Opinions needed on Grizzly Lathe

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Not worth it IMO. Grizzly wood lathes don't get rave reviews.

There are 2 Harbor Freight models with pretty good reputations. One of them is the model 65345 (THIS ONE) which is component-identical to lathes sold by Rockler, PennState, etc. under their own brand labels.

The other is model 34706 (THIS ONE) which is component-identical to lathes sold under the Shop Fox, Jet and some other brands. I had this lathe for a couple of years, it is a little underpowered for turning big bowl blanks but I did okay with it -- eventually upgraded into a Nova 1624, but I still have the HF lathe. I use it when putting finishes onto turnings (keeps the ways of my Nova a bit cleaner!)
 
The tail stock on that Grizzly looks identical to the one on my old PSI lathe, and the center is not removable (at least not easily like a standard MT tail stock). I'd put the $100 aside and add to it until you can get the next great deal that comes along.

Just my $0.02
 
1. I have had my Harbor Freight lathe for almost 3 years now (the VS model) and have had no problems. I do not intend to upgrade.

2. The lathe you were looking at does not have cast iron ways, but instead uses steel tubing. If you decide to turn something bigger than a pen in the future, I have heard numerous reports about these tubes flexing when stressed. I would not purchase a lathe with this type of bed, regardless of brand.
 
I have both of those lathes. Started with the little one and bought the big one 2 months later. The small one does all my drilling and is my pen press. All my turning is done on the big one. I have no plans to upgrade unless I find a deal somewhere. Neither is perfect, but I've used them both enough to compensate for their shortcomings. They are the only lathes I've used so I don't know what I'm missing with something better. :smile:

duncsuss said:
Not worth it IMO. Grizzly wood lathes don't get rave reviews.

There are 2 Harbor Freight models with pretty good reputations. One of them is the model 65345 (THIS ONE) which is component-identical to lathes sold by Rockler, PennState, etc. under their own brand labels.

The other is model 34706 (THIS ONE) which is component-identical to lathes sold under the Shop Fox, Jet and some other brands. I had this lathe for a couple of years, it is a little underpowered for turning big bowl blanks but I did okay with it -- eventually upgraded into a Nova 1624, but I still have the HF lathe. I use it when putting finishes onto turnings (keeps the ways of my Nova a bit cleaner!)
Click to expand...
 
Ok, guys, great info so far... A little more about my needs... I have psoriatric arthritis (affects joints from the wrist down and my left wrist is fused together, so pens are basically the max I can lathe). The variable speed is a great thing, as my hands don't always want to work together, lol.
So, with his additional info, what do you think?
 
Sorry, but I have to disagree with everyone else. The motor / speed control is worth $100.00. If you don't have variable speed that would be a lot easier to up-grade your existing lathe than using treadmill parts. That's the way I see it at least.

Other than that, Yes it's a POS. and I wouldn't buy it


Joe
 
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JTisher said:
Sorry, but I have to disagree with everyone else. The motor / speed control is worth $100.00. If you don't have variable speed that would be a lot easier to up-grade your existing lathe than using treadmill parts. That's the way I see it at least. Other than that, Yes it's a POS. and I wouldn't buy it Joe
Click to expand...

You are only half disagreeing though :-).
 
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