Originally Posted by
Roger Chandler
Those tariffs are a tough chew for sure! That being said, I have turned on some of the best lathes available, including the Robust American Beauty, many Powermatic 3520b's and numerous other lathes. I have two Grizzly lathes in my shop, the 22/42 G0766 and the 24/48 G0800 with the bed extension.
I was actually saving for the American Beauty, but the G0800 really caught my eye, and I decided to dive deeply into the specs, build, etc. First off, it is made by the same company that makes the Powermatic lathes, which is Harvey Industries Co, and it is a clone of their Harvey Turbo-60 unit, which is their flagship model.
It does have a premium A/C motor/inverter combo on it that is top notch, and my G0800 is truly impressive with the torque at low speeds. That small belt is especially made for high torque applications, and I have not had it slip, not once! I have turned some big/heavy wood in it! I just finished a roughout yesterday from green red maple that came from my next door neighbors yard, that was storm damaged last week, which started out at about 125 lbs, and is 15.5 inches diameter.
I have also turned on a Serious SL2542, which is almost 1600 lbs. of premium beast, and this is my honest opinion. To me, turning on my G0800 feels like turning on the Serious and Robust. It is smooth and powerful. The machining is top notch, and the build is very precise and refined. The centers line up to an exacting degree, and it is pretty heavy. My unit with the bed extension is about 900 lbs, and I like the leg casting design, as it has a wide splay for stability, and the castings allow for shelving for even more added ballast.
The headstock design is ergonomic, it has three massive bearings on the headstock spindle, which are all larger than a baseball, and the lock down of headstock, banjo and tailstock are rock solid, and the weight of all three are heavy duty as is all the lathe. It has beefy castings throughout, and as stated earlier, the machining is as good as anything I've seen anywhere, and better than most! The tool rest has a 1" wide bar of drill rod material, turned on its side and welded in place, so the tool rest has a smooth, basically ding free surface for the gouge to ride on.
If money is no object, then the Robust is a fine machine, and a super warranty. I can tell you, having turned on it, it is a sweet machine! The G0800 is a sweet machine! I could have waited a couple more years and perhaps gotten a fully tricked out American Beauty, but honestly, there is nothing that the Beauty or the Serious can do that my G0800 can't also do! The bed extension allows for versatility in setup, and can be mounted on either end of the bed, or the front of the bed for getting behind a turning, but I have mine set up for turning off the tailstock end.
The tariff situation may cause some heartburn, and make the Robust a more pleasing option, but that is something you will have to decide.
All I wanted to do with this post was to share my own personal experience and perspective. I am really happy with my decision to go ahead with the G0800......and the G0766 for that matter, but the G0800 is definitely more machine!
I compare the Jet 1642 Evs, the Nova DVR, that class of lathes is sort of like having a small Ford Ranger pickup and the G0800 like having a Super Duty 350 with all the heavy duty build.