Thread: re grizzly lathe

The Hare and Forbes 12x36, AL-335 AL-336 and AL-336D, are the closest.

L183 | AL-335 Bench Lathe | machineryhouse.com.au

Plenty of members here have one of those lathes and there is a wealth of info on the forum about them.

Also sold by Ozmestore on Ebay and various other importers, including Asset Plant and Machinery.

yeah i did compare with those but the specs are not quite the same , spindle bore is one and a few other things .

The H&F AL-960 has a 40mm spindle bore and MT5, it is 305x925, so about the same size.

L237 | AL-960B Bench Lathe | machineryhouse.com.au

It looks abut like the old Herless lathe that came out before H&F bought the company out.

Phil

Probably specially made for Grizzley.... D1-5 camlock is not that common,

ok ta for that , for some reason they call it a gun smiths lathe , its made in china just like the ship loads of others are though .
although the h&f 960 is made in taiwan .
the CQ toolex 12x36 as per gas weld i am not sure where they are made .
is it just me or does everyone have a huge problem picking the right lathe so as to avoid kicking ones self in a few months time .

johno

Originally Posted by texx

is it just me or does everyone have a huge problem picking the right lathe so as to avoid kicking ones self in a few months time .

johno

Nope, I had the same problem... Hard to pick a new lathe when you cannot go look at it as well as was my situation... So I went the expensive route, and today 2 years later am bloody happy I did...

If a lathe is referred to as a gunsmith's lathe it is usually because it has a couple of features on it to make modifying your guns easier. Usually you'll find things like a slightly larger bore for the size of lathe and a spider at the non-chuck end of the spindle for supporting a barrel while working on the other end.
Barrels can be modified on lathes that are not called gunsmith's lathes and these lathes can be used for making bits that are nothing to do with guns. As you note, they come out of the same factory...

Michael

(PS - I have a theory, that all lathe owners will own at least 2 lathes. The first to work out what they want and the second (and subsequent) to get it.)

Have you checked out the laths that Titan machinery have? Similar specs to some of the other Grizzly products, certainly as far as milling machines go.

For the money I reckon the AL-340a is the best bang for your buck. I have one and I'm absolutely rapt with it.

Hi there,

I have inherited a Workman 12x36 engine lathe from Ozmestore and it looks very much the same as the Grizzly one you have stated, in fact I use a Grizzly owners manual from time to time because some of the exploded parts diagrams are better quality and easier to view. In fact, I just looked at the manual I use (in addition to the one it came with) and it's the manual for a G4003. All the parts are identical including the bearing lists.

It's not a bad lathe and is capable of some accurate work but if I had it my way I would own a lathe with an enclosed gearbox over the norton open (or total loss system). The lubrication of the tumbler gears inside is hit and miss with the single oil point that it provides. I understand that there is a lot more to consider when purchasing a type of lathe than the type of gearbox but that is my main complaint with this lathe. I am slowly changing the gearbox lubrication system but it's a slow process as I have other projects on the go and it's a low priority project at this stage. I just make sure that I lube the gears from underneath at the moment.

Whatever you choose, make sure you buy it from a store that will give you good after sales service. That's all I will say.

I have attached a pic of my machine for your interest and comparison. You can see that I have made a small oil catcher underneath the gearbox to reclaim the oil. The cast cover plate on the RHS is also permanently removed to allow easier access to oil point.

Hope I have helped

Cheers

Simon

Originally Posted by Michael G

(PS - I have a theory, that all lathe owners will own at least 2 lathes. The first to work out what they want and the second (and subsequent) to get it.)

+1
I bought an AL 320G to do some gun work on, never used a lathe before this. What a bad choice... No quick change for feeds and thread cutting, I'd had it a week and I was looking for it's replacement, because everything took soooo looong.
Sold it recently (2-3 years later) and got something more suitable.