Grizzly? and a first bowl

[paul ashman]

I got a big thick Grizzly catalog in the mail today and some of their larger lathes look just like Jet ones, only painted green, and costing less green.
Does anyone have any experience with these products.
On another note, I turned my first bowl! It is not quite hideous, as a matter of fact, it has a certain rustic, amateurish quality about it.
My wife liked it when I gave it to her, and that's all that matters to me.
I will try to post a pic or two tomorrow.

....back to the garage....!

[Gordon Seto]

IMO, Grizzly was not serious about their lathes. Current issue of FWW has an article about lathes comparison. Grizzly was at the bottom or 2nd from the bottom of every category.

I doubt the design engineers at Grizzly were woodturners. Their lathes have been out of pattern old designs with useless bells and whistles. Such as putting a disk sander on the headstock of their flagship lathe. Until they have a better track record, it is better to look somewhere else.

On the other hand, their competitors work with woodturners to field test their lathes - Nick Cook for Jet, Powermatic; Ernie Conover for Nova.

Gordon

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats on the first bowl Paul.....I guess.....it happened......well maybe......Did I mention that we like photos and photos prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that something happened?:eek: :rolleyes: :D

Can't answer on the Grizzley lathes...haven't seen one......


Seriously....congrats on the 1st bowl and keep at it ....it gets easier and they get better as you gain experience!

[Joel Sauder]

I was at a Grizzly showroom this week and I was totally underwhelmed. Both the head and tailstocks were very loose, with lots of slop when unclamped. I think this would make keeping things aligned tough. I just got a General International Maxi and the fit and finish is WAY better.

[Curt Fuller]

First, congratulations on the first bowl! Don't forget the photos.

As for the Grizzly, in all the jillions of lathe related posts I've read I don't remember ever reading about anyone moving up from a Jet, Nova, PM, etc. etc to a Grizzly. (Someone will surely prove me wrong on this) One of their best features might be what you liked, their looks.

[TYLER WOOD]

I also got a GI last month. I could not recommend a better lathe for the price. I got the 25-650 for 1600 shipped. I think if you look around you can find a good deal on them. I have turned on one that is 20 years old and my new one and both are incredible machines. Good wieght, finish, h.s. to t.s. line up was perfect!!

As for the Grizzley I have also turned on one, and hopefully will not again till they redesign them. Too light for their size or something. I put a log I had already turned round on a friends lathe onto it. I set it off center just slightly to see what it would do. The thing started walking at the lower speeds. Put the log back on center and it still had a little woddle, not good for an 8" dia. X 8" log.

[Jeff Bower]

Paul, what do you turn on now? My dad recently got a Grizzly (model G0462) and loves it! He says it does everything he wants and the price was great. He upgraded from a homemade lathe and I turn on one my grandfather made. I don't intend on buying anything until I have become much better at turning.
I know that many say that saving up to buy your last lathe is the way to go, but sometimes money can be better spent on chucks, chisels, etc that can work on that dreamm lathe once you make the call (and your wife let's you). Just my thoughts.:)

[Ralph Lindberg]

Jeff
I have played with a G0462 and it's a fine basic lathe, I would not mount a 12 inch out-of-round bowl blank too it. But it has addressed most of Grizzly earlier problems (ie the head stock is 1-1/4 x8, the legs are designed to allow a 2x4/6 base and weight to be added, etc).

The motor ain't no 2HP. Grizzly is odd, sometimes they hype the power, sometimes they don't. The G0632 is rated at 1-1/2 HP and wired for 220V!! (and costs $1300). (note my 2HP Grizzly band-saw was wired for 220, 2HP at 110 is what, 22 amps?)

The only Grizzly lathes I would look at are the G0462 (no large bowls) and the G0632

[Jeff Bower]

Ralph...I think we are agreeing here? I said the G0462 is a great upgrade if you have small older lathe. If Paul has just turned his first bowl, the G0462 would be a great choice IMHO to "get his feet wet" before spending $1500+ on a higher end lathe. Right now you can get the G0462 delivered for $469.

[Gordon Seto]

Jeff,

600 min. speed on a 14" swing lathe is too fast. Unsafe for unbalanced blank that size.

Don't mean to rain on your parade. IMO, for a temporary lathe, the Harbor Freight Jet clone is the better bang for the buck (well under $200) if you really want the capacity larger than the mini.

Gordon

[Jeff Bower]

Gordon, this is why I hang out at this forum. The knowledge of everyone helps all of us. My dad has told me that his Grizzly can get a little wobbly with large bowels, but most of his aren't that big so it works great for him.

I don't mind the rain on my parade, my shop has a new roof!!:)

BTW, I forgot to tell paul congrats on his first bowl....I still have mine....I think the cracks and warping continues today...if I only had Sawmill Creek when I "fell into the vortex"

[Patrick Taylor]

...can get a little wobbly with large bowels...

Yikes! That sounds like a different problem. :eek::D

[Jeff Bower]

By wobbly I ment the lathe began to walk a bit....

[Patrick Taylor]

By wobbly I ment the lathe began to walk a bit....

I meant the bowels part. ;)

[Mark Pruitt]

IMHO there is only one Griz lathe worth considering. It is the one with EVS that costs in the neighborhood of $1200-1300. It is the only Griz lathe that has a low enough RPM to allow turning larger pieces.

Grizzly has its strong points. Their lathes are not among those strong points.

EDIT:This is it. (http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0632)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Paul congrats on the first bowl. They will get easier now.

[paul ashman]

I did not mention that the lathe I have is a new Jet 1220, it is the upsized mini, with a 12" swing and 20" between centers, 6 speeds with a 3/4 horse motor. I mainly got it for spindle work. I am a teacher at a Community College (culinary arts, I'm a pastry chef), and work part-time for a friend who has a company that specializes in hand-turned magic wands (think Harry Potter). I am turning some small wands for them, but tried a bowl the other day....falling, falling, .....into the vortex.

[Gordon Seto]

By wobbly I ment the lathe began to walk a bit....

Let the lathe walk; let it be your warning sign for over its safety limit. Don't ever bolt it down.

Normally, we can get a smoother cut when we raise the speed. But it is more demanding on the lathe. Sometimes we would like the 500 minimum RPM on a 10" swing mini lathe can go even slower.

Gordon

[Bill Lantry]

Guys, the conventional wisdom is wrong on this one. I got the GO462 a couple months ago. Yes, I've turned 14" bowls on it. Of course it has to be fairly balanced, but the lathe is not worthless. I personally love the thing. Of course, if I had 2000 bucks to spend, I would have gotten something else, but I didn't. If that lathe wasn't so cheap I simply would have never discovered the joys of turning. As it is, LOML is always yelling at me to stop "playing" on the lathe and get back to flat work for her kitchen! ;)

Yes, the minimum speed is a problem. If grizzly could figure out how to reduce that to 300, they'd sell a ton of those lathes. As it is: I see the oneways and the robusts and all the others people have, and drool, but in my reality, those things are out of reach, and I'm really glad I could get this one...

Thanks,

Bill

[Ernie Nyvall]

Guys, the conventional wisdom is wrong on this one. I got the GO462 a couple months ago. Yes, I've turned 14" bowls on it. Of course it has to be fairly balanced, but the lathe is not worthless. I personally love the thing. Of course, if I had 2000 bucks to spend, I would have gotten something else, but I didn't. If that lathe wasn't so cheap I simply would have never discovered the joys of turning. As it is, LOML is always yelling at me to stop "playing" on the lathe and get back to flat work for her kitchen! ;)

Yes, the minimum speed is a problem. If grizzly could figure out how to reduce that to 300, they'd sell a ton of those lathes. As it is: I see the oneways and the robusts and all the others people have, and drool, but in my reality, those things are out of reach, and I'm really glad I could get this one...

Thanks,

Bill

Bill, is the banjo on the Grizzlys still small... about 8-10 inches long? That's where I had most of my problems with a G1495 that I bought a couple of years ago. The tool rest could only be positioned 4.5" straight away from the center, and didn't seem all that sturdy. I broke four of their extensions before I gave up on ordering any more, and too the head and tail stock didn't match up well. I did turn a few big bowls on it, and after I put a belt on it from the auto parts store, it ran much smoother and stronger. By the way, it is very much worth taking your belt to an auto parts store and getting them to match up the size. I felt though that the banjo was unsafe for what I wanted to do, so I moved on. Bill, I'm not trashing it, just giving a different perspective. I have several Grizzly tools I like very much, just not the lathe.

So Paul, if you already have a lathe, and are looking to upgrade, I'd save my money and pass up the Grizzly. JMHO

[paul ashman]

Thanks for all of the information. I am very happy with my Jet, and hope to develop my skills more before getting a bigger machine. I guess it is just a guy thing, but I see the posts and pictures of these big, beautiful machines and a little stream of drool starts to come out of the left side of my mouth.
More than anything, I should be content and just keep turning. Thanks!