Help with Shop Fox W1704

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Talon747

Talon747

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2026
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2
Location
Tampa
Hi folks I got a used Shop Fox W1704 off of market place to try my hand at wood turning. , However the lathe didn't' come with a tool rest (it came with a tool rest base). I looked at the Grizzly website and it seems the bore on the tool rest is a non standard size 12mm. I tried to upgrade the tool rest base with a bore of 5/8 off of amazon, but unfortunately the tool rest is too high for that lathe.

I tried ordering the tool rests from Grizzly, but they are on back order.

Does anyone know what I can do to upgrade my tool rest base to standard size so that I can use a 5/8 tool rest? New to wood turning, so I am not sure what the best option is.
 
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I have the same lathe and replaced the crappy rest with ones from Penn State.

www.pennstateind.com

EZ Glide Pen Turner's 2-Piece Toolrest Set

Turn pens more easily with these comfortable, ergonomically designed toolrests that will provide you all-day turning support. With the unique concave design, your fingers will fit snuggly on the rest and let you get closer to your work. The ultra smooth, round hardened steel top let will let you eff
www.pennstateind.com
 
SpiritRider said:
I have the same lathe and replaced the crappy rest with ones from Penn State.

www.pennstateind.com

EZ Glide Pen Turner's 2-Piece Toolrest Set

Turn pens more easily with these comfortable, ergonomically designed toolrests that will provide you all-day turning support. With the unique concave design, your fingers will fit snuggly on the rest and let you get closer to your work. The ultra smooth, round hardened steel top let will let you eff
www.pennstateind.com
Click to expand...
Thanks Sprite rider

The link you shared says the tool rest is a diameter of 5/8 shaft. so it won't fit the 12mm bore on the tool rest base. The tool base bore I have is 12mm (standard one that comes with the lathe) did you upgrade you tool rest base as well?
 
@rherrell may be able to hook you up. He is a member here that produces metal custom pieces for pen makers.
You should get yourself a digital vernier to verify the diameter you require. He will also need some other measurements before he can manufacture the tool rest.

Also, the "Tool Rest Base" (as listed in the parts list) is more commonly called the "banjo" in lathe terminology. In case you want to search for replacement part other than Grizzly.
 
Why not call Grizzly to see if you can replace with a new banjo. That would be the simplist thing to do. Or have Rick make something for you. Probably better to make an adapter. Might not matter so much if you do not overload things with that lathe but the thinner the tool rest the more chance a catch with a tool can snap that thin of a rest.
 
Are you sure about the 12mm - that sounds like a very odd size for a Shop Fox mini lathe. Do you have a set of calipers? You should try to take a measurement of the hole. A standard 5/8 tool rest is about 15.9 (almost 16mm). You should even be able to estimate it using a regular ruler because 12mm is almost 1/2-inch (0.47") and should be obviously smaller than 5/8-inch (0.625"). Maybe even just try sizing it using a 1/2" bolt and a 5/8" bolt. The outside diameter of bolts on the threads is usually just a little smaller than the size of the bolt -- for example the threads on a typical 1/2" bolt are usually somewhere between 0.49" and 0.50".

I use the tool rests from Rockler, but if I didn't already have them I would certainly have gotten mine from Rick Herrell, especially the flat topped ones for use with carbide tools! - Dave
 
egnald said:
Are you sure about the 12mm - that sounds like a very odd size for a Shop Fox mini lathe. Do you have a set of calipers? You should try to take a measurement of the hole. A standard 5/8 tool rest is about 15.9 (almost 16mm). You should even be able to estimate it using a regular ruler because 12mm is almost 1/2-inch (0.47") and should be obviously smaller than 5/8-inch (0.625"). Maybe even just try sizing it using a 1/2" bolt and a 5/8" bolt. The outside diameter of bolts on the threads is usually just a little smaller than the size of the bolt -- for example the threads on a typical 1/2" bolt are usually somewhere between 0.49" and 0.50".

I use the tool rests from Rockler, but if I didn't already have them I would certainly have gotten mine from Rick Herrell, especially the flat topped ones for use with carbide tools! - Dave
Click to expand...
Dave I looked that # lathe up because I too was skeptical about it. But he should still measure. It does show it is a 12MM banjo. I even looked back of some threads here that had same problem and they too said as much. I looked for other lathes and could not find one. I thought maybe Harbor Freight would use that but can not find that info. being a Grizzly product I looked there too and not available. Others said discontinued. Rick did make tool sests. Maybe he can make an adapter of some sort.
 
jttheclockman said:
Dave I looked that # lathe up because I too was skeptical about it. But he should still measure. It does show it is a 12MM banjo. I even looked back of some threads here that had same problem and they too said as much. I looked for other lathes and could not find one. I thought maybe Harbor Freight would use that but can not find that info. being a Grizzly product I looked there too and not available. Others said discontinued. Rick did make tool sests. Maybe he can make an adapter of some sort.
Click to expand...
Hi JT, I started out with a Harbor Freight, Central Machinery 10 x 18 inch Benchtop Wood Lathe and it had the same 5/8-inch tool rest as my Jet 1221vs.
 
Here... I'll make it easy... Below is a link to Rick's (@rherrell) post about his catalogue.

Rick's "Custom Made Tools" Catalog

Linked is My PDF Catalog of Rick's "Custom Made Tools". Revised 3-25-26 It replaces the previous lengthy thread. Includes a table of contents. All links, web, internal and document are live links. It is searchable [Ctrl F]...
www.penturners.org
 
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