New Grizzly Mini lathes

[edman2]

Got my 2008 Grizzly catalog in the mail yesterday. On pages 125-126 they show three new mini lathes that use mt2 tapers with 1/2 HP or 3/4 HP motors. Looks like they are shooting for the Jet Mini market. Wondering if anyone had seen any of these in person? They are not in the online catalog as of this evening.

 

[Tom McMillan]

Yes, got mine a couple days ago too. The 12" X 20" Heavy Duty one looks interesting with a capability for outboard turning. Has 3 variable speed ranges.

Some of them show--- "Made in an ISO 9001 factory"?? Maybe someone who knows can explaing what that means??

 

[rlharding]

ISO= International Standards Organization/Office?

I assume that there were some standards established that manufacturing plants had to abide with to get the certification...but I am guessing.[]

 

[stevers]

I'd be curious to know myself. They look a lot better than the old mini model. Much nicer bed design. Too bad three of them have only 5" over the bed. That could hurt. Only the GO658 has 6" over bed. Still a great improvement from the past. Of course for the price, I still would have gone for my 1014VS.
Notice they are all MT2 and 1"x8tpi. Nice touch.
Actually, that GO8259 has a lot of Jet mini look to it. Angled tail stock, the head stock has similarities. The tool rest. Also notice the swinging head stock on the second two. Another nice touch.
Good for you Grizzly.

 

[karlkuehn]

I need to check my mailbox. I'm in a holding pattern on buying a sharpening system until I check out what appears to be the Sheppach Tiger 2500 (the thing that will cripple Tormek) for like $170 on the back page.

Anyone able to give me a real life estimate on the Grizzly "Ultimate 14" bandsaw" ($500+ with shipping) versus the Ridgid 14" for $369 that I can pick up just down the road? I don't own any grizzly tools yet, but I've heard nothing but good about them. Also, I have a Woodcraft close, so I can get Jet and Rikon bandsaws (sans shipping) as well. I really need a beefy yet small band saw that can re-saw stuff that's over 3" thick without dying or wandering. Any advice?

 

[arioux]

Originally posted by Tom McMillan
<br />Yes, got mine a couple days ago too. The 12" X 20" Heavy Duty one looks interesting with a capability for outboard turning. Has 3 variable speed ranges.

Some of them show--- "Made in an ISO 9001 factory"?? Maybe someone who knows can explaing what that means??

Hi,

ISO 9000 is a family of standards for quality management systems. ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. Some of the requirements in ISO 9001 (which is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family) would include:

a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;
keeping adequate records;
checking output for defects, with appropriate corrective action where necessary;
regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness; and
facilitating continual improvement

Certification to an ISO 9000 standard does not guarantee the compliance (and therefore the quality) of end products and services; rather, it certifies that consistent business processes are being applied.

This is the general definition of the ISO 9001 certification. One shure thig, it's probably not made in China[]

Alfred

 

[fritz64]

i am a retired die maker. iso9000 means every tool every checking fixture every step in the building process is montered and checked for accurrecy on a regular ongoing basis. fritz64

 

[Rifleman1776]

I was at the Grizzly store in Springfield, MO recently picking up my new G0632 lathe. While there, I noticed the new line of smaller lathes they are offering. With the exception of the two at the bottom end, all looked like serious machines. I was very impressed. Worth repeating, the two bottom end ones are, IMHO, just offered to meet a price range. I wouldn't touch them with a dirty stick. I have quite a few Grizzly tools and am firmly convinced that they are the best dollar value on the market. The detractors compare Griz tools with similar items that sell for much more. Service is tops. Folks working for them are friendly and knowledgeable. As for the bandsaw question: I have the 14" G0555 Ultimate bandsaw. It has been in use almost daily for six years and I believe it will be a lifetime, or much longer, tool.

 

[MikeInMo]

Hi all,

I was just at Grizzly in Springfield yesterday and took a look at the new lathes. I was mostly looking at the 10x18 (H8259) to see how it compares to my Jet 1014 since that it is what it looks like. Even with the difference in price (Grizzly $170, Jet $200+), I would stick with my Jet. To me, Grizzly's reputation with low cost lathes is not great, and the 10x18 floor model just didn't do anything to convince me otherwise. Plus, it has a higher low speed than the Jet. However, I didn't get to play with it so it may be just fine.

edman2 - Bolivar is just a short drive to Springfield. Come check them out. Grizzly will gladly extinguish and remove all of the money burning a hole in your pocket. []

Tom - I agree the 12x20 (G0658) is intriguing though. If this was available when I bought my Jet, I would have seriously considered spending the extra money to get this.

I concur with Rifleman about the 14" Ultimate Bandsaw. I have one and love it.

Incidentally, I was at Grizzly yesterday to get the 7" face shield (T20502) on pg 468 of the new catalog and got to help their staff discover an error in the catalog. While the picture and text in the catalog and the printout on the receipt make it seem pretty clear that the face shield is included, it is actually NOT included and costs an additional $5.95. I went back to the store, and they told me it was a mistake in the catalog and their computer and they were sorry, it would be fixed, etc. However, they still charged me for the faceshield. [B)] While I would have gladly paid for it up front if I had known, it rubbed me the wrong way to drive back and forth across town because of their mistake. $6 would have been cheap, positive customer service PR. At least the people I dealt with were nice. I am also glad I was able to take care of it right away instead of waiting for something to be sent to me.

Overall I like Grizzly. You just need to be aware that you get what you pay for and should be pleasantly surprised if you get more.

My apologies for a longwinded first post. After reading some of the other threads here, it seems like this is a good group of people here.

Mike