Owners poll- 18" X 47" lathes

[William Young]

Nice turning Roger.
Thanks for showing it.

 

[Soren]

Vacuum system

Roger

I would be very interested in seeing pictures and detailed installation instructions on your vacuum setup, how you have hooked it up etc.
I made enquiries of JT Turning Tools, but they were not interested in assisting, as they "could / would only" deal with the Laguna lathe models, ie lathes with the extended spindle!.

I am the lucky owner of the Australian 18*47 H&F lathe (same as Fred's) again without the extended spindle, a home-made 2 part hand-wheel, and have had nothing but pleasure using the lathe, but then I am a "week-end warrior" 😱.
I have "deep" hollowed 12" red-gum burls, using aggressive scrapers, and so far (touch wood 🙄) have not been able to either trip or stall the lathe - grunt to spare.

Like Fred's, my lathe lined up perfectly, and apart from a single replacement tool post locking handle (which stripped), have had no issues.

regards

Soren

 

[Roger Chandler]

Vac chuck

Roger

I would be very interested in seeing pictures and detailed installation instructions on your vacuum setup, how you have hooked it up etc.
I made enquiries of JT Turning Tools, but they were not interested in assisting, as they "could / would only" deal with the Laguna lathe models, ie lathes with the extended spindle!.

I am the lucky owner of the Australian 18*47 H&F lathe (same as Fred's) again without the extended spindle, a home-made 2 part hand-wheel, and have had nothing but pleasure using the lathe, but then I am a "week-end warrior" 😱.
I have "deep" hollowed 12" red-gum burls, using aggressive scrapers, and so far (touch wood 🙄) have not been able to either trip or stall the lathe - grunt to spare.

Like Fred's, my lathe lined up perfectly, and apart from a single replacement tool post locking handle (which stripped), have had no issues.

regards

Soren

Soren,

I will try to get some pics and post them in the next few days........please be patient with me, as I have a lot going on at present, but will try to get it done.

Glad to hear your experience with the H&F woodmaster has been positive.........I really like my Grizzly G0698.........great lathe!

 

[Roger Chandler]

Hold Fast Vacuum Chuck on 18x47 lathe

Today I turned a black walnut bowl 9-5/8 inches across, and 4 inches deep.

After removing some punky wood, and getting the shape pretty much where I wanted, and sanded, I took it out of the SuperNova 2 chuck and put it into my new Hold Fast Vacuum Chuck [the first time I have used it]

I would like to report that the vacuum chuck performed flawlessly on this bowl and on the G0698 lathe. The vacuum gauge registered 22 hg, and I turned the bottom off at 960 rpm, and the bowl never moved at all. I used the 6 inch chuck head for this bowl, and I have to say, that I was impressed with the functionality of this system, and the way it was so easy to set up and use on my 18x47 lathe.

If anyone has a compressor that will give 4 or more cfm, then you should not have any problems at all with the Hold Fast system. The makers of the unit say 3 cfm, but I added one just to be safe.

The only thing I had to do to make it fit my G0698 lathe was what any other lathe owner would have to do, and that is cut the threaded rod to length that goes through the spindle to correct length, and remove the plastic dust cover off the center of the outboard spindle hole. Piece of cake!

I did put a coat of sanding sealer on the inside of the bowl before I removed it from the SN2 chuck, to avoid air leakage through the end grain, and the vacuum was maintained at a high hg level, the minimum requirement is about 11 or 12 hg.

Hope this helps anyone with a 18x47 lathe and is considering a vacuum chuck system..........this one really works well.

 

[Soren]

vacuum chuck

Roger

You should know by now, that without pictures, it did not happen 😀🙄

show and tell !!🙄

 

[William Young]

Roger.
Where did you get the long lamp rod for your lathe. I have not been able to use my Holdfast chuck on the 18/47 until I locate one long enough and was trying to prevent ordering on line for something where the S/H might cost more than the item.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Hold Fast on G0698 with pics

It did happen, I just had no pics yet, so here they are,[not the best pics]

Spalted black walnut on Hold Fast 6 inch chuck head. bowl 9-5/8" x 4 in. tall.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Roger.
Where did you get the long lamp rod for your lathe. I have not been able to use my Holdfast chuck on the 18/47 until I locate one long enough and was trying to prevent ordering on line for something where the S/H might cost more than the item.

William,

My vacuum adapter kit came with the rod included, however, last year I turned a lamp and got the threaded rod [same rod as the adapter kit 3/8"] at a lamp store, and my local hardware store has them as well [Ace Hdwe]

 

[William Young]

William,

My vacuum adapter kit came with the rod included, however, last year I turned a lamp and got the threaded rod [same rod as the adapter kit 3/8"] at a lamp store, and my local hardware store has them as well [Ace Hdwe]

.
Thanks .
Originally when I got mine it had the long rod but I had to cut it down for the Jet 1220 at the time.
I will do some more checking when I am in the city. Small town mentality here is we don't have it but might be able to order it in. 😱

Mine will actually need to be longer than yours because I also have the outboard hand wheel for it to go through .

 

[Soren]

It did happen, I just had no pics yet, so here they are,[not the best pics]

Spalted black walnut on Hold Fast 6 inch chuck head. bowl 9-5/8" x 4 in. tall.

Looks good Roger. Could you advise what the "item" is in the middle picture, that your blue plastic tube connects to that goes through the headstock. Is that part of the vacuum kit you purchased?

 

[Roger Chandler]

Rotary adapter

Looks good Roger. Could you advise what the "item" is in the middle picture, that your blue plastic tube connects to that goes through the headstock. Is that part of the vacuum kit you purchased?

Soren,

That is the essential rotary vacuum adapter, that threads on to the 3/8" rod that goes through the spindle to the other side of the headstock, and it has a threaded bushing that has a morse taper 2 configuration and it threads on to the other end of the rod to support the spinning of the spindle while the vacuum system is in use.

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/111210-img.jpg

This one is very similar to the one that came with my hold fast system, they look the same, but the hold fast rotary adapter has a hard molded plastic housing and not the metal.

Hope this helps.

 

[William Young]

Finally found a long enough piece of 3/8 lamp rod for mine. Hardware stores never had over 12" and I needed 14" . Someone suggested a specialized lighting store and sure enough he had a 20" piece that he sold me for nine bucks. I will cut a 14" piece off of it and be back in business. I will use the piece I cut off for a lamp some time.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Finally found a long enough piece of 3/8 lamp rod for mine. Hardware stores never had over 12" and I needed 14" . Someone suggested a specialized lighting store and sure enough he had a 20" piece that he sold me for nine bucks. I will cut a 14" piece off of it and be back in business. I will use the piece I cut off for a lamp some time.

Great find William,

Now you can utilize the vacuum system. I really am glad that I got mine, because it is the easiest way I have ever finished off the bottom of a bowl, and it is way better than my cole jaws!

Not to burst your bubble, but I got my 36" length of lamp rod, from a specialty lamp dealer/repairer for only $2.75 last year. I still have enough to make a spare adapter if I want to, and I have a spare rotary adapter also.

Glad you found the lamp rod, and can move forward. 🙂

 

[William Young]

Great find William,

Now you can utilize the vacuum system. I really am glad that I got mine, because it is the easiest way I have ever finished off the bottom of a bowl, and it is way better than my cole jaws!

Not to burst your bubble, but I got my 36" length of lamp rod, from a specialty lamp dealer/repairer for only $2.75 last year. I still have enough to make a spare adapter if I want to, and I have a spare rotary adapter also.

Glad you found the lamp rod, and can move forward. 🙂

Yes , I understand about the difference in price. I should have waited until I was over the border in USA where everything costs so much less in those types of shops and I would not have had to pay the 12 % tax here as well.
I knew it was high but would have been about the same if I had ordered it on line and had to pay shipping charge.

Oh , the joys of living up in the Rocky Mountains close to a small town and 120 km away from a "small" city and 6 hour drive from bigger cities.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Yes , I understand about the difference in price. I should have waited until I was over the border in USA where everything costs so much less in those types of shops and I would not have had to pay the 12 % tax here as well.
I knew it was high but would have been about the same if I had ordered it on line and had to pay shipping charge.

Oh , the joys of living up in the Rocky Mountains close to a small town and 120 km away from a "small" city and 6 hour drive from bigger cities.

William.

That sounds like my kind of place! I love the outdoors, and there is some great hunting in BC!

 

[Soren]

wacuum adaptor

Thanks Roger, that is exactly the sort of info I was after 🙂

regards

Soren

 

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks Roger, that is exactly the sort of info I was after 🙂

regards

Soren

Soren,

Glad the information was helpful to you.........hope you get your system worked out soon!

G'day!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

18x47 Inverter Blow Up

Hi Roger and All,

Good to hear you've gotten your vacuum system up and running, they're a wonderful tool. I've learned to really watch how much vacuum I pull after cracking two thin walled bowls about 1/16" thick. I want to get some plastic decking and make a few more chucks of different diameters for it.

My 18x47 inverter blew up on my Laguna about two weeks ago. The motor and inverter had to be replaced, along with the circuit breaker and potentiometer(the speed control knob mounts to it). It occurred when I hit the red stop button when the work was jammed into the rest at a very low RPM(10-RPM). I'd bumped the speed knob with my elbow, noticed the work was jammed and hit the big red button with my elbow. It didn't work after that. The lathe was 4(FOUR) days out of warranty.

It had blown the 20 amp fuse on the inverter board(clearly shown in the Griz manual). So I put a new one in. Went around to the other side of the lathe, hit the go button - WOW! My neighbor was coming up my driveway at that time and asked if I was trying to make lightning. Hahahahaha it's good to have neighbors like that. It had blown up one or two of the power components mounted to the big heat sink on the back of the inverter.

I called Laguna Monday morning and worked with a very helpful service person. He said that the motor and inverter had to be replaced and they come as a tuned pair from the factory in China. He mentioned that they had gone back to their manufacturer and had the inverter re-designed because of this issue. He was not able to answer if this was covered under warranty, but did confirm they had 4 sets "left".

I called the next day and was not able to talk to that same person, but the customer service woman that answered was very helpful and knew about my case. She also knew that they would not cover it under warranty. They did offer me 50% off. $560+$20 shipping, list. So it cost me $280, which is a little more than the discount I got when I bought it. So I'm about back to even cost wise. So I ordered it. Before that I'd contacted Griz and learned that they only sell the whole head unit at $898, I was hoping to buy just the inverter, no luck.

So the day after I ordered it I called Laguna back to confirm that they had shipped it, NOPE. She had to go confirm that they had some "left". She called me at the end of the day and confirmed it shipped, along with a UPS #.

I got the new inverter and motor today. This wasn't a job for everybody. I had a pulley puller and various electrical supplies to do the job correctly. Plus there's 20 some different electrical lines to change. It took me about 3 hours to change the inverter and motor.

MY LATHE WORKS NOW!!!! So that 's cool. :cool2:

 

[Roger Chandler]

Laguna problems

Tom,

Glad to hear you have gotten the requisite parts, and were able to get your Laguna up and running. Sound like a job for someone with both electrical and mechanical know how.

I find it interesting that Laguna had the inverter changed at the factory........it sounds like they went to what Grizzly did, because of the inherent issues that converters have at very low rpm. I think you will probably have good luck with the set up you have now.

Gee, you really had an adventure there for a bit, with the electrical shorts and so on, but I am glad that you were not injured, nor any fires were started.

Thanks for sharing this information, as it may prove to be helpful to others who have a unit like yours in the future. Sure sounds like yours was not the first, since Laguna changed the specs on the inverter and ordered "tuned sets" of motor and controller, because of this.

Happy turning Tom!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Motor and Inverter Change

Hi Roger -

You are correct, to change out the motor and inverter you should have electrical and mechanical know how, or take it to someone who does.

I'm lucky in that regard. I'm a licensed aircraft mechanic (A&P for those in the know), I'm also an Avionics technician with (what used to be) a First Class FCC license with a Radar endorsement(the FCC changed the name from First Class to something else). In addition to that I am a degreed auto mechanic. Although I don't work in any of those areas any longer. I manage teams of engineers developing high tech leading edge electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical products now.

My past experience made it possible to do this work. I really don't think Laguna could expect their average customers to do it.

Take care and keep the chips flying -

Tom

 

[kevinkabby]

The new piece of scrap

So the new lathe was delivered finally. I checked the centers to see if they lined up before I took it out of the crate. They looked good when it was in the crate...i thought. Put it together and noticed the tailstock wasn't machined flat. Yes...Roger, I did check if there were any burrs...LOL. So I checked the centers again...the tailstock was a smige low....maybe a little less than 1/64. Then I proceeded to slide the tailstock down the bed and felt a bump. Took the head and tail off and looked between the ways, there was a slight bump that was about 4 inches long which was tapered. Then I noticed that the bed not only was bent down in the middle, but it was also bowed the other way also. So...at this point, I didn't start it yet. I started it, the belt was squealing. What I found out is that it stops when you tighten the allen on the bottom pulley...the one that you can barely get the allen wrench in anyways. I put on a segmented bowl that was a 10 inch diameter....I had to turn it at 2200 rpm cause the motor felt and sounded like it was under too much load. I has absolutely no hunt at low rpms but no torque. I can almost stall it at 1500 rpms on the handwheel. Oh...I forgot to mention that the reason it was bent was because it was dropped, there is a bump 1/2 the size of a penny on the supposed machined flat bed. The new one also vibrates at high rpms....don't know where that is coming from...old one didn't do that. The belt isn't straight at the seam, so that might be the cause of that.

From Laguna: Apparently the centers don't have to line up. They can be an 1/8 of an inch off. LOL. Come on. This was coming from the customer service rep that has never turned...It was what he was told. If your doing spindles...maybe. If you want to drill a hole with a jacobs chuck...has to be on. It gets old shimming up the tailstock with 180 grit sandpaper. Too me that is very important, cause at almost completion is when I drill the hole for a threaded insert.

A couple of improvements they made...you can take the banjo off now and the handwheel is threaded and probably wont vibrate itself loose.

 

[Roger Chandler]

So the new lathe was delivered finally. I checked the centers to see if they lined up before I took it out of the crate. They looked good when it was in the crate...i thought. Put it together and noticed the tailstock wasn't machined flat. Yes...Roger, I did check if there were any burrs...LOL. So I checked the centers again...the tailstock was a smige low....maybe a little less than 1/64. Then I proceeded to slide the tailstock down the bed and felt a bump. Took the head and tail off and looked between the ways, there was a slight bump that was about 4 inches long which was tapered. Then I noticed that the bed not only was bent down in the middle, but it was also bowed the other way also. So...at this point, I didn't start it yet. I started it, the belt was squealing. What I found out is that it stops when you tighten the allen on the bottom pulley...the one that you can barely get the allen wrench in anyways. I put on a segmented bowl that was a 10 inch diameter....I had to turn it at 2200 rpm cause the motor felt and sounded like it was under too much load. I has absolutely no hunt at low rpms but no torque. I can almost stall it at 1500 rpms on the handwheel. Oh...I forgot to mention that the reason it was bent was because it was dropped, there is a bump 1/2 the size of a penny on the supposed machined flat bed. The new one also vibrates at high rpms....don't know where that is coming from...old one didn't do that. The belt isn't straight at the seam, so that might be the cause of that.

From Laguna: Apparently the centers don't have to line up. They can be an 1/8 of an inch off. LOL. Come on. This was coming from the customer service rep that has never turned...It was what he was told. If your doing spindles...maybe. If you want to drill a hole with a jacobs chuck...has to be on. It gets old shimming up the tailstock with 180 grit sandpaper. Too me that is very important, cause at almost completion is when I drill the hole for a threaded insert.

A couple of improvements they made...you can take the banjo off now and the handwheel is threaded and probably wont vibrate itself loose.

Wow Kevin,

I don't know what to say 🙁 Some way there has got to be a remedy.......My feeling is that the Laguna folks need to get a certified repair tech to get this one right for you.

A person such as yourself who depends on the equipment for income should have high priority in my opinion.

By the way Kevin, I really like your photo of the Urn in your posting .....that is quite beautiful.....very nice segmenting and the colors are terrific!

I hope you can get this one worked out........good luck! 🙂

Additional: after reflecting for a moment, I still believe there is some sort of deficiency at the factory for the Laguna line as far as Quality Control is concerned. I have not heard of any problems so far from the Grizzly line, except that the pulley set screw needed tightening on one machine that a guy purchased, [it made the squealing noise you mentioned] Tom Hamilton spoke of having to get a new inverter, and that Laguna had the inverters changed and tuned with motors to replace a few problems they were having. I wonder if [speculation on my part] I repeat "if" they had them changed to match what Grizzly did because of the inherent issues with low rpm? [just a thought]

 

[Tom Hamilton]

How my New Motor and Inverter works

Hi Guys,

I've had a chance to use my new motor and inverter combo from Laguna, I turned my first segmented bowl, a hard maple platter and roughed out a cedar bowl. Pictures to follow, after I clean up their bottoms.

- Any speed below 200 it "hunts"
- As Kevin said "I can almost stall it by hand", rouging out that dry cedar bowl stalled it. That's almost like balsa wood.

Good luck, I'll check back later.

Tom

 

[Roger Chandler]

Hi Guys,

I've had a chance to use my new motor and inverter combo from Laguna, I turned my first segmented bowl, a hard maple platter and roughed out a cedar bowl. Pictures to follow, after I clean up their bottoms.

- Any speed below 200 it "hunts"
- As Kevin said "I can almost stall it by hand", rouging out that dry cedar bowl stalled it. That's almost like balsa wood.

Good luck, I'll check back later.

Tom

Tom & Kevin,

That "stalling" at low rpm really surprises me.......My Grizzly G0698 does not stall nearly that easy. If I try hard to stall it ........ like using a large gouge with a really heavy cut, then I can stall it, but even roughing out blanks and turning large blanks, the low belt setting has proven to be more than adequate and usually has torque to spare.

That one has me puzzled......😕 Tom, let us know what you think is the cause of this, or if an adjustment on the inverter programming will take care of it.

My Grizzly G0698 will hunt at around 75 rpm now on the low belt setting, and at about 180 rpm on the high belt setting, but I have not had any problems with it at all, and the "hunt issue" has actually improved with my using the lathe over time. I just thought it was probably the "break in" that made it better.

Additional: I wonder if we are using the lathe differently than one another, and that could account for the differences or if it is simply an issue with the lathe itself? I would think that most of our techniques would be similar to one another.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Stalling May be the Wrong Term

Hi Guys,

When I think of stalling it's like a car running out of gas, it sputs a bit, tries to go then quits, and you coast to the side of the road.

The stalling I mentioned is a maximum torque setting on the inverter. When it reaches that max torque it turns itself off, as designed. Then you hit the green button and go again.

That max torque setting on my old inverter was set higher than this one. I'm not actually running the motor out of power, the inverter is shutting itself off because it reached a setting.

I saw two adjustments on the old inverter, they where small potentiometers soldered onto the board. Those may or may not adjust the torque. This inverter is more simple than some others I've looked at recently. I was trying to figure out if I could buy a different inverter and use it with the motor that came with the lathe. Most of the inverters I found had a keypad on the front to program just this kind of thing.

I think it's an adjustment. I also think Kevin and I are on our own. I'd bet dollars to donuts that Laguna service will not be able to tell us how to adjust that inverter.

On the up side my lathe still works and I can have fun with it. I've attached a picture of my first segmented bowl that just came off the lathe.

Tom

 

[kevinkabby]

I have absolutely no hunting issues at any range, but low power. Today I found out what the vibration was from...the motor. The motor vibrates for some reason. The reason why the bed is bend is because it was dropped on the corner. They tried to fill it and didn't file it down flat.

I was also told that the lathes are exactly the same by laguna on friday also. On their website it says designed by woodturners for woodturners. If you turn wood once, apparently you are a wood turner.

 

[Roger Chandler]

Tom,

Do you think that you could find someone who is familiar with inverter programming to take a look at yours, and give you guidance as to making it work more to your liking? It is possible that could void your warranty if one came with the new motor?

It sounds like it needs a different setting to allow it not to cut off so soon.

Kevin,

It seems like the statement that "the lathes are exactly the same" is somewhat questionable. How can the one you have no hunt at any rpm, and the new one Tom got hunt like he states.

It sounds like someone there at Laguna is just telling customers what they think the customer wants to hear, or doesn't know what they are talking about in the first place.

I am kind of beginning to have my concerns just like you are 😱😕🙄 I wonder if service advice is truly reliable?

Tom,

You are the electronics guy [with your avionics experience] What do you think about the reliability of Laguna's service advice, at least with this lathe model?

BTW Tom, that is very nice for a first segmented bowl! I read a post that Malcolm Tibbetts told another segmenter that the bottom with segmented pie shaped wood would eventually separate because of wood movement. I have no experience segmenting, but did remember his advice to a beginner at segmenting. I still think it is very nice!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

I have not talked to Laguna about the issues I've noted with my new inverter and motor yet.

- Hunting below 200 rpm
- Low cutoff set point for power

After I talk to them about it I'll let you guys know what I was told, I don't have any service advice from them yet, that was Kevin.

I have asked for schematics of the the inverter and motor from Laguna a number of times, with no luck. That's what's really needed to get started, before any adjustments are made. You could really mess things up by just "tweaking" that one little potentiometer on the inverter.

I do not know if Laguna has a warranty on parts. No paperwork(installation instructions or warranty information) came with the new inverter and motor at all. I'm going to ask Laguna if the parts are warranted though.

Segmented Bowl & its Pie shaped bottom splitting - I've got Mr. Tibbits book, I better get to finishing reading it! 😱 I used and followed one of the plans from "Segmented Project Planner" software, rather than designing my own. I saw a segmented show on TV, and that turner never used a pie shaped bottom, always used a solid piece of wood. I'll take all the advice a I can get, this is something new to me.

Kevin - You make beautiful segmented vessels and urns, what do you do on your bases?

 

[Roger Chandler]

I hope you get technical advice from Laguna

Tom,

thanks for the reply. I sure hope that Laguna will step up with some techincal information for you [schematics, etc] and will help solve the low power issue with both yourself and for Kevin as well.

Kevin has been through too much already [in my opinion] and I think Laguna should get a certified technician to get his lathe right. This "by it, and you are on your own" is ______________ [you fill in the blank!] I sure hope that Laguna is better than that.......otherwise they could loose a lot of trust from customers.

Fixing a problem should not be so hard for the customer, because customer service at the company should be competent; and information given should be accurate, and not given by sales people who don't know the product well enough to give technical advice.

 

[kevinkabby]

segmented bottoms

On the bottoms of most of my vessels, I use a solid peice of wood. The key is to keep it thin. The thinner it is the less it will expand and contract. On the ones I dye, I use a full segmented bottom. The key here is to glue it in halves and trim them up on the saw before you glue the halves together. I know you said you used rubberbands, personally i like the clamping power of connecting two hose clamps. What that does is if your saw isn't exactly at a 90 degree angle, it ensures that the mitre will be tight. The ring may not be flat as you would like, but you can flatten it with a lathe mounted disc sander.

 

[kevinkabby]

Roger

What I was refering to the lathes being the same was Griz and Laguna. This is what gets me, on lagunas website it said it was designed by woodturners for woodturners. Apparently, the owner of laguna was one of the designers. If so, why was busy bee and all of these other companies selling the lathes before laguna. Sounds like false advertising...especially when they told me that tibbets loved turning on it and said it was great....when he never turned on it at all.

One thing that I noticed at woodcraft today was that all of the lathes there were machined between the ways on the bed, neither one of my laguna's were machined down the center. That would be an improvement for sure

 

[Roger Chandler]

What I was refering to the lathes being the same was Griz and Laguna. This is what gets me, on lagunas website it said it was designed by woodturners for woodturners. Apparently, the owner of laguna was one of the designers. If so, why was busy bee and all of these other companies selling the lathes before laguna. Sounds like false advertising...especially when they told me that tibbets loved turning on it and said it was great....when he never turned on it at all.

One thing that I noticed at woodcraft today was that all of the lathes there were machined between the ways on the bed, neither one of my laguna's were machined down the center. That would be an improvement for sure

Kevin,

Grizzly and Laguna apparently have some different QC standards. I have talked to 4 different guys who called me to get info on the lathe, and some who posted questions in the Private message to me, that purchased the Grizzly G0698.

So far the only thing I have heard is one had to tighten the set screw on the pulley to take care of the screeching noise, and align with the top pulley just a bit.

I know my lathe has been super in all respects. I do know that Grizzly has their people at the factory inspecting what comes off the line, and giving input to the manufacturer.

To a person, so far, all I have heard has been positive from those who have gotten the Grizz model, but of course that could change with the next post on the forum if someone has a problem.

Other makes like Jet and PM have had issues as well, like motors knocking, etc. and we all know anyone can have a problem.

If I were you, I would ask Laguna for a certified technician to get your lathe right. Even though the design may be the same, from what I know about the Grizzly machines [so far] there is a difference in them and what you got, so Laguna should bend over backwards to make this right for you, especially since it is the second unit, and it is not right as well!

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Hose Clamps

On the bottoms of most of my vessels, I use a solid peice of wood. The key is to keep it thin. The thinner it is the less it will expand and contract. On the ones I dye, I use a full segmented bottom. The key here is to glue it in halves and trim them up on the saw before you glue the halves together. I know you said you used rubberbands, personally i like the clamping power of connecting two hose clamps. What that does is if your saw isn't exactly at a 90 degree angle, it ensures that the mitre will be tight. The ring may not be flat as you would like, but you can flatten it with a lathe mounted disc sander.

Hi Kevin,

Since we "talked" last week I've switched to hose clamps and now know what you mean. Thanks for the suggestion.
For the bowl above I glued up all but the bottom ring in halves, then squared them up and glued the halves together. Then I flattened them all on a 9" belt sander before I glued the stack together.
It was fun, and I (naturally) see things I'd like to improve.
Thanks for your help.

 

[kevinkabby]

One small tip for when you glue the large pies, put the dowels slightly off center. I put them about 1/8 inch of center twards the outside...seems to get them tighter. The hose clamps...do you use two of them together? It gives more pressure and spreads it more equally. one other thing is to make sure the clamp is centered.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

Info from Laguna service

Hello All,
I spoke with Laguna service, asking the following three questions regarding my recent inverter and motor replacement due to the original ones failing after 1 year of service.

1) My new inverter & motor "hunt" speed wise below 200rpm, the original equipment didn't hunt at all. How can this be fixed or adjusted? A = The inverter was changed to protect it from failing and there is no adjustment to take care of this issue. The service person said to not run it that slow, try to run it at 50% of the range for best performance, and adjust for speed by changing belt/pulleys.

2) My new inverter & motor "power limits" then safely shuts down the motor much earlier, or at a much lower torque than the original setup, how can I adjust for this? A = The inverter was changed to protect it from failing and there is no adjustment to take care of this issue. The service person said to not run it that slow, try to run it at 50% of the range for best performance, and adjust for speed by changing belt/pulleys. Yes, you read this correctly it's the same answer. His only suggestion was to "run it halfway all the time". If that's so why even have a speed control?😕

3) Is my new motor and inverter under warranty? A = Yes, 1 year, the same as the Lathe. This is from the date they shipped it. Hey! - At least this is good!

I also asked to get the schematic for the Inverter(VFD) and was told they didn't have it because they buy the inverter from "somewhere else".

I am very dissatisfied with the performance of this Laguna 18/47 lathe now and Laguna corporation for not offering better support with these issues. A product that costs this much money should not fail after 1 year. A product that costs this much just to repair should perform better, if a company "fixes" an issue the product should run the same or better. Not run like crap. I have been woodworking and buying equipment for 35 years. This is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment I've purchased. It is the FIRST piece of equipment that I have had to repair, the FIRST in 35 years.:mad:

 

[Roger Chandler]

Hello All,
I spoke with Laguna service, asking the following three questions regarding my recent inverter and motor replacement due to the original ones failing after 1 year of service.

1) My new inverter & motor "hunt" speed wise below 200rpm, the original equipment didn't hunt at all. How can this be fixed or adjusted? A = The inverter was changed to protect it from failing and there is no adjustment to take care of this issue. The service person said to not run it that slow, try to run it at 50% of the range for best performance, and adjust for speed by changing belt/pulleys.

2) My new inverter & motor "power limits" then safely shuts down the motor much earlier, or at a much lower torque than the original setup, how can I adjust for this? A = The inverter was changed to protect it from failing and there is no adjustment to take care of this issue. The service person said to not run it that slow, try to run it at 50% of the range for best performance, and adjust for speed by changing belt/pulleys. Yes, you read this correctly it's the same answer. His only suggestion was to "run it halfway all the time". If that's so why even have a speed control?😕

3) Is my new motor and inverter under warranty? A = Yes, 1 year, the same as the Lathe. This is from the date they shipped it. Hey! - At least this is good!

I also asked to get the schematic for the Inverter(VFD) and was told they didn't have it because they buy the inverter from "somewhere else".

I am very dissatisfied with the performance of this Laguna 18/47 lathe now and Laguna corporation for not offering better support with these issues. A product that costs this much money should not fail after 1 year. A product that costs this much just to repair should perform better, if a company "fixes" an issue the product should run the same or better. Not run like crap. I have been woodworking and buying equipment for 35 years. This is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment I've purchased. It is the FIRST piece of equipment that I have had to repair, the FIRST in 35 years.:mad:

Tom,

This turn of events represents in my mind an unacceptable standard of customer service. It amounts to a "buy it, and you are on your own" mindset from Laguna.

I agree wholeheartedly that a unit that costs as much as your Laguna 18x47 should give you much more reliable service, and that replacement parts and "fixes" should at least give you as good operation of the lathe as original, if not better.

My Grizzly G0698 has been super so far, and the power and torque are really good. I sure hope it gives me years of reliable service. I wonder about Quality Control. Posters who own the Busy Bee Craftex 128 and the Hare & Forbes Woodmaster 18x47 that I have heard from are really upbeat on their units, and speak highly of its performance.

Somewhere there is a break down between the different model lines if the 18x47 lineup 😕 I don't know what to make if all this, but I hope something develops for both you and Kevin to remedy these issues in the future.

 

[kevinkabby]

Roger

I believe that it is all relative. We don't know how many of these lathes were sold, how many people use them regularly. So to say busy bee or grizzly has happy customers is baseless until you get real numbers. So far it is only tom and I that have laguna's and a few with grizzly's so we really don't know. Finally I got it out of laguna that it is the exact same machine as the grizzly minus the handwheel. Quality control is an issue. They told me that they would inspect it before they shipped it...never happened. Definately sounds like customer service is better through grizzly though. Go figure. Costs less and better service. It cracked me up when the guy at laguna told me that torbin(the owner of laguna) designed the lathe. maybe when they said designing it was adding a handwheel.

 

[Tom Hamilton]

One Remedy is this Thread

Roger,

I must thank you for starting this thread, as it may serve as a "Remedy" for others searching for 18x47 lathe information in the future.

If this thread where available when I was deciding what to spend my money on, it would have made a difference to me.

Thanks

Happy Turning

Tom,

This turn of events represents in my mind an unacceptable standard of customer service. It amounts to a "buy it, and you are on your own" mindset from Laguna.

I agree wholeheartedly that a unit that costs as much as your Laguna 18x47 should give you much more reliable service, and that replacement parts and "fixes" should at least give you as good operation of the lathe as original, if not better.

My Grizzly G0698 has been super so far, and the power and torque are really good. I sure hope it gives me years of reliable service. I wonder about Quality Control. Posters who own the Busy Bee Craftex 128 and the Hare & Forbes Woodmaster 18x47 that I have heard from are really upbeat on their units, and speak highly of its performance.

Somewhere there is a break down between the different model lines if the 18x47 lineup 😕 I don't know what to make if all this, but I hope something develops for both you and Kevin to remedy these issues in the future.

 

[Bart Leetch]

Sound like Lagoooooona needs a return via a real fast back up followed by stepping on the brakes with the tail gate down just before the truck hits the building right in through the front door. You'd have to figure it a total loss which it almost is anyway.

Yes I meant to put all those o's in Lagoooooona.

I've heard just enough bad about Lagoooooona over the years that I'd never touch anything from them with a 10" pole. Most of it is attitude & poor customer service

 

[James E Gaydos]

On the Laguna web site, a demonstration by David Ellsworth on
September 25, 2010 at Laguna Tools in California.
It will be interesting to see if he uses an 18" x 47" Laguna lathe,
And if he would give an honest opinion of this machine.