Grizzly 12/18 10/18 variable speed lathe

[Scott Brandstetter]

Anyone have one of these lathes and can speak to the quality? My son is going to start working with me in the shop and I thought having a smaller, second lathe, for the smaller stuff, would be a nice addition. I have the Grizz 766 and although I can buy a used, larger lathe, for not much more money, I really don't want to give up the floor space.

[Dennis Collier]

Not variable speed but I started with the HF 5 speed mini lathe. Its a great lathe for the money provided you realize its limits. Can be had for about $180 with a coupon. Mine made hundreds of pens and other small turnings before I upgraded to the G0766.

[Thom Sturgill]

I just looked at them, the low speed is 650rpm which is too fast for an out of balance bowl blank (even a 10-12" one). And too fast for sanding, IMHO.

If you have the budget, the Jet 1221VS ($800) has a speed range of 60-3600. Most of the small lathes have speed ranges starting around 500-600 rpm. The older 1220VS was about 250rpm at its slowest setting, and that was one of the reasons I upgraded. I see the 1015VS is also 250rpm ($580) and the Rikon 70-100 (not VS $399) has a low speed of 430 RPM which is still a bit high but not as bad as the Griz.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Hey Thom, great pickup on the speed. I did not even see that. Thanks.