I recently received my Grizzly G0570G metal lathe. I've had some issues with it and I've started a new thread with my experiences and observations that I'll update as I go along
The G0750G is a direct descendent of the G4003G -- many of the part numbers are the same. The lathe may appear to be the same as the PM1236, but it is actually quite different. Talking with Mat, he says they are made in different factories. I asked for a copy of the PM1236 manual, but I never received it so I can't tell you all the differences.
When I called Grizzly back in May, they said they were out of stock and had 15 back-orders queued up. Earliest delivery might be in late June. I place my order on May 29 and received an email saying estimated delivery was pushed out to August 29. Then a few days later, I got an email that said it had in fact shipped on 5/31. Go figure! I guess the inventory people aren't connected well with the order desk.
It arrived in fine condition on 6/10. By the time I got it cleaned up and lifted up on the stand (with an engine hoist) it was a week later. They provided a multi-page listing of machine specs (run-out and such) along with actual measurements on my machine (all of which were well within the limits). It was a nice surprise having the factory measurements on my machine.
Doing the recommended spindle break-in, there was a lot of oil spewing out of a small hole in the headstock cover (apparently an air hole?). At the suggestion of Grizzly tech support, I plugged the hole and continued with the break-in. Then I noticed there was also a lot of oil leaking from the back of the headstock cover onto the electrical panel. I removed the cover and discovered that the inside surface of the cover was not machined flat -- just the rough casting coming in contact with gasket. Furthermore, the cover was warped sufficiently so that it was not seating on the gasket. Grizzly agreed to send a replacement cover and gasket (should be here tomorrow). Note that these parts are the same as the G4003G machine, so this is not due to a design change. Probably just a result of them trying to get the machine out faster.
After the break-in period, the v-belts were generating excessive amounts of powdered belt material which turned to goo with the grease on the end gears. This was due to the finished surfaces of the pulleys having been painted and rough edges on the pulleys. I cleaned up the pulleys and that should take card of the problem. Grizzly is sending new v-belts.
One of the cam-lock studs for the faceplate were not threaded all the way -- Grizzly is sending a replacement.
At this point in time, I've not done any actual cutting. Once I get the replacement parts I'll be able to give it a better test drive. I have no complaints about Grizzly customer service through all of this. They've been very helpful. As I mentioned earlier, none of these things seem to be a result of the new design. More likely because of the rush to get machines out to people.
My biggest disappointment is that you still need to manually change end gears for cutting most common threads. I had thought that with all those knobs on the gear box one would be able to obtain just about any combination. I don't mind having to change an end gear for metric -- that's sort of expected to get the 127 tooth gear into play. With the "standard" end gears, you can only cut 4/8/16/32 and 5/10/20/40 tpi. For any other tpi one must change end gears (8 different ones provided). I don't understand why they put so many combinations on the gear box that don't translate into useful tpi. It's fine for setting various feed rates, but not for thread cutting. If you do a lot of thread cutting, you might consider other options.
Other annoyances -- the carriage handwheel moves the carriage about 0.665" per revolution. This is a strange number. If you need to move the carriage some precise distance (2.25" for example) you'll need to do some math or else set up a dial indicator to measure the distance.
The set screw for the graduated dial on the handwheel is very inconvenient -- its on the right when "0" is on the line. It's really hard to get an allen wrench under the cross slide handwheel to tighten it.
I'll add more comments later in the week as I (hopefully) get to do some cutting.
The G0750G is a direct descendent of the G4003G -- many of the part numbers are the same. The lathe may appear to be the same as the PM1236, but it is actually quite different. Talking with Mat, he says they are made in different factories. I asked for a copy of the PM1236 manual, but I never received it so I can't tell you all the differences.
When I called Grizzly back in May, they said they were out of stock and had 15 back-orders queued up. Earliest delivery might be in late June. I place my order on May 29 and received an email saying estimated delivery was pushed out to August 29. Then a few days later, I got an email that said it had in fact shipped on 5/31. Go figure! I guess the inventory people aren't connected well with the order desk.
It arrived in fine condition on 6/10. By the time I got it cleaned up and lifted up on the stand (with an engine hoist) it was a week later. They provided a multi-page listing of machine specs (run-out and such) along with actual measurements on my machine (all of which were well within the limits). It was a nice surprise having the factory measurements on my machine.
Doing the recommended spindle break-in, there was a lot of oil spewing out of a small hole in the headstock cover (apparently an air hole?). At the suggestion of Grizzly tech support, I plugged the hole and continued with the break-in. Then I noticed there was also a lot of oil leaking from the back of the headstock cover onto the electrical panel. I removed the cover and discovered that the inside surface of the cover was not machined flat -- just the rough casting coming in contact with gasket. Furthermore, the cover was warped sufficiently so that it was not seating on the gasket. Grizzly agreed to send a replacement cover and gasket (should be here tomorrow). Note that these parts are the same as the G4003G machine, so this is not due to a design change. Probably just a result of them trying to get the machine out faster.
After the break-in period, the v-belts were generating excessive amounts of powdered belt material which turned to goo with the grease on the end gears. This was due to the finished surfaces of the pulleys having been painted and rough edges on the pulleys. I cleaned up the pulleys and that should take card of the problem. Grizzly is sending new v-belts.
One of the cam-lock studs for the faceplate were not threaded all the way -- Grizzly is sending a replacement.
At this point in time, I've not done any actual cutting. Once I get the replacement parts I'll be able to give it a better test drive. I have no complaints about Grizzly customer service through all of this. They've been very helpful. As I mentioned earlier, none of these things seem to be a result of the new design. More likely because of the rush to get machines out to people.
My biggest disappointment is that you still need to manually change end gears for cutting most common threads. I had thought that with all those knobs on the gear box one would be able to obtain just about any combination. I don't mind having to change an end gear for metric -- that's sort of expected to get the 127 tooth gear into play. With the "standard" end gears, you can only cut 4/8/16/32 and 5/10/20/40 tpi. For any other tpi one must change end gears (8 different ones provided). I don't understand why they put so many combinations on the gear box that don't translate into useful tpi. It's fine for setting various feed rates, but not for thread cutting. If you do a lot of thread cutting, you might consider other options.
Other annoyances -- the carriage handwheel moves the carriage about 0.665" per revolution. This is a strange number. If you need to move the carriage some precise distance (2.25" for example) you'll need to do some math or else set up a dial indicator to measure the distance.
The set screw for the graduated dial on the handwheel is very inconvenient -- its on the right when "0" is on the line. It's really hard to get an allen wrench under the cross slide handwheel to tighten it.
I'll add more comments later in the week as I (hopefully) get to do some cutting.
