I've been in the market for a lathe for well over two years. I really wanted something American made and in decent shape but everything I found was either over priced (IE beat or absolutely no tooling or accessories) or too far away. A few weeks ago I finally accepted that if I wanted a lathe I should just get a new one.
So the question became how much lathe do I want? I decided that the 7" ones are too small since I definitely wanted something that could take a 1" diameter rod through the headstock. Grizzly and Precision Matthews both offer very nice looking 12x36 lathes. Unfortunately both will be every bit of $4k by the time its in the garage and making parts. Plus both lathes are around 1,000 lbs so putting either on a bench was questionable (I really wanted something I could place somewhat out of the way on a bench).
There are several 9" and 10" lathes in between but Grizzly's 10x22 G0602 lathe seemed to be the best bang for the buck. Precision Matthews also has a 10x22 and a 10x30 with more more features (mainly variable speed, power crossfeed, and reverse for the leadscrew) but both are creeping into 12x36 price territory. A few weeks ago I placed my order with Grizzly and the lathe arrived via UPS Freight at the end of that week - not too shabby.
I reinforced the "bench" where the lathe would be living and added some areas to bolt it to. I was anxious to see how it would deal with the roughly 400 lbs machine sitting on it. When I lowered it into place with the shop crane it didn't even creak. Maybe it could have handled a 12x36?
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I won't bore everyone with the cosmoline removal details. All I can say is plan on devoting some time to scrubbing everything with paint thinner or something similar (someone on another board mentioned not to hit the front plate with any solvent since it will remove all of the markings - I was careful to avoid this).
After throwing the stock tool holder into the spares box, installing an AXA quick change tool post and drill chuck from Shars, and giving everything a good oiling, it was time to make some parts.
First up - adapter to install a modern 1/8" NPT temperature sender into the Sprite's cylinder head (stock sensor used a 5/8-18 thread). I originally had the compound feed at 30 degrees from the wrong direction and it made some really nasty threads. After figuring out my mistake, it was like a hot knife through butter.
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Next was a plug for the Sprite's speedometer drive. Since it no longer needs it and the new exhaust is 1" away, replacing plastic with aluminum is probably worthwhile (1-16 thread for reference).
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Recognizing its a $1300 lathe, I bought it expecting some tweaking. Many people documented having issues parting steel since the stock plate to hold the compound is kind of thin and only uses two bolts. The fix is to make a thicker plate on the lathe and install it using 4 or 6 bolts.
The G0602 also does not have reverse on the leadscrew. Like the plate, there are several DIY options out there. I'll be doing both of these at some point.
One thing I did not expect was play in the thread indicator - when the leadscrew was turning at higher speeds for threading, I started hearing a clunking noise. Eventually I figured out the indicator was able to move up and down in the housing by about 0.050". Lucky for me I had just the machine to make a bronze spacer!
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So far I'm happy with the purchase. Its a nice size for the home workshop and can do a lot for the money. There are a few little details that could be nicer (see thread indicator and compound plate above) but overall the important stuff is there and the "fixes" are fairly easy.