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Grizzly 7x14 owner

 

I have a Grizzly 7x14 that I fitted with a ER-32 collet chuck.
It was improved with a steel gearset and I "fixed" a ton of things that were machined wrong on it to make it more suitable.
An OXA quick change toolpost was a must have for me and I outfitted it with narrow nosed live center.
The end thrust setup on the leadscrew was janky, so I machined a nicer setup for it.
I was very disappointed with the drive motor mount, so I made a radiused and counterbored flat plate to mount it.
I cleaned the casting pimples off the mounting area and made thicker stepped washers in order to give it better support.
In the end, I had to modify the splash pan a little to compensate for the added dimension of the plate, but the end result was what I was after.
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Looks great
Before read a lot of reviews on different lathes and some had for different brands.
I do not help you at this point.
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This first time mini lathe since Nov 2023.
Before I had larger lathes?
I thik this about correct size for most home work shops after a year.
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The reviews complain about noise on some model , no quick change , tool post. So went to ploy-v and has a Aloris tool post since 1970¡¯s and a DC motor I plan for power feed later.
On mine I add extra long cross slide trave?
Temperature gauge on the motor?
STEADY REST
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Over all other few this manufacturers did not complete it good little lathe.?
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Dave?
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Here's the mount I made for my Grizzly.? Sounds like we were thinking alike.




On 01-Feb-25 3:48, G G via groups.io wrote:

I have a Grizzly 7x14 that I fitted with a ER-32 collet chuck.
It was improved with a steel gearset and I "fixed" a ton of things that were machined wrong on it to make it more suitable.
An OXA quick change toolpost was a must have for me and I outfitted it with narrow nosed live center.
The end thrust setup on the leadscrew was janky, so I machined a nicer setup for it.
I was very disappointed with the drive motor mount, so I made a radiused and counterbored flat plate to mount it.
I cleaned the casting pimples off the mounting area and made thicker stepped washers in order to give it better support.
In the end, I had to modify the splash pan a little to compensate for the added dimension of the plate, but the end result was what I was after.
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I never took any images of my motor mount mods, but the difference on mine was the counterbores in it that allowed me to torque the plate to the studs prior to mounting it.
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I matched the radius of the motor to my plate so it was cradled which added rigidity to the final assembly.
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When I got the lathe, it was on a horse trade and was inoperable because the former owner had tried to shift between high and low range while it was running.
One more mod I intend to do to it is to add provisions to lube the headstock gears since there was none from the factory.
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When I get a chance, I will provide a detailed photo of the leadscrew thrust adjuster I made for mine.
There were necessary mods made to the leadscrew reverser to properly clearance the fits on it too.
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I still have the three jaw chuck it came with, but since I already have ER32 stuff in my shop, it was a natural to equip this machine with the collet chuck.
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Our Diamond 22 horizontal mill in the lineshaft shop has a Brown & Sharpe #9 taper spindle that I fitted with a brand new import er32 setup since the B&S tooling is starting to dry up.
 

In all, I was kind of disappointed with the machine because it would have likely ruined a first timer's experience with it since it required some attention from square one.
My original intention with it was to re-sell it, but afterwards I decided to hang onto it since I would have lost all of my time invested in it just to make it a feasible machine.
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With a little work,? new owners can make the mods needed to them over time which could be some very nice projects to add to their lists.
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One more mod I want to make is for the protractor on the compound rest so it will allow it to be set at 29.5 degrees for cutting 60 degree threads.
At the present, that option isn't available on the Grizzly since it isn't within the range of it.
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Eventually it will be headed to the oldschool shop in Brownsville to use for smaller work and polishing.
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A huge upgrade to them is the metal gearsets that are now available on Ebay for under $100.
My set included the headstock gears and the cog belt gears for the drive assembly.
When I pull the spindle again to replace the plastic gears in the headstock, I will add the necessary provisions to properly lubricate them.
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Edited

I guess I should clarify the stuff about the shop in Brownsville Pa. USA.
That is an oldschool lineshaft shop I run out at our Steam Gas and Horse Association showgrounds.
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I am deeply involved in the preservation of our equipment there and do all of the needed repairs when necessary.
The most difficult part of that is preserving the century old patina that the old girls now wear since clean and shiny isn't always in their best interest.
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My home shop is fairly well equipped, but I also try to do as much of the work at the showgrounds just to be able to say that all of my old "girls" help each other there instead of taking the work outside of that setting.
 

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Here's the other mods I did to the Grizzly before I moved.

Gear and leadscrew covers, wider stance on the feet.
 

Hard to see plastic gears on any lathe?
I forgot part to watch out for.
As it is the gears I have on my lathe are power metal gears.?
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The spindle bearing very a lot some are class 1 all the way to class 8 and do not till you. Most are 6206 ball bearing no seals. It same bearings I use on hangar doors seal class 3 or better.?
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It just things that can fix easily and for under $50.00 at manufacturer cost they would have great lathe
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Dave
 

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For a consumer lathe, plastic is probably fine.? I never changed the gears in mine and didn't have a problem.

Metal is a lot nosier, not good for consumers putting these in a spare bedroom with the spouse watching TV in the other room.

My new lathe has all metal gears and a 3 phase motor with a dedicated VFD.? Motor quiet, gears are a bit noisy but not bad.

My old mill was belt drive and pretty quiet.? An old Taiwan "tabletop" I bought in the late 1990s.? The new mill is a gear head with a 2kw 3 phase motor and VFD.? Motor is pretty much silent, but the gears are anything but.

While I'm on motors, I brought our horizontal bandsaw from California as it cuts dead true.? I left the 120V motor and stand behind and built a new stand for it here.? A friend here gave me an OLD Soviet 3 phase motor that had been rigged up with capacitors to run on single phase and it had a grinding wheel on it.? Looks funky but runs fine.?

I got the grinding wheel off with penetrating oil, tossed the capacitors, machined a pulley hub to fit the motor and now I have a nice band saw.? Have to finish hooking up the auto shutoff and hydraulic lowering system but for now it works with a manual power switch.

Handy that I have 3 phase power in the shop sort of by accident, they brought in 3 phase to power our sauna as single phase power draw here is limited to 25 amps for an entire house. I said HEY, put a circuit in the shop!? They left the wire hanging out of the wall and I added a sub panel to that and it powers the mill and band saw.

Bandsaw right after we got it working again below



On 01-Feb-25 16:12, davesmith1800 wrote:

Hard to see plastic gears on any lathe?
I forgot part to watch out for.
As it is the gears I have on my lathe are power metal gears.?
?
The spindle bearing very a lot some are class 1 all the way to class 8 and do not till you. Most are 6206 ball bearing no seals. It same bearings I use on hangar doors seal class 3 or better.?
?
It just things that can fix easily and for under $50.00 at manufacturer cost they would have great lathe
?
Dave
 

I run VFDs and love them.
My Logan has one on it and it is outfitted with a glass scaled DRO.
No sense in having variable speed if you can't tell how fast it is, so there is a flying magnet hall effect switch handling that.
The other upgrade the three phase allowed for was the two horsepower motor to optimize my carbide.
I can see the point of the gears being noisy in my Grizzly, but I just prefer the steel ones and only have me here to upset if they are too loud...lol
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I tool a boring bar holder for my AXA post and fitted it with a bronze bearing and a drill chuck do I can do drilling operations on my lathe.
Another project was the addition of an indexer made out of a 60 tooth gear with a spindle stop bolt.
I can either drill along the longitudinal axis or any other angle I choose.
The install was fairly clean because I used existing mounting holes for the collet closer and the slot in the gear cover to pull it off.
The gear is mounted with an expanding sleeve in the spindle bore.
Then the indexing gear is removed, the gearcase can still be closed.
 

My horizontal bandsaw is a Jet that will handle 10 x 18 inch stock, a bit big for what I do, but the price was right.
When I got it home, I went thru the entire machine and replaced all of the bearings.?
Then she got a bath and a fresh coat of paint.
 
Edited

I have 3 daw size.?
They saw I use shop same high sawhorse and doing welding machines work or welding .
They did lot cutting I had bigger sad but the little portable was very handy.
I have same? saw in my shop today.
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The only down side was saw blades would break and cost .?
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Dave?
 

 

I love refurbishing older machinery.
My South Bend 10K was salvaged from a fire.
 

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very nice!


On 2/1/25 16:54, Nitro via groups.io wrote:

I love refurbishing older machinery.
My South Bend 10K was salvaged from a fire.
 

Like power feed motor.?
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Does the gear on motor go to feed gear?
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Dave?
 

 

The south been looks great
Sold mine little over a year ago.
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If need a tapper attchemt or steady rest let me know.?
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Dave?
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If they fit a 10k, then we will talk.

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