New Grizzly Lathe

[Dave Lehnert]

Model G0456. What do you guys think?

[John Hart]

Does this mean you bought it already? If so....we need pics! :)

I looked at the specifications and It looks pretty cool to me. The 500 Rpm minimum seems a tad fast for really big stuff though. Maybe I'm just chicken! :D

[Chris Barton]

I looked at the owners manual and other information and overall it looks like a good machine. Here are a few things I did notice and that would be concerns for me. The tool rest base looks small compared to the gap and center position of the headstock. From several of the illustrations, it looks like the tool rest would be very near the maximum lenght of verticle travel to get to center. This is a lathe designed to compete with PM3520, Jet 1642, etc and the tool rest and base seem very light in comparison to these other machines. The quill travel is limited to 2" on the tailstock according to the manual or it will lack adequate support. That's no much travel. I don't care for the sanding station where a handwheel should be. If I were buying this machine I would probably retro-fit a handwheel. All things considered, it looks like a copy of a General gap bed lathe but with the things I mentioned, and it appears to be at the price point of what a jet 1642 would cost. If this machine delivers on the quality category, then it will be a serious contender for the Jet1642 and PM3520a market (but 3520a is hard to come by since the b model released). If this is coming home to live in your shop we will all be waiting a detailed review!

[Hank Walczak]

Not to hijack this thread but how come most of these lathes being manufactured don't have lower/slower speeds? Is there an engineering reason? I have trouble imagining 14-24" spindle work in the hobbist arena. Can't you get enough torque from the motors at a slow speed? Seems to me that a lot of the focus lately has been moving away from spindle work and moving toward bowl work. With that said, most manufacturers seem to be going toward a bigger swing without the requesite move to lower spindle speed. Inquiring minds just want to know...

Hank

[Jim Becker]

It's a very old design physically, but does offer some nice size capacities. However, I'm really concerned with the 500 rpm minimum spindle speed listed in the spec sheet...that's WAY too fast for big work, especially when it is rough and/or out of balance. The actual method of speed control is also unclear from the pictures or specifications. IMHO, (and respectfully to Grizzly) I think there are much better options/investments.

[John Hart]

...how come most of these lathes being manufactured don't have lower/slower speeds? ...

I wonder the same thing. My lathe is a direct drive PWM system and came with the circuitry set to 400 RPM minimum speed...but I changed the settings on the minimum speed potentiometer and got it down to 100. In a Direct Drive circuit, this can sometimes result in a power loss, but I paid close attention to minimize this effect. With belt-driven, it seems that it's just a matter of pulleys. Dunno

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Dave

I posted this on another forum a few days ago. I am not a Grizzly fan, but I do have some comments on this lathe based on specs only.

1 1/2" x 8 tpi is not all that unusual, and accessories should be easy enough to find.

A solid headstock is not a problem, nor is vacuum chucking. People who own this lathe and want a vacuum chuck can come see me, since we developed one for my Poolewood years ago.

So you forgot to put the thread protector on before you installed your spur center and it won't come out? That is what vise grips and a hammer are for.

What is wrong with this lathe?

The design is about 50 years old or so. NO ONE needs a gap bed, and it just gets in the way. The base does not look well suited to stability for large natural edged turnings that are out of balance, especially when one considers...

The speed range. The low end of 500 rpm is way too fast for large pieces, and the high end of 2000 is way too slow for spindles, especially small ones like pens, or even things like table legs or stretchers. I do production turning of spindles that start at 2 1/2" square, and I start them at 2800 rpm. Now, I go a little faster than most people, but at 2000 rpm most people are going to fall asleep. Heck, my Vega BOWL lathe turns up to 2400 rpm. When I am turning pens, I ramp it up to max velocity, which on the Poolewood is 3500 rpm, and on my Vicmarc mini 4100 rpm.

I think Grizzly is to be commended for getting rid of that lousy 1" x 12 tpi thread, but the rest of it is old stuff found in spindle shops from the old days. I have no idea what the drive system is, but the speed range is limited in the wrong directions, and there are much better lathes already on the market with proven track records for close to the same money. I would say to anyone seriously considering this lathe to look a lot harder at the Jet or Delta 16" machines, or the Powermatic 3520.

Bill

[Travis Stinson]

I saw something that would be an annoying factor to me while reading the manual. The speed control must be returned to zero before powering the machine off or on each time. I don't know if that feature could be overridden, but that would get very old to me in a hurry.:(

[Jim Becker]

I saw something that would be an annoying factor to me while reading the manual. The speed control must be returned to zero before powering the machine off or on each time. I don't know if that feature could be overridden, but that would get very old to me in a hurry.:(
Rut-row!! Sounds like a Reeves drive... ;) And an expensive one, at that! (The specs don't detail "how" speed is controlled on this machine)
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EDIT: I stand corrected....I missed the "DC" in the specs. But that's still to fast for bowls and vessels of any size.

[Todd Tolhurst]

No, I don't think so. The exploded diagram shows two simple, fixed pulleys. The specification sheet gives the motor as a DC universal, and page 37 of the manual shows a photo of the DC motor speed control.

[Don Baer]

No, I don't think so. The exploded diagram shows two simple, fixed pulleys. The specification sheet gives the motor as a DC universal, and page 37 of the manual shows a photo of the DC motor speed control.

If it a DC motor then chances are it has an SCR type controler for the speed control. you should be able to run it over about a 20-1 speed range. It sounds like the have set the mionumum speed high to keep the motor from bogging down at the lower speeds. A PWM speed control would be a better choice but they are more expensive. The real problem is going to be turning bigger pieces at slower speed since with this type of a motor controler combo it is a constant torque device and you won't have the horsepower needed at the lower speeds.