Hi everyone. My first post here. I am shopping for my first lathe and have a few questions about the G0752/G0602 machines.
I have many projects in mind, but right now I am working on building an English wheel and am looking to use the lathe to help make the upper and lower anvils. I have two 8" dia x 2"W upper wheels, that I would like to weld together, then turn on the lathe to true up. My guess is this is too large to turn on this lathe, but I just would like confirmation before stepping up to a bigger machine. I see the machines come with a 5" and 6.5" chuck, but I do not know how far the jaws safely open. I also see the swing is 9.5" to the bed and 6.125" to the carriage.
With the cutting tool on the left side of the carriage, I do not know where its position would be relative to the carriage, and if it would provide enough clearance to turn something that large. These wheels are also quite heavy as they are solid chunks of material. I would guess 15-20lbs a piece. So I'm not sure if the machine has the power to turn something like that or maybe would put too much stress on the spindle bearings.
If the 8" wheel is too large, would a 6" wheel clear everything and be able to be machined? A 6" diameter wheel vs. the 8" on the English wheel won't make much difference. I would still like it 4" wide though.
I am also unclear on the threading information. For the G0752 it has listed 8-72 TPI (teeth per inch?). I have seen bigger machines go up above 100, even 200. If it is teeth per inch those numbers seem very high to me. Is this to compensate for diameter of material to be threaded?
As far as the smaller machines go, I was also leaning towards getting the G0602 and changing the motor and adding a VFD, but I saw there can be problems with VFDs and GFCI outlets. All the outlets in my shop are GFCI. Any input on this? Because of this I was looking at the G0752 also.
If a bigger machine is required, I am looking at the G4003. I like the added features of the 4003G, but I do not want the supplied stand. I started this adventure with the intention to stay under $2k though. At the same time, I don't want to outgrow the smaller machines any time soon.
Thanks in advance for any help.
I have many projects in mind, but right now I am working on building an English wheel and am looking to use the lathe to help make the upper and lower anvils. I have two 8" dia x 2"W upper wheels, that I would like to weld together, then turn on the lathe to true up. My guess is this is too large to turn on this lathe, but I just would like confirmation before stepping up to a bigger machine. I see the machines come with a 5" and 6.5" chuck, but I do not know how far the jaws safely open. I also see the swing is 9.5" to the bed and 6.125" to the carriage.
With the cutting tool on the left side of the carriage, I do not know where its position would be relative to the carriage, and if it would provide enough clearance to turn something that large. These wheels are also quite heavy as they are solid chunks of material. I would guess 15-20lbs a piece. So I'm not sure if the machine has the power to turn something like that or maybe would put too much stress on the spindle bearings.
If the 8" wheel is too large, would a 6" wheel clear everything and be able to be machined? A 6" diameter wheel vs. the 8" on the English wheel won't make much difference. I would still like it 4" wide though.
I am also unclear on the threading information. For the G0752 it has listed 8-72 TPI (teeth per inch?). I have seen bigger machines go up above 100, even 200. If it is teeth per inch those numbers seem very high to me. Is this to compensate for diameter of material to be threaded?
As far as the smaller machines go, I was also leaning towards getting the G0602 and changing the motor and adding a VFD, but I saw there can be problems with VFDs and GFCI outlets. All the outlets in my shop are GFCI. Any input on this? Because of this I was looking at the G0752 also.
If a bigger machine is required, I am looking at the G4003. I like the added features of the 4003G, but I do not want the supplied stand. I started this adventure with the intention to stay under $2k though. At the same time, I don't want to outgrow the smaller machines any time soon.
Thanks in advance for any help.