Gloat & question

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TellicoTurning

TellicoTurning

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Not sure where this belongs, but since it's a shop related question, guess this is good spot.

This is the gloat--
I posted some peppermills in "Other things we make" and commented that I had an appointment yesterday to show a shop some of my work... I took about 65 pieces to show them.... they bought outright 57 of the pieces.. all wholesale at good prices.. peppermills, bowls, tea lights, candle holders and bottle stoppers... five of the piece they bought were from the pictures I posted in the other thread... only two they didn't want was the green mill and the tall "birch"... the other five I still have to finish and deliver next week.... along with some pens... I didn't take any of them and they were disappointed about that, so I make another trip next week with my pens..

Now for the question---
I know this has been beat to death in other posts, (I sent a PM to Frank - the Rifleman1776 - I know he just got a new Grizzly lathe...) but since I did so well, I'm thinking about an upgrade on my lathe and am looking at the Grizzly G0462... it's in my price range and I think big enough to handle most of what I do.. it's not a true VS, but does have a lever speed changer.. 10 speeds. Frank made comment that it's slow speed is still pretty fast at 600 rpm, but I learned on a Ridgid whose slow speed was 800 rpm, and the Jet Mini I use only goes down to 500 rpm.. and it has a 2 HP motor that is 110V,(I don't have 220V) big enought to turn some good sized pieces and the size of the unit fits in my shop... biggest problem I see is it's only 43" at the centerline.. which may be a little low, but I could work with it unless I can get some sort of riser block.
Can I get some pro's and con's on this lathe...
 
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You can easily raise the height with wooden shim blocks at the feet.

The relatively high low speed may not seem like a problem to you but this is a lot bigger lather. If you chunk up a 14 inch bowl that is unbalanced you will quickly see why it is a problem.

Grizzly lathes over all do not have an excellent reputation. However their price point for a 16 lathe cannot be beat. The closest I can think of is the Nova 1624 for about $1000. But it has a much saner lower speed of 215 RPM's.

It is your choice and you need to be realistic on what you want to do with it. If you plan on doing 15 inch bowls on it I would pass. If mostly you are wanting to do little stuff and just want the larger capacity for the ocasional platter then maybe.
 
Originally posted by ozmandus
... biggest problem I see is it's only 43" at the centerline.. which may be a little low, but I could work with it unless I can get some sort of riser block.
Can I get some pro's and con's on this lathe...
Click to expand...

For the price, it isn't a bad lathe and that is 43" between centers and unless you will be turning something like canopy bed posts, am sure you will find 43" plenty long enough. The overall Height of the lathe is 48 3/4" so you have atleast 47" from floor up to the centerline but you could make a small pedistal to put the lathe on if you wanted to raise it up. I am 6'3" and with my arm at my side bent at the elbow with forearm parallel to the floor, that is at approx 46" right there so am sure you will find the height at centerline sufficient without the need for a stand.

One bonus for this lathe is that the head/tail stock are both MT2 and 1" x 8 tpi RH headstock spindle so your jet accessories such as chuck, live center etc will fit without additional purchases.
 
The one thing I dont like about the big Grizzly is the head stock dose not have a thru shaft and they tell me at Grizzly that is the biggest complaint they get about the Lathes.
Jay
 
Thanks all, I was waiting for Frank to weigh in on this too since he just got a new Grizzly and said he like them... he just got an upgrade next notch up from the one I'm looking at that is a true VS... he Pm'd me on another forum and said about same thing as here... suggested I might be happier with Jet 1642...

Mike V., I don't really plan a lot of big bowls... I do more peppermills than bowls, but would be nice to be able to if I wanted.. so your point is taken.

Mike W... If I misread the centerline height and it is in fact 47".. that will work for me.. I thought it said 43 at the center line with a 43" between centers as well.. I'm right at 6'1" and standing upright with my elbow bent at 90 deg-- forearm paralell with the floor, the knob on my elbow is exactly 48" from the floor if I didn't have too much sag in the tape when I checked.

I'm going to be at the Woodcraft store in K'ville next week and check out the Jet..
What I would really like is the mustard colored monster.. but it's way out of budget.

Thanks for all the input.. more research to do.
 
Chuck, I was waiting to see some other comments.
Like this: "Grizzly lathes over all do not have an excellent reputation."
It is unsubstantiated comments like that which hurt the Grizzly reputation.
And Jay said: " The one thing I dont like about the big Grizzly is the head stock dose not have a thru shaft and they tell me at Grizzly that is the biggest complaint they get about the Lathes."
I now have owned two Grizzly lathes, the G1067Z and the G0632. Both have thru shafts. The G1067 was at the low end of their price range and the G0632 is near their top end. And the people at Grizzly tell you lack of shafts (which actually exist on all models I have seen) is their biggest complaint???
As for working height, that is a personal comfort issue. I put my G1067 up on 4" blocks so I wouldn't have to bend. It saved my back from tiring. But the new G0632 is higher and I can work with comfort without bending.
A couple (IMHO) observations about the new G0462. It is an improved version of the G1067Z. It is more powerful and the controls are more conveniently placed, I like both those features. The digital readout is handy but not all that useful. It's kinda fun but that's all. The speed changer is a Reeves drive. I had it on the G1067Z. It works. That is the advantage. It gives variable speed at affordable prices. It can be a hassle when belts break, and break they will. Changing is only slightly difficult but is part of the joy of not spending a $1000.00 more than your budget can handle. Do buy an extra and keep receipts. Grizzly will replace your belt free if it breaks within the one year warranty. They are good about that. I would place a plank between the legs and put a couple heavy sandbags on the plank. I did it with the G1067Z and the change was pleasantly notable. And, yes, the 600 rpm low speed will limit your ability to turn larger, out of balance, blanks. Relatively light weight of the machine plus the high speed can make things unpleasantly interesting when you hit the 'on' switch. Again, you are investing in the $400.00 neighborhood. Not $1000.00 or more. A characteristic I see on the G0462 that I don't like, a carry over from other models, is that the speed control lever at high setting gets into the work area. A stupid design flaw that Griz has never corrected. When my tool handles would bump it, I cussed often. Fortunately, I am pretty much ambidextrous and could shift my hold to avoid but most people can't do that easily. A minor issue, but you should consider up front.
BTW, the Jet 1642 and Grizzly G0632 are very similar. If you do decide to move up to that price range, e-mail me again and I can give you considerable information on both machines as I had communications with both companies before making my final decision.
Another BTW, someone, maybe another thread, chastised me for not considering that Jet has a 5 year warranty and Grizzly a one year. Correct, I stand properly chastised, I did not consider that. At least not directly. What I did consider is that Grizzly has a facility a two hour drive from my home and has given outstanding service to me in the past. The closest Jet dealer is about an eight hour drive from my home, not practical. But, it is a factor any shopper should consider. And, I do not know if the Jet warranty is as 100% comprehensive as the Grizzly. This may be a record for my longest post ever. [:p] Oh, well.
 
I owned the G0462 for about 18 months, I ended up replacing it with a PM 3520B. The primary problem I had with it was the lack of slower speeds. This isn't a problem if you're focusing on small bowl, peppermills, pens and stuff under 6" diameter. When I started turning and coring bowls in the 13-15" range I also found the 2HP 110v motor underpowered, particularly while coring large blanks, which is also made difficult by the relatively high minimum speed.

Contrary to what has been said here there is a 3/8" through hole in the both the spindle and the quill.

It looks like the price has gone up about $100 in the 2+ years since I purchased mine, but at $520 I still think it's quite a steal.

Jason
 
Frank,
Thanks for your comments, they were just the info I was looking for.. I still think I will take a second look at the Jet, but for the price, still inclined towards the Grizzly... the height concern is same as yours.. I'm just over 6' (I used to be 6'1", but miles may have worn me down a little).. I raised my Ridgid about 6" and built a special stand for the little Jet so that the headstock spindle would hit me in the elbow.. Overal height of the G0462 is listed to be 48 1/2".. so I think the headstock spindle may be just about right.

Now Jason, if I had my druthers, I certainly would druther have the PM... but being the "practical" person I am, I'll have to stick to what I can afford.
 
i got one of those G0462 lathes when they first came out. sold it about 6 months later. when it was delivered, some of the boxes were broken open and stuff scattered all over the truck. grizzlys defense was that they only sell it, they don't deliver it. true, but several haevy metal parts had been packaged up in light duty cardboard boxes. i wouldn't have shipped a peppermill in those boxes (which is why i bought the lathe in the first place, to do pepper mills). took weeks to get the missing and broken parts replaced. the variable speed pully is held on w/2 setscrews (i am going on memory here) and one flew out right off, had to replace that. after about 10 hours of use the motor started making a whining noise like a shaft bearing was going out. the tail stock and headstock wouldn't line up accurately enough. grizzlys reaction to all this was basically "and"? i got so tired of their attitudes that i wrote 2 emails to the president of the company. never heard a word back from him. guy i sold it has lots of their stuff and was happy to get it. soon as i can afford it i am going to get a TEKNATOOL DVR.
 
Chuck: There may be other uses for the through hole in the spindle; but there are two primary ones that I know of. One is for a draw bar when using MT collets or a Jacobs chuck. (Probably things that most folks don't care much about.) But having that thru hole is pretty important, if not mandatory, if you plan to set up a vacuum chuck. If you have a vacuum chuck in your future plans, you should probably research the thru hole issue very carefully.
 
Originally posted by ozmandus
<br />Frank,
Thanks for your comments, they were just the info I was looking for.. I still think I will take a second look at the Jet, but for the price, still inclined towards the Grizzly... the height concern is same as yours.. I'm just over 6' (I used to be 6'1", but miles may have worn me down a little).. I raised my Ridgid about 6" and built a special stand for the little Jet so that the headstock spindle would hit me in the elbow.. Overal height of the G0462 is listed to be 48 1/2".. so I think the headstock spindle may be just about right.

Now Jason, if I had my druthers, I certainly would druther have the PM... but being the "practical" person I am, I'll have to stick to what I can afford.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I'm a shorty, 5'7". Still hunching was a problem for my back.
 
Originally posted by nwcatman
<br />i got one of those G0462 lathes when they first came out. sold it about 6 months later. when it was delivered, some of the boxes were broken open and stuff scattered all over the truck. grizzlys defense was that they only sell it, they don't deliver it. true, but several haevy metal parts had been packaged up in light duty cardboard boxes. i wouldn't have shipped a peppermill in those boxes (which is why i bought the lathe in the first place, to do pepper mills). took weeks to get the missing and broken parts replaced. the variable speed pully is held on w/2 setscrews (i am going on memory here) and one flew out right off, had to replace that. after about 10 hours of use the motor started making a whining noise like a shaft bearing was going out. the tail stock and headstock wouldn't line up accurately enough. grizzlys reaction to all this was basically "and"? i got so tired of their attitudes that i wrote 2 emails to the president of the company. never heard a word back from him. guy i sold it has lots of their stuff and was happy to get it. soon as i can afford it i am going to get a TEKNATOOL DVR.
Click to expand...

My G0632 was so well packed it required several hours work just to get things out.
Any problems I have ever encountered were handled promptly, and expertly, with a phone call to Griz tech support. I'm not surprised that the head of a large corporation did not respond personally.
The only time there was a delay in getting a response was before I bought the G0632, I asked a question tech couldn't answer. They had to research it. When they did get the answer they sent me a $50.00 gift certificate for bringing the matter to their attention. Later, the head guy for tech support called me. We had about an hour and a half conversation in which he asked me a series of questions about my likes/dislikes with Grizzly and the tools I had from them. IMHO you can't ask for better service. As far as things going bad. Any thing mechanical, it can happen. Griz will fix or replace promptly within the warranty period. That has been my experience.
 
Originally posted by Randy_
<br />Chuck: There may be other uses for the through hole in the spindle; but there are two primary ones that I know of. One is for a draw bar when using MT collets or a Jacobs chuck. (Probably things that most folks don't care much about.) But having that thru hole is pretty important, if not mandatory, if you plan to set up a vacuum chuck. If you have a vacuum chuck in your future plans, you should probably research the thru hole issue very carefully.
Click to expand...


Also for the knock-out bar to remove Morse tapers. As for the "people" telling him Griz lathes do not have thru shafts: Just looking at the lathes will confirm that is not correct and that they do have them. Maybe one of the small, low end ones doesn't, I couldn't say. But the full-sized lathes do.
 
Another comment, maybe final, maybe not. I seem to be the leading advocate for Grizzly here, and on other forums. That is not the case. I am reporting as I see it and my experiences. Those of you who know me from here, and other forums, know I'll slice and dice a product or company that doesn't deliver the goods, figuratively and literally. I have no vested interest in Grizzly or any reason to dislike other companies. (well....maybe one [;)] )
 
The small Grizzly mini lathe ($150) does not have a through hole in the headstock. That was the first one I bought and I got the morse taper stuck and despite my best efforts at heat, penetrating oil, large hammer, threats, etc., it is still stuck. The larger ones do have the through hole as Frank said. I'm only 25 miles from the Springfield store so Grizzly products do have an appeal from a service standpoint which is a consideration when deciding what to buy. I'm saving up for a bigger one of some kind!
 
Frank does yours have a through hole? I was in Grizzly a week and a half ago and looked at the New Biggest lathe not sure of model # but it’s was plugged. As far as problem with Grizzly I have never had any they have always taken care of anything I asked of them. And they do have a first rate repair department at lest in Springfield, MO. The sales staff said the through hole in that lathe was the biggest complaint they got for customers and have been asking the big boss to think about redesigning it but no luck yet.

At lest they act like they are listening to us.[:D][:D]

Jay
 
I want to thank everyone for their comments, both pro and con.. so far, the one thing that does concern me is the low end speed. I do turn bowls, and to date the largest I've been able to turn is about 8" on the little Jet... I want to do some larger bowls and possibly as Randy suggested, maybe set up a vacuum chuck in the future.. though it is possible to work around that... service is very important and I like the positive comments about customer service from Grizzly. Way back in my working life, as an export manager, my primary product was customer service, so that is very important to me.

I am a hands on type shopper, I really prefer being able to see for myself, and touch a product before I buy, especially on big ticket items.. unfortunately, the Grizzly show room is nearly 11 hours (695 miles) from me.. so hands on shopping is not an option.

I'm also looking at the Nova 1624-44 as an option, even though it's twice the price... and there is a Woodcraft store only about 1 hours (45 miles) away... still struggling with the decision..
 
Something else to think about is what type of accessories you have (chucks, etc). IIRC (my griz catalog is downstairs and I'm not), most Grizzly lathes have oddball threads and tapers compared to the norm. I know there are adapters, and if you never own a different lathe it doesn't matter. The new models are MT#2 and 1"x8tpi however.

If I am misremembering, please disregard.[:o)]
 
Still in the hunt on the lathe... I went by the local Woodcraft to see the Nova... the owner said she's only sold one in the last year and after two motors, the guy brought it back. They didn't even have one on the floor to look at.. I did look at the Jet Midi 1442... like the looks of it and it will be on sale in March... Woodcraft can "pre-sell" sale items 30 days in advance... and all of my chucks will fit the 1442.. still thinking.

And to continue my gloat... I took my pens back to the store that bought all of the other turnings... out of 77 pens, they bought 49 for stock in the store..
 
Chuck ... go to the local Woodcraft and admire the JET 1642. Be sure to call them first to check that they have one of the models you want to see already setup as not all stores do. I have the 1642 and couldn't be happier. I would like to have the PowerMatic if for nothing else but the increase in weight. My floor has a slight taper and the JET moves a bit over a period of time. Not a problem for me to move back, but it does move. The head stock does slide to the end of the ways and I can turn a bowl well over 40" in diameter ... not that I ever will, but the means is already there to do so. Wait and see how much a stand alone tool rest costs, sheeesh!

I am also happy with the VS dial. It definitely comes into play when first turning an out of balance large bowl blank. Even rounding the blank on the bandsaw still leaves much to be desired when it comes to balance issues. The slower speeds of the JET really are a life saver. If you do get one ... LEAVE the power converter on the back alone. You really have no need to adjust it!

Oh, it also has the through hole to use to remove morse taper shafts, vacuum devices, etc. on both the head stock and tail stock. Both the headstock and the tail stock are No. 2 morse taper.
 
Hi Fred,
I did look at the 1642 when I was at the Woodcraft store.. I don't like the idea of having to slide the head stock to get outboard... And with the way my shop is set up, it would not work for me ... I did like the 14 inch Jet, even with the Reeves speed changes, I think it would work for me.. and like you, I'm not ever going to do huge bowls..
 
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