Wood Turning

[JohnEd]

Does any one have any experience with the new Iron City midi lathes. They have a 12 inch swing and 27 inches between centers and are heavy (161 lbs.). and very reasonably priced.

[JL North GA]

The Steel City granite bed lathes fit that description.  http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/products_tools.cfm?section=2&category=8&tool=60100G.

Yes, I've seen these lathes.  I saw them at IWF last year.  I was quite impressed by their performances.  I wasn't sure how well a granite bed lathe wood work though.  I was more impressed with the Delta 45-460 midi lathe.  That had more power/

[PBosse]

Yes, it's Steel City, not iron city.  We used to sell them at the W-C store where I work.  The granite bed lathe is, in my humble opinion, a marketing gimmick.  There's nothing to be gained by having granite ways.  Further, the bed is NOT machined from a single piece of granite ground and polished to a planar surface, which, if it were,  arguably, might hold some miniscule advantage over cast iron or steel.  However the bed is actually two pieces of granite assembled to a base.  Additionally, there were some quality issues and the Steel City customer service is...

Personally I think that you get what you pay for.

[johnclucas]

I looked at the Steel city granite bed.  I think the only advantage is the bed won't corrode.  Other than that I was not that impressed with the lathe.   I turned on the new Delta mini and that is one sweet lathe.   Plenty of power for a mini and everything seems to work quite well.   It is probably more expensive than other mini's.  The Grizzly and Rikon are good lathes with a little less power but less expense.