Ouch!

[Bill Lantry]

Hey, folks,

So there I was, merrily turning away on the other piece of apple. The tool rest was slipping a little, so I stopped and tightened it a little bit. Kept going, life was good. Suddenly, THUNK!

78208

78209

Yes, that used to be the base of my toolrest. Darn! So, what are my options (and why do they make these things out of cast iron???) Should I just order a new one from Grizzly? Or are there aftermarket rests out there?

It's not even a year old!

DARN!

Thanks,

Bill

[Dean Thomas]

If it's less than a year old, it should be under warranty, I'd think. Unless they have a 30/30 warrantee (30 seconds or 30 feet, whichever happens first!).

If your ways are standard (and I'm guessing they are) you should be able to use almost any banjo from Jet, Delta, Griz, or Harbor Freight lathes in the mid-size range (1236 to 1642), I'm thinking. You'll probably need to get one from a lathe in the same size category, though. I think the stem on the toolrests may differ between the 12" and the 14/16" swing models. Not sure, but may. Some others more intimate with those might be able to clarify.

Try the warrantee thing first, though. Whine reeeeeeeeaaaaaally good and they might throw in freebies to appease you and to create customer loyalty. "I've been down for DAYS and am behind in so many projects (sob, sob, sob, WAAAAAH) and I just don't know how I'll ever recover the turning time lost...oh woe is me. What shall I do, where shall I go?" :(;) [oh for a Scarlett Smilie]

[Jason Clark2]

Looks like a G0462. I had one for quite a while and had to replace the banjo after stripping out the threads that lock the toolrest in place. I ordered a replacement from Grizzly, seems like it was only $10 or $12 plus shipping.

Jason

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill........I'd think it would still be covered under warrantee. Everything I've heard about Grizzley service......you'll get one. Good luck!

[robert hainstock]

That sure looks kike the HF 1236 0n my bench. contact them at HF customer service. give them the model no. they should be able to help. The Jet 1236 is the exact same size, you might wan't to take a look at theirs. :eek::eek:
Bob

[Barry Elder]

And after breaking two tool rests, that's how I learned that I always have time to turn the lathe off, reposition the rest, lock it down, and turn the lathe back on. And Friday I learned that the on/off switch on my 1236 is not foolproof. Just ask my right arm which bled all over the shop!

[Jim Underwood]

If it's the Harbor Freight, I think I've got one off of a machine I'm parting out....

PM me.

[robert hainstock]

My neighbor ,Steve Sclumpf added a tailstock end on/off switch to his Jet 1442. Has it in a magnetic box. Sure a lot handier than the left end. He wired it in series with the factory installed switch. RULE ONE about lathes is always turn it off when moving the rest. Easy to forget when in hot pursuit of a turning. :o:oBob

[Ben Gastfriend]

Yikes. Good thing no one was hurt. Had a similar thing happen with my rest, except mine is made out of steel! Ugh! Good luck with customer service. I've heard Grizzly is always happy to help.

[Jim Underwood]

I imagine that piece could be brazed back together not much worse for wear.

[Bob Hallowell]

Bill, I would call grizz as they have good customer service. I will also look tommorow if I have the banjo from my older grizz that fell apart.

Bob

[Chris Struttman]

The same thing happened to me on an old Craftsman lathe and I had a local welder fix it for about $30. The repaired banjo is better now than before the fix.

[Dave Peck]

(and why do they make these things out of cast iron???)


I hear that cast iron deadens vibration much better than steel.

[Bill Lantry]

Well, it turns out the piece only costs seven bucks to replace. It actually costs as much to ship it. Didn't feel it would be right to claim the warranty, as this was me being foolish. Wish I had a welder... ;)

I'm putting it down to lessons learned. Now if I could only figure out what I did wrong. I was using one of Randy's Monster tools, and as you can see in the picture, I was still cutting some air. Maybe I pushed it too far, had it catch, let the handle move, and had the whole thing positioned too far out. I guess it just never occurred to me that something like that could actually break! ;)

Thanks,

Bill

[Bill Lantry]

Well, I'm back up and running. I'd been meaning to buy a pair of specialized pliers (don't know what to call them, but you use them to take off and put on retaining rings) ever since I needed some to fix my chainsaw last summer. Picked a pair up in advance, so when the part arrived yesterday, I was able to switch it out. Of course, first thing I did was to lose one of the rings in the sawdust. Oh well.

Anyway, I left that piece of apple on the lathe when the banjo broke. You would not believe how badly it cracked! Spent over an hour *carefully* whittling it down past the cracks. Had to give over the play near midnight. At that point, I hard the outside form nearly done, including a small tenon/base. Did some 60 grit sanding, and then put a couple coats of lacquer on it, hoping it will slow down the drying. With a little luck, when I go home this evening, it will not be too cracked. maybe I'll be able to finish the final outside turning, reverse it, and do the inside hollowing.

Thanks,

Bill

[Jim Underwood]

A good hand with a torch and some brass/flux rod, and it would be good as new. Probably pay more for someone to braze it up for you than it cost to ship a new one though.

[Allen Neighbors]

I broke three of my toolrests and 2 banjos on my Grizzly. They sent me the first replacement free. They're pretty nice folks to deal with. Email them.
I ended up sticking a 3/4" steel rod to the front of my toolrest with PC7 epoxy. It held up after that. The only way I know to beef up the Banjo is to rough it up with a coarse grind wheel of some type, and pack the PC7 around the toolpost mounting area. You can get a longer clamping bolt. PC7 is some really tough stuff.
I also cut about an inch off each end of the toolrest ... that'll keep you from getting too far out.