G0766 - Banjo upgrade experiment

[Roger Chandler]

Optimization - I look at upgrading my lathe like this............. When I bought my pickup truck some years ago, I did not think back then about pulling a trailer. Since I got that truck I have now acquired two trailers and use them quite regularly, so that fact has necessitated that I upgrade my truck for that purpose. I put on a class IV trailer hitch back some years ago and also had a heavy duty clutch installed as well.....one that is optimal for towing and hauling heavy loads.

I think that it would have been wrong of me to buy a truck that had none of those features on it, and then expect that they should have had them installed, unless I paid for a towing package........which on my next truck will be one of the items that I will make sure is on the vehicle and of course will pay for that feature.

Adding accessories to suit our uses and purposes is a fairly standard thing with anything........including wood working equipment. On my former table saw, I made several upgrades to make it a better performing machine, and when I got my present table saw, I went for a premium Biesmeyer fence system, etc......all that adds to the cost.

Adding an accessory to optimize my lathe is in the same category in my thinking...........If I wanted many possible accessories included, then I would have to pay for those, so thankfully, they are available as aftermarket options, and I can tweak my lathe and optimize it for those purposes that suit my uses as I go along!

If I had wanted all the bells and whistles of a top of the line truck back then, I would have had to pay more than I did to get all those accessories.........the same holds true with our lathes......I believe I got a really good lathe with the basics as far a a package for far less $$$ than the higher end lathes out there.......and for those very substantial savings, I will be glad to add a little tweak here and there to optimize it, and customize it to my own liking!

Your $0.02?

[David Walser]

Optimization - I look at upgrading my lathe like this............. When I bought my pickup truck some years ago, I did not think back then about pulling a trailer. Since I got that truck I have now acquired two trailers and use them quite regularly, so that fact has necessitated that I upgrade my truck for that purpose. I put on a class IV trailer hitch back some years ago and also had a heavy duty clutch installed as well.....one that is optimal for towing and hauling heavy loads.

I think that it would have been wrong of me to buy a truck that had none of those features on it, and then expect that they should have had them installed, unless I paid for a towing package........which on my next truck will be one of the items that I will make sure is on the vehicle and of course will pay for that feature.

...

Roger -- For your analogy to be apt, people would need to be slamming the Grizzly lathe because it didn't come equipped with a vacuum generator for vacuum chucking. No one should expect a truck to come equipped with a towing package (or a lathe to have a vacuum generator) unless the truck is marketed as being tow ready. Sticking with your pickup truck analogy, suppose you bought a brand new 3/4 ton pickup and learned that the suspension bottomed out with less than 1/2 ton of hay in the bed. Sure, you could pay to have heavier duty springs and shocks installed, but you'd have every right to be upset that, as delivered, your 3/4 ton truck could not haul a 3/4 ton load. Similarly, if your new truck's transmission was geared so high that you couldn't haul a 1/2 ton load up a modest incline without getting a running start, you'd have every right to complain -- no matter how nice the rest of the truck was. The fact you could fix these two issues by changing the differential and the suspension wouldn't change the fact GM sold you a 3/4 ton truck equipped with 1/2 ton suspension and gearing.

Grizzly is selling a lathe claiming it has a large swing (which it does) while including a banjo/tool rest combination that cannot support that swing. That's wrong and no amount of possible work arounds by the buyer absolves Grizzly of this error.

Note: I'm not saying the lathe isn't a decent buy. I'm quibbling with your analogy which implies that any problems are with buyers expecting more from a lathe than they should. If they were complaining of a lack of a vacuum generator and a complete set of turning tools, I'd agree with you. They aren't. They are expecting the lathe to do what Grizzly claims that it would -- nothing more.

[Roger Chandler]

David, after reconsideration of my post you referenced, and the points you make here.....I almost will turn 180 degrees and say I probably did not make my intended point very well, with that particular post. My only caveat is that in their catalog, Grizzly did put a pic of this 0766 model they were selling. That pic had the banjo on it from the 0733 18/47 lathe. That pic was indeed a visual representation of what they were selling this unit as.

Most people would not likely pick up on that, not being familiar with the various Grizzly models. I know in the past they had used the same design rest on the 0733, and 0698 models, but I did not know if this was a longer version of that same style, until mine arrived and I got it set up in my shop.

Now they met the 22" swing with the size of the lathe and spindle height off the bed, but then put a smaller banjo on it, which I can only surmise was a cost cutting measure, as fabrication of a new size would have manufacturing costs with it.

What I did not say very well was that the major components of this lathe [motor/inverter, frame/size , spindle, weight ] meet the capacity,] and I was not willing to go thru weeks or months of them looking into the matter before they decided to fix or not fix the banjo or rest......a decision for my own convienience. Owners do have the ability to address this with aftermarket upgrades to optimize it for maximum capacity.

I agree with your 3/4 ton-1/2 ton analogy on the truck......yep, the suspension components here are indeed under sized! The right thing to do [in my opinion] is to re-issue a properly sized banjo for a 22" swing lathe. We cannot change the past, but they would do well to tell the factory to make longer banjos to meet the 22" swing. That would generate good customer relations, and eliminate a sore spot, that is correctable! I would get in line for mine!

It is like we have a legitimate gripe, and they have a legitimate point as to the swing issue.......it is not all one side or the other. Both sides have valid points, but bottom line is that the manufacturer/Grizzly only went 75% on this swing issue, and that is where I agree with you.......it should have been 100% a 22" swing that was shipped out to customers.