HELP Info Needed on Grizzley G0709 14 X 40 Gunsmith's Gearhead Lathe

chadmichener

chadmichener

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I'm turning to the knowledgeable CGN crowd for some info on the following lathe. I want to be clear so i will start this forum post by saying "I AM NOT A MACHINIST BY TRADE". I am a plumber/Pipe fitter by trade so this is a totally different language than i am use to hearing.
I have an obsession with trying NEW calibers, but just don't have the patients to wait for a gunsmith to twist on a barrel so i have been thinking of purchasing a lathe for a while. By venturing down this trail i tend to do all my research via (Google and Youtube), being that this is a different language i am having a hard time understanding what some of these guys are talking about in some of the videos.

So before i go and drop a bunch of money on something that might become and expensive latter or beer coaster i have been shopping the famous "Kijiji" it looks like $4500 - $5500 is the market for a i think decent used lathe. Then i bumped into the (Grizzley G0709) BING!! For $5200 CDN they will ship it right to my door and pallet jack it right into my shop. Brand new in the box metal lathe, but is it too good to be true?

HERE IS THE LINK http://www.grizzly.com/products/14-X-40-Gunsmith-s-Gearhead-Lathe/G0709


The big question here is "IS THIS JUST CHINESE CRAP"?
What is this machine missing?
What should i expect to spend on additional tooling?
Dose anyone else or some one you might know have one of these brands?

Like i said i am not a machinist and granted i took a shop class years ago where they let us work on these, i'm still oblivious to what is good and what is NOT. I am not planning on using this for a business, strictly for personal use .

I would greatly appreciate the feedback from some fellow CGN'er's;)
 
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Any machine in that price range and single phase will have some compromises, but with some extra patience and time can usually get the job done. Just as most used machines of better brand will usually have issues as well.

For tooling there's so many options, $1000-2000 gets you started with basic stuff and maybe a knock off quick change tool post. It can add up very fast.
 
I dont think you can beat the price t your door. We got a new Chinese lathe at work 8 months ago
and it has been very good so far. A few little things but nothing serious.
The lathe is somewhat small as far as the spindle bore of 1-9/16 but should work for what you need.
If you go used to get a better size/quality then the price goes way up or you get into worn
beds and all the problyms of an abused machine. Just my opinion, never ran a grizzly.
 
I don't own one.
If I were looking to buy, I would be very interested in that machine, or its smaller 12" brother.
A gunsmith contributor to Home Shop Machinist used one in one of his articles.
Grizzley is an established business; never heard anything bad about them.
I think you could do worse.
 
grizzly is a good machine for the price. They are a local company and the owner is a gun nut.

that said, you can get an older Taiwanese lathe of similar size 15x40 for under $1000 in the US of you look. It really depends on whether you are willing to check it out, etc or don't want the hassle, warranty,etc.
 
Hi Chad,

I've run and still own several Grizzly lathes and South bends. If you are just using it for yourself then you will never be dissapointed. As far as tooling for barrel work:$600.00-$1,000.00 will do the trick. The key is buying the correct stuff to begin with. Stay away from carbide tooling because it has to be run at high speeds and you are a novice. The Arthur R. Warner Co. in Latrobe, Pennsylvania produces High Speed Steel indexable tooling and inserts. They are not expensive and you never need to learn tool grinding. 1-724-539-9229 Ask for Kevin or Mathias and tell the Da' Viper sent you. They can answer all your questions and they ship directly to you.
You can go to my You Tube channel and watch a few videos on the tooling and chambering barrels. (TheViper6506). If I can be of any further help. You can call me at 1-269-521-3671. I'm usually in the house after 7 pm. Eastern Standard Time.

Bob Pastor
 
I am jot a machinist hy trade but i would have a hard time spending that much on a lathe to for hobby use..i picked up a clausing 13x36 with powerfeed and collant fir a 1000..granted it is older but does everything i ask of it.
 
Most of the 'gunsmith' in that lathe is the addition of a cat head to the equipment list.

All accounts I have read about Grizzly seem to indicate that they have pretty much the same problems as any other importer of Chinese lathes, but they stand behind them pretty well, and usually can get their hands upon parts. They buy a slightly better machine than most importers, and they supposedly go through each one before they ship them out to the customer.
Accordingly, they charge a little more.

If you are interested in buying a used lathe, more or less locally, I know a fellow in Regina that imports batches of Chinese machines, as well as deals with buying and selling machine tools. I can PM you some contact info, if you are interested, but I don't figure it kosher to post his stuff here.

IIRC, the guy that owns Grizzly is a benchrest dude. He is supposedly the brother or cousin, of the guy that owns Busy Bee, and had, in the past,a gentlemen's agreement not to step on the toes of his relative's territory, though that seems to have gone by the wayside, I would suspect being due to the differences in the product lines carried. Some stuff with the Grizzly label on it has been surfacing at Busy Bee, too.

Cheers
Trev
 
as long you want to do jobs for yourself or friends as a hobby, I dont think you will be disapointed
I personaly went for a King 14-40 because this is what I could get locally
most of theses low price and light weight lathe have the same problem, you have to remoove gears and install diferents ones to change thread pitch but it the extra time is not an issue as long it is not looking for high production rate
just cut at slower speed ant take lighter cuts and you everything should be fine
btw, I am not a machinist either, I am just a marine chief engineer so my knowledge is limitted
 
Hey Guys
I greatly appreciate all the feed back so far. Like i said previously, i really only want to do this purchase once and i don't have a problem spending the money for good equipment.

Bob,
Shoot me a PM, i will give you a ring maybe this evening if your going to be around.
 
It's a lot more than I'd spend for a lathe and just a hobby, but I can't see where you can go wrong with the Grizzly.
I almost did the same, but looked around and found a South Bend 13x40 in excellent condition and Bridgeport J-head milling machine used both for a lot less than the Grizzly lathe.
The mill needed some reworking, but then it pays to have some machinist experience.
 
I've never felt "undergunned" with my chinese 12x36 so a 14x40 seems like a luxary to me.... :D For gunsmithing and other hobby use I seriously doubt that you will find yourself wanting more. If you've got enough disposable income that the $5200 isn't a big bother then this machine will carry you nicely for anything you can think up.

Each specific job in the lathe takes specific tooling. But in the end I suspect that about another $1500 over the next year or two will see you building up enough accessories and cutting bits to satisfy yourself.

Oddly I'm more a fan of HSS over carbide. As mentioned carbide tooling has some specific needs to get good results. Plus there's a whole universe of special grades of carbide and shapes and other variations to get the best results for each material and use. I just found that HSS for the big majority of my needs was far easier to work with and keep cutters in stock. A cup stone cutter grinder makes short work out of shaping and maintaining the HSS cutters. And the other side with the green stone is useable for touching up what carbide cutters you'll end up with as well.

You're in for a steep but fun and rewarding learning curve. Choosing to make a lot of your own tooling is a great way to learn. Things like boring bar and knurling tool holders are easy to make and will teach you a lot about the thought process that goes into setting up the machine for each cut. And that's the thing with metal working. It's all in the setup. Often it takes longer to set up than it does to make the cut. But it's the setup and testing that gives the precision.

In particular thread cutting is a big one. And if you're going to make your own barrels from blanks you will need to learn to do that.
 
I have this lathe modern tool sells the same model but it does not come with the out board spider but does have some basic tools. When i purchased mine a couple of years ago i believe it was 1500.00 less then the modern and they shipped it to Calgary for somewhere around 300.00. I have not had any problems with this lathe and have since purchased a milling machine from them also. I did install digital readouts on both machines. I also use the tooling that Bob Pastor suggested and am very happy with it.
 
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