grizzly lathe review

[David Christopher]

A few guys requested a review, well its been a couple of weeks and I have 15 or so turnings done or rather in progress. so far I think this lathe will hang with the best of them, it came very well packed wooden box and bolted down. its allmost identical to the jet 1642 the wieght is 421 pounds with very good fit and finish. the head,tail and banjo moves very easy and locks tight. the speed control will go down to 27 RPMs but you have to fiddle with it to get that slow. when turning it on normally it will start at 62 RPMs and go up to 1438 on the low speed pulley ( dont really need the high speed ) but goes up to 3255 and really smooth and quiet. took some really big chuncks out of some wallnut at real slow speed with no stalling. it has more than enough power. two things that I dont like ( fixed both ) cheesey cover for handwheel over motor ( took it off ) and you had to unbolt the head/tail and banjo to get them off the bed ( cut a slot at the end of bed and pic provided ) overall I would buy it again with out hesitation.

[Don Carter]

David:
Great review. I love to see a new lathe with dust on it! BTW, what was the thinking for Grizzly have the head/tail stock and banjo captured on the bed?
And, I like your light arrangement.
Good looking lathe. I am a Grizzly fan (bandsaw and lathe chuck) but now turning on a Nova 1624.
All the best.

Don

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great review David. Also must say those are some awful nice turnings.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for taking the time to let us know your thoughts on this new lathe! Glad to hear you like it! Like Don - can't imagine what Grizzly was thinking by not allowing the tailstock and banjo to be removed from the bed! To me - that just makes no sense at all! Nice fix to that problem!

On my 1642, the lowest speed I can get is 50 rpm on the low range and 127 on the high range. I have never tried to find out the high speed as the fastest I have ever had it was 2000 and that was for buffing!

Looks like you got a heck of a nice lathe and have the nice turnings to prove it! Amazing how everything takes a step up when you get to turn on a nice lathe!

Have fun with it! Looking forward to seeing more of your work real soon!

[Bill Bolen]

Thanks for your thoughts on the new lathe. Have you had any over heating problems. I read another review on a different board and the reviewer seemed to be having problems with the motor overheating? ..Bill..

[Reed Gray]

If it is a 3 phase motor with a converter on it, you can program it for slower speeds, but need tech help to do that. I have to have speeds less than 20 rpm to sand my warped bowls, which is the only reason I can think of to have speeds that low. Brent English walked me through the button pushing to do it.
robo hippy

[David Christopher]

Bill, I have this thing on and off for hours at a time and the motor barely gets warm. with the same amount of time on my old one it would allmost burn you

[Edward Garrett]

Dave - I have been exploring getting in to turning and reviewing/pricing new lathes for a month or so....your review of the Grizzly G0632 was a huge help for me - thank you for taking the time to post this. I had been on the fnece between the G0632 and the Jet 1442....I think I will go with the G0632 based mostly on my - or, more accurately, the LOML's - price point of ~$1,500.

What did you use to make the cut-out on the end of the lathe bed?

The specs on the Grizzly web-site say the motor is "3-phase with single-phase frequency drive"....do you have your lathe hooked up to a single-phase 220/20A circuit?

Now, its off to investigate some chisels and books!

Thanks again!!

[alex carey]

Good review. Nice to hear that even with the bolt problem grizzly finally got a lathe right at a great price. Nice turnings.

[David Christopher]

Dave - I have been exploring getting in to turning and reviewing/pricing new lathes for a month or so....your review of the Grizzly G0632 was a huge help for me - thank you for taking the time to post this. I had been on the fnece between the G0632 and the Jet 1442....I think I will go with the G0632 based mostly on my - or, more accurately, the LOML's - price point of ~$1,500.

What did you use to make the cut-out on the end of the lathe bed?

The specs on the Grizzly web-site say the motor is "3-phase with single-phase frequency drive"....do you have your lathe hooked up to a single-phase 220/20A circuit?

Now, its off to investigate some chisels and books!

Thanks again!!

Edward, I used a sawzall with a metal cutting blade ( it cuts real easy ) and yes it plugs into a standard 220 outlet BTW Ive had my lathe a while now and if I had to do it again I would still buy this one. ( the more I use it the more I like it ) if you get this one you wont be sorry

[Richard Madison]

Edward,
The EVS (magic electronic box) converts single phase 115v or 220v as the case may be, to 3 phase variable frequency to drive the three phase motor. The Jet 1642 may be had with 115v, 1.5 hp., or 220v, 2 hp. motor. Both have 3 phase motors driven by an EVS box that runs off conventional single phase power from your house or shop.

Now that the Jet price has increased about 33% since I got mine, if doing it again (now) I would have to seriously consider the Griz.