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Shopfox W1852 lathe

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Phil Hine

Joined
Mar 8, 2018
Messages
17
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9
Location
Lewis Center Ohio
I’m looking at buying a new lathe. Has anyone bought one these ShopFox lathes. I am also looking at a Laguna 18/36. The ShopFox is about the same price as the the Laguna. Any opinions would be helpful. I am mainly doing segmented cremation urns.

Phil
 
Shop Fox lathes are not the pinnacle of quality and support would be a big question. The Laguna might not quite be at the pinnacle, but it has had good reviews on the forum from users. There should also be a very large installed base, which is no guarantee of good support or parts availability, but if company support is poor, user support would likely fill the void and with a large number of potential customers, somebody, a third party if not Laguna, might think to stock up on likely to sell spare parts.

One thing to consider as a way to get the most lathe for your dollars is to buy a good quality used lathe. Lathes of large, reputable manufacturers should hold up very well over a long time.
 
shop Fox is the retail version that can be carried by dealers of woodworking equipment from Grizzly. They are usually painted a different color than the Grizzly equivalents, but have a two year warranty versus the 1 year warranty on the Grizzly version. The W1852 is the equivalent to the G0766, which I have, and it has been reliable in service. I think the longer warranty accounts for the price difference between the two.
 
Thanks to everyone for the comments. I ordered a Jet 18/40 yesterday from Woodcraft. After looking at the G0766 I decided it was more lathe than I wanted. The fact I needed to get it into the basement played a factor also. Now waiting for the lathe to show up at my woodcraft store.

Phil
 
Phil Hine said:
Getting it into the basement, not so much.
Click to expand...
If you have to use stairs. I suggest a using a hand truck with tires large enough to walk down the stairs.
The bed is the only piece where I would recommend having a helper below to help ease the tires down each step.
I have done it solo but leaning back on each step there is a risk that you slip and it gets away from you.
 
Planning on breaking it down to kit form and then down the stairs. I might enlist the neighbor's 22 year old to be the second set of hands. I don't have the muscle I did 30 years ago. Part of getting old that isn't so great.

Phil
 
Phil Hine said:
Planning on breaking it down to kit form and then down the stairs. I might enlist the neighbor's 22 year old to be the second set of hands. I don't have the muscle I did 30 years ago. Part of getting old that isn't so great.

Phil
Click to expand...
I represent that remark.
When I was a 20 something working for DoD. I worked with a couple of old guys who never passed up an opportunity to remind me that
“Old age and treachery will over come youth and ambition every time”
 
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