Grizzly or Laguna Lathe

[alachua1947]

I am thinking of buying a grizzly or laguna 18/47 lathe. Has anyone used or have one? Any problems? Is there enough power?
Happy turning.
Thanks

 

[CLetts]

I don't have a lathe but because of my past experiences with a poor performing bandsaw and less than poor assistance from the "service" dept., I will never spend my money with Laguna again. just my 2 cents

 

[boxxmaker]

A good friend of mine had a laguna for a short while before they finaly took it back and I have never in my life heard of such poor service he recieved from them.One of there reps even went on another forum and made comments on him being to stupid to know how to opperate it.Nope I would never buy from them.

 

[zapdafish]

When researching bandsaws and jointer/planar combo's I came across the same theme, good tools but if you are unlucky and get shipped one with a problem, very bad service.

 

[alachua1947]

Thanks for the info.
I will save toward something better.

 

[MrAudio815]

The Grizzly 18/47 Lathe is a great prioce and a pretty good lathe. I almost bought one last year before deciding to go with a Jet 16/42 1.5hp.

I know after looking into the Grizzly lathe and talking to tech support from Grizzly, that the specs are incorrect. One place they say it can go down to zero RPM's and another place it says it can only go down to 100rpms. Most people don't care if it can go below 100rpms, but for sanding big bowls, it is great having a machine that can go down to at least 50 rpms like the Jet. Especially when you are using a drill with the round sanding attachments.

I also read on some post by a guy who had the Grizzly 18/47 lathe that when he got down to 103rpms or so that the motor would act up badly, jumpy, jittery, like it was stopping and going. I also read that if someone where to fix the problem so the Grizz could go down to 50 rpm's then their motor would burn up as the electronics in it are not as good as the Laguna.

Also from those who have the PM3520 lathe that has a 20" over the bed say they never need that much space as most people don't buy or want their massive vase's or bowls as they have no place to put them. The best selling vase's and bowls are in the 11-13" diameter range.

Just some food for thought and the reason I went with the Jet....Plus If I ever wanted to turn something HUGE, I can move the headstock to the end of the bed and get a floor stand and turn a bowl all the way to the floor~!

I do most of my turning at the end of the bed as I don't have to lean over (back problems) and can see what I am doing much better.


Good LUCK~!

 

[boxxmaker]

I have the Nova 1624 and love it,and you can't beat there service.Its around 1299.00 right now,but goes on sale at woodcraft every now an then.Jet has some great lathes also,just depends on what you can spend,good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

The disadvantage of both of these lathes is the lack of electronic variable speed. The need for this really depends upon what you wish to turn but wanting this size lathe, I assume you are turning bowls. If your blanks are not perfectly round, the low speed setting on these lathes is still too fast and it will move across the room. A large >14 inch bowl from green stock really requires control at about 50 rpm until the piece is somewhat round, then you can speed up. Tne Nova mentioned above is a better choice for the money (note you may have to purchase an adapter for faceplates and chucks for the Nova but these are relatively inexpensive. The nova has several options such as the swing away tail stock etc. It is limited by weight.
The Jet 1642 EVS is in the same price range and often goes on sale. I believe this is the low end of the version similar to the Powermatic line. I have used this lathe and it is very good.

 

[alachua1947]

Thanks for the replys.
I would need someone with a good customer service, because if there is a bad one, I usually end up with it.