New Model Grizzly G0750G Gunsmith Lathe

i agree with you. The foot brake almost swayed me from the g0750g to he PM1236, but in the end I just have too much loyalty to Grizzly. Their showroom was 2 minutes from my house and I knew alot of people that worked there. I have been looking at it and i believe that the brake trips a limit switch that may be wired in with the forward/reverse/off switch on the carriage. If I can get the wiring figured out I might be able to squeeze some sort of disc brake in there, possibly on the motor pulley? But right now its just an idea. I have heard good things about Matt and having been a business man for 20+ years i am always thinking in terms of new product ideas. It's probably not a new idea but I would think there may be quite a few people with 12x36 and 13x40's that dont have foot brakes and a kit might be a good revenue stream. I am always hearing that the machines are all "basically the same", "made in the same plant", "rebadged", etc.. I know there are differences in the internals on some of the machines but there may be enough simillarity between them for a brake? Just a thought.

The foot brake was one of the big advantages of the PM1236. I don't use it as often as I first thought I would BUT when I do it is worth it's wait in gold. I would think it would be very hard and or expensive to retrofit a machine that wasn't originally offered with a brake. It is actually quite a bit more than just a switch and a foot pedal. There is a set of automotive style brake shoes under the pulley/brake drum assembly that stops the spindle instantly. There is also more electrical components involved otherwise the spindle would restart when you released the foot pedal.
 
No problem at all, good luck with the machine!

No, I have tried to retrofit a foot brake on machines before, and while not too hard, it was not just a bolt in setup.

Mainly on the pulley up on top, the brake pedal is easy enough, but like mentioned before, there are too many parts to mess with on the upper pulley.
And, the machine is not made in the same factory or even anywhere close to Grizzly's, so the parts would be different. The factory who makes our PM-1236 is completely different.

It can be made to work, but not sure the best way to come up with to retrofit that on there. If it was me, I would change the motor to 3 phase, put a VFD on with a braking resistor, and just make a foot brake pedal with a switch on it. I know its not exactly the same, but they still can stop really fast. I love VFD's, best thing ever invented!
 
Thanks for the reply,
That may be a very good idea down the road. The VFD would give me braking and lower speeds for threading. Thanks Matt

No problem at all, good luck with the machine!

No, I have tried to retrofit a foot brake on machines before, and while not too hard, it was not just a bolt in setup.

Mainly on the pulley up on top, the brake pedal is easy enough, but like mentioned before, there are too many parts to mess with on the upper pulley.
And, the machine is not made in the same factory or even anywhere close to Grizzly's, so the parts would be different. The factory who makes our PM-1236 is completely different.

It can be made to work, but not sure the best way to come up with to retrofit that on there. If it was me, I would change the motor to 3 phase, put a VFD on with a braking resistor, and just make a foot brake pedal with a switch on it. I know its not exactly the same, but they still can stop really fast. I love VFD's, best thing ever invented!
 
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