Grizzly G0602?

BellyUpFish

Active User
Registered
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Messages
99
Hey guys-

I'm in the market for a lathe.

I have no immediate need of a lathe.
I will be using it as a hobby lathe only. Chess pieces? Draw pulls? No idea what I'd make, but I'm sure I'd figure it out. LOL
I've never used a lathe.
I unfortunately am somewhat space limited.

So, I'm looking at the Grizzly 10x22.

I understand this is going to need to be "un-Chinesed" bit. Strip, de-grit, etc.

I'm looking for opinions on the Grizzly. Anyone wanna help the noob? ;)
p
 
Can't help with comments about the Grizzly but, much here has been written about them so, please feel free to search.

For the sake of comparison, this machine is owned by several folks here and no-one seems to be complaining. I happen to know from the guy that distributes these things, he gets virtually no complaints at all about them. The only complaints he does get is that some people wish they bought a bigger lathe. http://www.machinetoolonline.com/PM1030.html I will say this, I am glad you seem to have a concrete opinion about what size lathe you are looking for. It's really tough when folks ask about a what lathe is right for them assuming its bigger than a breadbox and smaller than an elephant... -Really narrows things down...


Ray
 
I just checked Amazon.com and found several machines you can compare.

I have been buying things from Amazon for about 3 months and to me is is superior then other sites. Plus usually it's free shipping and a super warranty.

Take a look at the bottom of the page as they have several machines to compare from. Press the > arrow on the right side to see more.

Ray knows those machines he told you about too.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009L9V6V8?psc=1

Rich
 
Just so you guys know, Bolton and BusyBee are owned by the brother of the guy who owns Grizzly. They agree not to play in each other's back yard. The quality of those machines has been called into question many, many, many times. All the machines are spin-off of each other, coming from the same usual round-up of factories.


Ray
 
Hey guys-

I'm in the market for a lathe.

I have no immediate need of a lathe.
I will be using it as a hobby lathe only. Chess pieces? Draw pulls? No idea what I'd make, but I'm sure I'd figure it out. LOL
I've never used a lathe.
I unfortunately am somewhat space limited.

So, I'm looking at the Grizzly 10x22.

I understand this is going to need to be "un-Chinesed" bit. Strip, de-grit, etc.

I'm looking for opinions on the Grizzly. Anyone wanna help the noob? ;)
p
I had one and I liked it. Of course I'm no expert on machining but I thought it was a good lathe for what it was. I did several mods to it to make it more usable and some of them are on my youtube channel "robertdeanfoster" and projects in metal website.
I did, however, buy a PM 1236 and sold the G0602. I am very pleased with the PM1236.

Bob
 
I had one and I liked it. Of course I'm no expert on machining but I thought it was a good lathe for what it was. I did several mods to it to make it more usable and some of them are on my youtube channel "robertdeanfoster" and projects in metal website.
I did, however, buy a PM 1236 and sold the G0602. I am very pleased with the PM1236.

Bob


I've read nothing but good things about the PM1236, but its currently just out of my price range. Might make a decent step up, I don't even know if I'll use a lathe, just seems like I could. ;)
 
I don't even know if I'll use a lathe, just seems like I could. ;)

Sounds like you're in about the same place I was a few months ago. I ended up getting the G0602 - I am not unhappy that's the one I went with. I will say though that even after only a using it for a few weeks I *really* wish that:
1) it didn't require changing belts to change the speed. Adjusting the belts on my machine is a pain (they are very tight).
2) it didn't require changing gears when switching between threading and "normal" feed rates. I don't mind the idea of changing gears to get different thread pitches, it's just to get back to 'reasonable' feed rates for cutting I have to switch the gears back again.

I spent a lot of time researching and agonizing over which lathe (and mill) to get and ended up with the G0602. If I could do it over right now, I would probably get the G4003G instead - it's bigger and I've not actually read much negative at all about it. It is 3X the cost of the 602 though (and larger/heavier).

Again, I can easily say I'm not unhappy with the 602 purchase. It seems like a very capable lathe, and I'm having a blast learning how to use it.
 
If this is your very first lathe, and the very first time using a lathe, I would try to find a used one.

It shouldn't be too hard to find one on CL for 250-300 bucks. The HF mini lathes are fairly easy to find. I find them good to learn the basics on. They aren't the most capable machines, but if you crash it and bust up some gears, chuck, cross slide, etc., you did it on a used beater that didn't cost too much, rather than a new machine that you just shelled out a grand for.

Think of them as training wheels, and when you feel confident with the little one, sell it and buy a larger one. You may find this happens rather quickly, but if you end up never using it, you didn't waste a bunch of money! The good thing is that these machines loose little value, unless there is significant damage.

I went this route, and soon found myself wanting a larger lathe. I found a SB Heavy ten, and am restoring it. Once I finish the restoration, I plan to sell off the mini, and buy some tooling, like a new 3-jaw chuck!

Just my 2 cents.

-Cody
 
I have the Enco version of that machine and it has its shortcomings but for the money spent versus the amount of work it is capable of it is an excellent machine. I however was fortunate enough to get mine pre-owned and in excellent condition, so someone else lost the initial cost to value money, not me. There are a myriad of tools, tool holders, chucks, steady and follow rests available for these machines and essentially they are all made in the same factories in China. The difference is the level of quality the vendor demands and how much more he or she is willing to pay to get it. Grizz has a higher quality fit and finish than say HF, but Enco falls somewhere in between those two. So I would look carefully at the amount of difference and consider carefully whether the better paint job and slightly better assembled unit justifies the difference in price. Sometimes the price diff between vendors is pretty significant and the over all quality doesn't support the huge difference in price. I have seen that happen on several occasions and it is tough to watch some one blow there whole budget on the machine and not be able to afford any decent tooling till the next month or whenever they have built the kitty back up to the point they can make a few purchases for much needed tooling and measuring equipment. In the long run you will probably end up investing more in tooling and accessories than you paid for the machine. I know between my HF lathe/mill/drill and 7X in addition to my 9X I have spent a good bit of cash over the years buying tools, bits, holders, QCTP's, and micrometers. One thing that I do stress for any new owner is to consider the machine as it arrives as an assembled kit that needs to be taken completely apart, cleaned and lubed and carefully reassembled to get good tight tolerances and properly aligned head and tail stocks from the very beginning. It also helps to insure that the casting sand is all removed from the resevoirs and they are filled with good high quality lubricants that will decrease wear, and noise while improving longevity way beyond your natural lifetime.
Hope this helps make the decision a little tad easier.

Bob
 
As another satisfied owner of this lathe, I looked high and low for others at the time I had the money in my pocket to get a bigger lathe, and although this isn't quite big enough for some of what I want to do, it is, as a few guys have said, an excellent starter lathe - I got mine a few years ago when the were 850 bucks or so.(I am definitely NOT an accomplished machinist) It's fairly heavy, and knowing how hard I am on tools, has held up very well in terms of durability. It's not a nice old South Bend or Hardinge or whatever, but you can get a lot done with one, and not be too upset if you break something. Grizzly's support and service for parts is also pretty good (at least it has been for me anyway) How accurate it is would really depend on how much time you want to spend tuning it up.
 
Back
Top