Grizzley 20" x 42" lathe

Not sure which lathe you are referring to but I had the G1495 and it was terrible. Motor never lined up with the spindle pulley, the sheet metal vibrated and made noise, the tool rest broke, the Reeves drive kept getting stuck. Grizzly makes many good tools, but this lathe is not one of them. Can't say about the others. Earl

Had a lot of problems with castings at the school. The size of the iron crystals was so large, I think they may take them from the foundry and toss 'em in cold water. I've heard a lot of people describe them as a "kit" on arrival, rather than a tool.

They have a new lathe, rather a monster see

Since most outlets don't even have one yet, it's hard telling, but it does have promise. The rub might be the 1-1/2x8 headstock

Or the 500 RPM minimum speed.

I get nervous roughing out a 12" bowl at 500 RPM, let alone a 20" to

24" bowl.

My 1067Z has worked fine for years. I've added a supernova chuck, oneway live center, best toolrests, and a bunch of chisels to the mix. Also put 300lbs of marble chips on the lower shelf to give the base some mass. It runs smoothly and will turn anything I can fit on it. The 1x12 spindle is nonstandard, but it's only annoying when I bring my stuff to the craft fair - I end up swapping out the supernova adapter sometimes.

I have snapped the toolrest *extension* twice, but I think it's just poor design and I never use it anyway.

In general, I've been satisfied with Grizzly's big tools, considering they're inexpensive compared to other brands. I've got their lathe, table saw, two jointers, portable planer, dust collector, dust filter, and small combo sander.

yep.. especially as you move closer to the outside edge and it seems to be going about 1,000 rpm...

I'd love to turn on something that had a low speed of maybe 100 rpm..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

I bought my G0584 lathe from Gizzly in Feb. its a great buy and a good lathe. I have had three problems with the lathe all which I consider no big deal.

1. The first one to my door was damaged in shipping....no matter what if you see it damaged at all reject the shipment. That is what customer service told me to do and it was much easier than the other options.

1. The second one was great but the tool rest broke at the T. No I wouldnt say for sure it was defective or my own fault, but grizzly sent me a new one very quickly for free.

2. It will use up its belt if you catch to much or do other amature things you will wear out the belt. I bought a couple extra belts and have only used the one I bought to replace the original belt.

I have a stronghold chuck and several face plates plus it comes with a face plate. You can find chucks, face plates and adaptors easily on the web.

I made one adjustment to my lathe.....weight.....I cut two pieces of angle iron and 1 piece of 3/4" plywood.....there are tabs on the legs that fit perfect for a shelf....3 bags of 70lb. sand bags and this is one seriously solid lathe.

Thats my $.02 and you can check out its work on my site....shavedwood.com

Rob

BTW - I saw this one in the showroom in MO.....its really nice for about the same money as mine....lots more power

Rob - shavedwood.com

Generally I have had very good experiences with Grizzly equipment and support. However I did not buy my lathe from them.

RonB

Don't you have a Shopsmith? You can get the speed reducer pretty cheap on e-bay now and then. LD

I think that a 500 rpm minimum, 20" swing lathe is an accident waiting to happen. Just my 0.02.

Bill

Bruce Barnett wrote:

Don't grab for the handwheel!

yeah... but then I'd have to go back to turning on it.. *g*

Sort of defeat the purchase of the Jet Mini and then the Jet 1442 last year...

Might look into a different motor or a speed control for the 1442 when the warranty runs out, though..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing