lathes

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 5:00 pm

Can anyone tell me there is a real difference between the Jet 9x20 and the Grizzly 9x19 lathes besides the color?
I've seen several websites devoted to "import" lathes and the two are treated as the same lathe.
The price difference is pretty substantial.
Does anyone have experience with both - or really knows if they are different?
I'm searching for a lathe and I am a novice to turning so I need some input on this.
Also, can anyone suggest books on metal lathe setup and novice use?
Many thanx guys.

bscofield · Post by **bscofield** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 5:57 pm

I know the guys with lathes will chime in here but I'm pretty sure that Grizzly lathes have gotten a bad rap on here in the past...

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:13 pm

Well...... digging further, I find that the Chinese machines, Grizzly, Harbor Freight, Enco are basically knockoffs, or in the case of the Jet, nearly counterfiet machines.
I know that others have said the Chinese machines were poor, but I got a bit confused when the Jet (American made) was lumped in with them on various user web sites.
Appearently, the like as like treatment was intended to be for their various
specs and such - not quality. ( though one site litterally says that the Jet an import, same as the others!)
So, that is that and thanx to all for putting up with my occasional ignorant
query.

jeff · Post by **jeff** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:54 pm

Todd Johnson owns both the Jet and the Grizzly. I've used them both at his place and can say from my brief experience that the two machines are dramatically different in both performance and build quality. For instance, we had to change out a broken Grizzly part and exchanged it with a Jet stock piece. The Jet v. Grizzly part was substantially heavier and of obviously higher quality. I've also used Grizzly parts to repair one of my Jets and I'll tell you that I have never worked with such garbage. I literally had to use a bastard file to widen an improperly finished slot on a piece. Of course, it cost $8 instead of the $80 that Jet wanted, so it was worth the filing!

I personally own 2 Jet BD920Ns. One is an older model (gray color) and one is a newer one (white). The two perform very differently and appear to have parts that are similar in appearance but different in performance quality. The older machine appears to be better built and of better overall quality. Of course, the performance difference could have something to do with my shipping company dropping the newer lathe off their truck and crushing half of it, but that's neither here nor there. :boohoo:

Regarding their country of origin, to my knowledge all of these machines come out of the same factory in China and are of identical design, save a few minor details. The differences are in the quality of the parts that are used to make up the machines. I guess it could be similar in many ways to placing Nike Air Max shoes next to Payless knockoffs that are made in the same factory of similar components, but when it comes down to it, the Nike is built better of higher quality materials.

I can't speak to the origin of the older Jet machine that I have because it's fairly new to me and I haven't looked, although I did notice that the motor was manufactured in Taiwan and is different than the one on the newer model.

I hope this helps clear the muddy water a little.

Jeff

magruder · Post by **magruder** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:52 pm

Thanx Jeff. That is great info. Side to side experience is invaluable info.
I appreciate this response
:thumb:

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 8:12 am

Jeff

Do you have a wood turning lathe too, or do you use your metal lathes for stems and stummels?

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:22 pm

ooo! Maybe I shouldn't say this, But I own a Grizzly 7x12. Up untill recently I've only used it for stem work, and it performed rather well.
Although I'm limited because of the short swing, I recently cut a long shanked canted "poppy". I also used it to cut a seat for the shank addornment. I thought the machine worked out rather well,....it's the operator I worry about. I'll be posting the pipe soon.
Just my 2 cents
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:24 pm

Forgot to mention, it's a metal working lathe
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:53 pm

I have a Homier 7X12 metal lathe, same as Dan's Grizzly, that I use for drilling draft, mortice, and tobacco holes. I also use it for the stems. It has a three jaw chuck that works fine for round material, ebinite stock, but when it comes to turning the briar blocks I use a four jaw 6" wood chuck that I bought for $18.00. The wood chuck has a 3/4 X 16 TPI hole in the center which I bought a peice of threaded rod for and just put it in my three jaw chuck to hold the briar. I removed two of the jaws and it works just fine.

Here is a large pipe that I drilled on the lathe using the wood chuck http://www.bgimg.com/

Bill

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 5:18 pm

Bill

Do you have a photo of the wood chuck get up that you made?

yellowking · Post by **yellowking** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:54 pm

If you want info on the metal mini-lathes, check out http://www.mini-lathe.com/. They're all made by the same factory in China; in fact http://www.littlemachineshop.com/ used to have a photo tour of the factory.

I see a lot of people running them down because they're imports, but there is a HUGE, active user base for these lathes, with people who use them for a lot more interesting and difficult uses that cutting tenons, and they don't seem to mind them. The Yahoo group has almost 5,000 members. These people use them to make little working engines and wacky stuff a hack like me can only dream of.

I have a Homier Speedway 7x12, and no real complaints about performance. I have had some difficulties, but with the above resources, worked through them, and they could all be attributed to my own ignorance and inexperience. My only real complaints are that the 3" chucks are too small to turn blocks, and the opening through the headstock is too small for a lot of things I wish I could put through there.

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:29 am

I don't have any pictures right now. I have a doctor's appointment this moring, going to have a colonoscopy, want that be fun. When I return I will see if I can't get some photos posted.

Bill

LexKY_Pipe · Post by **LexKY_Pipe** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:31 am

Bill

Hope the procedure is just a routine check. Been there done that.

Best wishes.

bluesmk · Post by **bluesmk** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:11 am

I wanted to post last night, but I had to get going to work.
The four jaw, independent chuck I use I bought from Micro-Mark, after speaking with a tech, found out most of thier parts fit my Grizzly that are made for their 7x14. I still think they're made in the same factory, one's painted red, the other green. I'll be speaking to them soon. They have a mill table that fits the cross-slide, for drilling with the headstock.
Ciao,
Dan
Gabrieli Pipes PS-www.micromark.com

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:19 pm

Here's a couple photos of my wood chuck that I use with my 7X12 metal lathe for drilling stummels, I have two of the jaws removed. The brass adapter was made by a guy on the Yahoo Mini Lathe forum who sent it to me, he has the same set up and had a spare. A piece of 3/4 16TPI rod will work just as well.

http://www.bgimg.com/

Here is a link to the place I bought the wood chuck from.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=34551

Bill

yellowking · Post by **yellowking** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:51 pm

WBill wrote:The brass adapter was made by a guy on the Yahoo Mini Lathe forum who sent it to me, he has the same set up and had a spare. A piece of 3/4 16TPI rod will work just as well.

Do you hold the adapter in a normal chuck? UPDATE: Yes, I see previously in the thread that you do.

WBill · Post by **WBill** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:32 pm

I see that you answered your own question.

Yes, you just mount the adapter with the four jaw chuck screwed on into the three jaw chuck. When you are through drilling you just remove the four jaw chuck and then can work on your stem using the three jaw chuck.

Bill

pipemakersforum.com

lathes

lathes

lathes:

lathes:

lathes: