02-27-2017, 08:28 PM
We bought this lathe in late Dec as the new lathe for my wife. Up to today all I’ve gotten to do is set it up. Well, she was away all day at a class from Molly Winton, so…
Actually lets start with the lathe. This lathe is made by the Burt Group and wholesaled internationally. In the USA Grizzly is the primary importer.
I’ve been buying stationary power tools for over 25 years; in fact my first large tool was a Grizzly table saw in 1990.
The G0766 was the best packaged power tool I have ever bought, that includes, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Teknatool, AMT, WoodTek and several others firms. The crate was made from 1/2inch (12mm) 7-layer plywood (void free) with reinforcement on the corners.
I cheated setting up the lathe as I have a ceiling mounted chain-fall that I could use to raise and support items as I set the lathe up. If you don’t have a similar system, you will need help, as this is not a one-man operation. In fact I needed help unloading the lathe from my truck.
After I got the lathe setup, level and ready to turn I used the crate plywood to build a “sand box” that I mounted on the legs of this lathe. With an extra 200 lbs (100kg) of weight, this lathe is heavy.
After some careful measurements and figuring I decided I could modify the Lathe-Lift-and move Lathe Mobility system for the Jet 1642 for this lathe. All it took as some cutting on the base and shortening of the cross-tubes.
I also found a 220V @15amp surge arrester (intended for large window mounted A/C units) that this lathe is plugged into.
Now for actually using the lathe, first I loaded up an 8-inch blank of Big Leaf Maple and started it spinning. With my big bowl-gouge (3/4-inch/18mm) I was getting 1-inch (25mm) wide chips.
As one would expect, this lathe has lots of power. I purposely jammed a chisel in to get a hard catch, and even with the belt at tight as I could get it, the belt slipped enough that the catch was not dangerous.
Speed selection is easy; so far we have left the lathe in the “low” position. We also have not yet moved the headstock down the bed to turn off the tailstock “end”, but I know we will.
The tail stock action has been smooth and locks down well, as does the banjo.
Removing the tailstock for turning off the end is possible, but a special stop would have to be removed to do this.
Now Grizzly ‘rates” this lathe as 3HP, after looking at the specs and making a couple measurements, it’s more like 2HP (continuous commercial) then 3HP. But “slightly” over stating the power have been a common thing for years.
The supplied tool rest is well situated (height wise) for most spindle or bowl work with either gouges or skews. However getting it at the proper height for scraper work and be, trying. For some scraper heights it’s total shaft length is a little short.
Getting a faceplate or chuck off the headstock and be difficult, the hand-wheel lacks a hole or other way to “lock” it while you attempt to take the faceplate or chuck off.
Caution must be urged for using the index pin for this operation.
Our lathe also has some inverter whine from the Delta inverter that I find, annoying.
Actually lets start with the lathe. This lathe is made by the Burt Group and wholesaled internationally. In the USA Grizzly is the primary importer.
I’ve been buying stationary power tools for over 25 years; in fact my first large tool was a Grizzly table saw in 1990.
The G0766 was the best packaged power tool I have ever bought, that includes, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Teknatool, AMT, WoodTek and several others firms. The crate was made from 1/2inch (12mm) 7-layer plywood (void free) with reinforcement on the corners.
I cheated setting up the lathe as I have a ceiling mounted chain-fall that I could use to raise and support items as I set the lathe up. If you don’t have a similar system, you will need help, as this is not a one-man operation. In fact I needed help unloading the lathe from my truck.
After I got the lathe setup, level and ready to turn I used the crate plywood to build a “sand box” that I mounted on the legs of this lathe. With an extra 200 lbs (100kg) of weight, this lathe is heavy.
After some careful measurements and figuring I decided I could modify the Lathe-Lift-and move Lathe Mobility system for the Jet 1642 for this lathe. All it took as some cutting on the base and shortening of the cross-tubes.
I also found a 220V @15amp surge arrester (intended for large window mounted A/C units) that this lathe is plugged into.
Now for actually using the lathe, first I loaded up an 8-inch blank of Big Leaf Maple and started it spinning. With my big bowl-gouge (3/4-inch/18mm) I was getting 1-inch (25mm) wide chips.
As one would expect, this lathe has lots of power. I purposely jammed a chisel in to get a hard catch, and even with the belt at tight as I could get it, the belt slipped enough that the catch was not dangerous.
Speed selection is easy; so far we have left the lathe in the “low” position. We also have not yet moved the headstock down the bed to turn off the tailstock “end”, but I know we will.
The tail stock action has been smooth and locks down well, as does the banjo.
Removing the tailstock for turning off the end is possible, but a special stop would have to be removed to do this.
Now Grizzly ‘rates” this lathe as 3HP, after looking at the specs and making a couple measurements, it’s more like 2HP (continuous commercial) then 3HP. But “slightly” over stating the power have been a common thing for years.
The supplied tool rest is well situated (height wise) for most spindle or bowl work with either gouges or skews. However getting it at the proper height for scraper work and be, trying. For some scraper heights it’s total shaft length is a little short.
Getting a faceplate or chuck off the headstock and be difficult, the hand-wheel lacks a hole or other way to “lock” it while you attempt to take the faceplate or chuck off.
Caution must be urged for using the index pin for this operation.
Our lathe also has some inverter whine from the Delta inverter that I find, annoying.
Making sawdust mostly, sometimes I get something else, but that's more accident then design.