Anybody tried a Baleigh Lathe

[Brian Kent]

Last spring we were hearing about some new Baleigh lathes for woodworking. Has anybody bought one or had a chance to try one out>

[Brian Brown]

I haven't tried one, but I was curious too. It looks like the same thing as a Grizzly, with a blue and white paint job.

[Brian Kent]

Some discounts have brought them closer to Grizzly prices too.

[Roger Chandler]

Brian, it is the same 18/47 lathe as the Grizzly I have..........just different color scheme and label!

[Brian Kent]

Got it. That's like the G0733?

[Roger Chandler]

Yes Sir........same lathe, different paint colors! Not sure if the blue and white will perform any better than the Grizzly Green and white, however! :D:rolleyes:

[Brian Myers]

Are we talking the Baileigh WL-1840VS (18"). Has anyone checked out the manual on it ? 18" over the ways and 35" outboard. Single 6208 bearing inboard and hopefully this is a miss print in the manual but a single 6007 bearing outboard. :eek: The other 18" lathe (WL-1847VS) runs a pair of 6206 on the spindle.

[Harry Robinette]

I'm with you Brian M. those bearings don't sound right and if they are I sure don't wont that lathe.

[Brian Kent]

I'm trying to follow you. Is it that they have 2 bearings instead of 3 on the headstock or that those are undersized bearings? Or should the 6007 roller bearing be a 6207 ball bearing?

[Duane Meadows]

That's a 35mm id bearing. Are you saying an 1 3/8"(35mm) spindle is to small at that point? 40mm on the inboard end. I too am trying to understand, as I am also in the market for that class of lathe.

[Brian Myers]

That 6007 is a lighter duty bearing and it's on the side that has the most swing and is without benefit of the tail stock for any extra support . Would make more sense if it was a misprint and was a 6207.
Duane , that would be the other thing , you know that the spindle is turned down to a narrower diameter on the outboard side to pass through the smaller bearing.

[Brian Kent]

Thanks Brian.
Brian

[Duane Meadows]

I'm still not sure that being smaller equates to being lower quality. I can buy either for $6-8. I would imagine both to be equally poor quality. With an 1 1/4" 8tpi thread the 1 3/8" spindle size at the bearing is not the weak spot. I still fail to see the issue. The wheel bearings in my car are not that large!

To each their own I guess. Not all of us can afford PM3520's or Robust's. This would not be a limiting factor for me. If/when the bearing fails, just replace it with a higher quality, same size bearing

[Brian Myers]

Not talking quality and I am no engineer so please correct me if I am wrong but a 6007 bearing has substantially lower dynamic and static load capacity than a 6208. Looking at values for SKF versions of these bearings, a 6007 has a dynamic load capacity of 15,900 and a static load capacity 10,200. An SKF 6208 has a dynamic load capacity of 30,700 and a static load capacity of 19,000. (values from Enco's website) . Again I am no engineer and my math background sucks so if anyone with an engineering background is following ,please chime in , I would like to be schooled on this. To me this is saying that the outboard bearing has a bit more then half the capacity to handle the forces applied to it over it's life before being damaged and it is on the side of the headstock that is rated for a larger swing which will mean more potential weight and force applied to it. This does not make sense to me as the designer has to realize there will be people pushing the limits of the lathe. I have no interest in this lathe and only happened to look at the Baileigh lathes up when I came across this thread. No not everyone can afford a Powermatic 3520B, Robust or other large lathes we dream about, I know I wish I could , even the WL-1840VS is well out of my reach but if I could this one issue would drop it down the list. I will give kudos to Baileigh for putting the actual bearing numbers in the manual instead of just their in house parts numbers for them. They clearly aren't trying to hide anything from potential customers. Again if someone with an engineering background is reading this please chime in and take me to school , I would love to have a better understanding of forces appllied to a bearing when used to turn a big wet chunk of wood.

[Duane Meadows]

I am no engineer either. 10,200 Newtons is equal to 2293 pounds, so I don't think the static load is an issue. Dynamic, eh, maybe. The actual load on the bearing will depend on how far the load is from the bearing and how far apart the 2 bearings are.

Obviously, bigger is better, and the closer the load is to the bearing the better(maybe a face plate as opposed to a chuck for that 250lb workpiece!). I am still not convinced for 99% of what I'd would want to turn, the 6007 bearing would not be an issue! At less than $20 each... not sure I would even care if had to replace them every 6 years or so.

I'd never even considered that as a criteria before reading your post Brian. It is an interesting point. Still don't think that alone would influence my buying decision. Guess it's a matter of what is good enough.

[Roger Chandler]

Hey guys...........with all this info back and forth on bearings........my Grizzly G0698 has been going strong with a lot of usage for 4 full years............not one issue. I think there must have been a misprint somewhere. I decided back a couple of years ago to purchase a set of bearings for my lathe, , and looked up the specs.........it requires [B]two double sealed 6206zz bearings.

I have them on hand in case, but my lathe shows no signs of any bearing noise and actually runs smoother than the day I got it...........of course I take really good care of my equipment as best I can, but perhaps this gives you some perspective and helps you see the bearings are quality bearings.

I got my replacements from VXB.

[Brian Myers]

That's part of it to Rodger, quality of the bearing . A cheap bearing does not last long under the pressures a lathe puts on it. I know that from first hand experience when I rebuilt the lathe I currently have ( Yates American J-170 12" swing probably from the 50's) . I ended up putting in a set of Chinese made KYK brand bearings because at the time that was what my supplier had and could get in the size I needed (3607) . KYK is not a favorite brand of mine but they still make some sizes that most other's have dropped and when dealing with OWWM , beggers can't always be chooser's. The inboard bearing had a very short life span before developing play but it had been a couple of years since it was installed ( turned a little then didn't for sometime) and I had a few things I wanted to turn for a friend for Christmas 2 years ago. The bearing went south and I had to just deal with it as is , a bearing with play on a lathe sucks big time. My supplier ( Accurate Bearing) was able to track down a German made FAG in the size I needed. Much smoother bearing out of the box and higher quality. Pays to buy better bearings the first time around and be done with it. It's also important that the machining of both the spindle and casting where the bearings go is accurate in order for the bearings to have a long life. Even if the Baileigh is a misprint, I wonder why they chose to step down a bearing size on the outboard side?

[Thom Sturgill]

Also not an engineer, but thought I'd chip in a point. Several factors make up the 'desirability' of a lathe. Throw, bed length, weight are obvious points. quality if the bearings and machining of the ways are not so obvious, but definitely contribute. Having worked on a Jet 1016, 1220, 1632 and PM, the quality of the machining go upward in that order and affects things like how easy it is to move the tailstock and banjo and how well they lock down.

One harder to evaluate is the quality of the bearings and spindle which effects how smoothly the machine turns, and for how long. My first question would be 'are these sealed bearings?' that directly affects bearing life. Considering how little difference there is in cost of the bearings (compared to the cost of the machine as a whole) I have always wondered why machine manufacturers skimp on these.

[Brian Myers]

Thom the manuals for either Baileigh lathe mentioned do not say if they are zz (metal shields) or rs (rubber seals). If you look at the manual for the Powermatic 3520B they show zz (metal shields) on the two inboard bearings and vv for the outboard bearing. I haven't seen vv used before.

[Roger Chandler]

Thom the manuals for either Baileigh lathe mentioned do not say if they are zz (metal shields) or rs (rubber seals). If you look at the manual for the Powermatic 3520B they show zz (metal shields) on the two inboard bearings and vv for the outboard bearing. I haven't seen vv used before.

Brian........you hit on my point in your reply to Thom. The PM 3520b has zz double metal shielded bearings.......so does my Grizzly 18/47 G0698........likely so does the Baliegh 18/47, which is a lathe made for several companies......Grizzly, Laguna, Busy Bee in Canada and also one down in Australia..........they all are likely to have the same parts.........just painted differently and labeled differently depending on the company that ordered it!

[Brian Kent]

Thom, that also puts in perspective the fact that it is a small and ordinary thing to change bearings. When I read about my future dream machine (PM 3520) needing bearings changed, I thought, "What? That's like buying a big truck and finding out it actually needs gas and tires!!!"

I also appreciate your explanation of the machining. It is surprising how much smoothness / coarseness of movement effects the flow and enjoyment during adjustments.

[Brian Myers]

Thom, that also puts in perspective the fact that it is a small and ordinary thing to change bearings.

That's true if you are mechanically inclined or know someone who is and if not then it's a big problem. You can mess up a bearing and the casting if you get too ham fisted and or impatient.

[Ron Kanter]

I have no experience with the Baileigh lathe, but I was interested in buying the 12" jointer/planer.
The information on their web site didn't match the information in their printed manual. There were actually numerous discrepancies. I told the rep I was dealing with and the info on the web site was changed.

They told me that they were very interested in the woodworking market. Their experience is mostly metalworking machinery. Even offered me a deal on the shipping in addition to the 15% discount that was advertised as the "Summer Sale." After waiting two months for a machine that I had paid for I was told that it would be another month. Canceled my order.
And by the way, there is no dealer network. If you are not local to their facilities in Wisconsin and California, you have to fix it yourself or ship the machine to them for service. Be careful.

[Greg Just]

I don't know much about their tools so I requested a catalog which I received today. They threw a hat in too!

[Jon Nuckles]

I believe that Baileigh is a SMC sponsor, and I know Baileigh has its own forum on SMC. There is, or at least was, a Baileigh rep that would answer questions in that forum. You might want to pose your questions there and see if you can get an answer.