Merry Christmas! G4003

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6literZ

Macguyver
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Hello all, hope your holiday events are going well.

So after a long long research stage, as well as traveling around the state to get hands Craigslist lathes I have decided upon the G4003G lathe.

Which brings me here, and I am asking those who may have knowledge of past events concerning after Christmas discounts and or coupons. I know typically it is said that after the new year prices typically will rise, so I don't want to wait too long to order, but I was hoping I may stumble upon a discount after Christmas coupon.

I am currently on the grizzly email list, but I was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of an upcoming promotion after Christmas that would make it worth while to wait on ordering?

Thanks in advance!
 
I'm not sure about for Christmas bur Grizzly coupons are pretty rare from what I have seen. Maybe only 2 times a year or something. I've been on the mailing list for years off & on & I have have never received a discount code in one of their emails. The only discount code I ever personally received from them was in a catalog from 2012 or 2013. Nothing in my 2014 catalog. I think there was one a month or 2 ago posted here for 10% or something.
 
I have seen Grizzly coupons in Feb but as darkzero said the coupons are rare and don't seem to follow any pattern. One trick is to hit the magazine stand, you will find Grizzly coupons in wood working mags I got one in a magazine maybe 3 months ago.
 
Just wanted to know what your second and third pick on lathe choices were. I am also leaning toward the G4003g but checked on the G0750g (enclosed gearbox) which was out of stock. Wonder if it is quieter and also the g0709 with the foot brake. I notice Grizz only publishes the backlash specs on the g4003g which gives me the impression that they are proud of this model. Have you heard the G4003g run or in operation ? Thanks----- Merry Christmas to all !!!!
 
leroy said:
Just wanted to know what your second and third pick on lathe choices were. I am also leaning toward the G4003g but checked on the G0750g (enclosed gearbox) which was out of stock. Wonder if it is quieter and also the g0709 with the foot brake. I notice Grizz only publishes the backlash specs on the g4003g which gives me the impression that they are proud of this model. Have you heard the G4003g run or in operation ? Thanks----- Merry Christmas to all !!!!
Click to expand...

There are some differences between the G4003G and G0750G, sometimes advantage G4003G sometimes advantage G0750G. Do a side by side comparison of the manuals, spec sheets, and photos. I would not make a decision based on noise level I don't think they will be so different that I would care. Ask Grizzly for the decibel readings of both. They both use the same motor so that's moot. Some of the published information is wrong so consider that and confirm with Grizzly don't just rely on the published info. In one area the G4003G say it has a cast iron stand, it does not, ditto for the G0750G. It says the G0750G is manufactured in a ISO 9001 factory and the G04003G is not, it seems unlikely they are manufactured in different factories so again confirm with Grizzly.

Things I notice, the feed lever on the carriage is of a different design, I'm not overly impressed with the G4003G feed lever on my lathe. The G4003G is listed with a longer cross feed vs the G0750G. It would really take walking through the specs and manuals, noting the differences, and which lathe they favor. Then confirming with Grizzly those things that are important to your making a decision. That's how I would go about it.

Stepping up to the G0709 obviously a different class. I don't start drooling on myself until I get to the G0509G, I would be shocked if I don't buy that or some equivalent as my next lathe.
 
Thanks coolidge for all the pointers. Would you buy the same model you have again ? Also looking at the lower gear controls what is the difference in the two models reguarding a shift lever vs a rotary knob. Are the enclosed gear boxes in oil versus the style you have. I will not get to springfield to look till the end of Jan so i probably will purchase sometime in Feb. Thanks for all the information maybe i should spend a little more vs upgrading later.
 
leroy said:
Thanks coolidge for all the pointers. Would you buy the same model you have again ? Also looking at the lower gear controls what is the difference in the two models reguarding a shift lever vs a rotary knob. Are the enclosed gear boxes in oil versus the style you have. I will not get to springfield to look till the end of Jan so i probably will purchase sometime in Feb. Thanks for all the information maybe i should spend a little more vs upgrading later.
Click to expand...

The G0750G wasn't out when I purchased my G04003G but if I were buying a lathe today, since they are only $145 apart in price I would be going over the manuals and specs with a fine tooth comb to understand the differences in detail before choosing. That said I would buy a G04003G again if it were the only choice. Just go into it with your eyes open, they are built in CHINA and you are apt to have to address some minor things. On mine the motor pulley was wobbled horribly in cartoon like fashion. Grizzly sent me a replacement that was machined perfectly true. China also did a half ass job mounting the motor, it was crooked and the cast iron mounting bracket was drill off center to the point that you could not line up the motor pulley with the spindle pulley. China idiots just hung the motor pulley half off the motor shaft. I re-drilled and tapped the motor bracket (mounts between the motor and the lathe) for correct fit and everything lines up nice and square with the motor pulley fully on the motor shaft. I also had to finish painting the stand, the under side was bare primer and even the under side of the top of the stand didn't get painted in spots. Cost me a rattle can of paint from the local hardware store.

The important things on my lathe were all good to go out of the crate. Alignment was excellent, everything works smoothly. My brother mounted his fancy electronic gadget on the lathe used to align $200k CNC lathe chucks and tailstocks and the factory alignment was so good he recommended not even messing with it.

The feed shifting levers vs knobs is what I see a lot of guys basing a decision on at least in part. The G4003G turns more threads than the G0750 which will turn up to like 50 TPI. When I looked at that I scoffed, I will never turn 112 TPI threads, dang if I know how you could even pack 112 threads into an inch that's like a thread a thread every .009. Now some machines maybe other than Grizzly you have to swap gears to turn certain American threads on the knob type lathes where as the lever type on the G4003G you an turn all the American threads without changing the gears. I could see that being a hassle potentially, I'd have to look at what threads required a gear change and see if those particular threads were going to irritate me. Ideally I personally would prefer the knob type gear change setup.

Also if you have any ideas on modifying the lathe, say for variable speed operation or whatever I would research that before purchasing to see if either lathe would be an issue or advantage.
 
The 4003G specs list the weight as 1213lbs, whereas the 750G is listed at 1059lbs. It also lists the stands as cast iron, instead they are supposedly sheet steel so take that with a grain of salt. The higher number of threads were an additional bonus.

Ideally I would prefer to have a foot brake, but that typically isn't an option on lathes of this price point.

As far as other branded similar lathes it seemed grizzly has the best service. Anyone who had any issues were able to contact grizzly and promptly received a replacement part. It also was reassuring to see a parts list with prices and being able to order them on grizzlys web site. There are also a bunch of YouTube videos on the 4003G showing operation as well as the owners experience. It seems like the 4003G also has a longer track record.
 
The G4003G isn't noisy by any means. I'm glad I bought it over the G0750G or others.
Dave
 
I talked to the helpful people at Grizzly, firstly about picking the lathe up and secondly about coupons.

If I drive to Muncy, PA to pick it up to save shipping costs I would have to pay 6% sales tax. That defeats the purpose.

The phone assistant told me there are no active discounts, but I could check the back of the catalog she'll be sending me.

These coupons are harder to come by than Willy Wonkas golden tickets.
 
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