Banjo Nirvana........G0766

[Roger Chandler]

10.14" above the bed ways does translates to near 7/8" below center line......so that is what I think is the "sweet spot" for the toolrest to sit when bottomed out for a cut, and this will allow for a range that is good for both bowl gouges doing shear cuts and for spindle work with spindle gouges as it can be raised to center line or a bit higher if needed.

Now that I went to that trouble up front to have my rest machined a bit more by taking material off the step area on the rest, I guess mine will sit much too low now! I would not have done that had I known Grizzly would entertain this improvement! Oh well, such as is the case for someone who was an early adopter of this new unit and tried to help by showing pics of the modification I had done on it....

I am just so glad that Mr. Balolia and his team have made this adaptation and has made it a 100% 22" swing lathe!

[Belton Garvin]

I'm not at home to look at my lathe, but just want to make sure the lowered banjo section won't be so low that it wouldn't accommodate other tool rests. I, as well as others have the robust tool rest and had to get the "long post" versions. I accidently purchased a 16-18 Robust rest locally and at it's tallest wouldn't reach high enough.

Roger, I know you have the same rests and cold verify if you have the time. I'll look at mine when I get home tonight.

[Shiraz Balolia]

I'm not at home to look at my lathe, but just want to make sure the lowered banjo section won't be so low that it wouldn't accommodate other tool rests. I, as well as others have the robust tool rest and had to get the "long post" versions. I accidently purchased a 16-18 Robust rest locally and at it's tallest wouldn't reach high enough.

Couldn't you put an appropriate sized thickness spacer (like an oversized washer) to raise up the tool rests that sit too low?

[Randy Red Bemont]

Mr. Balolia I'm excited to hear that Grizzly is redesigning the banjo issue and will get a replacement to all us 0766 owners. That is awesome to hear. Thank you for personally getting involved with this issue. I do appreciate it. The 0766 is a great lathe and it will be a top seller for Grizzly. Thank you.

Red

[Roger Chandler]

I'm not at home to look at my lathe, but just want to make sure the lowered banjo section won't be so low that it wouldn't accommodate other tool rests. I, as well as others have the robust tool rest and had to get the "long post" versions. I accidently purchased a 16-18 Robust rest locally and at it's tallest wouldn't reach high enough.

Roger, I know you have the same rests and cold verify if you have the time. I'll look at mine when I get home tonight.

Belton......here are a couple of pics with the Robust 15" comfort rest [long post] in the original banjo on the 0766. with the rest post maxed out in its highest position and still held solidly, the top edge of the rest sits 1/2" above centerline. If they take 1/2" off the top of the banjo post support, then it will work, if they take more then, it might be a problem.

Grizzly is responding to this later than myself or a relatively few turners did on our own. I do not know that they can make a modification that will suit every single person, but can make a modification to suit all those who did not alter their tool rest like myself. I accept that. I don't think they are obligated to try to meet any needs that I have created for myself by adding aftermarket parts, even though I did it because the original was not up to snuff, and I needed to get on with using the lathe, and did not know whether or not they would change anything in the beginning when I first got the unit. I will live with that if I need to.

I also noticed that of the 3 Robust rests I have, one the 15" comfort rest, one the 12" inside curve rest, and one 6" low profile rest I already had with my other lathe, the G0698, that the tool rest posts on those are not all the exact same length even though they are all supposed to be long post. Yours may be longer than mine, or a smidgen shorter.......I suppose it depends on who cut the post metal on a given day. My 12 inside curve post is 1/4" shorter than my 15" comfort rest.

G0766 lathe pics 041.jpg G0766 lathe pics 042.jpg

[Belton Garvin]

Couldn't you put an appropriate sized thickness spacer (like an oversized washer) to raise up the tool rests that sit too low?

Mr Balolia,
My concern was that the after market tool rests that I have wouldn't be long enough to tighten in the banjo. It's just speculation at this point as I'm not home to see how far my rest extend into the current banjo. As Roger stated, Not really your issue at this point just wanted to bring it up during the design phase. We appreciate all that you are doing at this point.

I'll measure mine when I get home and it may not even be an issue to be concerned with at all.

Rogers pictures show perfectly how the Robust rests sit in the banjo with no shoulder to stop them from being lowered all the way like the stock rest from Grizzly.

[Roger Chandler]

As far as the Robust rests with the long post ......if the banjo post support area is taken down lower to make the original rest sit lower, then the issue for the Robust rests is the ability to tighten them down in the banjo due to the hole where the handle that tightens the rest, will be put, as they will be at the end of the post on the Robust rests.

I have no complaints with the proposed solution you have posted, Mr. Balolia......it is not your problem that I invested in aftermarket parts to make this lathe a full 22" swing.......the fact that you are doing the modification that you propose here is all you are actually obligated to do in my personal opinion.

Is it ideal for me personally? Perhaps not, but I will be just fine with your modification, although I would not mind getting another rest to go with the new banjo, just to make it be back to your specs, since I did take 3/4" off the step area on the original.........I can pay for that if you feel it is appropriate.

[hu lowery]

10.14+ means that it can be raised higher, but 10.14" at its lowest level, which is what a lot of customers have requested.

The side protrusions you see on the banjo are where the casting has been thickened and what will give it the extra strength. Anyone that orders a G0766 will get one of the new banjos when they arrive.

We will try to improve the packaging on what we have in stock currently as well as improve it at factory for future shipments.

Mr. Balolia,

You have completely addressed all of my concerns. Much appreciated and I will get another 766 on order shortly. With twenty-two inches of usable swing now you have a real winner on your hands. Summertime on the farm will keep me busy a week or three and then when I see a window of time to install the new machine I'll order it about a week before I am ready for it.

Thank you again for getting personally involved. When I first ordered a machine that nobody had seen yet I said I was confident that Grizzly would deal with any issues. Very nice to be proven correct!

Hu

[Doug Ladendorf]

Good management from the top. Bravo!

[Bill Boehme]

I have a different lathe that allows me to drop the toolrest height more than three inches below centerline and raise it about 1½" above centerline. This a bit more than What I have actually needed, but not by a lot. I frequently drop the tool handle very low ... more than 60° below level when shear cutting or shear scraping. This means that the tool rest top needs to be a couple inches below center and also that the toolrest design doesn't interfere with being able to do this. To me the banjo design with the shortened vertical column limits the adjustment range too much. It would be better to have a redesigned toolrest that enables it to be dropped lower in the vertical column of the banjo. For large diameter spindle work, it is often necessary to be able to move the toolrest well above centerline in order to have a comfortable tool position.

[Michael Mason]

I have hesitated to comment on this thread and leave it to the people who have or want this lathe but I hate not to point this out. If using a coring system ( McNaughton is the one I have), one might should check and see how long their tool posts are. They might have one plenty long for this redesigned banjo, I don't know. I would hate for someone to run into issues later on if they get in to coring. If one has only an inch or two of the post in the banjo and gets a massive catch with a coring tool, something will give. Just something to think about. It may or may not pertain here.

Just to be clear, my concern is with lowering the height of the banjo.

[John Keeton]

For the same reasons just stated, it would seem the far better remedy would be a longer and beefier banjo, with the same or more height as the OEM, and a retooled rest. While they are at it - make it a 1" post.

[lynn cranmer]

I just got off the phone with Grizzly. The new redesigned banjo will not be available for at least two months. All lathes ordered before that time will have the new banjo shipped to them at a later date.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Just to be clear, my concern is with lowering the height of the banjo.

The revised banjo design works perfectly with the tool rest supplied with the machine. The standard tool rest has the same amount of post inside the banjo and will be a straight slip-in. Like someone said, we will not be able to please everyone that has modified or bought other tool rests to go on our lathe. We try our best, but............................

Thanks for all the input.

[David C. Roseman]

All - I just noticed that this thread is only eight days old, yet already has 3,433 views and counting. I'm guessing that may be an SMC record.