Does anyone have a grizzly gunsmith lathe?

[jonbearman]

How are the tolerances and could you do decent chamber jobs with it.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

They have a few features that are only on the gunsmith series. They are also supposed to have better bearings in the headstock. The users skill sets the tolerances once he knows his machine. Itll do work as good as any gunsmith needs

 

[savagedasher]

Run them a couple of hours praticing . Change the oil and adjust the bearing they can do accurate work with the right tooling and some user skills Larry

 

[Dusty Stevens]

How do you adjust the roller bearings?

 

[savagedasher]

How do you adjust the roller bearings?

Simple you do it just like they did when it was made. Almost like adjust wheel bearings. You tighten the nut that push bearings closer together . Google it Larry

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I dont have a Grizzly but I set my spindle bearings for a 40 degree temp increase over ambient at max RPM. I think there are better choices for imports. The Precision Mathews seem to have better fit and finish than the Grizzlys I have seen. For a little more the Harrison M300 from MSC is a good unit.

 

[riflewoman]

+1 on the Harrison. IMO better than the competing Vectrax.

 

[JRS]

Grizzly has sold quite a few lathes. A number of reputable companies use them on a daily basis, including many gunsmiths. Sierra Bullets, Bartlein Barrels, Boretech, PT&G, Gordy Gritters, etc; etc.

 

[riflewoman]

Grizzly machinery is the best bang for the buck. Better than most Asian imports.

 

[GerryM]

grizzly is asian' China'
save your money buy a lath that american Theres plenty of old American iron for sale in decent shape at near the same prices.
Why would you want to buy china lathes, and then have to work on it to make it accurate enough?

 

[riflewoman]

For many reasons. Cost is one. Another is that the Asian lathe will be more robust and I can take heavier cuts and get better accuracy than light cuts on an old half worn out American lathe. Been there done that.

 

[shortgrass]

A very good friend of mine has one. OK for hobby work, I guess. The guy controlling the handles and choosing the tools has a lot to do with it.

 

[DBailey]

I use the 4003G. Works good for me.
Set it up and broke it in following Grizzly instructions. Chambered 30+ barrels plus many other projects, No Problems.

 

[John from MN]

I've owned one since 2009. Holding runout to around .0002 isn't much of a problem. I don't usually try for better than that.

The coolant pump only lasted a few hours. Instead of going to Grizzly, I fitted the Oberdorfer off of the LeBlond the Grizzly replaced. Zero problems besides that.

I don't agree with the "buy old American stuff" unless you can spend some time on the machine first or you trust the person you're buying from unless you enjoy working on old machinery. I'd much rather work on a rifle than fix a lathe.

Edited to add that mine is the 16" x 40".

 

[Macropod]

The better lathes are Taiwanese made. They seem to be several notches above the Chinese units in terms of quality.

 

[DJ111]

+2 on the Harrison m300 as I have had good luck using one. The grizzly can do good work also.

 

[RemingtonAI]

I am looking to buy a mini lathe for small gunsmithing projects, prototypes, cutting gears for little inventions I come up with etc and am looking at the mini Grizzly and the mini precision lathe by Central Machinery (harbor freight). Anyone recommend one over the other?

 

[Ggmac]

The HF , grizzly , enco ,little machines seem to be all the same manufact and machines , just painted a diff color . My enco 12-36 is the same as my HF 12-36 and is the same as a friends grizzly . Just my observations . The little machines version has metal gearing , a big plus ,unless your new at this ,if so the plastic gears would be the fail safe and are inexpensive .

 

[riflewoman]

If your just learning the HF a would do. The price point is usually achieved by fit and finish. In many cases the machines are made in the same plant. These machines aren't really industrial quality as they are too small to do production work and not precise enough to do instrument work. But they are what they are and were intended to be; hobby machines for model makers and machining student lathes.

 

[cncmill]

If you are interested in Grizzly's small gunsmithing lathe, check out Shop Fox. It is the same lathe only white and you can find it cheaper. Plus it has a 2 year warranty instead of a 1 year.

Erick Crouthamel