Comments on a Grizzly lathe

[charliechaz1]

Hi all,

First Post here. I have owned a Craftsman lathe and a smithy lathe /mill so I am not a novice.I am in the market for a lathe and wanted some opinions on a Grizzly 12x37 belt drive lathe and the g4003g gun smith lathe.compared to the HF lathes they look a little better. does anyone here have either of these the would be willing to share their experiences? all is appreciated.


Thanks

Charlie

[John Welden]

I've used the Grizzly and it's basically a pile of garbage that happens to be in the shape of a lathe.

[charliechaz1]

Thanks for the input John. Can you elaborate a little more?

[John Welden]

Originally Posted by charliechaz1 Thanks for the input John. Can you elaborate a little more?

They're cheapo lathes and you get what you pay for. It's not like they're unusable, but they're not something I'd buy if I had a choice.

If it's all you can afford than it will be better than nothing. There are lots of people out there who have them and make them work.

[PixMan]

For a MUCH better-quality lathe at a fair price (and for some sizes, free shipping), try these guys for their Clark (Taiwan) lathes. I have bought tooling from them, and they were really good to deal with. In fact, I sold them some NOS Royal collet closers, and they paid fairly good for them, in cash.

http://www.toolingking.com/

If you don't see the size and price range you want on their website, call them. They've got a good stock but don't update their site too often. Those Clark lathes come well-tooled and from my hands-on inspection, seem orders of magnitude better than the Grizzly a friend of mine had bought.

[Mcgyver]

Originally Posted by John Welden I've used the Grizzly and it's basically a pile of garbage that happens to be in the shape of a lathe.

that's a line worth remembering lol

[cmnewcomer]

I have an older Model G1003 12" x 37" Gap-Bed Metal Lathe that I've used since 1990. I'm just a hobbyist machinist and have used it to resurface rotors, make grandfather clock parts, fabricate jigs and figures, chase threads, and a wealth of other applications and have been satisfied with the performance of the lathe. I'm actually in the market for a newer lathe as well and while I'm considering another Grizzly, I'm looking to see what else is available that won't break the bank.

While the Hardinge would be a nice lathe it certainly is way out of a hobbyists price range but I don't know what other options are available when you move from the Taiwanese/Chines lathes to the Hardinge lathes?!

Best Regards.

Carl

[charliechaz1]

Thanks Carl,

Have you looked at smithy?

[cmnewcomer]

Yes, but I'm really looking for something like the G9730 grizzly. While I don't need a 13" lathe, it has many of the features I want, to include quick change gear box, 2k RPM, coolant, and D1-4 camlock. This lathe will be a challenge to get into my basement though. While I can manage a 12" the 13" carries some extra weight.

I'd really like to find a 11" or 12" lathe with the same features as the G9730 but haven't been successful yet.

Best Regards.

Carl

[charliechaz1]

Thanks for all the input.I think I am going to go with a smithy lathe.I had in the past the 1324 3 in 1 and liked it.