Problems with Grizzly Lathe

I

IanRobertson

New member
I have a G4003G and have been very pleased with it. The story is that if Grizzly does not know the problems they can't fix them for the next guy!

Spindle is not as advertised, not 1.625.

Spider screws are too long, end guard must be removed to use them.

Oil ports don't work, balls don't move, must rip out and replace!

Awesome lathe, I am not complaining!

Ian
 
Just curious--------Have you contacted Griz and if so what did they answer?

I did notice when I was at the showroom a few weeks ago that some of the spindles were stepped inside to a smaller diameter than at the end of the spindle. Wondered at the time which one was the advertised measurement the stepped down I.D. or the I.D. at the end of the spindle. Didn't think to ask while I was at the showroom and it didn't hit me until I was on the way home.

Dave
 
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IanRobertson said:
I have a G4003G and have been very pleased with it. The story is that if Grizzly does not know the problems they can't fix them for the next guy!

Spindle is not as advertised, not 1.625.

Spider screws are too long, end guard must be removed to use them.

Oil ports don't work, balls don't move, must rip out and replace!

Awesome lathe, I am not complaining!

Ian
Click to expand...


The coolest thing about a lathe is that it is the only machine that can reproduce.

So, you can make parts for it, with it.

The spider screws were too long for me and my heavy barrels, but might be necessary for a thin sporter barrel.

So, I made some new ones, from shorter SHCS and put brass inserts in the end. Easy shop project.

They are easier to negotiate with the guard off, I agree. And there is more of a pinch point with the guard on. I would agree that area could use some minor redesign, but lets face it, it's the only lathe with a spider, as far as I know.

What was the spindle ID of yours?

Ben
 
I'm not even going to start, but it took more than 4 days to be able to use the big "gunsmith" lathe. It cuts nice, but.....
 
problems with grizzley lathe

There is a lot of talk on this forum about Grizzly lathes.
Some say good and some say bad.
I have never seen one but am considering the Grizzly g9732, the Sharp 1440f lathe, the victor 1440g lathe and the standard modern 1334 and 1340 lathes.
I would love to hear some input from someone comparing the pros and cons of these lathes. Or just any one of these lathes as I have only seen and not used the victor and standard modern lathes.
thank you in advance
The lathe will be used for prototype work and gunsmithing.
John
 
Shelley Davidson's Victor will be available in a few days. I am going over tomorrow to take photos for the family. I will make a list with tooling that is with it. I believe that they want $3000. You will have to make your own arrangements to load and ship.
Butch
 
Grizzly G4003g

I really am having fun with my Grizzly lathe. I have attached a picture of the "adjustable legs" made for leveling the machine, simple and effective.
 

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Butch Lambert said:
Shelley Davidson's Victor will be available in a few days. I am going over tomorrow to take photos for the family. I will make a list with tooling that is with it. I believe that they want $3000. You will have to make your own arrangements to load and ship.
Butch
Click to expand...

That sounds like a more than fair deal Butch. A friend has a 16x40 Victor and speaks highly of it.
 
Thanks Butch

........after a little thought that seemed the least exspensive and it works!
 
Butch Lambert said:
Shelley Davidson's Victor will be available in a few days. I am going over tomorrow to take photos for the family. I will make a list with tooling that is with it. I believe that they want $3000. You will have to make your own arrangements to load and ship.
Butch
Click to expand...

Maybe I was not very clear. I am looking for a smaller lathe in the 1340 to 1440 size. I am sure Shelly Davidson has a nice Victor though.
I was asking about new lathes in my above post.
I am sure someone one this site has some info on one or all of the lathes I was alking aobut. I have owned over the years an atlas 12x36, south bend 10k and south bend heavy 10 lathe. These were all bought used and this time I was wanting to buy a new lathe but have no input on the models I mentioned except what the dealers info says.
thank you all again,
John
 
John

Maybe nobody here uses those lathes. I have a 10X30 Nardini and 1440 Clausing Metosa. So I can't help you. In hind sight I wish I had bought a Haas TL-1 instead of the Clausing. May still do that, just have to get some hands on experience with one.

If you look closely at the headstocks of the lathes in the size your asking about, most of them are probably made in the same factory, same levers,same gears etc. Shop for price, bearing quality and motors. Low end engine lathes are pretty much all the same. Look out for change gears to turn metric threads if that's important to you. As with anything you get what you pay for.

Dave
 
Dave,
Thank you very much. I never thought about it but you are probally right.
I was just assuming everyone knew about those. On this site.
I hear there is a school that purchased the victor lathes in houston.
I will try and go there to talk with one of the instructors if I can.
Thank you for your help
John
 
Bnhpr said:
The coolest thing about a lathe is that it is the only machine that can reproduce.

So, you can make parts for it, with it.

The spider screws were too long for me and my heavy barrels, but might be necessary for a thin sporter barrel.

So, I made some new ones, from shorter SHCS and put brass inserts in the end. Easy shop project.

They are easier to negotiate with the guard off, I agree. And there is more of a pinch point with the guard on. I would agree that area could use some minor redesign, but lets face it, it's the only lathe with a spider, as far as I know.

What was the spindle ID of yours?

Ben
Click to expand...

Question for the machinists. The only thing that you can't make on your lathe is the lead screw because you need a longer lathe to make it .
How do they make the lead screw for the longest lathe in the world ?

I would personally rate a Victor lathe as quite good . A friend has an old model and it is a very sturdy accurate machine.
http://www.victormachines.com/
 
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J. Valentine said:
Question for the machinists. The only thing that you can't make on your lathe is the lead screw because you need a longer lathe to make it .
How do they make the lead screw for the longest lathe in the world ?
Click to expand...
On a thread mill. All Acme thread screws are made on a thread mill. You don't think you could single-point thread a 3/4" diameter X 30" long lead screw for a tool room size lathe let alone a 412" X 3-1/2" one???
 
JerrySharrett said:
On a thread mill. All Acme thread screws are made on a thread mill. You don't think you could single-point thread a 3/4" diameter X 30" long lead screw for a tool room size lathe let alone a 412" X 3-1/2" one???
Click to expand...

Thanks , I wondered how it was done , because I could see the difficulty.
 
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