Subject: Graziano Lathe Experience

From: [email-masked] (Mike Rehmus)
Date: 18 Jan 1995 06:56:45 GMT

Anyone have experience with a Graziano model SAG14 lathe?  
Or the Graziano product line in general?  This particular 
model is a 14X40 with a gap for 19" swing.  The used 
machinery company wants about $8,000 for this lathe, cleaned 
and tuned up with a 30 day warranty.

Thanks,

Mike

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From: [email-masked] (John Morton)
Date: 18 Jan 1995 22:24:45 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
>and tuned up with a 30 day warranty.

The last place I worked had one of these; I think it was even the
same model.  My impression was that it was a superior machine, and
was kept in the toolroom.  The principal drawback for most of us
was that the machine is very differently designed from the
machinery found in American shops.  

I think it was all metric, with a Jarno taper or somesuch in 
the tailstock.

The tailstock has it's own ways, underneath the carriage bed (or
was it the other way round? - I'm not sure).  I think there was
one of those smart handles like you see on your steering column
these days, that does several things:  forward/reverse/on/off.
This multiple switch is on the right side of the apron, near all
the apron controls - to my mind it's all too close together.

We had to make a new carriage traverse handle with an offset grip,
because there was interference or a pinch point between it and 
the crossfeed handle, in certain positions.

The speed buttons always bugged me.  There was a green button with
a picture of a rabbit on it, and a red button with a tortoise :-).
Every time I wanted to select high or low range, I would look at
the panel and think, "Red for stop, green for start.  No, that's
not right, one is fast, one is slow.  Let's see, the hare was
faster, but the tortoise won the race, so which is really faster? ...

However I'll stick with what I said at first, that this is a
superior lathe.  The appearance, trim and finish are terrific,
better than almost all contemporary manual machine tools.  You
can probably learn to live with the superficial quirks.

The price is OK if there is little wear and a good complement of
chucks, etc.

John Morton			     Mechanical Engineering Machine Shop
[email-masked]	     University of California at Berkeley