G0698 18" X 47" Wood Lathe

[Tom Hamilton]

Hello Roger,

I took a couple of pictures of the hand wheel on my Laguna 18/47 both on the spindle and off the spindle so you can see how it goes together. I've attached them.

I wonder if Laguna changed the spindle in order to add the hand wheel? With it sticking out of the rear of the headstock cover on mine and flush with the cover on yours I think the spindles may be different. It would be a job (and cost) to change the spindle just for a hand wheel.

Do you have a picture of the spindle with the cover open?

Tom

[Paul Singer]

Is it possible that there is an adapter attached to the end of the headstock shaft to extend it out through the side.

[Roger Chandler]

Originally Posted by Tom Hamilton

Hello Roger,

I took a couple of pictures of the hand wheel on my Laguna 18/47 both on the spindle and off the spindle so you can see how it goes together. I've attached them.

I wonder if Laguna changed the spindle in order to add the hand wheel? With it sticking out of the rear of the headstock cover on mine and flush with the cover on yours I think the spindles may be different. It would be a job (and cost) to change the spindle just for a hand wheel.

Do you have a picture of the spindle with the cover open?

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the pics! I sent you a return email with some further info on my set up. A little closer look inside your cover might show a flange with a spindle extension. Let me know what you find! Great photography!

[Roger Chandler]

Hello everyone,

I heard back from Grizzly tech support on the "pulsing at very low rpm" issue that I and another owner have reported to them. The engineers have said that they got the specs wrong, even in the catalog and online.

They say that the Low rpm specs should be 100 rpm, on the low belt setting, and the high belt setting low rpm spec should be 330 rpm.

I pressed the tech guy as to why some owners of the Laguna model report no problems with their version, and the reply was that they cannot speak to the machines of other companies, but that this lathe was made to their specs. I then said that even the labeling on the lathe itself is wrong; they said "correct." Even when I asked about the inverter being reprogrammed, the engineers say that is not the problem, it is simply their specs to which the machine is built.

For me, in the grand scheme of things, this "pulsing at very low rpm" is a mostly minor annoyance, and not a true hindrance to achieving good turning success. Most of my years of experience of turning have taught me that it is very rare to need anything below 100 rpm, and sanding and finishing on my previous lathe was limited to a minimum of 400 rpm, as that was the minimum speed for that lathe.

Most machines [except Oneway and Robust] are manufactured in China, and I have noticed as of late that there are owners of Jet and Powermatic that are speaking of problems with their machines, so I guess that it is a "try to do the best you can" deal. The other problems are being discussed on "another forum" [runout on a Jet(spindle, bearing issues) and shimming tailstock to align with headstock on a 3520b]

Grizzly has a return policy, and said they would pay the shipping back to them, but as of now that is not what I want to do. Again, I see this as a very minor annoyance rather than a problem that hinders me in turning projects, as I would most likely have very rare use for less than 100 rpm.

My bottom line - for me personally, is that I still believe that I have a good machine with good features for a good value. That was what I was looking for when I made my decision to purchase, and what I want for the future is longevity, performance and availability of parts and service in the future if it is needed.

I hope that my perspective helps any out there that may be considering the purchase of a new lathe, and had this one in mind to look at.

[Tom Hamilton]

Hello Roger,

I've taken a couple more pictures of the spindle with the hand wheel and cover plate removed and attached them to this post.

The spindle on my Laguna looks to be one piece, you can see in the picture where the groove is cut for the pulley key, that's where two pieces would have to join if there where to be two pieces.

I've included a picture of the end of the lathe put back together to show how I mounted a pipe with a 1/2" ID using the cover plate screws, I put a swivel light fixture in it. I pretty much have light everywhere I need it while turning.

Tom

[Roger Chandler]

Originally Posted by Tom Hamilton

Hello Roger,

I've taken a couple more pictures of the spindle with the hand wheel and cover plate removed and attached them to this post.

The spindle on my Laguna looks to be one piece, you can see in the picture where the groove is cut for the pulley key, that's where two pieces would have to join if there where to be two pieces.

I've included a picture of the end of the lathe put back together to show how I mounted a pipe with a 1/2" ID using the cover plate screws, I put a swivel light fixture in it. I pretty much have light everywhere I need it while turning.

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the additional pics. Your set up is similar to mine, and the only difference that I can see in the pictures is that the spindle on yours is longer. that being said, I wonder if your spindle is longer all the way through to your other side where the chuck is mounted, or if it is a 2 piece that is threaded onto the flange with the threaded holes on either side of the spindle.

I can't tell from the pics if the spindle is threaded on the inside of the center to accept an extension, or if it is a single, longer spindle assembly on the Laguna than is on the Grizzly version.

I guess Laguna will have to clear this up for me, but your efforts are greatly appreciated, and they do show similarities. I guess I will know later. One question though, did you try to see if the part that the hand wheel screws onto was itself able to be un-threaded off the black flange?

Thanks again Tom, you've been a great help!

[Paul Singer]

Roger,

Could you take a picture of yours with the cover off? I am assuming the black ring that the keyway is in is where the two threaded holes are on yours that was mentioned a while back.

[Roger Chandler]

Originally Posted by Paul Singer

Roger,

Could you take a picture of yours with the cover off? I am assuming the black ring that the keyway is in is where the two threaded holes are on yours that was mentioned a while back.

Hi Paul,

the black ring [flange] has two threaded holes, one on each side of the spindle, and in Tom's picture, the spindle is rotated so that only one of them is showing.

Do you have the G0698? Are you planning on getting a hand wheel accessory?

As far a pics go, I would have to get my son to help me with that and I don't know how soon that would be. My computer skills are minimal at best.

Now that I take a second look at Tom's pictures, I notice that there is a set screw on top of the flange, and I am wondering if the spindle on his has two parts, the one which connects to the handwheel having a keyway, and locks in place with the set screw? If that is indeed the case, then I could easily adapt that to my Grizzly G0698....

[Tom Hamilton]

Hi Roger - The Laguna spindle is one solid piece from one end to the other, neither end screws off. It shows it that way in the Laguna manual and by looking down the hollow spindle it looks that way too.

The black flange in the picture is the pully. The threaded hole on the face of it is commonly used to screw bolts in to use to push it off of something. The other threaded hole above the key is a set screw for the two stepped pully.

Tom

[Roger Chandler]

Originally Posted by Tom Hamilton

Hi Roger - The Laguna spindle is one solid piece from one end to the other, neither end screws off. It shows it that way in the Laguna manual and by looking down the hollow spindle it looks that way too.

The black flange in the picture is the pully. The threaded hole on the face of it is commonly used to screw bolts in to use to push it off of something. The other threaded hole above the key is a set screw for the two stepped pully.

Tom

Thanks Tom,

That clears this issue up. Maybe in the future, Grizzly will find a solution to help their owners, as did Laguna. Best of luck!