Harvey T40 or Laguna 18/36 - wisdom sought

[Jeff Steiner]

I'm asking for some advice from the collective here.

I'm upgrading from a smaller midi lathe, and was originally looking at the G0766, but am frustrated with Grizzly's vaporware, so I've decided to move on.

I had pretty much decided on the Laguna 18/36, after seeing it in a rockler or woodcraft, but then noticed the Turbo T40 and fell in lust. I understand that the price for the Harvey hasn't changed, but they recently started providing the legs with the lathe (used to be an accessory). Aside - I think that the 24" between centers is more than enough capacity - so the 36, doesn't get me THAT much.

The T40 seems relatively new to the market, and I have found a couple of sponsored videos and such, but I was wondering if anyone here actually had one. The servo motor looks amazing, especially the 2ms response time to load, and the fast startup / shut down. Both come with legs, but I would probably use the Harvey on a rolling workbench that I have already from my old lathe.

3K is the absolute top of my budget.

Thank you in advance.

[Steve Eure]

$2800 for a 14" lathe would not interest me personally. Except for all the fancy equipment that this lathe offers, it has only 2" more swing over the bed than my midi. Of course it's your decision not mine. For that kind of money, I would look for something with more swing unless your not interested in turning larger bowls.
If my budget was in the 3k range, I would look for a used PM 3520 or equivalent lathe.

[Jeff Steiner]

Thank you - and I understand your point. Goofy question - where in the hell does one find used, nice lathes? I don't see them on CL, and rarely ever on other platforms. I thought I had found the perfect match - 1700 for a year old 18/36, but before I could get in my truck to drive the 5 hours to pick it up, he decided not to sell it.

The finish on that T40 is nothing short of glorious. I heard angels sing when I started looking at it.

[Peter Christensen]

The T-50 would be closer in size to the Laguna. A little more money but you get more too. The problem over and above the shipping is you would be unlikely to get it before the tariff takes effect but you could try.

[Alex Zeller]

Unless you're really upset with Grizzly they do have the G0733 in stock. It's cheaper than the Laguna. I suspect that unless there's a large supply in the US most of what's here may get bought up between now and the 6th. Baileigh also sells a model about the same as the G0733.

[Jeff Steiner]

I took a look at the 733 in the showroom, but If I go with a full size lathe, I would definitely prefer the 766 (over the 733). It felt like a nicer machine to the 733.

[Alex Zeller]

I took a look at the 733 in the showroom, but If I go with a full size lathe, I would definitely prefer the 766 (over the 733). It felt like a nicer machine to the 733.

For the money the 766's extra capacity over the 733 made it an easy choice. However with the new 25% tariff coming buying a 733 before July 6th is probably the best bang for the buck. I haven't had much luck in finding used lathes either. Mostly what I've found are older Powermatic 90s. The only advice I can offer is to look around at some of the wood turners clubs. Some have on-line classifieds while others would require you to contact a member or two and ask if someone has a lathe for sale. What I have found is a number of die hard turners have multiple lathes.

[Damon McLaughlin]

I saw the Harvey T40 at the recent symposium in Portland, its a nice looking lathe and always had a crowd of people looking at it. My opinion is that it is a lot of money for a small lathe. I would call their customer service and find out if there is a wait on parts if you need warranty service or if parts are stocked here in the US. If you're not constrained by space the Laguna Revo 18|36 and the Jet 1640evs, both full size lathes that you could grow into, are lathes that are around the same price, maybe even less. For a little more, if you are patient, a Powermatic 3520 might be with the wait. I see them come up periodically but when they do they're usually sold in a day or two.

[Pat Scott]

I agree with Damon that the Harvey is a lot of money for a small lathe. A friend of mine is the local distributor for Harvey. I didn't play with his lathe but it does look nice and the fit and finish seem good. I think it would be a nice 2nd lathe. I didn't Harvey uses a small stepper motor on them. He said the motor does pretty good although he has stalled it out several times when taking too big of cut or if he gets too aggressive when drilling peppermill blanks.

If it were me between the two choices I'd get the Laguna in a heartbeat and not look back. Not only is it cheaper, but it's bigger, heavier, more powerful, bigger capacity, and many users on this forum have it and love it.

[William C Rogers]

I haven't see the Harvey, but I have the 18-36 and love it. I would buy it again. As far as 24" vs 36" if you are going to use a hollowing system 36" is needed IMO.

[Roger Chandler]

The Laguna is also made for them by Harvey Industries Co. Either way, you know the quality is there. I have the Grizzly G0800 which is the heavier version like the T-60 from Harvey, only with an advanced 3 hp A/C motor and premium inverter combination. It is built like a tank. I also have the G0766, and if it were me, and I did not feel like I could wait for the shipment and 25% tariff issue was a deal breaker, I'd choose the larger Luguna 18/36, if that fit within my budget. If I could manage the cost, I would go for the even larger Revo 24/36 because of capacity.

Given those comments, for me personally for my style of work and such, I chose the Grizzly 0800 because of the extra heavy duty components to it......it has 3 very large spindle bearings in the headstock, all bigger than a baseball, and the Laguna 24/36 Revo has two spindle bearings, both of which are smaller than any in the 0800 headstock, but in its favor, the Revo 24/36 has the tailstock pendant, which is nice indeed.

[Jeff Steiner]

I agree about the 0800 - it's an amazing machine, and seems on par with the PMs. It's a bit out of my price range at this point, but maybe I'll find a used one that I can grab a while from now.

I'll take a look again, in person, and decide from there.

Pat - your friend is the distributor? Do you know if they are moving any of these machines? (maybe not PC to answer here...) - but I was curious. I'm surprised that no one here has chimed in with one.

[Alex Zeller]

Grizzly must be selling lots of the G0766 lathes. For the price it's hard to find anything comparable. Even with the 25% tariff it's still hard to beat. Once you move up in price there's more options but it brings you that much closer to some really nice lathes. If you know ahead of time that you will become addicted to turning then stepping up would be easier.

[Pat Scott]

Pat - your friend is the distributor? Do you know if they are moving any of these machines? (maybe not PC to answer here...) - but I was curious. I'm surprised that no one here has chimed in with one.

Jeff, PM sent.

[Jeff Steiner]

Update -

Thank you for the thoughtful, and caring, responses to my question. Ultimately, something Alex said got me thinking (about the tariffs starting on the 6th). I have been trying to do some research, but frankly, I'm not sure how things will end up in this politically chaotic environment, and I don't ant to be in a position where the prices of these machines increase by a large chunk, just because some governments are upset at each other.

Over the weekend a PM 3520C popped up on CL from a dealer that I've bought from before. Locals will know this company, but they had a new 3520C for a lot less than MSRP, and I jumped on it. Frankly speaking, the 4500 price tag was not anywhere near my budget (which is why I would never have considered the PM), but the price was substantially closer to my 3K limit, and so I decided that it makes sense.

Thank you again for the input - and I'll definitely report back after I get it (assuming I not in the hospital from flipping it over onto its feet......