New Grizzly G0698 Lathe - Not so great review

[Terry Stellman]

I recently sold my Jet 1442 lathe and posted on here a couple of weeks ago asking about new lathes, primarily Jet 1642 models. I got some good advice and several recommendations for the 2hp model. I then made a U-turn and bought the new Grizzly G0698 1847 lathe. It came about a week ago well packaged and undamaged. I assembled it and plugged it in. Grizzly advertises in their catalog, internet, and owner's manual that this lathe operates at 0-1200 rpm in low range but in actual practice the spindle pulses (herky-jerky) at anything below 130 rpm. At 50 rpm, which is the advertised low speed for the Jet lathes, this thing is completely unusable for anything, even sanding. I reported this to Grizzly technical support and was told that this is normal for any speed below 100 rpm. I am really disappointed since this was advertised as a machine that could operate at very low speeds and I thought this would work great for power sanding. My other less than favorable item is the tail stock. I find the threads to be a little sloppy and the whole thing not machined to very tight tolerances. I guess this lathe work but I think I am going to be a little disappointed every time I go to use it. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to put my opinion out there for others considering this machine. I am lukewarm on it and probably would not recommend that anybody purchase one without trying one out.


Terry

[John Keeton]

Terry, I really hate this for you. I came very close to buying this lathe, and it really sounded like a good buy. Hopefully, you will gain confidence in the lathe and ultimately it will serve your needs.

[Terry Stellman]

John,

I know I am very disappointed. I am hoping some other Jet or Powermatic lathe owner will jump in and say that they all are like that. This is the first variable speed lathe I have operated.

Terry

[Steve Mawson]

Terry,
Sorry to hear of this problem. I know nothing about the VS controllers but know that my Powermatic does not have that problem. Hopefully others will join in and make some suggestions. However if Grizzly says that this is common then may not hope for too much. 100 RPM for me is not too fast to power sand. Hope it gets better.

[Donny Lawson]

Do you think Grizzly might take it on a return?Let them know it's not what you thought it was.You might lose the shipping cost but that's better than being disappointed every time you use it.I would try that anyway.
Donny

[Dick Strauss]

Terry,
Possibly the VFD can be re-programmed to keep it from being so jerky. Try someone in tech support or engineering over at Grizzly and maybe you can get the issue solved.

[James Combs]

I am not sticking up for Grizzly per say but my lathe is a Grizzly VS midi lathe model G0658 and it runs great but granted its lowest speed is around 300rpm. Fit and finish are excellent too. I think if it were me I would call them back one more time and see if I got a different Tech. A different one may have a different opinion. If that doesn't develop a solution I would consider sending it back.

[Terry Stellman]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will contact grizzly again to see if some kind of adjustment can be made to make it smoother. I am currently waiting for a call back from someone further up the chain of command about returning it. I was originally told that "O yeah, you can return it but you have to pay for shipping". I already paid shipping to get it to me and I don't feel I should have to pay to send back something that was falsely advertised. I will keep it before I put any more money into it.

Terry

[Nigel Tracy]

Hi Terry,

I have another iteration of the same lathe, the craftex ct128. My tailstock, while not like a oneway, is certainly not sloppy.

Check out the photos at:

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

Does your tailstock look the same?

If so, I would say yours is defective and you should have every right to a good one.

I agree with you that the pulsing problem, while probably not normal since mine doesn't do it, is at very lease an example of false representation of what the lathe does.

Mine goes right down to 0 with very smooth operation at any point. It's a treat. My bet is your electrics are bad.

They should take back the headstock and tailstock. Better than shipping the whole thing and "good" ones would mean a whole different experience with this lathe. Mine is a real joy to use.

Good luck.

[Mike Lipke]

My Jet 1642 did not do that.
It did not go to zero, but in low range, a very steady strong 30rpm

Bite the bullet, send it back.

[Terry Stellman]

Thanks Nigel. I will definitely bring yours up with the electrician at Grizzly in the morning. I have been so concentrated on the speed problem that I haven't even started on the tailstock problem. I measured the play in mine at the handle and it is .040" up and down and .035" inline. In other words, if you grab the handle and move it that is how much it wiggles around. All of this play is in the threaded rod not the tailstock shaft itself. It seems like there should be a bushing or something on the threaded rod but there isn't. By the way, mine looks identical to yours except for the color.

Terry

[Dave Schell]

Terry, when you talk to them again, I would drill down on their reasonings for exactly why their lathe gets jerky around 100 RPM. This certainly isn't the case for all lathes - a Oneway can literally rotate at 10 RPM and be very smooth. The same is true of my Vicmarc that I actually supplied and programmed the VFD for. I didn't have to tweak the VFD at all to do that - it is that smooth with just the default programming. Perhaps it is the potentiometer they are using - it is not that sensitive at slower speeds.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Terry here is a little bit of a post from another forum. This guy bought the same lathe you have. It looks as though he is having the same problem but said he probably wouldn't sand or turn that low anyway so it didn't bother him at this point. He also said in another post that it didn't completely go away in any of the belt settings but was worst at 0-3200 setting. He did say he was totally satisfied with his. I am not going to give a name or where but if you would like to know more PM me and I can give you his name. Here is what he said:

I did notice that if you have the belt on the high setting [0-3200rpm], and want to go real slow [50 rpms] that the motor searches just a little, but when you move the belt to the higher tork setting [0-1200 rpm] then most all of that goes away. I did not have time to mount a blank of wood this evening, but I would imagine once a blank was chucked up, that searching would probably not even be noticeable.

So maybe it is a thing with these lathes. Hope you get it figure out.

[earl timmons]

I have posted before regarding my now two year old Laguna 18/47. Your problem with rpm control really bothered me because in a recent post I mentioned that the low end speed control and torque was good. I use it all the time to screw blanks onto a screw chuck for instance. But I had never really looked at the speed readout while doing this. So I just went out to the shop to check. I can easily go down to 30 RPM before I see any hint of jerking and I am not even sure if I am seeing it there.

I also checked my tail stock for slop in the ram versus the handle. There may be a little but I have to look for it. It is not something that is significant enough that I ever noticed prior to your mentioning it.

[Terry Stellman]

Earl, I had to go out to the garage to close up so I checked mine at 30 rpm. My 'pulsing' description is my way of being kind. At 30 rpm, on the readout, it is more of a stop start stop start.

Terry

[Paul Singer]

I feel your pain and concern. I am looking at the same lathe and have been watching a thread on another forum with nothing but praise for this lathe. I have to assume that there is a problem with your lathe that Grizzly should fix.


He had a completely different opinion so either he has not tried the slow speeds or yours is bad.

I have also read another thread where Grizzly had run a guy through the mill to get help but they finally came through. He was having trouble with noise from the phase converter that they told him was normal. The problem was in the fan unit but they were trying to get him to drop the issue. Bottom line is keep going up the ladder.

Grizzly is about 250 miles from my house and if they kept giving me the run around I would put it in the truck and drop it on their door step. There is no reason to not help. They must know with the internet that bad support of their products is going to come back to haunt them. That may be another approach to start sending E-Mails to their tech support with these links so they can see the results of their lack of interest in your problem.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[Paul Singer]

I had posted a reply that referenced a link to another forum and it got deleted because you are not allowed to do that which I did not know. Bottom line on another forum there is a thread referencing the G0698 by an owner that loves it. He has reviewed his experiences and has found nothing negative. I have to think that Grizzly is trying to blow you off so I would keep escalating you complaints until you get some satisfaction. I think it may be effective to send this link to there Tech Support to let them know that you are expressing your disapointments to others. Maybe it will wake them up to the power of the internet on their sales.

[Paul Singer]

The gentleman on the other forum I referenced has contacted Grizzly and they said they would escalate this issue of eradic low speed performance. They said it may take a week or so to get to the bottom of this but it sounds like they are concerned about the customer and bad press.

[Reed Gray]

I had a PM 3520A for 8 years, and now have a Robust. Both have VFD, and both go down to almost 0 before shutting off. The newer PM and Jet lathes are now set to turn off at about 50 rpm. For your lathe to be pulsing at those lower speeds, says to me that some thing is wrong. It could be just the programming in the inverter, or it could be a faulty inverter. Mine would just barely pulse when they were just a hair above the turn off speed, but it didn't interfere with sanding. I didn't notice any pulsing on my Robust before it was reprogrammed to go from 50 as a shut off speed to 0. I did not notice it in the Jet with the 1.5 hp motor, or a newer PM3520B model. I do like to demonstrate tool catches at those very low speeds when demonstrating, and to check when I have remounted that everything is running true.

I think there have always been a number of problems with the 'hobby' grade tools from Grizzly. Their industrial tools seem to be a higher quality. This is the primary reason I don't own any of their tools.

robo hippy

[Ronald Fox]

I have been lurking and seeing what others have been saying about this lathe. I contacted Grizzly to see if there was a backlog. Come to find out, it is on backorder until June 4th. Looks like I have a few months to see what everyone thinks of this lathe, lol.

Thanks for posting your thoughts on your lathe.

Ron

[Jake Helmboldt]

Terry, that is too bad, both for you and because I was close to pulling the trigger on this lathe. Grizzly has a good reputation for customer service, but that is a BS response. If the speed range isn't usable, then it effectively is misrepresented. Chinese electronics have really poor quality control and it is one of the reasons I've been reluctant to go with this or the new Nova DVR which is now Chinese made. I've had several recent problems with Chinese electrical components on appliances and this outsourcing of everything to China is getting really old.

Shiraz Balolia is a Creeker and ususally keeps tabs on threads with Grizzly problems (and to his credit works to make sure things are taken care of). I don't know if he watches the turning threads, but if you don't get satisfaction look for him on here and PM him. I'll be watching to see how this is resolved and won't be buying this lathe unless it appears they a) take care of you, and b) fix the problems with this lathe so it isn't a common occurence.

Good luck; there is nothing worse that getting your shiny new (expensive) toy and finding out it has problems.

Jake

[Terry Stellman]

Grizzly has not contacted me personally today with any updated information but they have talked with the other owner about finding the problem. I am ok with it taking a little time as long as everything is fixed in the end. I realize I bought a new release but I am willing to have some patience with them.

Terry

[David Hostetler]

S&H is why I don't do much business with Grizzly...

[Jamie Straw]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will contact grizzly again to see if some kind of adjustment can be made to make it smoother. I am currently waiting for a call back from someone further up the chain of command about returning it. I was originally told that "O yeah, you can return it but you have to pay for shipping". I already paid shipping to get it to me and I don't feel I should have to pay to send back something that was falsely advertised. I will keep it before I put any more money into it.

Terry

Terry, that's bad news! A piece of ammo for your back pocket: While I always approach such a situation with sweetness and light at the beginning, treating customer service nicely, in the back pocket is the knowledge that I can threaten a charge-back via the credit card company if the retailer absolutely refuses to make things right. No business wants to incur the expensive involved with a charge-back.:eek:

Hope things work out for the best for you.

[Bill Bolen]

terry: Keep calling tech support until they get the problems worked out. I'm not slandering Grizzly but about 2 years ago I bought the G0555 BS with riser. Without the riser the tracking was fine. With the riser the blade was positioned at the extreme edge of the thrust bearing and would pop off when sawing blanks. It took many calls and call backs from tech support to get the problems cleared up but it finally happened. They sent me so many parts that I now have one free BS minus the base to show for it. I asked but they did not want any of the parts back. I asked them to exchange the saw about half way through the process and they would do that but I would have to package up the old one and they would pick it up. When satisfied that the saw sent back was the correct saw they would send a new one. Just stick to your guns and they will come through I believe. If nothing else ask for an exchange. Beats the heck out of being dissatisfied with your expensive new purchase...Bill...

[Paul Singer]

Terry,

On the other forum Grizzly has gotten back to the other owner and instead of fixing the problem has said that they made a mistake in stating the G0698 would go to 0 rpm. They claim that it was designed to only to down to 100 rpm. Sounds like a load of crap to me but that appears to be their answer to the problem. 100 is probably fine for me but I hate this kind of tech support.

[Nigel Tracy]

Just curious creekers, why was the direct link removed from my above post (quoted below)? It says post edited by Keith Outten, but no "reason why"... and sorta feels like a slap on the wrist without knowing why. I think I see links to products (no affiliation of course) all the time, no?

I read through the TOS and didn't see any infringement. Not concerned at all, just curious :)


Hi Terry,

I have another iteration of the same lathe, the craftex ct128. My tailstock, while not like a oneway, is certainly not sloppy.

Check out the photos at:

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

Does your tailstock look the same?

If so, I would say yours is defective and you should have every right to a good one.

I agree with you that the pulsing problem, while probably not normal since mine doesn't do it, is at very lease an example of false representation of what the lathe does.

Mine goes right down to 0 with very smooth operation at any point. It's a treat. My bet is your electrics are bad.

They should take back the headstock and tailstock. Better than shipping the whole thing and "good" ones would mean a whole different experience with this lathe. Mine is a real joy to use.

Good luck.

[Rich Aldrich]

Grizzly lost my order due to this issue. I bought a Jet 1642 1 1/2 HP instead.

I started that post on the other forum that I guess we are not allowed to mention. Two lathes have that issue, so most probably due. PM me or email me if you want the link.

We have many VFDs at the paper mill where I work. Normally instability at low speeds has been an issue on a few drives. We change parameters in the drive and the issue goes away. In a few cases, we had to change out the drive.

No load can be an issue with instability, but if you turn a pen on a big lathe like this, the load is so light, it is just like a no load situation.

I did consider buying the lathe and if there was a drive problem, I could have bought an ABB 2 hp drive and put on it, but then I would have the same money in it that I would the Jet 1642.

[Terry Stellman]

The lathe is currently on a truck on its way back to Grizzly in Missouri. I really wanted this lathe to work out but since Grizzly couldn't do anything to change the low speed problem I decided not to keep it. I will give credit to their customer service because they were very polite through the whole process and agreed to take it back and give me a full refund. There has been a lot stated on other forums about never needing that slow of a speed to turn something and I agree, but in my case I wanted the slower speeds for sanding natural edged (wings) or warped vessels. I also wanted this to be the last lathe I purchase and I am sure I would have wanted to upgrade sooner or later. I never did get into a discussion with Grizzly about the tailstock since it seemed pointless when I wasn't going to keep it but that also added to my decision not to keep it. Again I thank Grizzly customer service for stepping up and giving me the option to return it and essentially have a "do over".

Terry

[Chris Haas]

thats really too bad, i was hoping it would work out for you. that lathe at that price seems just too good to be true, and i guess it was. sorry for ya. good luck in the future.

[Fred Belknap]

I see on Grizzly web site that the min. speed is listed now at 100 RPM. The G0632 is still listed at 0 RPM minimum. Wonder if it is the same VFD.

Fred

[Roger Chandler]

Hello all,
I just joined this forum today. I have posted on the "other forum" for turners, and have this Grizzly model G0698.
I like this machine very much. it performs well, is quiet, has great features, and has the capacity to do large turnings. For the price, there is probably not a greater value on the market [my opinion] and I would encourage anyone interested to give this lathe a second look, and not just take the information that was negative [some of which was mine, but I truly consider the "pulsing/searching at low rpm" issue to be a very minor thing that will not hinder from obtaining great results turning.
Having gotten a much larger picture of the nature of inverters, and having others who own different machines tell me about their experiences, then I have been more educated on the issue, and the specs from Grizzly are theirs, and it is not a defective design, it is simply their specs and the lathe really performs.
Personally, I cannot see much difference in what most turners need between 50 rpm and the 100 rpm that this machine does without pulsing.

Hope this helps anyone interested.:)

[John Keeton]

Roger, welcome to the creek, and thanks for the info on the Grizzly. This adds another side to the situation, and hopefully others will gain from your information and update.

Now, it is time for you to post some turnings from that new Griz!!!:D;)

[Jake Helmboldt]

Hello all,
I just joined this forum today. I have posted on the "other forum" for turners, and have this Grizzly model G0698.
I like this machine very much. it performs well, is quiet, has great features, and has the capacity to do large turnings. For the price, there is probably not a greater value on the market [my opinion] and I would encourage anyone interested to give this lathe a second look, and not just take the information that was negative [some of which was mine, but I truly consider the "pulsing/searching at low rpm" issue to be a very minor thing that will not hinder from obtaining great results turning.
Having gotten a much larger picture of the nature of inverters, and having others who own different machines tell me about their experiences, then I have been more educated on the issue, and the specs from Grizzly are theirs, and it is not a defective design, it is simply their specs and the lathe really performs.
Personally, I cannot see much difference in what most turners need between 50 rpm and the 100 rpm that this machine does without pulsing.

Hope this helps anyone interested.:)

Roger, how low (RPM) will your lathe actually go without any hint of pulsing? Can you sand below 100 RPM, or does it pulse too much for that too?

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, how low (RPM) will your lathe actually go without any hint of pulsing? Can you sand below 100 RPM, or does it pulse too much for that too?


On the low belt setting I think there is ample torque for maybe 75 rpm... this is just my observance, as of yet I haven't actually tried at this rpm as I have only had the lathe since the 22nd of January 2010.

The electrical engineer on the "other forum" says that running at to low a speed creates heat in the motor which if run long enough can cause premature failure.

I don't see that sanding at 50 rpm, or 100 rpm is that much different. I have heard from owners of the Powermatic 3520b that they now have the lathe to shut off at 50 rpm, so I think this lathe is in the range as most others now-a-days, but maybe not all of them. For the price, I think this is a really great machine, and compares to others in features and quality that cost 2-3 times more. [My humble opinion]

[David Woodruff]

IT is all in the electronics and the programming. Look at the electronics box and find out the manufacturer and call them, another source of input can't hurt. A higher frequency is needed at slower speed to prevent jumpiness and maintain torque. Don't know about Beauty and other upper enders but Oneway send's the electronics programming booklet with the lathe in case a lighting strike or spike de-programs the electronics on a weekend. Kevin just does not live at the plant. Good Luck I would add too that one's expectations should not be too high for $1295.00. AS I have said many times we totally get what we pay for in wood lathes. Pay less get a lot less, pay top $$ get way more toward exceeding your expectations. I have owned many lathes from a Harbor Freight wannabee to the current Oneway 2436 and VB36 and 18 to 20 in between. The current lot is the best of the best in all regards.

[Rob Holcomb]

Well after reading all these posts about the lowest setting a VS lathe will work well, I have to go out and check my Delta. Never had a need to spin at that low RPM's but I may one day!

[Roger Chandler]

This post is nearly a year old, except for the last post. I have no affiliation with Grizzly whatsoever, but since I do own a G0698 and have experience with this unit, I will comment.

The "hunt at very low rpm" was something I was reluctant about when I got mine back in January 2010. I have since found out that the fact that Grizzly put these specs out for the programming of their VFD that there was a reason for this.

An electrical engineer explained to me, and some of the tech guys at Grizzly confirmed that the programming allows for a little hunt as these settings do help the motor from overheating and also helps the reliability of the electronics.

I have learned through seeing this unit perform that it performs on a class with the PM 3520b, and the Jet 16/42. I have turned on 2 different 3520b's and have watched several demos on the Jet 16/42, and have friends in our local club who own both units. From what I have seen for the price there is probably not a better unit for the money, and it has features that stack up with the PM and the Jet.

My experience has been great with the Grizzly G0698. There are numerous other owners since this unit came out in Jan. 1,2010, and they have been pretty much satisfied. I have heard from some other owners, and they are happy as well. No reported problems other than getting the units from China...I wonder if they can keep up with the demand? Some of the parts on the G0698 are identical to the Pm3520b, and Jet 16/42, so there is a connection somewhere in the manufacturing......

[Mark Levitski]

I have one of the first 0632's and it was outfitted w/ a Delta VFD unit. Yes I do have to "hunt" at very low RPM's, but like others have said, I find no need for anything so low and that includes sanding natural, bark-edged bowls. Its shortcomings are of so little consequence to me that I wouldn't even go to the effort of trying to ask Delta or Grizzly how to reprogram it.

As I have said on other posts, I like my lathe and it has seen a a lot of use. A great value, but I would agree that you get what you pay for. It was planned as a stepping stone when purchased and I never expected nore than this from it.

[Roger Chandler]

I have one of the first 0632's and it was outfitted w/ a Delta VFD unit. Yes I do have to "hunt" at very low RPM's, but like others have said, I find no need for anything so low and that includes sanding natural, bark-edged bowls. Its shortcomings are of so little consequence to me that I wouldn't even go to the effort of trying to ask Delta or Grizzly how to reprogram it.

As I have said on other posts, I like my lathe and it has seen a a lot of use. A great value, but I would agree that you get what you pay for. It was planned as a stepping stone when purchased and I never expected nore than this from it.

Hi Mark,

Your observations are good here. I think the G0632 and the G0698 are of a generation of lathes that are kin to the Jet and powermatics. Many of the parts are the same on the Grizzly's mentioned and the jet and PM machines.

This is the first generation of Grizzly lathes that came with VFD, and did not rely on reeves drive pulley systems. I think that old reputations are hard to live down, and that many just assume that because an older model did not live up to expectations that all from then on will not.

These 2 models have pretty much the latest of the technology that are available in a lathe that does not cost $5000.00 or above.

My expectations for the G0698 have not only been met, but exceeded in a number of ways. Now that I have had opportunity to turn on 2 different 3520b's and have seen a number of Jets in operation...........I don't see any difference in their performance than my G0698.

I think I got everything I paid for! So far, it has been all positive.....:)