Grizzly G0698 - Anyone going to buy it and review?? [Archive]

John Keeton

01-01-2010, 12:34 PM

There was a recent thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=128488) posted by Dave Warkentin asking about this lathe, with a few responders. Now that the catalogues are out, has anyone decided to buy this lathe? I would love the hear a review on it.

Seems like it has a lot of nice features, and plenty of power. Since I am very new to turning, I am unfamiliar with some of the history behind certain brands. I have gleaned from prior posts and threads that Grizzly is not known for their lathes. That said, I have several Grizzly machines and have been well pleased.

Apparently this lathe is a copy of a Laguna, and while I am not familiar with that lathe, it seems to have a checkered past, as well.

Just looks like a lot of lathe for the money, and one in which I may have some interest. But, I don't want to be the first!!:D;)

Anyone going to pull the trigger on this one?

Brian Effinger

01-01-2010, 12:43 PM

Anyone going to pull the trigger on this one?

Sounds like a job for John Keeton! :D

Sid Matheny

01-01-2010, 12:45 PM

A friend up in Canada has the Busy Bee copy of the Laguna that looks just like the Grizzly.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=CT128

He is very happy with it.

Sid

John Keeton

01-01-2010, 1:00 PM

Sid, that is a very similar lathe. The only differences I see are the motor and the spindle size. Apparently, the Grizz is a 3 phase motor with a single phase frequency drive. The Busy Bee looks to be a single phase motor. I am not knowledgeable enough to know what difference, if any, that makes.

Edit: I just checked the manual on the G0698 and the motor is listed as single phase, though further down it states "single phase frequency drive provides three phase variable speed control without three phase power" I am not aware of what all that means.

Good to hear your friend likes his, though.

Brian, I reached for the gun, but ran into a bad case of target panic, and can't squeeze off the shot!!:D:D A raving endorsement from a proud owner could push me over the edge!

The Delta 46-460, with bed extension, would run in the neighborhood of $800, including tax. For a measly $634 more, one could own this monster! Hmmmmmm.............

Jamie Straw

01-01-2010, 1:02 PM

I have a question about the tailstock -- it appears to have much less mass than those on other floor-standing models I've seen, the design is different. Does this make any practical difference in performance?

Greg Just

01-01-2010, 1:23 PM

Sounds like a job for John Keeton! :D

I agree - It's a good job for John. Seems like a bargain @ $1295.

Ron Lynch

01-01-2010, 1:25 PM

John,
If the motor has a VFD it is a three phase motor.

Ken Fitzgerald

01-01-2010, 1:41 PM

John,

I looked at the electrical diagrams....it's a 3-phase motor.

Even on the PM3520B....220/240 vac input single phase....it has a 3 phase converter and VFD...Variable Frequency Drive.

Ken Fitzgerald

01-01-2010, 1:51 PM

One thing I don't see that I use a lot is a hand wheel on the headstock spindle.

Bob Borzelleri

01-01-2010, 2:00 PM

The description on the Grizzly site contains the following statement:

"All you need is standard 220V, single-phase power to be up and running in no time."

Ken Fitzgerald

01-01-2010, 2:04 PM

Steve Schlumpf

01-01-2010, 2:14 PM

Same as the Jet 1642 - which it seems to be in direct competition with when going through the spec sheets. The Griz is about 40 some pounds lighter but that can be overcome with a good ballast box. The 2" of additional swing would be much appreciated when roughing out blanks! This is one of times when checking out a lathe in person would make a lot of sense!

Course, couple of folks here have them and really like them.... so, may be worth checking into John! Can you say road trip?

Thom Sturgill

01-01-2010, 2:56 PM

One thing I don't see that I use a lot is a hand wheel on the headstock spindle.

The pictures on the Grizzly site don't show the other end of the spindle, but the busybee picture does and nothing protrudes from the hole where the spindle is ... I wonder about vacuum chucking... I like the price.

Jon Finch

01-01-2010, 3:00 PM

I wonder why no handwheel on the headstock? I use that all the time. How would you hook up a vacuum chuck to this lathe?

Ken Fitzgerald

01-01-2010, 3:02 PM

The pictures on the Grizzly site don't show the other end of the spindle, but the busybee picture does and nothing protrudes from the hole where the spindle is ... I wonder about vacuum chucking... I like the price.

Thom....I checked the manual on the G0698 and it shows the other end of the spindle and NO handwheel. Some folks might not mind that but the two lathes I've owned had them and I use them a lot!

Thom.....I just went and checked the parts manual....no handwheel.

Bob Borzelleri

01-01-2010, 3:33 PM

As small an item as it might appear at first glance, not having the ability to readily adapt a hand wheel on the head stock would be a non starter for me unless the lathe had other unique features not available on comparable models with a hand wheel.

Bob Borzelleri

01-01-2010, 3:37 PM

Bob,

You are right. A lot of larger lathes use a 3-phase converter and VFD to run the motor. Single phase 220 input....3 phase variable frequency output to control the speed of the motor. That's what this lathe does and what the PM3520B does.

Thanks Ken...

The Grizzly info does sound a bit contrary. I've never understood the inherent value of offering a 3 phase output with single phase input.

...Bob

Mike Stephens

01-01-2010, 4:08 PM

I am on the fence.

Why in the world would it have no hand wheel?:eek:

Dick Strauss

01-01-2010, 4:12 PM

Bob,
Without being able to run a three phase motor, you can't have electronic speed control with a standard AC motor.

Most home shops only have single phase power while commercial shops have three phase power. So it allows you to take your home shop 220V/single phase power, run that through a variable frequenecy drive (speed controller) that outputs three phase power, and use that to drive a three phase motor.

All,
One thing I noticed about the new Griz lathe...some folks don't like pivoting headstocks because it is hard to re-register alignment with the tailstock (this one pivots 180*). You can turn off the end of bed instead and not have that alignment issue.

Headstock will allow for 0.393 tube for a vacuum chuck
TS quill travel = ???????
Motor looks a little cheesy???
The rest looks pretty promising!

Sid Matheny

01-01-2010, 4:56 PM

My friend made a wooden handwheel for his Busy Bee lathe and uses a vacuum chuck. I don't think the Laguna comes with a handwheel by looking at the pictures on their site. My NOVA DVR XP came with a handwheel but some of the Nova lathes did not.

Sid

Jake Helmboldt

01-01-2010, 4:59 PM

I started looking at this lathe when Grizzly posted it online briefly last month.

The "pivoting" headstock is a misnomer and poor wording. It is like the Jet and Powermatic in that it slides off and can be mounted on the bed facing the other direction, but it doesn't actually pivot.

The Laguna parts diagram is virtually identical and the bearings etc are the same dimensions. That lathe uses a handwheel but the spindle doesn't appear to be threaded, so I wonder if it is a press fit? If so it may be useable on the new Grizz, or a machine shop could fabricate or modify an existing one. The Grizz has a removable dust cover over that back end of the spindle so it should be possible, as should vaccum chucking.

One odd departure in specs from the Laguna (which appears otherwise identical) is the bore of the spindle. The Laguna, like the Jet 1642, is a 3/8", whereas the Grizz is an odd size (I forget what the manual says, but it was something like .39..")

It should be noted that the 1642 doesn't have a true handwheel per se, but a cylidrical extension of the spindle which is criticized by some. I think it can be worked around, but the vaccum chucking might be a bigger concern depending upon how it is rigged up. I haven't delved into that yet so I don't know enough about that.

Kurt Rosenzweig

01-01-2010, 5:01 PM

You don't need a hand wheel as long as the spindel is hollow. My setup has a bearing to seperate the vacume hose from the turning spindel. If it's varible speed with the weight of say a 1642 at a better cost the hand wheel is a small thing to give up. I started out with a craftsman tube lathe and worked up to my mustard with about 3 lathes in between. If this was around 5 years ago those in betweens might not have happend. Just saying. If I know Papa Griz he'll be reading this and taking notes. If I wanted a step up lathe and had x amount of dollars I'd look good and hard at this one. Seems like a good deal but I guess time will tell. I'm sure more reviews will be popping up shortly.

Bill Sherman

01-01-2010, 6:22 PM

Would a Oneway vacuum adaptor fit on this lathe? ( assuming you already have the 1 1/4" X 8" insert )

Jon Finch

01-01-2010, 6:39 PM

I like to use the handwheel to thread larger bowl blanks onto the spindle. Spinning the bowl to put it on can result in crossed threads. I wish I could see this in lathe in person. It looks like a complete winner to me other then the handwheel...

Greg Bender

01-01-2010, 7:31 PM

The spindle hole is typical metric,.393 or 10 mm.It's very comparable to our 3/8, only with a little clearance.I've had hand wheels and now with the 16/42 I have something totally different.That is not a problem but I wish there was a way to lock the spindle and have it stay locked .Like while I'm threading on a chuck.I'll bet this Grizzly will be a good seller.I recently heard that Laguna had worked alot of there problems out of there version so who knows.
Greg

Jake Helmboldt

01-01-2010, 7:51 PM

Is there anyone with the Laguna that could speak to a few of these issues, particularly how the handwheel is fitted to the spindle? I'm guessing Grizz could source one easily enough if there are requests.

The other parts appear identical (including the odd motor design) so I'm guessing the performance (and any shortcomings) of the Laguna would be a good indicator of what to expect from the Grizz.

Bob Borzelleri

01-01-2010, 10:39 PM

Bob,
Without being able to run a three phase motor, you can't have electronic speed control with a standard AC motor.

Most home shops only have single phase power while commercial shops have three phase power. So it allow you to take your home shop 220V/single phase power, run that through a variable frequenecy drive (speed controller) that outputs three phase power, and use that to drive a three phase motor.

All,
One thing I noticed about the new Griz lathe...some folks don't like pivoting headstocks because it is hard to re-register alignment with the tailstock (this one pivots 180*). You can turn off the end of bed instead and not have that alignment issue.

Headstock will allow for 0.393 tube for a vacuum chuck
TS quill travel = ???????
Motor looks a little cheesy???
The rest looks pretty promising!

Thanks Dick, for the clarification on 3 phase.

...Bob

Ron Bontz

01-01-2010, 10:44 PM

Ah come on John. With the nice work you do, just go out and buy a 1642 or a 3520B.:D

John Keeton

01-01-2010, 11:12 PM

Ah come on John. With the nice work you do, just go out and buy a 1642 or a 3520B.:DIf, by chance, the priciing on the 1642 were to decline, I might consider that!! Right now, at $1800, that is a big difference. The Grizzly knock off G0632 is $1425, but the warranty is not the same as I recall.

That is why this new lathe looks so attractive. In researching all the negative comments on the Laguna, it seems that trace back to the initial release of the lathe, and poor customer service. Not sure if any of that was addressed when Grizz produced this one. Given the short time between the Laguna release, and this lathe, I am not sure there was enough time to re-engineer the design.

The motor on the 1642 looks much heavier than the one on the G0698 (as does the Grizzly G0632) even though it is of less HP.

Lot to think about!!:D

I appreciate all the comments to date, and please contribute if you have any thoughts on this - pro or con.

Nigel Tracy

01-02-2010, 2:51 AM

Hi John,

I have the "Canadian" a.k.a. the "Busy Bee" version of this lathe. Here's a link to a thread I started when I bought it. It has been rock solid the whole way, I've turned some big stuff now, and I still couldn't be happier with it:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=112362&highlight=ct128

I would be glad to answer any questions :)

Gordon Seto

01-02-2010, 8:33 AM

The smart thing is to wait. If the new Grizzly is a success, taking market share from Jet, Jet would have big promotional sale in response. Competition is always good for consumers. If not, you will not be holding a big hunk of headache 12 months from now when the warranty runs out. You may have to pay even higher on a 1642 then, but that's is a little insurance premium I am willing to pay.
I remember when Grizzly came out with the Jet 1642 clone, Jet 1642 was lowered to the mid $1300. I don't believe that was a coincidence.

Jeff Nicol

01-02-2010, 11:22 AM

I believe an easy solution for the hand wheel and for adapting to a vacuum system would be to get a #2 taper made with a 3/8" hole threaded into the small end and then drill through it to the large end to make athrough hole. Then a piece of lamp threaded rod could be put through and screwed into the Morse taper and a hand wheel could be put on the other end with nyloc nut or similar. Then a vacuum adapter could be threaded on and used. I see it all in my head very clearly, but without the lathe in front of me, it is still just an idea, but a good one!

Go for it John!!!

I will be there for you to make it all beautiful!

Jeff

Joshua Dinerstein

01-02-2010, 2:06 PM

My first lathe was a little HF 34706. I think this is what you have as well John, from reading earlier posts. This didn't have a handwheel and so I got in the habit of not using one. Over the first few years of turning. Then I found a supplier online that had some hand wheels for the Jet 1236 from which my HF lathe was copied. I ordered it for $13. Before it even came I ordered my Powermatic. In the end I did put it on, it had no thru hole which was kind of annoying in principle but I rarely use the knock-out bar turning mostly with my chuck so in practice it hasn't come up, but I still found myself not reaching for the handwheel very often.

For that HF lathe I just used a wrench seated on the base of the spindle and up against either the bed or the motor housing.

With the new 3520b now up and running I find that I do use the handwheel to turn work to look at things etc... So it, for me, would be becoming more of an issue to have a handwheel.

If you feel you want/need a handwheel then before writing it off look at the manuals etc.. and see if you can't make your own. I tried for my HF34706 and it had a very very very non-standard thread on the end. I couldn't even find a tap/die for it and there seemed to be no adapters and where. So a hand-made thread would have worked but at that time I had no idea how to make one. (I since found a video showing the process and someday want to give it a try just for the fun of it.) So a wooden handwheel might be in that lathe's future.

Personally I love my powermatic now that it is working right. I loved the Jet 1642, that Steve and others have. I only had mine for a few months but it was a great lathe too. 110v so easy to use pretty much anywhere in my garage. While not one to buy everything as a super expensive machine, having had a lathe that "wasn't quite right" for a few months was seriously frustrating for me! So my $0.02 would be to make sure it has a warranty and way to get it serviced if need be.

I guess bottom line on my comments would be this: Think about how YOU turn and what you use and choose what is right for you. Then go out and get a Powermatic 3520b. :D

Joshua

Dick Strauss

01-02-2010, 2:20 PM

Just one quick comment about the Grizzly vs Laguna vs BusyBee lathes...I noticed the Griz and Laguna lathes have a 1.25"-8tpi headstock spindle while the Busy Bee has a 1"-8tpi spindle for whatever reason.

earl timmons

01-02-2010, 4:23 PM

I have a Laguana 18/47. I will have had it two years in Feb of this year. I have turned everything from 17 inch bowls to pens on it with no real problems. I have it set up for vacuum chucking and it works fine. I will tell you that the spindle bore isn't pretty and the fellow who provided the adapter was concerned. I had done a lot of prototype work in a previous life and I assured him I was prepared for possible failure. The result however was fine. Here is a link to my post on my vacuum setup. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=89648

I haven't turned on a 3520 or a Oneway or any of the other big names. I have been around a few 1642's and I think that is the proper comparison product for the Laguna and the Grizzly if it is indeed a green Laguna.

I have not posted in quite some time for a lot of reasons having nothing to do with the forum or woodturning. Life is getting better and I hope to do a little more of that.

Dave Lee NC

01-02-2010, 8:00 PM

I have a Jet 1642 now. It is at our second home. Going to get another lathe for primary home. Was waiting for the new Grizzly from things I had been hearing about it. The lack of handwheel and no user friendly spindle lock has taken it off of my list. I change between spur drive, face plates, chucks and vacuum system too often and would miss those two items. Other than that the Grizzly looks good. Dont know how they missed those items on a new lathe.

Rich Aldrich

01-02-2010, 9:12 PM

John Keeton

01-02-2010, 9:42 PM

I am totally green as a turner, but looking at getting into it. I have to sell my Browning BT-99 trap gun to do this, but I think it is worth it.

So, maybe I am the sucker you guys are looking for to buy this lathe and try it. I dont have a hand wheel issue because I have never used one.

If so, Steve Schlump will have to stop by and really try it as an experienced turner. He would be able to give a direct comparison to the Jet 1642. I think we live about 70 miles from each other.Finally!! An honorable and willing soldier, willing to grab the flag and charge to the front and lead the troops to the battle!!:D

Rich, I do hope you do this, and that Steve will take it for a drive. I would love to get some good solid input on this lathe. It really has my interest piqued!

Rich Aldrich

01-02-2010, 9:49 PM

John,

I just have to sell my trap gun, then I can buy a lathe.

Rich

Jake Helmboldt

01-02-2010, 10:39 PM

Maylon Harvey

01-03-2010, 10:11 AM

John Keeton

01-03-2010, 1:25 PM

John,

Just make sure whatever you buy has a 1.25 x 8 TPI spindal so when you finally see the writing on the wall and get tired of working around the shortcomings of what you have (and you will, I know I did), then all of the accessories you have will fit the mustard you will finally end up buying.
Remember just a few months ago you said turning bowls did not turn you on and just look at what you have produced in the last few weeks.Maylon, should I end up at some point with the Grizzly, it does have the same spindle size as the Mustard Moster!:D Unfortunately, the chuck and collet chuck I have now are 1 x 8. But, that is why they make spindle adapters!!

Earl, I do have a question for you, though. I am unable to determine the shaft size on the toolrest in the Grizzly data. What size is the Laguna toolrest shaft? Thanks for your comments on the Laguna, BTW.

Chris Haas

01-03-2010, 2:58 PM

i cant see the need to spend $2000 extra dollars on the 3520B. i recently sold my jet 1642 which i was totaly happy with for a vega 2600 i picked up used. the jet was great, seems the laguna and this grizz are clones with an extra 2 inch swing. with the extra 2K, i think i could come up with a solution for the handwheel and go crazy at monstertools.com, buy a couple of chucks, a oneway bowl steady, a couple thompson tools, a steady rest for jeff nicohl, uhhhh i think that would add up to about 2K. anyways, thats what i would do.

David Christopher

01-03-2010, 3:05 PM

Maylon, should I end up at some point with the Grizzly, it does have the same spindle size as the Mustard Moster!:D Unfortunately, the chuck and collet chuck I have now are 1 x 8. But, that is why they make spindle adapters!!

Earl, I do have a question for you, though. I am unable to determine the shaft size on the toolrest in the Grizzly data. What size is the Laguna toolrest shaft? Thanks for your comments on the Laguna, BTW.

John, on my G0632 the toolrest shaft is just shy of 1" it is 25mm. I had a piece of 1" stock and had it turned down and Im ready to make some new rests

earl timmons

01-03-2010, 8:05 PM

The Laguna was just under 1 inch. I contacted customer support and complained because I had been told it was 1 inch. Within a few days I had a new Banjo that was reamed out to 1 inch.

The original rest that came with the lathe (and is just under one inch) works fine in this new banjo as well as my one inch rests from Robust. This was two years ago. The lathe design that is the parent of all of these clones is a metric lathe and I assumed that was the source of the problem, meaning the original banjo and toolrest were sized to some metric standard just under 1 inch. I have never went back to Laguna and asked if they had changed the Banjo in new production. I would assume by now they have and that Grizzly would have figured this out by now. On the other hand it might be worth a call to Grizzly customer support. I have heard they are pretty good.

John Keeton

01-03-2010, 8:11 PM

Thanks Earl! That actually is what I expected.

John, on my G0632 the toolrest shaft is just shy of 1" it is 25mm. I had a piece of 1" stock and had it turned down and Im ready to make some new restsDavid, my HF 34706 is also 25mm. I picked up a 4" rest (1" shaft) from a fellow, and just took a bastard file and took a few strokes all around on it and it works fine. There isn't much difference in the 1 inch and the 25mm.

Ralph Lindberg

01-04-2010, 9:47 AM

A friend up in Canada has the Busy Bee copy of the Laguna that looks just like the Grizzly.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=CT128

He is very happy with it.

Sid

Sid, FYI

The owner of Busy Bee is the brother of the owner of Grizzly

They do share some sources, but not all.

Mike Stephens

01-19-2010, 8:30 PM

Leo Van Der Loo

01-19-2010, 9:28 PM

Any one bought one yet.

I am very tempted. I am really hung up on the no hand wheel issue.

It looks like the photos on Lagunas site http://www.lagunatools.com/lathes/lathe-1847;jsessionid=0a0105531f436ceebb0121fd4ef4b8a8dd a3c9896136.e3eSc3uRax8Te34Pa38Ta38Qax50# show the lathe with a hand wheel but there older you tube video shows the lathe with no hand wheel.

Grizzlys introductory price is very very tempting.

Mike the CT 128 lathe is the clone of the Laguna, and apparently the same as the new Grizzly, with one difference, the CT 128 has the headstock spindle machined to 1" x 8TPI , while the Laguna and the Grizzly do have the 1¼" X 8 TPI.

And there's one thing I'm not clear on, the Grizzly says the headstock rotates 0° and 180°

There's a whole slew of guys that have bought the CT 128 here in Canada, and are very happy with it, but for the adjustable handles on the tool-rest and on the tailstock, the handle itself is made of a soft material (white metal) and gives out very quickly, they are readily exchanged by Busy Bee, and they are reportedly working on a better handle to replace the soft handles

Here's the lathe

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=CT128

As for the hand wheel, I have a picture of the spindle and pulley, it shows two holes in the pulley, and I'm sure it could be used for holding a handwheel easily, HTH