lathe purchase opinions

[rockwithjason]

after deciding that the bench top units are too small i am looking at gunsmiths lathes. the two i can find readily available are shop fox and grizzly. there is about a $700 price difference between the two with the shop fox being more expensive. is there any reason to consider the shop fox over the grizzly other than the shop fox comes with a coolant pump. opinions? suggestions? links below. thanks

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200423984_200423984

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Gunsmith-s-Bench-Top-Lathe-with-Stand/G4003G

 

[larry_g]

It looks to be two identical lathes. Pick the color you like the best. The coolant pump for the griz adds ~$200 . I also believe that griz has a bit better reputation for customer support.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[blasto9000]

Shop Fox and Grizzly are the same company... the Shop Fox label was originally for the Canadian market, and Grizzly "green" for the U.S. I've been noticing more Shop Fox in the U.S. lately though.

Having said that, I've had the Enco and Grizzly versions of a similar lathe (virtually identical). The Grizzly version was a little more money than Enco, but much more nicely finished-up with better hardware, better paint, better metalwork and less body filler.

Both the Enco and Grizzly versions hooked right up to 240 VAC and I didn't have to horse around in the tool's junction box to get it going.

 

[Tunger]

I'd go with the grizzly, they are the same lathe but the customer support from grizzly is far better. My dad bought a shop fox about a year ago at auction that needed a few parts, shop fox would not sell him the parts-they said they only sell to retailers and referred him to a few retailers, of which he was not able to get timely service. He then called grizzly after he discovered they sell the same exact lathe, he had the parts he needed 2 days later.

 

[rockwithjason]

i suspected that they came out of the same factory. grizzly has treated me well the few times i have had an issue with them. that will probably be the deciding factor, good customer service.

 

[jamesemery728]

I would avoid Northern Tool like the plague.

 

[JamesBill]

If you have this much room why would you not get a used american lathe? I see very nice looking units on craigslist all the time, but they are heavier than those.

 

[rockwithjason]

there isn't much in my part of the country. what little there is out there worn out junk or priced out of sight. i have been watching for about a year now.

 

[A_Pmech]

Yeah, it's a machinery wasteland out your way, so I've heard.

But... If you have a motorcycle consider going on a machine expedition. I've done a couple. If / when you find what you want, rent a truck, load up the machine(s) and your bike and head for home.

Or, if you own a 4th gen Camaro...

 

[darkzero]

I choose a PM1236 over the G4003. Mainly because of the added features, recommendations/experieneces from others, price, & service. I upgraded from a HF814.

I purchased it a couple of years ago. Price is bascially the same as it is now except I got a 5% for not being in stock at the time (arrive in a month) & they offered free shipping back then. Matt from Quality Machine Tools was the most helpful person I have ever dealt with & was happy to answer every single question I had.

Lots of info on the PM1236 over on CandlePowerForums' Machining Subforum. You need to be a member to view that subforum though. I'll PM you all the links if you're interested.

Precision Matthews 12x36


(snip..)


If I were to purchase a lathe today I'd probably spend more time looking for old American Iron. I had no idea what to look for in a used lathe at the time. Still, I don't regret my purchase at all. There's also the PM1340T which is basically a Clausing less a few $K.

 

[rockwithjason]

what added features are you referring to?

 

[darkzero]

Nevermind, I totally missed where you said you were looking for "gunsmithing" lathes. The PM1236 is more comparable to the G4003. The G4003G is the one with the D1-5 spindle & comes with a spider.

The PM1236 has more spindle speeds, spindle brake, coolant system, chuck guard. I don't use the coolant & I eventually got tired of the chuck guard & took it off. I also like the gearbox knobs better. Doesn't come with a spider but one can be made for it. The G4003G looks like it has a wider range of threading capability, possibly a beefier stand, & a slightly bigger spindle bore. It also comes with the steady & follow rests that have the roller tips. I'd also choose the G4003G over the ShopFox.

 

[raross]

I looked at a lot of lathes before I bought mine. I ran an ad on craigslist to see if anyone had the precision Mathews, so I could run it, before I purchased it. I got a response from a guy in town that changed my mind about buying it. Matt the guy that imports them is a great guy, I talked to him on the phone and he is very helpful. Here was why I did not buy it. If you are using this for home use, like most of us are, the coolant feature is pretty much a mute point, if you use it every day it is not a problem. I think if you use it Monday and then don’t get back to it until Saturday having coolant on the machined surfaces is real bad. People may argue this but it is just my opinion. The foot brake is a nice feature but very few lathes have it! The main thing to look at is the weight of these machines! There is a huge difference and the Grizzly 4003G is the only small machine that I know of that has cast machine base’s! Chatter is a big problem on all these light machine so any weight helps, and the 4003G are 200-300 pounds heavier! I work for a Heavy Equipment Company, and cut bushings on this machine that are 5” X 2” with metric bores with no problem. I have had 4 issues with this machine under warranty and Grizzly has backed up their product every time! The PM machine, and all the others have a very light base’s (Sheetmetal). A couple more helpful thing’s, an old machine shop owner in town told me he figures the tooling out this way if he pays $3000 for a lathe there is $3000 dollars in tooling required for it! I can tell you he is about nuts on, about the cost! Also 2 more key points, when I put the machine together I used a good quality silicone when I mounted the drip tray under the lathe, there are no gaskets and it will leak and run down the support bases if you don’t! Also another lesson I learned is you will not be able to level it to the floor with bolts ever! Spent 8 hours with the bolts and shims and still could not get it as accurate as I wanted it! Trust me put anchors in the floor with studs, then put a top, and bottom washer, and nut on them so you can fine tune the leveling. I hope I helped someone out writing this!

BoB

PS: You will hate the tailstock lever that falls off all the time! Yes it is nice to be able to use a torque wrench on it, but wouldn't it be better on the back side?? If anyone has a repair for that I would LOVE to her what it is!