New Grizzly Lathe Blog

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OldYankee

Member
Joined
May 17, 2008
Messages
9
Location
Fenton, MO, USA.
Well I ordered it Monday and it arrived in St. Louis Wednesday but I didn't get it until Thursday and I didn't get it down into my shop and put together until today when a very large and strong friend showed up to help. The Grizzly G0462 cost $550 and change including tax and shipping which equates to about $1.83 per pound. All we had to do was set the legs on the floor and lift the rest up and set it on them and install and tighten 8 Allen head machine screws. Oh sure, I had to screw the little ball onto the end of the push-out rod, the handle on the tool rest that holds it at a specific height, and fasten the RPM indicator box on the head stock, but that's all the assembly that was required. Sweet!

I plugged her in and pulled out the power paddle switch after verifying that the lathe was set to the lowest variable speed. She fired right up and held at 600 rpm. Very quiet and very steady. Absolutely no vibration. So I pulled out the speed adjuster handle and started to crank her up a little at a time; stopping at 800, 1100, 1500, 2000, 2500 and all the way up to 3000 RPM. Still fairly quiet and still vibration free. I then slowed it down to the 600 speed and pushed in the power paddle. My dream had come true - no more switching belts several times for each pen I make like on my old Rockler M-Power midi lathe. I moved the M-Power into another room in my shop and plan to dedicate it to finishing work on the pens. I hope I can train my 20 year old Autistic son to sand and apply finish on the little lathe after I turn them on the big boy. We'll see - he will have show interest first.

So next I grabbed a 20" long Oak branch that was 5" in diameter and marked the center on each end as close as I could (it was slightly oval on both ends which makes for more of a challenge.) Then I hammered the included Morse #2 taper into one end and rammed it into the headstock. I slid the tailstock up, loosened the large chrome gnurled knob on the tailstock that stops the tail spindle from moving and cranked the large handle to tighten her down; centering the live center on the opposite end of the log. Finally I retightened that gnurled knob, aligned the tool rest and put on my face mask. Now it was time for truth; would this green monster perform like one of its way more expensive competitor's lathes. I fired it up at 600 rpm and started to clean bark off using one of my oldest - albeit sharp - 1" roughing gouges. (Certainly I was not going take a chance with one of my more expensive gouges for a simple test on rough, unknown stock.)
The piece turned beautifully and had very little wobble even with bark still on it. Once I got the bark off, I grabbed one of my HSS gouges and started working some more and saw some huge pieces roll off of this log like I always saw coming off on David J. Marks' and Norm Abrams' lathes. I guess I never tried anything this big on the little M-Power. I was leary about its stability because of its size and because I really never bolted it down - I just had it sitting on a rollaround cart and that was fine for the dozens of pens I've made with it.

I continued to turn the piece and experimented with several other tools that I've been avoiding because they didn't make sense for pens. I even used the large 1-1/2" Skew for the first time and was surprised to see how smooth and clean it left that slightly seasoned oak. By the time I finished, I had what could probably become a large rolling pin with smooth rounded edges on each end. And I took the opportunity to run the lathe clear up to about 2000 for a bit during my experimentation. I am happy to report that it remained quiet and smooth throughout the turning.

So there you have it - Day One with a new Grizzly Lathe. I will try to keep you posted as I learn more about the machine - including any negatives that I hope I will not uncover like a couple of others have.
At this point all I can say is WOOHOO!
 
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Congratulations on the new Grizzly lathe. I am now on my second. The first was a G1067Z with a Reeves variable speed drive. That is what you have. As you learned quickly, very wise to learn to put down to slowest speed whenever finishing up a job. I used that lathe almost daily for seven years and it is still in regular use by the new owner. BTW, my new lathe is also a Grizzly. I would recommend getting one or two spare drive belts. I think I only needed to replace four times in that seven years. But one failed in less than six months. You never know. Next, we need pictures of the first work you turn on that machine.
 
Hey Chris, sounds good. I have an 0462 also. Some will insist that it's not a good machine (ie. Grizzly doesn't make good lathes), I've been using mine for 6 months and love it.

The only warning I'll give you is watch the threads on the tailstock, they can bite. I cut myself several times before giving them a quick sanding with some 400 grit paper to dull the edges a bit.

I had Johnnycnc make an adapter for me so that I could continue to use the 6 inch tool rest from my old Turncrafter Pro lathe. I rarely use the stock toolrest since I haven't ventured into bowls too much as yet.
 
Well, all is still warm & fuzzy here at the Old Yankee Workshop as far as the Grizzly lathe goes. I did encounter a frustrating problem that I resolved and feel that I need to mention: The 12" tool rest that comes with the lathe is great for longer spindle work but it sucks for pens because it is way longer than either of my pen mandrels and makes it impossible to get close to the pen as I would like. My research at Grizzly quickly discovered that no shorter tool rest was available. But I found out that I could purchase a "spare" 12" tool rest for like $13 plus $8 shipping. When I mentioned that I was going to hacksaw it down to 6" they told me that it would void the warranty on the tool rest. (Like I care?) And when it arrived 3 days later, I did just that. I'd forgotten how long it takes to hacksaw through cast iron that thick! Anyway, a little filing to clean up the rough ends and sharp corners left after sawing resulted in a very useful and inexpensive 6" tool rest that is perfect for pen work! In fact, it's better than the 4" rest on the old Rockler Midi lathe because I don't have to constantly move it left and right to reach both ends of the pen blanks! WOOHOO!
I took a picture of the new rest with the original held up next to it and uploaded it to my gallery if you want to see. (I haven't figured out how to put pictures in the forum posts yet.)
Oh - toolcrazy - I registered with Turning Tools Review and posted this same review there as you suggested. It has to undergo moderator approval before it gets posted, but should be there shortly I would guess.
 
Chris I know exactly what you mean about the tool rest. I went a slightly different direction, since I already had smaller rests for my Turncrafter Pro, I had an adapter made from stainless steel by Johnnycnc that allows me to used rests with a 5/8's shank (I think it's 5/8ths)
 
I found out that Harbor Freight has a 6" tool rest that fits the Grizzly and they only want $6.00 for it. I paid $12 plus shipping for my spare 12" from Grizzly and had to hacksaw it - oh well.
 
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