Help Me Pick Lathe, Grizzly G4003g Or Baliegh 13x40

I have a Grizzly 14 x 40 G0709 and love the machine; have a fondness towards my experiences with Grizzly. However, I'd go with the Baleigh. The Baleigh has a speed range of 70 - 2000 RPM, the 4003G has a range of 70 to just 1400 RPM. The Baleigh has a D1-4 spindle, the 4003G a D1-5 with a slightly larger (1.57" vs. 1.5") spindle bore.

The 4003G has a Norton style QCGB which is good and bad. Good is you get through the 4-112 threading range with no gear changes on the quadrant . Down side is you'll have oil on the chip pan from lubing the gear box, it's louder and open on the bottom so chips can get up and in the gear box. Down side on the Baleigh is you have to change gears on the quadrant to get to all of your threads per inch. It probably has a similar gearbox to the G0782 which uses a 48, 46 or 52 tooth gear in the quadrant. The 46 is used for 5 3/4, 11 1/2, 23 and 46 tpi. The 52 is used for 6 1/2, 13, 26 and 52. So if you do a lot of 1/2 - 13 threading, you'll probably leave the 52 tooth gear in the quadrant and get whatever feed rates that yields on the longitudinal and cross feeds (not a big deal).

There are lots of posts here about guys' experience with the 4003G. In general, they like them - after all of the bugs were worked out. With the Baleigh you are getting a turn key lathe.

Another thing to look over is the rest of his shop. If things are a mess, I'd question how well he's cared for the lathe. If things are organized and clean to the point of being anal, the machine has likely been well cared for. You'll like having the DRO too. I added one to the G0709 for under $400 from TPACtools.com, works great! However, it took me around 5 or 6 hours to install it.

Good luck with the hunt!

Bruce
 
Have to agree with Bruce, I have a Norton gearbox, and it can be messy and noisier. Given that this individual has two machines (and purchased a second one of the same model), means that he probably liked them and the bugs or any issues have already been vetted. If there was damage to the spindle, they weren't running true, he wouldn't be unloading both or have used them for gunsmithing. I doubt a 4 year old machine used by a single individual with two lathes have much wear and tear, so they are probably just broken in. I would check out both carefully, listen to any strange noises, go through the gears, etc. Then you can haggle on the price, and you might see if there is additional tooling that he might bundle with the machine (like tool holders).

My D1-4 spindle is 1.57", so pretty much the same as the Grizzly, might vary slightly by machine. On this size machine, I do not think it makes any difference of a D1-4 vs D1-6 from a rigidity stand point of view.
Mark
 
Thank you, everyone, for the advice and details about the differences in the machines.
I will go with the Baliegh. Now if I can find a day to make room for it and a day to move it....
I'm sure I'll need more advice as I learn to use it.
Thanks,
Joe
 
I just bought a 4003g and it came with a LED light and ran very smooth, no vibration. See my post about the setup.
 
I am thinking about buying a g0776 anyone had any experiences with this one?
 
The Go776 looks about like the Baliegh PL1340e I finally got moved home. I haven't done much with it yet.
What I find odd is you have to move the spindle lever up to get it to run clockwise and the bump button runs the spindle counterclockwise.
I expected the opposite of both of these and hope I can swap a couple of wires to change them, unless someone knows a good reason to leave it like it is.
Comments, please.
Joe
 
The Go776 looks about like the Baliegh PL1340e I finally got moved home. I haven't done much with it yet.
What I find odd is you have to move the spindle lever up to get it to run clockwise and the bump button runs the spindle counterclockwise.
I expected the opposite of both of these and hope I can swap a couple of wires to change them, unless someone knows a good reason to leave it like it is.
Comments, please.
Joe
Totally non intuitive. Change them as soon as you can and before you break something or hurt yourself. Find the manual online or look at the one that comes with the lathe and see if somebody wired it wrong. It is not correct...
 
Thanks for the confirmation. Maybe it will be straightforward as swapping a couple of wires.
 
What I find odd is you have to move the spindle lever up to get it to run clockwise and the bump button runs the spindle counterclockwise. I expected the opposite of both of these and hope I can swap a couple of wires to change them, unless someone knows a good reason to leave it like it is.
I learned on a Jet ZX1440 lathe. All the Jet machines have the same control scheme as you are describing.

When I bought my Grizzly 1440 (G0709G) for my home, it took a bit of getting used to what was (for me) a backwards way of control.
 
The Go776 looks about like the Baliegh PL1340e I finally got moved home. I haven't done much with it yet.
What I find odd is you have to move the spindle lever up to get it to run clockwise and the bump button runs the spindle counterclockwise.
I expected the opposite of both of these and hope I can swap a couple of wires to change them, unless someone knows a good reason to leave it like it is.
Comments, please.
Joe

Joel, it is pretty simple to change the direction. There is a switch on the headstock end of the lathe on the control rod. Simply reverse those two wires.
Hope that helps.
 
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