- Joined
- Jan 10, 2019
- Messages
- 1,042
I'm considering upgrading my Grizzly DF-1237G. I was leaning towards selling it due to a persistent oil leak, and "just because", but it turns out that while the seals are unavailable from Grizzly, they're common enough that even Amazon stocks them, so I'm hesitating selling what otherwise is a pretty capable lathe. This then led to thoughts of a full disassembly, cleaning, paint, swapping the lathe stand for a tool chest (can always use more storage), adding a backsplash (so no more cleaning behind it)... and upgrading the spindle. This last bit could be tough because word has it that the spindle nose has some odd thread size which is a mix of metric and English dimensions.
I'm posting this to see if anyone has gone down this path before. Apparently the spindle has an MT5 taper, so that's good. I looked through the Bison online catalog and found what appears to be an MT5 back plate (part number 7-915-0605) which bolts straight to their chucks. One problem is that it doesn't seem to be available, but requires more digging. Assuming I'm not overlooking something huge and it does fit, the MT5 taper adaptor means giving up being able to pass material through the chuck. While I hardly ever need to, it sure is convenient as an option.
The other approach is to do it the hard way, making a backing plate that screws onto whatever oddball nose the spindle has. Though much harder, it opens the door to being able to mount a modern D1-4 camlock chuck. The hard part is making an accurate backing plate, one without an unintended taper or wobble... So, what say you?
I'm posting this to see if anyone has gone down this path before. Apparently the spindle has an MT5 taper, so that's good. I looked through the Bison online catalog and found what appears to be an MT5 back plate (part number 7-915-0605) which bolts straight to their chucks. One problem is that it doesn't seem to be available, but requires more digging. Assuming I'm not overlooking something huge and it does fit, the MT5 taper adaptor means giving up being able to pass material through the chuck. While I hardly ever need to, it sure is convenient as an option.
The other approach is to do it the hard way, making a backing plate that screws onto whatever oddball nose the spindle has. Though much harder, it opens the door to being able to mount a modern D1-4 camlock chuck. The hard part is making an accurate backing plate, one without an unintended taper or wobble... So, what say you?