Honest Opinion of a Lathe

[Jon Lanier]

I know that there can be much emotion over our tools we already have. But I would like some honest and logical feedback on this lathe: G0462 Wood Lathe With Digital Readout. Thanks for your time and thoughts.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/222/g0462co7.jpg

[Terry Stellman]

My personal opinion is that the 600 rpm minimum speed is too fast. This seems to be a common problem on the less expensive lathes.

Terry

[Bill Lantry]

Jon,

I have that one. You can hack it so the lowest speed is about 540, but that points up the only real limitation: it's lowest speed is high. It's so solidly built, and the motor is so strong, one is tempted to load a big old blank on there. So far, the biggest bowl I've dared turn was about 14 inches.

Most people buy this one when they want a big solid lathe, but can't afford the 1200 to 2000 price tag for other comparable heft. Two warnings: turning big stuff is truly addicting. And as soon as you get addicted to that, you'll start thinking about where you can get the 2000 for the next step up! Please resist the temptation to rob any *local* banks... ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[Jeff Bower]

Jon, my dad has this lathe as well. He loves it and he also got the lowest speed down to 540. He has turned up to 12" so far without much problem. The price is great and this is a very solid lathe.

[George Guadiane]

Jon,

I have that one. You can hack it so the lowest speed is about 540, but that points up the only real limitation: it's lowest speed is high. It's so solidly built, and the motor is so strong, one is tempted to load a big old blank on there. So far, the biggest bowl I've dared turn was about 14 inches.

Most people buy this one when they want a big solid lathe, but can't afford the 1200 to 2000 price tag for other comparable heft. Two warnings: turning big stuff is truly addicting. And as soon as you get addicted to that, you'll start thinking about where you can get the 2000 for the next step up! Please resist the temptation to rob any *local* banks... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
I think Bill brings up two important points:
Price aside, the "limitation" of too high a "low" speed has an impact on the value and usability of the lathe.
Based on that, this lathe wouldn't likely be your last. If that IS true, then the smart money would wait and get the next step(s) up that might get you to your last lathe (till you wear it out).
I think of the limitation indicated on this lathe as a deal breaker (for me), you won't be able to turn anything that is very out of balance, the rotational speed would probably have you chasing the lathe all over the shop.
(I want everyone to notice, at no time in this post did I chant "mustard, Mustard, MUSTARD..."):D
After looking at the lathe (and the price), I must admit, it's TEMPTING... I have a Grizzly closeout bandsaw, not crazy about it, but it does do what I ask it to.
If your only foreseeable option is this or a mini, I would go for this one in a heartbeat, BUT...

[Brian Weick]

I really can't say for sure- it depends on what you plan on turning. I don't think it's fair to speak about any tools that I do not own - no experience. My need for a large lathe was crucial because I wanted to turn columns and rather large architectural pieces on th lathe so my hunt was for a lathe that would at least turn 8' in length and 24" in circumference. I looked into a lot of alternatives to piecing smaller lathes together and that was not going to do it- to many safety concerns. to give you some idea as to what I am talking about I have attached pictures of the Oliver 20c pattern lathe. I just have finished the restoration and machine work from my machinist. I will be posting the thread on here about my lathe and all that has been done to it over the past 12 month refurbishment. Just make sure the lathe you get is going to accomplish what you want to turn with out going over the safety parameters of the lathe.
good luck with your lathe purchase
Brian

[Dennis Peacock]

I think Bill brings up two important points:
Price aside, the "limitation" of too high a "low" speed has an impact on the value and usability of the lathe.
Based on that, this lathe wouldn't likely be your last. If that IS true, then the smart money would wait and get the next step(s) up that might get you to your last lathe (till you wear it out).
I think of the limitation indicated on this lathe as a deal breaker (for me), you won't be able to turn anything that is very out of balance, the rotational speed would probably have you chasing the lathe all over the shop.
(I want everyone to notice, at no time in this post did I chant "mustard, Mustard, MUSTARD..."):D
After looking at the lathe (and the price), I must admit, it's TEMPTING... I have a Grizzly closeout bandsaw, not crazy about it, but it does do what I ask it to.
If your only foreseeable option is this or a mini, I would go for this one in a heartbeat, BUT...


Excellent points George!! And there's a lot of truth to what you have posted. (including the mustard, Mustard, MUSTARD chant)
I know that money is always a limiting factor for many of us, but think this over for just a sec...I'm on my 3rd lathe....and it is my final lathe that I will stay with, a PM3520A. I could have saved money by doing like Mark Cothren did, puchase his first and last lathe in a single purchase. Money wise, this was very smart of Mark as he didn't buy, sell, buy, sell, buy.....Many times we buy what we think will be our last, but more often than not, it's not our last as we advance in skill and abilities.

Most of all, it will depend on what you want to do turning wise going forward for years to come. You also must consider the quality of bearings in the headstock. I some cases, this is where cost savings come in for the one making the tools....cheaper bearings and etc will lower the cost of the lathe but will eventually "increase" you expenditures and frustration leve. DAMHIKT!!!!

Best of luck to you...whatever you decide. :D

[Patrick Taylor]

First off, ANY lathe is better than NO lathe. ;)

If you have an choice about what lathe to buy....

I agree that this would not likely keep you happy as your last lathe if you want to turn bowls, hollowforms, etc. The common wisdom seems to be "buy the best lathe you can afford" because MOST of the time you get what you pay for with lathes. And with lathes there seem to be significant differences in capability, features, heft, etc from the top to the bottom of the classes.
I generally agree that it's smart to avoid the "hot deals" if you know (listen to that skeptical voice in your head) that you might need to upgrade again later. I got a mini to try things out, then I started looking at 14" lathes, then 16", then for a while I was set on Mustard, and now I think I might be able to scrape together the cash for a Robust and can't seem to think about anything else! I will keep my mini, buy the best lathe I can get, and it will be my last. No buy/sell revolving door for me.

That said, we all have different financial situations, and for some people this lathe may be a big step up from where they are now, and they will not have the option to spend more for the foreseeable future, so then it probably makes sense.

There's no right answer, but those are my thoughts. :)

[TYLER WOOD]

COUGH!!GENERAL!!!COUGH COUGH!!!:D


I agree this is a very tempting lathe. But trust me as I say this. YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. I love Grizzley, and it's not the quality of the machine in doubt, it's the specs. You would not really be able to spin 16" chunks of wood for bowl making. The speed would prohibit it, at least for safety sake. I normally like Grizzley products, but I just don't think a larger lathe with such a high low end speed is a great idea.

You may check General 25-650 out. Don't know what your price range is, but at 1500 range it may fit in. It's cheaper than the PM's, yet large enough to do most things. 16" swing with low speed at 52 RPM. It's a solid lathe!!!!!! Or maybe the Jet lathe of the same size. I think they may be under 2k as well.

If under a g is what you are looking for, this may be your only bet. Being a Grizzley you may not be wrong in that bet, decent machines.

[Kim Ford]

Jon, I think it depends upon what you want to turn and where you are in your "turning life".... and of course what's your budget.

I looked at these lathes very closely about a year ago when I decided to get back into turning. The price is very attractive, but I must agree with the other comments made. . . the spec's just really didn't work, 540 rpm is just two fast if you want to do larger bowls.

If you are really interested in the machine, give us a little more detail to your experience level and what you want to turn, along with your budget, and I'm sure many here will have some good advice. Just remember there are many parts to the salad, some like the greens, some the mayo, some the mustard, but to me I think the best part is the olive, olive, olive.

Also, and this is me personally, I just would not go back to fixed speed machines. With the technology available the VFD for AC motors totally changes the way your are able to do things. If you are thinking a new machine and are going to be turning anything of size, I think it is extremely important.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jon.....I have a Jet VS Mini....it's low end speed is 500 rpm. I have 40 years of experience working around equipment from oil rigs to radar to cat scanners and MR scanners. I can tell you that the Jet Mini has a max diameter of 10 inches. At 500 rpm...10 inches of unbalanced blank is all you want! It's a good way to speed up the heart rate....and if the last thing you turned was a pen at 3200 rpm and you forget to change the pulley and dial in the lower speed.....Well....It's more than very exciting!

600 rpm is not a desired low end speed....500 rpm is not a desired low end speed!

[Jon Lanier]

Jon,

I have that one. You can hack it so the lowest speed is about 540, but that points up the only real limitation: it's lowest speed is high.

Bill

How do you slow down the speed :confused:

Everyone: Thank you so much for your input. I'm really trying to do my research on this so I can make an intelligent decision. :cool:

Do to the lack of woodshop in the schools I've begun teaching my kids on my own about 4-5 years ago. I think it is getting around that time to start looking at the lathe. I've not turned in years since school days (an old Oliver was the lathe I used).

I was constantly in the woodshop from 7-12 grades. Study halls, chemistry, gym class, any thing I could, I would be getting the shop teacher to get me out so I could work and mostly for turning. I was even there many nights after school and the janitor would have to run me out. So, I think it'll be just a matter of time to get that "feel" back and learn some of the "new and innovative" techniques/tools.

I'm on a lower end budget but I also know that a midi-lathe will not be satisfying enough. I don't know how "big" of turning Items I will get interested in. I do know that I'm thinking at least 12 or 14 inch. Even after the "teaching" is done, I know I'll be hooked again.

I will need to keep the budget around $500. I've been trying to find a old Oliver or Powermatic the the school shops use to have. But I've not had any luck finding anything at my budget.

Once again thank you everyone!

[Bill Lantry]

Jon,

Please don't let all this discourage you. It *is* possible to get into turning without spending thousands of dollars. These gentlemen are all correct: mustard is good, so are olives, and that piece of old iron is like caviar. And yet, none of those things are on my diet... and they probably will never be, given the state of my 'kitchen'. But I still found a way to get into turning. Here are just a couple things I've turned on that lathe:

70689

That birdhouse is almost 3 feet tall... and the main part was a 8" by 20" log. There's just no way you can turn a piece of wood that size on any other comparably priced lathe, and on most of them, you'd be crazy to try. I've also turned several 12"+ bowls, as well as many smaller ones, like this:

70690

When I got it, I had no idea what I was doing... just had an inkling I might like turning. That means I wasn't used to high-end equipment... I just thought the vagaries of the beast were normal. Of course, one had to be VERY careful about how a blank was mounted, and had to go through gyrations on the bandsaw to make sure the blank was trimmed and round... ;) Now, I see pictures of people mounting chainsaw prepared blanks on their highend lathes, and wish I could do that... but oh, well... ;)

Now, I'm hatching yet another crazy plot. I *know* there's a way to hook up a VFD to this lathe, just by changing out the motor, keeping the reeves drive intact. It makes sense: the lathe is solidly built, I just need slower speeds sometimes. Now, I know *nothing* about such things, so I've discussed it on several threads. The problem is, every time I start getting into the details, people try to help me with suggestions, but pretty soon I ask a question that shows how ignorant I am about such things, and they throw up their hands in despair... ;) I can't buy a new tool till christmas rolls around, but I'm thinking of asking for a 200$ VFD, and finding a 3-phase motor somewhere. It'll be ugly, but it might work, if I can figure it out... The end of the story might be that I can hack a lathe together that performs like one of the big ones, for something I can actually afford in my little world.

A very wise man once told me that if you buy a plane, you should think of having bought a kit to make a plane... you'll need to do all sorts of enhancements once you get it out of the box. I remember reading the same thing in some magazine about a year ago. So think of a lathe like this as a kit, that you can enhance and add on to. Sure, it would be more rational to spend more and not have to cobble things together... but in my world, it's cobble or go without... ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[Barry Stratton]

Don't know where you are located Jon, but this would be a MUCH better deal than that Grizzly.......

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63467

[Bob Hallowell]

Bill,
I didn't throw up my hands, I got my vfd at www.factorymation.com (http://www.factorymation.com) but if you keep seaching the bay you might find a cheaper one. just pm me and I will help all I can

Bob

[Jason Clark2]

I used this lathe for about 15 months, prior to upgrading to a Powermatic 3520B. What everyone else is saying is true. The primary flaw with this lathe is the lack of a slow speed. A 12" piece that's even a little out of balance at 600 RPMs can be scary, let alone a 14 or 15" piece.

The plus side to this lathe over something like a Jet 1236 is that the legs included are cast iron and include a brackets for a balast shelf that can easily be made out of a couple of 2X4s and some plywood. Adding 300+ pounds of sand bags will make it much more stable, as will bolting the legs to the floor.

If you're stuck in the $500 range for a new lathe and you're looking to swing 12"+ this isn't a bad choice, however there's a good chance that someone in your area has an older used lathe for a similar price.

Jason

[Jon Lanier]

Don't know where you are located Jon, but this would be a MUCH better deal than that Grizzly.......

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63467

Yes! That would be perfect. But I live over 1000 miles away. I could get time off to go get it. I just don't have the +250 dollars for the gas money. :(

[Barry Stratton]

Yes! That would be perfect. But I live over 1000 miles away. I could get time off to go get it. I just don't have the +250 dollars for the gas money. :(

Creeker Express time. I could meet him in Fargo.....hand off around St Cloud..........just a thought. Lots of mid-west Creekers.

[Jon Lanier]

Creeker Express time. I could meet him in Fargo.....hand off around St Cloud..........just a thought. Lots of mid-west Creekers.

That would be St. Cloud, Minnesota?

[Louis Harvill]

Sir,

I got my Nova 3000, it's a belt changer, takes about 60 seconds to change speed. It cost $500.00 off the web form a nice gentleman that. We finally agreed to split the shipping at $50.00 each. Mounted it to a steal cattle trough made out of 2-3/8 tubing. There are just lots of good lathes that are comming up for sale, be patient. I actually bought 2 of these and am in the market for a third. What happens to me is that friends and family will want multiples of things so i leave a rim chuck set up on one and switch out 4jaw chuck and centers on the other one. If I had a third I'd leave the 4 jaw chuck on it. I tried to standarize on a brand and model that was popular and well made. By the way the second steal cattle trough was harder to locate than the lathe.

louis

[Jim Kountz]

Bill,
I didn't throw up my hands, I got my vfd at www.factorymation.com (http://www.factorymation.com) but if you keep seaching the bay you might find a cheaper one. just pm me and I will help all I can

Bob

Bob you have a PM

[Brian Weick]

You should definitly think about this lathe- doesn't get any better "Oliver" drool! http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63467
Brian:D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jon,

A couple of things to look at on the Griz model....600 rpm is TOO fast. I have a Jet Mini and 500 RPM is TOO fast when you put a 9" out of balance blank on it. It will open your eyes really wide! A bigger out of balanced blank at 600 RPM...........WHOA!

2nd....Look at the tool rest. The way it's designed so that you can out board turn...the articulated arm will break real easily. IIRC we had a member here who bought that lathe and had that very thing happen.

I can tell you from my personal experience. I was gifted with a Jet VS Mini in February of 2006. I didn't start turning until March 2006. My PM3520B delivers next Wednesday. I could have had it a week ago but I wanted my shop painted, lights installed and finished. The shop was about a week from being painted and finished 18 months ago. I worked about 30 minutes on it in the last 18 months....but I've turned a bunch! Once you start turning you wouldn't be satisfied with that lathe.

My point...I think there are some severe design problems with that lathe. Take a look at one of the Jets or General Internationals or Novas....I think you'd be better off in the long run. Watch Craig's list for a used lathe or watch you local paper. If you are new to turning....find a local turning club and join....attend a few meetings. Turners by nature are very generous and I'll bet some members would be happy to let you see their lathe...give it a spin....give you some lessons......Maybe sell you a used lathe since they've upgraded. Take some lessons at a local Woodcraft store....Save for a better lathe.

Good luck!

[Ernie Nyvall]

Jon,
2nd....Look at the tool rest. The way it's designed so that you can out board turn...the articulated arm will break real easily. IIRC we had a member here who bought that lathe and had that very thing happen.

I broke four of them... very scary. I would't use the arm if teaching children. The toolrest base/banjo is small, making it a stretch to do a 14" bowl. Even at 500 rpms you'll be wanting to trim those bowl blanks to almost perfectly round before you start turning. It wasn't worth the worry to me.

[Dick Strauss]

Jon,
You might want to consider the Delta 46-715 as well. You can find them for under $500 on sale. Here are the specs:

3/4-horsepower, 9.8 amp motor; 450-2,600 rpm; 40 inches between centers; 14-inch swing over bed, pivoting headstock, 15 degree indexing

The weak link on the Delta is the stamped steel legs on this model. Everything else is pretty nice (IMHO)! You can make a 5 minute modification to the Delta and bring the speed down to 150-200 rpms for turning out of balance chunks. The 3/4 hp rating is pretty conservative.

You might be able to modifiy the Grizzly as well to bring the minimum speed down. The tailstock looks to be the weak link based on the pics (not much metal).

Good luck,
Dick