I bought a bit of an oddball lathe and wanted to share my thoughts in case someone else is considering the machine. This is essentially the same as the WM210 WM180, MX210, and G0678 other than the MT5 difference.
This is very close to the standard 200x400 or 8x16 but instead of the MT3 chuck it has an MT5. The main implication for this change is that the drive gear on the spindle is 56 tooth vs 40 tooth and the pulley setup will also be more snug though it is unclear what belts are needed. I just broke a belt and I don't really trust the manual the machine came with since the threading gear charts are all wrong. The manual says 5M360 but that seems to be a very uncommon belt type. The grizzly manual for this machine says it needs 5M365 and 5M375 belts. I asked the seller on ebay and they sent me a picture of a 5M375 belt.
When I received the machine it was clearly rolling around the whole trip with a single bolt securing it. It took a big dent in the front cover, bent the gear cover bolt, as well as a few other issues. I should have refused shipment. The seller has been very responsive and claims to be sending replacement parts for everything.
I was able to get the machine started and running but it was filthy with grinding dust and needed to be fully stripped down and cleaned. It did not have cosmoline on it, rather a snotty gelatin type goop which was much easier to clean than the cosmoline.
The first problem I discovered was that the hold downs for the ways did not have any counter adjusting grub screws and looked like they were machined with a dull carp. I ended up squaring and milling them on my mill and tapping 3 m5 grub screws so I could adjust the fit to the ways. Without this adjustment there was at least .125" of slop rocking the cross slide.
The next problem was the carrage lock. It was drilled and tapped cocked around 10 degrees off. I've abandoned the factory setup and need to do a custom carriage lock later.
Many of the castings on the cross slide and compound were extreemly rough. They required heavy deburring, some needed time on the milling machine, and they needed lapping. I ended up installing a OXA quick change tool post and did the compound through hole mod to allow me to adjust the angle of the compound without unscrewing it 90% of the way.
The tailstock was about .25" off and locked up so it had to be fully stripped down. It turned out there was not enough room for adjustment and it required some filing and milling to square up. I also needed to shim it to get the height correct. Finally the locking mechanism required adjustment to get working properly.
I believe the reason I broke the belt was that it was over tight. I was unable to change the belt without going into the back of the lathe to unfasten the bolt on the inside of the electronics cover. There are some blogs on ways to fix this so you can change the speed without this extra work. This seems like a pretty intensive mod and I didn't really need the speed yet so I had put it off. Then my belt broke.
The final mod I did was to put a bearing on the compound slide. The compound is impossible to turn without binding. It is very hard to adjust it without lapping due to the extremely poor milling. Combining this with the very loos bushing fit and you will find it binds on any attempt to turn the compound with one hand. My bearing fix is pretty much a hack and I'm going to redo it when I have some spare time. The machine really is abysmal to use without the angle mod and something to make adjusting the compound easier.
So net net it was a lot of work but I also learned and know feel pretty confident with how the machine works and I have a better sense for what features I would appreciate on a lathe in the future. I do not think I would make this purchase again. As with most things you get what you pay for.
This is very close to the standard 200x400 or 8x16 but instead of the MT3 chuck it has an MT5. The main implication for this change is that the drive gear on the spindle is 56 tooth vs 40 tooth and the pulley setup will also be more snug though it is unclear what belts are needed. I just broke a belt and I don't really trust the manual the machine came with since the threading gear charts are all wrong. The manual says 5M360 but that seems to be a very uncommon belt type. The grizzly manual for this machine says it needs 5M365 and 5M375 belts. I asked the seller on ebay and they sent me a picture of a 5M375 belt.
When I received the machine it was clearly rolling around the whole trip with a single bolt securing it. It took a big dent in the front cover, bent the gear cover bolt, as well as a few other issues. I should have refused shipment. The seller has been very responsive and claims to be sending replacement parts for everything.
I was able to get the machine started and running but it was filthy with grinding dust and needed to be fully stripped down and cleaned. It did not have cosmoline on it, rather a snotty gelatin type goop which was much easier to clean than the cosmoline.
The first problem I discovered was that the hold downs for the ways did not have any counter adjusting grub screws and looked like they were machined with a dull carp. I ended up squaring and milling them on my mill and tapping 3 m5 grub screws so I could adjust the fit to the ways. Without this adjustment there was at least .125" of slop rocking the cross slide.
The next problem was the carrage lock. It was drilled and tapped cocked around 10 degrees off. I've abandoned the factory setup and need to do a custom carriage lock later.
Many of the castings on the cross slide and compound were extreemly rough. They required heavy deburring, some needed time on the milling machine, and they needed lapping. I ended up installing a OXA quick change tool post and did the compound through hole mod to allow me to adjust the angle of the compound without unscrewing it 90% of the way.
The tailstock was about .25" off and locked up so it had to be fully stripped down. It turned out there was not enough room for adjustment and it required some filing and milling to square up. I also needed to shim it to get the height correct. Finally the locking mechanism required adjustment to get working properly.
I believe the reason I broke the belt was that it was over tight. I was unable to change the belt without going into the back of the lathe to unfasten the bolt on the inside of the electronics cover. There are some blogs on ways to fix this so you can change the speed without this extra work. This seems like a pretty intensive mod and I didn't really need the speed yet so I had put it off. Then my belt broke.
The final mod I did was to put a bearing on the compound slide. The compound is impossible to turn without binding. It is very hard to adjust it without lapping due to the extremely poor milling. Combining this with the very loos bushing fit and you will find it binds on any attempt to turn the compound with one hand. My bearing fix is pretty much a hack and I'm going to redo it when I have some spare time. The machine really is abysmal to use without the angle mod and something to make adjusting the compound easier.
So net net it was a lot of work but I also learned and know feel pretty confident with how the machine works and I have a better sense for what features I would appreciate on a lathe in the future. I do not think I would make this purchase again. As with most things you get what you pay for.