quistion about a lathe

[las3r]

i found a 7x12 grizzly metal lathe has anyone owned one? is it worth 300.00 shipped, and it will be my first lathe any info on it would be great :)

 

[wquiles]

Man, that is a very open ended question!

What is the state of the lathe (does it run)? Condition (rusted/clean/dirty/etc,)? Accessories? And of course, my personal favorite, Photos?

 

[las3r]

the lathe is pretty clean and only used a few times by the owner it also comes with some cutting tools,bits ect....besides the key but that's nothing.
He lives few states over from me andhe is only asking 250.00. and for the pictures ill try to upload them on here :)

 

[wquiles]

That sounds reasonable, and assuming it is indeed in great shape, $300 for a 7x with some accesories sounds like a good deal, however, I would still like to see pictures ;)

Will

 

[gadget_lover]

It's a good idea to get the model number so you can check to see if it's still being made. There have been a lot of small lathes sold over the years, and just the size is not enough to be sure of what you are looking at. Some have more features than others. A 20 year old model may not have the same features as this years model.

If it is the current model ( G8688 ), and it's used very little, then $300 is not too bad a price.

The 7x12 is similar to the one I have. They are a fun little machine to learn on and can make 6 inch long lights with no problems. The largest part that will clear the saddle is somewhere around 4 inches in diameter.

I think they are a good learning machine simply because they are lower power and hold smaller pieces. When you do stupid stuff and dig in a tool it's not as catastrophic as when you have a 70 pound chuck to act as a flywheel. It will still break tools and can still injure you.

If you get the 7x12 and like it, you will eventually want something bigger. :)

Daniel

 

[Greebe]

I had one of those but sold it when I went to a bigger lathe.

They are decent to learn on. If the previous owner didn't do any of the required work on it you will have to do a few things to get it working smoothly.

Visit this site to see what I mean:
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Tuning/tuning.htm

I'm not trying to scare you off but be aware that you will put time into the machine to get it running smoothly. The 7x12's are often considered a 80% finished kit, and I would agree with that.

For $300 I would say get it. You can easily sell it for more if you don't like it or what to upgrade to a bigger machine later.

Good luck and let us know what is happening with it.

Greebe

 

[wquiles]

If you want to learn more about these 7x machines, the best resource that I have found is the 7x Yahoo Group. There are a couple of extremely experienced guys in there, including one called Mert, who owns several 7x machines, and even with a 12x, he uses the 7x most often!

Yahoo 7xminilathe group ...

Will