low speed is 500 RPM. It's max throw is about 9 5/8". When I put something on near that size that isn't perfectly balanced.....at 500 RPM it is an exciting event! My only negative comment about the Mini.....I wished the speed could go lower! Welcome to the Dark side!

[Ernie Nyvall]

Welcome Doug. Nice looking work you got there.

Ernie

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome Doug, nice projects! Good luck on the lathe selection!

Corey

[George Conklin]

Cool! Another Zonie!

Welcome, Doug.

Can't help ya on the lathe thing:rolleyes: .

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Welcome Doug!

If you can bring the speed down on that lathe, then I think it would fit the bill, as that seems to be the biggest thing against that particular lathe.

NICE work on the wooden lock!

Cheers!

[Jim Dunn]

Doug welcome and nice looking work as well. I agree with everyone else slower speed is better for odd shaped and out of round blocks. If you are fortunate enough to have a method of rounding all of you blocks first then 500 is probably ok at the low end.

I notice you did an inside out turning. I've not tried it as yet but it is on my list of things to do/try.

[Doug Whitson]

I appreciate all the welcomes and positive comments on the little projects I posted. So speed kills eh? Hmmmm, part of why I'm getting another lathe, is that I had tried to turn a 10"X2.5" hunk of walnut in the old HF unit that my sister had gotten me. Now THAT was exciting. I'm not sure if it was chasing me or the other way around. I just know the dance had to have been fun to watch but I really didn't see the humor in it at the time. I had thought about modifying the HF, beefing it up with some iron and looking at ways to slow it down but just can't justify putting the time and money into something that is so flimsy to begin with. I thought of the Griz unit for two reasons. One is the price thing, SWMBO can live with 500, but we would end up in Divorce court over a grand. The second, is that it seems the Griz has enough cast in it work with, 2 hp.....er....1 and sumpthin hp......, mt2 tapers at both ends and an articulating tool rest. My main concern is that there might be something out there I'm not aware of, another manufacturer in the same price range that I'm missing. I've checked the local papers and ebay with no luck. Griz it iz, unless I hear different from you guys and gals.
Later,
Doug in AZ. 38807

[Wayne Kuhn]

Doug, I was/am in the same budget constraints as you. I purchased the Griz G0462 in January and have been very happy with it. The low end speed is not too bad with a bandsawn round blank and bolting the lathe (level) to my shop floor. I believe you get used to the high low end speed. I would have loved to get a high end variable speed but not with my budget. I have found the griz a lot of lathe for the $$. It will send you down the slippery slope, into the vortex etc. My flat ww tools have been ignored since purchasing the Griz.

[Wayne Kuhn]

Doug, Here is a reply to an e-mail I received not too long ago from another future addict, he asked some specific question which I answered. I added some additional comments also. If this does not answer your specifics,please let me know.
Have fun,
Wayne Kuhn
Columbia MD

I will answer your questions about my lathe.
1. Significant noise or vibration- noise is minimal. I did grease the reeves drive shafts and discovered I need to do that on a regular basis. I use the white lithium grease in a spray can. Vibration is minimal. I discovered leveling & bolting the lathe to the floor(concrete) helped this a lot. I also discovered some of the vibration is inherent to the green blanks I have been turning due to the water in the wood migrating to one side of the blank.
Yes it has 1"x8tpi at the spindle. I have not figured out the internal thread on the opposite side of the drive. I would like to fabricate a hand wheel for it.
I have yet to turn a 16" bowl but I did have a 27 lb blank about 12"x8" mounted and managed to turned the outside. I was working on the inside when I discovered ring shake and ended that. I was very comfortable during turning. I have a 14"x14"x7" blank of box elder waiting for the right moment. As I understand and actually tried briefly, the banjo extension for outboard turning is very vibration prone, practically useless and easily breaks. Mine is still in one piece due to lack of use but I may give it another shot. I have turned a number of 8-10" blanks with no problem. I also find the tach handy since I have no idea what the speed of the piece would be otherwise. It arrives in two boxes, one box has the legs and all else in another box. I picked mine up at the loading dock and drove it home, removed the headstock and tailstock, carried all parts to my basement and reassembled by myself. Took about 1/2 hour.

I purchased mine mainly for the price, I would love to have a oneway or other monster lathe, but my tool budget was severely cut for a number of reasons. I am very happy with it. It has done pretty much all I ask of it. Minor issues that have come up- I could not get the belt/pulley cover off to grease the shafts. After several e-mails from grizzly I finally bent about 1 1/2'-2" of the 1" ring that wraps around the motor mount. The cover then came right off. I stripped the handle that tightens the toolrest due to a loose screw, I used the spare that was with the banjo extension until Grizzly sent another under warranty. The banjo cam nut kept coming loose but some loc-tite fixed that. The 500 rpms at low speed is not a problem for me,I believe it is what you are used to that matters as far as low speed is concerned. If this lathe is all your budget can afford go for it, if you can afford better or can wait to save your money ( I couldn't) do so and get a nicer machine. I am guessing I will be upgrading in several years.
BTW- I was turning, mostly spindles and pens on a craftsman monotube before the bowl addiction got it's knarly claws into me. I was also doing a lot of flatwork. (was is the key word in that sentence) I am just a hobbyist woodworker looking to kill some time. I hope this helps with your decision, If you are near Columbia Md, you are welcome to come by and check it out. Let me know if you have other questions and what you decide to purchase. Have Fun and be safe, Wayne Kuhn Columbia MD

[Frank Fusco]

For dollar value, for the average home user, that is probably the best lathe available today. I have the older, and more expensive, G1067Z, and am 99% satisfied with it. What you are considering is less money and has superior power and features. For the price, when you do save up for the $4000.00 biggie, you can throw this one away. However, unless you plan to get into really large turnings on a full-time professional basis, you will love and keep your Griz. Do check out the link to the other thread mentioned.

[Bob Noles]

Doug,

I would like to ask what you plan on turning and the max size stock you will be working with?

The reason for my question is, you may want to consider a quality mini/midi like the Jet or Rikon if they can meet your needs instead of the larger less quality type lathe.

Just a thought to help.

[Doug Whitson]

You guys are the best. While no one has said it, I'm guessing that the next best thing to what I'm looking at will be almost double in price. The only other thing I was thinking of was picking up a used Shop Smith or a legacy. Both would probably do the trick. As I stated earlier, I'm not a spinny guy, but when I saw that demo of the inside out turning, I had to try it. Same holds true with the bandsawn boxes, the locks, sewing center, lamps, knife handles, my short shot at carving and most every project I start. With the lathe, I'm looking at an ash tree in the back yard and guy from work who coaches little league. I gotta try one of those segmented bowls, same with the off center work. After that I might get into making one of those wooden V-8 engines. There's just no telling where my next flight of fancy may take me. You can probably see why SWMBO is just a little ticked, but it's the price she's gotta pay for keeping me home nights and sober. I'm pretty sure the Griz is for me and you fellas have pretty much firmed that up. I'll post again when the beast arrives and I've made some dust? shavings? what ever they make. Thanks again for the lively feed back and warm welcome.

Later,
Doug in AZ.