Help Me Pick Lathe, Grizzly G4003g Or Baliegh 13x40

I rewired it in the terminal box so the spindle lever works like I want it to and got the bump button to turn the spindle clockwise too. No sparks or smoke!

Now, about the D1 4 cam locks. I thought they were supposed to lock half way between the arrows. They unlock lined up on the "|" mark. From this position, should I turn clockwise or ccw to lock? They don't position like the manual, which is clear as mud.

| is at the top (lets call it 0 degrees). < Arrow 90 degrees clockwise at right. Another ^ arrow 180 degrees at bottom.

1st cam lock will turn ccw 90 between | and ^, or, cw 45 between | and <.
2nd cam lock will turn ccw 135 between | and ^, or, cw 135 half way between ^<.
3rd cam lock will turn ccw 135 between | and ^, or, cw 90 to 1st arrow.

Please advise.

Should the chuck always be mounted using the same cam lock pins in the same cam lock holes?

Thanks, Joe
 
The cam lock pins should be installed in the spindle with the dial marks lined up with the marks at the top, and then turned clockwise and should be tight between the two arrows. Watch out for the fit on D1 series mounts. The chuck needs to be snug on the spindle taper at the same time that it makes complete contact with the spindle face. Use a piece of white paper on the enclosure side that is brightly lit to look for light gaps between chuck and spindle face. Do not force the cam locks if it does not work, come back for more help, the chucks and back plates sometimes do not fit correctly to the spindle when new.
 
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.
The switch box should have two microswitches. One for the forward direction and one for the reverse. There are probably four wires going into it, and the way it is wired is somewhat convoluted (NC on one microswitch feeds into the other microswitch). Chances are if you swap the wires connecting the "Normally Open (NO) terminals between the two microswitches, it will swap directions. Or let the magic smoke out.

And that won't solve the problem of the JOG switch going the opposite direction the OP wants.

So to fix both in one fell swoop, you need to swap wires in the junction box on the motor, or where the motor wires come into the controller (assuming enough slack to swap positions on this end). YMMV, but if you swap the wires from the U1 and U2 terminals, it should switch directions.
 
Thanks, Tim. Already fixed it inside the terminal box.
 
The machine is 4 years old. Moving the chuck cam lock pins to different spindle holes causes the cam lock indicators to line up similar to what I mentioned before, but still don't lock in between the arrows.
The owners manual adjustments don't make sense and seem to be for a different spindle, so I'm waiting for further comments before I try to fix it. On the spindle, there seems to be an Allen head screw for each cam lock.

Joe
 
The cam locks should be able to rotate slightly, with the cap screws in place. If you remove the cap screws, you can rotate the cam locks one full turn at a time. If any of them currently lock up properly, check the height of that lock compared to the others, and adjust the others accordingly. If none lock up, screw them all in too far (cam surface below flush), and then raise them all one turn at a time, until it fits up properly.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I got the can locks adjusted and the chuck mates up to the spindle face with no gap.
I have to rap the chuck with the dead blow to get the chuck off.

I found the lock screws for the compound and carriage. The manual for the Grizzys are way more detailed than the one I have for the Baliegh.
The Grizzly manual describes the Baliegy pretty well. Where it shows the cross slide lock, I have a long cap head screw on the tail stock side under the DRO.
I turned it in until it stopped on the screw shoulder without binding the cross slide. I wonder if this is really the cross slide lock?

What brought up the locks was I was turning a piece of Al stock and noticed that if I ran the carriage back and forth the tool bit would continue to take off small amounts of material. Is this normal or is the cross slide creeping?

Thanks, Joe
 
When a cutter cuts, it is also pushed back by the work. On the next pass at the same setting, any springiness creates another cut from the remaining tension. We call that a "spring pass." It is not uncommon to be able to remove metal from several spring passes, with lesser amounts from each succeeding pass. It does show, however, that the lathe is not perfectly rigid, and no machine is. Dull cutters and anything else that causes the cutter to produce more push pressure into the cut will cause that more than sharp and properly presented tools, but the effect is always there.
 
There is usually some spring (deflection) in the tool / machine / work, so subsequent passes may well take off a small amount of additional material. Usually one would retract the tool when returning the carriage.

Cross slide lock? They are not very common. I added one to my small lathe, because I had the cross slide all apart, and I thought it would be handy to have a cross slide lock. That was a couple years ago and I have yet to use it. Managing backlash is done by paying attention to what direction the tool is pushing, for normal turning I don't really see when one would use a cross slide lock. Maybe if you are having vibration issues, it may help to lock up which ever slide isn't being used?

When the only machine I had was a lathe, I set up a milling attachment - it would have been very nice to have had a cross slide lock on that machine. Anyway, perhaps others could share where they find a cross slide or compound lock useful.

Now a carriage lock, that's a different story - there is nothing really keeping the carriage from sliding, I use the lock frequently.

Let us know how you make out. Regards, David
 
Great! Thanks for explaining the spring action going on. I was afraid the cross slide was moving.

So, with the lathe, I got a few HHS bits, carbides, and some tool holders that take inserts, with a couple packs of new inserts.
All are left and right angle, except one straight 60 degree HHS and one straight that takes inserts. Most of the inserts are narrow, maybe 30 degrees. There is one about 55 and one about 80 degrees. And a couple of 60 degrees. When would you use the 30, 55, and 80 degree bits?
And for threading, is the nose of the bit pointed or rounded like the other bits?
For turning or facing, do you use a left hand bit just for workpiece clearance or some other reasons?
Is a straight bit preferred for simple turning or the A or B? How far from perpendicular can you reasonably angle a bit?

Thanks for your thoughts, Joe.
 
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