Wood Turning Lathe

[atthebeach]

Been looking at adding wood turning capability to my shop. Lots of good choices available these days. Anyone have a Grizzly G0838?

https://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2019/main/166?p=166

It is new in the last couple of years and has a 16" swing x 24" between centers with a bed extension available that would provide 47" between centers. Variable speed control, 100 to 2900 rpm, with 1 belt change; and 2 hp! It seems very tempting to me as I am looking for a versatile machine to do both spindle and bowl work.

There are a few opinions out there on the internet, mostly good, from folks who have never seen this unit. Anybody on here have a G0838? What do you think?

 

[derosa]

I've got a grizzly bandsaw which had some shipping troubles before it even arrived. Then had to deal with their customer service when looking for a planer that was so much fun I bought a Jet. Finally discovered how awful they were when trying to warranty a dust collector. Although their pricing seems good it comes at a price. I'd look at what Jet offers; their prices are close to the same but their customer service was real service and their warranty department was happy to send out the part I needed once I sent them a pic of what happened.
Baileigh is another one that does direct. Their prices are higher but they give discounts to alliance members of this site.

 

[James-W]

What are you planning on making with the lathe?

I have a wood lathe that I bought to make legs for a table I was repairing for a guy. I used the lathe for that project and one other project and that is the only times I ever used it. When I bought the lathe I figured I would use it quite a bit, but it didn't turn out that way.

I am not saying you won't use the lathe, for all I know you may use it all the time. I am just saying that unless you plan on making stuff with it on a regular basis, I wouldn't buy one unless you can find a used one for a really good price. But that is just my personal opinion and others will no doubt disagree.

 

[atthebeach]

I already have a Grizzly band saw and table saw. I didn't experience any quality problems, so I'm surprised to be hearing about Customer Service issues.

Like I said in the original post, I'm planning on doing some spindle and bowl work. I recently took down a couple of trees on the property. Much of it was re-sawn and stickered for drying, but I cut the rest in 1' lengths for bowl making.

When I acquire a new piece of equipment, it is more to satisfy a want than a need. While I often don't have a specific project in mind, I always seem to find something interesting and challenging to do with it. You can't run a business with an attitude like that, but I'm just an old guy having fun. My adult son is starting to get interested in woodworking. Someday he will inherit some really fun shop tools and equipment.

 

[6PTsocket]

In my area there is a club that meets regularly to turn stuff and swap info. See if there is a turners group near you . They can probably give you some good advice on choosing a lathe and honing your skills.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[James-W]

There are small lathes which are, more or less, specifically made for making bowls.