Looking for good lathe

[jl123]

I've been looking around locally for a lathe but they all seem overpriced compared to ebay. Of course locally I wouldn't have to pay shipping but the selection is very limited. I have yet to see a lathes cost less than $3K locally.

I've been looking at the Grizzly G4000

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G4000

I might have found a pretty good deal for one with a 3c collet closer and a set of 15 collets and more extras.

What are the quality of these lathes? I'm just looking to learn and maybe work some aluminum pieces under 2 inch diameter. Would this machine turn stainless and other steels?

I'm looking to spend around $700US for a lathe. I don't care the age, I just want something in decent condition and want it to last. So if anyone has any other ideas on what I could get I'd like to hear them. I want to get this rather soon also.

Thanks

[widgitmaster]

Two years ago I bought a Jet lathe, it was a 9x20 just like the grizzley.
What a mistake! It had no power, vibrated itself apart and was extreemly noisy at high spindle speeds!

After 18 monthes it died! So I gave it away for scrap!

Then I bought a real Gear Head 14x40 Lathe from Birmingham!
It had all the accessories, like 3&4 jaw chucks, tool post, centers, extra gears and more!

http://www.americanmachinetools.com/Lathe.htm

It is a sweet machine, and has no faults so far!

Good luck,
Eric

[jl123]

Believe it or not I saw that lathe and I was just struck by it's capabilities. It offers everything more expensive gear head lathes that I've worked with have. It was actually my first choice. I think I'll save for it later on down the road. I need to get a taig mill first.

[jl123]

How long did it take to get your Birmingham lathe widget? Did you buy from american machine tools?

I'm itching for a lathe now.

Thanks.

[S_J_H]

I have a g4000. It's just a 9x20. It is probably one of the worst finished lathes you can buy. It is cheap however and since this is CNC zone I would think upgrading the machine might not be so big of a deal.
If it is not, then most of the problems with this lathe are easy to correct.
2" aluminum is nothing for it when properly setup. I can cut .125" deep in 2" aluminum no problem.
4" Stainless however is a real chore for the lathe. So think carefully what your intentions are.
My G4000 is radically modified and I'm putting a 1hp 3phase motor and VFD on it in the next few weeks. So at this point it is a nice machine.

But, if I had to do it over again I would go straight for something like a 12x37.
I have a 7X already for the little stuff. Those little lathes are great for the quickie small job.
The sieg c6 seems to be a better built lathe in the same size range as a 9x20. I think it is about 320lbs vs 250 for the 9x. There is a 11X26 version of the 9x20 which I think suffers most of the same problems, but is near twice the weight. So with some work it should be a decent performing machine.
It's a big jump up to the 1000+ lb lathes after that.
Steve

[jl123]

I'm really eyeing this lathe from grizzly now.

Can anyone see any major weaknesses of this one? I'd like to have the camlock spindle and collet option the birmingham offers but I got a quote from them a while back when I started this thread and wanted 800 for freight to texas. Ordering a machine from grizzly would be my first choice as they have great service and thier shipping cost can't be beat.

Here's the catalog page.

[acondit]

I have a 12x36 gearhead from Harbor Freight and I have seen the Grizzly and the Birmingham. I believe that the Grizzly is much closer to the Birmingham than the HarborFreight is. My impression is that the handles on the Grizzly are much better design than the HarborFreight. My Harbor Freight only cost me $1599 on sale though. I wish that I could have bought the Grizzly machine.

Alan

Alan

[krymis]

this one is not that far fromt he birmingham http://www.grizzly.com/products/G4003 It is great cnc conversion. If you want more info ask arron moss at industrial hobbies as he recommended it for my conversion. Its gear driven and comes with a few things....easy to upgrade too.

[jl123]

Is there anything wrong with the belt driven one that I linked? Besides the cam lock spindle are there any advantages to the G4003?

[widgitmaster]

Originally Posted by jl123 I'm really eyeing this lathe from grizzly now. Can anyone see any major weaknesses of this one? I'd like to have the camlock spindle and collet option the birmingham offers but I got a quote from them a while back when I started this thread and wanted 800 for freight to texas. Ordering a machine from grizzly would be my first choice as they have great service and thier shipping cost can't be beat. Here's the catalog page.

A word of caution on the Birmingham Collet Closer!
The one I ordered from them was so poorly made, I had to send it back for a full refund! That took 8-weeks!

So I now have a 5C Collet Chuck which has a D1-4 cam lock, I just remove the 3-jaw & pop on the collet chuck!
Much nicer!

I don't think the collet closer was made by Birmingham, as it didn't have the same quality craftsmanship! I wrote them a serious letter discribing all the flaws I found while trying to install & use it! But at least I got my money back!

MSC sells a complete 5C collet closer system with the same design and quality as Hardinge Brothers, but it is over a $1000 Some day I may go that path

[jl123]

Thanks for the words of caution. I'm pretty familiar with lathes but I've always worked on ones that have a camlock spindle so is the spindle on this lathe a problem? Never worked with it so not sure about it.

[widgitmaster]

If i'm not mistaken the spindle is threaded

Spindle thread: 2-1/4" x 8 TPI