Hey everyone,
I am really close to pulling the trigger on a Grizzly bench top lathe.
I would really love to go up in size/price to a 12"x24" or even 12x36, but by the time I add in the stand, and have my shop wired for 220v, it really blows my budget out, and while I could, I am not sure that I should. Than when it comes to tooling, it gets really bad.
I am really down to 3 lathes:
Choice 1) G0752 10x22 variable speed ~$1600
Choice 2) G0602 10x22 same as above but no variable speed ~$1250
choice 3) G9972z 11x26 no variable speed ~$1600
For completeness I would also throw in a possibility of the SB-1001 South Bend 8x18 variable speed for ~$2300, only really considering because it is a very big sale.
I am really wondering if people have any feel for how much the variable speed feature is worth? It appears from reading the specs that the G0752 has 3 belt positions, and the speeds are variable from 100-800, 160-1300 and 250-2000
It seems as though that would be very convenient, and they are pretty big ranges which would really limit belt changes.
If anyone has any input on the variable speed part of this, or just any recommendations on my purchase I would really appreciate it. Not an easy decision at all.
This will be part of my fathers day gift, so my wife is pressuring me to order today or tomorrow at the latest.