G0462 with speed control?

[Jason Thaxton]

I am thinking about getting a lathe I like the bulk and price of the grizzly go462. I have done some research on it and it sounds good except for the lack of low speed settings its lowest speed is 600 rpm. Could I purchase a heavy duty router speed control to get it to turn slower?

[Kent Fitzgerald]

Won't work.

[Jim Becker]

To clarify, you cannot use a typical "speed control" with an induction motor. The only way to rectify the situation is either by changing the pulley ratios or retrofitting the lathe with a VFD-controlled 3 phase motor.

[Bernie Weishapl]

NO, it will not work.

[Mark Pruitt]

I am becoming increasingly convinced that the best way to get started with wodturning is to buy a mini or midi lathe. A mini/midi will give you enough performance to give you a good feel for whether or not you want to get serious about it, and it won't cost an arm and a leg either. If by chance you decide you really don't like it, minis/midis hold better resale value than ones like you're looking at. (In fact, Grizzly has just released a midi lathe that looks like a good buy.) And if you do fall in head over heels like some of us have, you can keep the midi for small jobs or portability and invest in a Big Lathe for more serious stuff.

Your initial question had to do with speed. If you buy a midi that will go down to 450 or even 500, you should be OK, mostly. But you're right to be leery of a low speed of 600. That's too high for the slowest speed.

I'm just saying what I wish I had known before I got started. I could have saved myself a couple hundred bucks and some heartache.

[Bill Boehme]

Generally speaking, it is the beginning turner who buys a lathe of the type that you are considering. It is natural to want to get the most for your money, but the truth is that you get what you pay for -- or less, but never more than what you pay. Many of the features that they hype in their advertising are not very useful.

I agree with Mark that a mini lathe like the Jet or Delta would be excellent. There are some other new entries in the mini lathe category appearing on the market -- I suspect that they want to ride the coattails of the very popular Jet mini and Delta midi (both of which are the same size -- go figure), but most of them are too new to have a track record yet. You will be surprised to learn how many different things can be turned on a mini lathe. Most bowls and hollowforms are under 9" diameter, so a mini could be used in most of those cases. I turned a 6" diameter hollowform on my Jet mini using a hook tool so I know that it is up to the task. I have found my Jet mini to be a very high quality, rugged, and smooth running machine. Whatever lathe you buy, it is quite likely that you will also get a mini, so why not gt it first while you learn more about what you really "need" (want).

Bill

[Gordon Seto]

I second what Mark and Bill said.

Don't think that big pieces automatically bring in big money. At the KY Sympomsium, a spinning top by Bonnie Klein and Jacques Vesery was auctioned at over $10,000. And it was not turned from precious metal or diamond. It is the quality that counts.

Gordon