Grizzly Lathes

[Troy Cole]

Hello, I was just wondering if anyone has ever purchased and used any of the Grizzly Lathes? I don't turn anything but pens and thought their variable speed mini lathe might be a good buy. I currently own a Jet Mini but I have had several problems and I am ready to try a different brand. Any feedback or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Troy

 

[rtparso]

I have a G8690 VS WOOD LATHE. I love the VS. The clamps that hold the tool rest and tailstock are a little weak. It has slipped the drive belt twice (don't rotate the spindle backwords by hand). The spindle thread is a little odd (3/4" x 10 TPI) but PSI sells an addaptor. I have had mine for about 3 years and I still like it.

 

[dubdrvrkev]

Welcome to the forum.
What problems have you had with your Mini?
Most of the advice I hear would normally turn someone towards a Jet mini and away from a Grizzly. I can't speak for Grizzly lathes, but I do own other Grizzly tools and am happy with them.
I am a Jet mini owner and really like the lathe and I will keep it when I go up to a bigger lathe.

 

[Tom McMillan]

I have a Grizzly mini that's served me fairly well, but I wouldn't recommend one due to no through headstock or tailstock. Mine's over 2 years old now, and I've had to do some of what I consider maintenance---replaced the on/off switch, and now I'm having problems with the variable speed electronics parts and will likely have to replace it when I'm able. I have heard of some folks who have the Wilton lathe they've purchased from Amazon for around $100 which I believe includes shipping, and it's fairly similar to the Grizzly but may have the through head and maybe tailstock.

 

[Rifleman1776]

My lathe is a full sized 14"X40" Grizzly G10672. The upside to this lathe is that it is probably the best value for the money on the market. On the other side, it has some problems: the arbor is a non-standard 1"X12tpi and adaptors must be made or purchased to use non-Grizzly accessories. The variable speed belt is prone to wearing out and it a real PIA to change. Would I buy it again knowing what I do now? On the same budget, yes. If I had more money to spend, no. This isn't the mini you asked about but a Griz experience. I'll add that a member of my woodturning club, who has unlimited funds to spend, has two mini lathes, one is a Grizzly and he likes it. His full sized lathe is one of those $3,000.00 things we see in catalogs and drool over. Compare features, then make a decision.

 

[Old Griz]

Troy, Instead of offering my opinion on the Grizzly minilathe, I would like to ask what problems you have had with your Jet Mini... I own both a mini and a 1236 and both have stood the test of time and use...
Personally going to a Grizzly is going downhill in quality IN MY OPINION... Grizzly makes a lot of great tools, I personally don't think their lower end lathes fit in that category... but again that is MY OPINION...
The Griz VS Mini is less than optimal, it has a smaller motor, non standard headstock and tailstock fittings, and the lock downs are at best a bit flimsy... I took a long hard look at this lathe in the PA store when I was there to pick up my bandsaw and was less than impressed..
Unless you are willing to buy aftermarket adapters for the headstock threads that allow you to use what most consider standard fit accessories and use only #1 MT adapters which are smaller than most lathes use... go for it... PERSONALLY, I would not buy it... after the power of your Jet Mini, I think you will be disappointed.

 

[ctEaglesc]

Call me crazy but I too have the Jet mini and was contemplating a Grizzly for a different reason.
I wondered if the variable speed motor and controler could be switched from the Grizzly to the Jet and the Jet motor put in in the Grizzly.
It would seem to me that for the price of one variable speed Jet I could have two lathes, one variable speed the other not.
Worse comes to worse I would leave the Grizzly alone and have 2 lathes.
Also IIRC there was an issue with the morse taper on the Grizzly but I forgot what it was.
Ideally I wanted to be able to switch out madrels and adapters from one lathe to another.

 

[Old Griz]

Eagle the Grizzly has a #1 MT and the Jet a #2 MT... so you would need two sets of mandrels...
and since the headstock on the Grizzly is an odd thread you could not use the Axminster or Beal collet chuck on both if you had them... all in all not a great deal if you wanted to have two lathes with interchangeable features...

 

[rtparso]

I have not done the research yet but you can buy VS motors and controlers. What I plan on doing IF I buy a mini lathe is to buy the Jet with out the VS and put my own vS motor on it. I will get a motor that can be controled from 0 to about 4000 RPM spindel speed. I am just wandering if Jet will sell a lathe without a motor? I forgot to add the 0 to ~3600 RPM with just the turn of a dial is what I like about the Grizzly and I can't find a better mini lathe that will do that and I don't have room for a full size lathe.

 

[Troy Cole]

Thanks for all the great information. I have had several people ask about my Jet mini, so for anyone that has the time I have a story I would like to share. I purchase my Jet from Rockler Woodworking at a woodworking show in Arlington TX in Dec. 2003. It was going to be my wife's Christmas gift to me (even though I picked it out and purchased it!). I didn't get to use it until after the New Years because I had met someone who was going to teach me about turning pens. I had never done any turning and I didn't know much about any of it.
Once I began to turn pens myself I began using my Jet mini. After a few days I began to notice that it was not spinning in a true circle. It seemed that the spindle had a slight wobble. I contacted Rockler and they didn't want to help me in any way becuse it had been more than 30 days since I had purchased the lathe. I called Jet and they said that they would send me a part that would fix that. They sent me a new handwheel but that did not help. I called again and they wanted to send another part. I told them that I really knew nothing about lathes and I would like to take it to someone who could do warranty work. So would you believe that as big as the Dallas/Ft.Worth metroplex is that there is only shop to have warranty work done on Jet lathes. So I took my lathe to this facility in Plano (about 50 miles from me in Ft. Worth). They had the lathe for a week and when I called thy said thy had just gotten to look at it. Another week went by and when I called they said the had to order a part. Of course all the parts were coming from Jet (I believe in Washington). I finally got my lathe back after 3 weeks. They told me that the live center was bent and that they replaced it. I didn't think that that was the problem but If the repair tech. said so I figured It must be so!
Recently it seems that the wobble has gotton worse. I have replaced 2 morse tapers and 3 or 4 mandrels because I thought that maybe they were bent. Even with a brand new mandrel it spins like it is way out of balance. This is the reason that I have been unhappy with my Jet. I have seen many people write great things about Jet and maybe I just got a lemon. I'm sorry this was so long but thanks for all the replies and the excellent information. I do not post on this board often but I have learned a wealth of information by reading it almost daily. Thanks Again, Troy

 

[ctEaglesc]

Jet stands behind their warranty.
IIRC it's a one maybe two year warranty.
There are far too may happy Mini users to put up with a "lemon" call them and tell them the original problem was never solved.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by cteaglesc
<br />Jet stands behind their warranty.
IIRC it's a one maybe two year warranty.
There are far too may happy Mini users to put up with a "lemon" call them and tell them the original problem was never solved.

Ditto on that. I just returned from my woodturners club meeting. We had the meeting in the shop of one of our members. He demo turned a miniature goblet with free rings on the stem using a Jet mini and a PSI GMC3 mini-chuck. The outfit turned smoothly and quietly. This man can afford anything he wants and he choose Jet and has success with it. You got an anomoly, e.g. lemon. At this point, I would deman a full exchange, with them paying shipping both ways.