Metal lathe purchase

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Wagner11

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Joined
Jul 8, 2017
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135
Location
Indiana
Hi, I may have the opportunity to buy a

GRIZZLY G0768 8"x 16" Metal Lathe with some tooling included for $900. I'm not sure what tooling just yet but the lathe looks to be in nice condition.

This looks like a decent deal but I'm wondering if anyone knows much about that model, or if there are other lathes I should consider. I don't completely know what I want to do with a metal lathe but I want to get something that is fairly robust without spending a ton of money.

Thanks for any information you might be able to give.

Edit: The lathe comes with 4"3-jaw and 4-jaw chucks, 6 3/4" faceplate, steady rest & follow rest, 4-way turret tool post, MT #2& #3 dead centers, and set of cutting tools.
 
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Dalecamino

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I have never used one. But looked it up. Some things I noticed looking at the photo and listing are first the price $1250.00 + $99.00 shipping. A few things I like are the Locking lever on the tail stock, Forward/Reverse control knob on the front of the control panel, variable speed read out. Quick impression is a good buy. One thing you might want to do, is get a quick change tool holder set. $100-$200 on ebay. Also might want some indexable carbide cutting tools. I like those. I don't have to sharpen them. :biggrin: Here is a link to it:
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-8-x-16-Variable-Speed-Lathe/G0768


I would buy it. Where do you live in Indiana?
 
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magpens

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Feb 2, 2011
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15,913
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Canada
The accessories that you list all come with a new lathe purchase, except perhaps the set of cutting tools. . You will need to buy a MT2 live center. . The 4-jaw chuck is very nice to have right from the beginning like this. . I assume it is the 4-jaw scroll chuck and not the independent jaws. . I use the 4" 4-jaw scroll chuck all the time and find it extremely useful for pen turning ... more useful than a 3-jaw, especially for rounding blanks and drilling ... your blanks start roughly square so you can partially round them (if you like) and then grip them in the 4-jaw for drilling without having to round them completely.

The current new price is around $1200, so the price you are getting is reasonable for a second-hand lathe in nice condition.

I don't think you will ever regret buying a metal lathe. . You will be sure to find many uses for it and you might even get to using it all the time like I do. . The top speed will be lower than for a wood lathe but you get use to that. . For most acrylics you don't want high speed anyway.

I don't know this particular model. . I think it probably is made by the Sieg factory in mainland China. . I have one of theirs in a smaller size (7" x 14") which I have been using for about 9 years as my sole lathe for pen making and I have made about 1500 pens on it. . It is still working very well, and perfectly adequate for pens.
 

Wagner11

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
135
Location
Indiana
Thank you guys for the feedback. Looking like I should have talked the wife in to it first though. So we will see how it goes either way but I an determined to own a metal lathe this year.

Oh and chuck I'm in Shelbyville Iniana.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
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