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Looking to upgrade

You would be much better off getting the G0766! More weight, more capacity, more horsepower, and more stability. I used to have an 18/47 G0698, almost the same as their current G0733 18/47 lathe. It was a good bit heavier than the G0838 you mention. Now the G0766 is a 22/42 lathe with 3 hp and premium Delta Electronics “M” series inverter. I have one in my shop, as well as a G0800, and both are wonderful lathes. The G0766 is the best value on the market for a large lathe, and it’s only about $700 more than the G0838, and is so much more lathe. The footprint of the G0766 is not much bigger than the 0838. The G0766 will run all day long with the Powermatics, Jets, and others....I know this from personal experience!
 
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All depends on what size of projects you want to turn, it has a VFD to control the speed of your turning which is what you want for a lathe.
Once you start turning larger pieces the horsepower and weight of the lathe becomes a factor for everyone.
 
ok Guys thanks for your info. here is what I,ve come down to Grizzly G0766 or Revo 18-36, right now it is on sale for 2475.00. which one do you think would best best
 
Steve,

I am attending an auction this weekend that has a used G0766 along with other woodworking equipment. How much do you want to spend on a used one? I can put a bid in on this one if you want, I will pick this one up if it goes for a good price anyway, I might replace one of my other lathes with this one.
 
Mike
Thanks for the reply. Do you know how old it is from what I,ve on these there were some problems early on. What do think something like that would bring. I live in Kansas so pickup would'nt be a problem.
 
Steve,

I would need to take a look at the lathe the day of the auction and look at the serial number to determine the age.
I bought a used one earlier this year for $1600.00 all depends on what condition it is in and how many interested bidders attend the auction.
The early models had a poorly designed banjo which was not big enough for the lathe, they shipped new banjos out to all of the original owners that purchased the early models. The other issues were minor assembly and transportation issues that were resolved on later factory shipments.
 
I like the extra capacity that the G0766 gives over the 18/36 Revo. A 22" swing vs. and 18" swing. The weight on the G0766 would likely be a bit more, but I would have to check that out by researching the lathe specs. I think the Laguna Revo 18/36 is a nice lathe for sure, but as a workhorse, the G0766 is as much, and even more machine. It will handle larger pieces of wood for larger projects, and if you do purchase new, they have done several upgrades which make the first issues now moot.

Another thing......the Revo 18/36 uses the old Delta S-1 inverter, and the G0766 uses a more advanced Delta Electronics "M" Series, inverter. I have done almost everything on my G0766, including coring, which is about the most stressful thing a lathe will need to handle.......my G0766 does it with ease, with the 3 hp motor, and if I recall correctly the 18/36 Laguna Revo has a 2 hp motor.

Just some things to think about. I'm not trying to sell you on any lathe, but I have done extensive research and comparrisons, and truly believe the best bang for a large lathe is the G0766. Mine served me so well, infact, that I went and purchased its big brother also, the G0800. ;)
 
I have no dog in this fight, but would point out that Laguna is selling the heck out of the 18/36. If installed base makes a difference, the Laguna might be ahead on that point.
 
Steve, I’m going to suggest you look beyond swing and hp. I initially upgraded from a bench top lathe to a PM 90. That lathe was a 12” swing lathe. I increased the swing to 18”, but still had a 1 hp lathe. The PM 90 taught me what was important to me. I compared the G0766 to the Laguna 18-36 and eventually bought the 18-36. Things that were important to me was vacuum chucking, indexing, floor to spindle height, banjo clamping, tailstock, and leg splay. Vacuum chucking on the Laguna is easy. Their adapter screws into the tailstock. I think the Grizzly uses a rod. The Laguna has 48 index points and IMO is a better system than the Grizzly that has 36 positions. At the time the floor to spindle height was 48” on the Grizzly, but they have since lowered it to 45+ inches. I’m 5’ 9” and the ideal height for me is 43”. The Laguna is 41-1/2”. I felt it would be better to raise the lathe then build a platform. The Laguna banjo uses a pinch type to hold the tool rest unlike the Grizzly bolt type. I do use a hollowing system and the Laguna tailstock is manageable to remove. The Grizzly is heavier and that is an advantage, but I would need to build something to slide it off on. The leg splay is 20” on the Grizzly and 26” on the Laguna. I did add 280# of sand between the legs on the the Laguna and it was solid even with out-of-round blanks. Other differences, the Laguna has steel bed ways and the Grizzly has cast iron. I don’t see one as an advantage. The Grizzly does have more swing that is an advantage. Laguna’s warranty is 2 years vs 1 year for Grizzly. The Grizzly does cost less than the Laguna. I used the Laguna for 2 years before I upgraded again and sold the Laguna. I now have a Robust AB that has all the things that are important to me.
 
Leg splay......leg splay
 
William Rogers said:
The Laguna has 48 index points and IMO is a better system than the Grizzly that has 36 positions.
Click to expand...

This is where factoring can help you out. hopefully I don’t leave out any of the
Prime Factors of 36 are 3,3,2,2. You can divide things into 2,3,4,6,9,12,18,36 parts

Prime Factors of 48 are 3,2,2,2,2 You can divide things into 2,3,4,6,8,12,16, 24, 48 parts these are the factors of 48.

sometimes 9 is useful sometimes 8 is useful....
Neither can divide things into interesting numbers like 5 and 7.
 
I have 7 lathes running and have never used the indexing on any of them. With all the pros who have held workshops in my shop over ten years none have ever used indexing. If my two choices were the Grizzly G0766 or the Revo 18-36 I would not hesitate to get the Grizzly. I still remember the Laguna customer service when a friend bought a Laguna lathe that was a true lemon. It took many many months of Laguna doing absolutely nothing to fix the problem. Finally he took a video along with about 8 of us to the owner of the company who was at a symposium to finally get his money back, things may have changed but I cannot forget that. A couple of my students who really liked the Powermatic 3520b but could not afford one took my suggestion to get a Grizzly. After sorting out a problem or two initially the lathes have run well and they have been happy with them, guess that is all that really counts.
 
Bill Blasic said:
I have 7 lathes running and have never used the indexing on any of them.
Click to expand...

If indexing is not important to you that is fine. It is important to me in some of the turnings I do and the Laguna is better. Since almost every full size lathe has indexing I would think I’m not the only one using it. Laguna’s customer service was terrible many years ago, but not in last few years. I have also heard horror stories about Grizzly customer service. I don’t own the Laguna any longer, but for my needs I would buy it again over the Grizzly as it is a better choice for me. I’m sure the Grizzly is a fine lathe but, I just didn’t feel like it was the lathe for me.
 
As far as demos and classes - so few lathes in clubs and classrooms have useable indexing systems
So most teachers and demonstrators come up with work around while they would use the Index at home.
If I’m demoing a 3 center turning I cut a piece of paper the length of a circumference and fold it into thirds and mark the 3 ends of the folded sections. ( Beth Ireland showed me this trick I used to use a cloth tape measure to mark equal distances. )
At home On my ONEWAY I remove the pulley cover lay a marker across in front of the index wheel marks then tick the wood at 16, 32 , 48 much quicker and more accurate.

lndexing is extremely helpful for laying out
Multi center turnings for 3 sides

Marking vertical or spiral lines on bowls and HF for fluting or beading carving,

I would guess most basket illusion folks use the indexing

All sorts of layouts on sphere surfaces such a Marking a few key longitudes To line up the continents for a globe.

Many furniture applications like Marking leg positions in stool seats or table tops
 
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