Grizzly Industrial G0768-8 Variable-Speed 16" Benchtop Lathe - Professional Quality Results! Review

Update: Having used this lathe for 3 years I can say that I am still happy with it but, some things have come up that have made me wish I had the room for a larger lathe. The torque of the motor at low speed is not very good. When cutting smaller parts, you don't notice it because the motor is in a favorable part of the torque / speed curve for the motor. I have had trouble cutting larger pieces at slow speeds as there is not enough low end torque.The rigidity of the lathe is less than great. I

Great beginner machine! I am a beginner. variable speed is great when learning. Just big enough not to be a toy. down sides, 1 horse power is minimum for any real workhorse. this is only 3/4 hp. The center hole in the lathe is just under 1 inch. I would perfer at least an inch to 1 1/8tth. these are the only draw backs I have found. when I learn more, I will up grade to a slightly larger machine. Larger chuck and higher horse power. Variable speed is nice but not a necessity when you gain the…

There are a few non-obvious things about this lathe. You can move one of the belts to change the spindle speed between high and low ranges- I was thinking that this would be better than the plastic gear used on mini-lathes (which tends to break). However this belt change is not easy. You need to remove the side panel to access the belt and adjust a set-screw, OK. But very annoyingly, you must also remove the back panel with the circuit board on it to loosen a nut which holds a belt pulley in…