Banjo Nirvana........G0766

[Roger Chandler]

Hello Roger,
I have been following all of this with great interest and thank you for all of the information. I want to clarify something. If one just orders the H0082, does it come with the correct clamp plate? Or do you have to specify a non-standard plate. I am just not sure if the 1.5" gap is standard for the H0082. I have found other suppliers online that have the H0082 in stock, but not sure about this detail. Thanks!

For the Grizzly G0766 or G0733, both have 1.5" gap in the bed........same for the Laguna 18/47. If you have another brand of lathe, then take a measurement of what the gap is, and Oneway does sell various sizes for their banjo........it comes with it, but you have to specify the size.

[Jon McElwain]

Well, the Oneway banjo I ordered as an aftermarket upgrade for my G0766 arrived this afternoon. Can I say SWEEEEEEET!!!???

If you think the banjo is nice....

[David C. Roseman]

If you think the banjo is nice....

Yep, too bad the lathe doesn't automatically come with it.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[Roger Chandler]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Mr. Balolia.........first off, thank you so much for replying to this thread!

The dimensions for a correctly sized banjo for a 22" swing lathe would be where it would extend 12" from the centerline of the lathe. That would mean the long part of the banjo that sits on the bed ways should have at least 12.75" inside travel to make the full 22" swing and allow one to position the rest to handle the bulk of a large piece.

The height of the post support on the banjo that came with the 0766 is okay, but the toolrest itself sits a little too high in the thing due to the fact the part that has the step milled in it to make the post is too long.......if you took the same rest, and milled another 5/8" down to the post diameter of 25 mm, then the rest could sit lower in the banjo and be able to properly use a bowl gouge.........the one that came with the 0766 only sits 1/4" below center, which is too tall.

So in short, I think the banjo base should be extended to about 13-14" in length, and the post on the rest should be lengthened by milling down the existing dimensions of the stepped area an additional 5/8" inch........that would put the rest sitting at 7/8" below the center line which is the same specs as on the Powermatic 3520b lathe.

I hope this helps, and if you have any further need to discuss this, I would be more than happy to speak to you by phone, if you will send me a private message on this forum with contact info......but Grizzly has my contact info including phone number and email address.

Thanks so much!

Roger Chandler

[Shiraz Balolia]

Thank you, Roger.

We will draw one up and post it for critique. That way, you turning experts can weigh in.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[Roger Chandler]

Thank you, Roger.

We will draw one up and post it for critique. That way, you turning experts can weigh in.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Great idea, Sir! I think you will have a solid unit that will fill a need in the large lathe category, and you will also engender good will towards your company. I applaud your efforts!

[hu lowery]

Thank you, Roger.

We will draw one up and post it for critique. That way, you turning experts can weigh in.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

I purchased the 766 in March and received it a few weeks ago. Packaging issues were a reason it was shipped back, the headstock assembly took quite a battering, but I was also very concerned about the short banjo and why it was on the lathe.

I have held the position of mechanical designer before retirement some years ago. A new banjo would need to be roughly four to five inches longer than the current one to both allow a swing that matches the spindle height and sits securely on both ways of the lathe. Since the banjo may not always be positioned at a perfect ninety degree angle to the lathe a little extra length is always prudent when a revision is being done anyway.

Another consideration might be to make the tool rest opening the more standard one inch size instead of 25mm. A small change that would probably please many customers. I have ran Grizzly metal equipment in a light industrial environment and know Grizzly produces solid equipment. I look forward to being able to purchase the 766 again, this time with a banjo capable of doing work I had committed to before my earlier purchase.

Thank you very much for responding to our concerns!

Hu Lowery

[daryl moses]

Thank you, Roger.

We will draw one up and post it for critique. That way, you turning experts can weigh in.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Now that is what I call GREAT customer service. I don't even own a G0766 [I do own a G0733 though] but attention to customer requests is what will lead me purchase more Grizzly products in the future.

[Cary Falk]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

WOW!!! That is beyond Awesome. Thank you Mr. Balolia.

[Sparky Paessler]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Glad to see they are looking at fixing it. Wish I had read this a couple of hours ago. I had just emailed customer service and got the standard reply this morning that they were not going to fix it and just ordered a Oneway banjo. Oh well at least if they ship us a new banjo I will then have a spare.

[Mark Greenbaum]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Dear Mr. Balolia:

I wrote to your CSR and added (preferably Papa Grizzly) to the email. I have been in communication with them, and the replies have not been favorable to the re-designing or replacement of the banjo or tool rests. I hope your posting here negates those emails. I do thank you for your attention to this forum, and there are many great turners here who are jazzed and confident this product can be a real contender in the marketplace. With the Banjo and Tool Rest modifications this will be THE product to beat in the future. I will be receiving mine next week, and I am excited.

[Randy Red Bemont]

Sorry - I do not normally view the Turner's forum, and was directed to this thread by an SMC member.

I hear the issues with serious turners and would like to fix them to make the G0766 be able to do more. Can someone send me rough dimensions of what how much longer the Banjo and the tool rest need to be? Don't worry about the heft - we will make them heavy duty.

Thanks for everyone's help.

I hope Grizzly can come up with a proper banjo and tool rest for the 0766 lathe. I've been back and forth with Grizzly customer service and have basically been told that what ships with the lathe is acceptable and that's as far as they're (Grizzly) going with it. This is from an email earlier today.

It is a great lathe but needs to get this issue resolved and I thank you Mr. Balolia for taking an active interest in this issue.

Red

[Matt Schrum]

I hope Grizzly can come up with a proper banjo and tool rest for the 0766 lathe. I've been back and forth with Grizzly customer service and have basically been told that what ships with the lathe is acceptable and that's as far as they're (Grizzly) going with it. This is from an email earlier today.
d

I emailed Grizzly about the banjo as well and just received an email back about an hour ago. I'm not sure if the CS rep was aware the banjo is the tool rest holder and not the tool rest as he worked in and rephrased a couple of times that the tool rest is within spec, safe and as advertised. He even said:

"You may return an item within 30 days of purchase for a refund or exchange. Returned merchandise must be new, unused, and in its original packaging, and is subject to inspection upon its return. Please be aware that all non-defective returns may warrant a 10% restocking fee, and may not qualify for shipping reimbursement." -- which to me means "tough luck, return it if you don't like it", although that's my interpretation.

Regardless, he made no mention of the banjo, so I replied back clarifying my issue and asking what they are doing to remedy the situation.

Fingers crossed they address this.

[hu lowery]

To those wondering how much authority Mr. Balolia totes and how much weight to put behind his word, a quick look on the website confirmed what I thought I knew, he is founder and president of Grizzly. If he says something is going to happen I think we can take it to the bank. I am very excited about the 766 again. Hopefully Mr. Balolia also notes there have been serious issues with shipping damage and far too many lathes coming with components rattling around loose while we have his attention.

Looking good! My overall impression of this lathe is that it was quite beefy judging by appearances of the bed and legs. I was afraid of hidden issues due to that vastly undersized banjo. A full sized banjo will lay that fear to rest and I'll buy another 766 without hesitation. It is a lot of lathe for the dollars if the initial issues are tended to.

Hu