New (to me) Grizzly DF-1224G or G1003 lathe (aka Busybee/ Dai Fong DF-1224G)

Looking great, what taper do you have in the spindle? Im guessing a mt4.
You may want to get a precision mandrel for adjusting the headstock.
 
Looking good, I have a Samson labeled version with a 36" bed. I think these lathes are a great value for the hobby shop.

I paid $850 for mine and have already changed it over to 3 phase, highly recommended....

John
 
Idk how I missed this, but just wanted to say I had a Grizzly G4002, which was very similar. I loved it. I regret selling it. And every single time I search for lathes, I hope to find another. Lol.
So, good job, and enjoy! And I had an AXA toolpost on mine. It seemed just fine. I never felt as if a different toolpost would have been an advantage.
 
Yours is the perfect cross-slide for the BXA QCTP. My 12 x 27 = not so much. I had to learn how to turn holders & inserts down. You had commented that Grizzly replacement parts are generally available for 5 to 10 years. That wasn't the case for mine. Now my experiences are pre-pandemic, so they may not apply. 6 month wait was the norm. Pouring through current parts manuals to find what I needed (my G0773 has been discontinued) became the norm. Buying extras is highly recommended!

Looking forward to seeing what you can do with your lathe! I'm all ready blown away by your gear tooth repair.
 
That is a really nice looking lathe! And I think you are right about the grease and gunk being a rust inhibitor. I know it isn't a fun clean up but they way it turned out with no rust at all makes the gunk cleanout worth the effort.

Great job on the gear tooth repair!
 
Thanks for all the kind words and feedback, I'm still just an aspiring hobbyist and alot to learn. And i really need to sit down and spend some quality time tramming in the machine. (is it still tramming on a lathe?) Got a machinist level to check the bed and still need to get to a metal supplier around me to get some stock to do the testing setup/dial in the machine.

that being said i already had the opportunity to do a few operations with it even in its current state, where its not super precise parts just trimming down round things and making some small bushings or spacers, so happy how quick or easy a fly by the seat of your pants approach is for "basic" jobs. Definitely seems very easy to get the "feel" of.

Definately on the list for "future upgrades" is VFD 3 Phase or Brushless motor the sort of jump or lack of ramp up on the motor is reasonably annoying.

I also have one annoying part the cross feed has about a 2ish inch sticky spot or tight spot in its travel. when apart nothing was obvious ie: a ding or a burr, it seems odd that it would be from wear as i would expect the inverse I think a small section of easy movement and larger areas of stiffness. I'm betting either the gib or the dovetail cut something is a little out of sync or spec and at this time I don't have the skills to tackle that so I think ill just live with it for now.

Ill do a follow-up after tramming and hoping I don't need to align the head to the bed but betting that may need adjustment it has traveled a good distance and bounced around alot before ending in my shop
 
So not sure if its best to ask it here, or in one of the general sub forums, but having some interesting issues with tramming/dialing the machine in.

So first I think its worth it to go over what the machine stand is.

the Stand is a cast iron table once used by IBM for punch card era computers (why they used cast iron IDK) but its quite heavy 200-300 lbs or so angle irons re-enforcing the legs and sort of making a rectangle at the bottom. Otherwise it would just be the "vertical" legs with no bracing it has some home made or modified castors solid metal i think a aluminum variety about 2-3 in wide press fit bearings in there. It rolls alright for something as heavy as the complete thing with lathe on top would ~600-800 lb range in total resting on the casters I would guess.

Anyhow moving onto my questions and or issues when it comes to tramming. So got my level calibrated its a old ish VIS .0005" over 10" sensitivity should be plenty for a home shop/hobbiest. Son on this lathe the ways include two flats and two triangular prisms and from my understanding going in both should be fine reference surfaces and are precision ground.

First thing I realize is that my floor is not level or the machine /stand is not quite level as placing the level across triangular prisms on the ways not even close to registering in a readable range, okay check the flats with 123 blocks (that I checked on the surface plate and "trust" to be matched) okay thats also out of a readable range. Okay spin the machine around (its on casters) thinking like spinning a level on a plane and that zeroing process. but alas no dice there either assume the table surface or maybe the machine itself may not be parallel to the base or to the feet.

I know the machine doesnt need to be level to accurately operate (ie ships etc) the level is for comparative measurements related to earth to compare various points of the machine. So I go and jack up the stand on wood blocks (probably should have gotten proper sized machinist jacks or something metal and less give) but whatever I'm having fun and learning. get the stand jacked to the point where putting levels of stand or rather the chip tray that's on the stand would read in a range of being level and then measuring the ways for twist. First thing i find out in short order is that the flat spots are parallel or co-planer but the triangular prisms are not one is higher than the other which is annoying and may have helped throw me for a loop earlier.

Take plenty of measurements spend more time that I would like to think checking shimming re checking finally think I' may not quite be perfectly happy but I'm at the point where taking a test cut can start helping dial things in so follow the "barbell" sort of process using a 4 jaw which is more or less new or was hardly used so less slop in the jaws and more secure work holding. take a few fine passes after making the relief cut and I'm getting a taper of about .00175 over 5 inches not terrible using just under 1 in dia 12L14 (as my mic is a 1 inch) and cutting with a carbide cutter. knowing my diameter is a bit small and with carbide being a higher pressure in terms of cutting force I decide it might be "alright" or somewhat within reason But I want to see if removing it from the wood blocks and resting back on its metal castors reduces vibrations basically make it more stable.

So remove the blocks so stand is back in direct contact with the floor, take my light cut again and now we have a more significant taper going the other way like (so small end toward chuck) .00715 over 5 inches wow that's not great clearly to me the legs are translating the floor surface and or having a impact on the table top and thereby the machine which is bolted to it. I want to check that hypothesis so I rotate the machine about 90 degrees thinking change the angle of that the legs are referencing on the floor will prove that its translating that to the table and in short twisting the machine. So take another cut and we are just over a thou different after rotating the machine, clearly yes the legs are translating to a extent the floor to the table and thereby the machine.
 
So I know the above is a bit of a long winded story but any thoughts of what I was doing wrong etc appreciated.

I think one of the key notes is i have 4 legs on my stand if my floor is not perfectly level i would expect some "wobble" if the stand was rigid i.e. one leg would not touch properly or fully at some point. But they do so basically my rectangular prism of a stand despite being nice and "solid" and made of cast iron is contorting to match the floor and easier to see/magnifying if you move it. if you leave it put perminately sure you could account for it or adjust accordingly (also be a good idea to level/remove or adjust for twist in stand before putting machine on it)

I get having a mobile machine is counter intuitive basically meaning you will screw up precision if you shift it some sort of feet vs wheels much more desirable. The thing is i know people also put small machines like this on a tool chest or on top of a tool chest and in my mind I'm like how the heck can that not see the same issues or worse. Or is it that there is just more "twist" occurring in my stand.

By no means do I need insane precision but from a concept perspective I'm wondering what some options are in terms of stand, I think having a wheel option to move if needed is nice (my mill has feet and removeable wheels so I can roll it if I need to but it lives on adjustable feet.

I think maybe adding braces or diagonal braces could go a ways to firm up the existing stand but its cast iron so at least for me welding is out and i imagine bolting pieces on still not the best as holes and bolts can have a bit of slop. I will also note my shop is small, I had considered at some point down the road switching to it living on a tool chest (for better storage under it) but I can only imagine that will be much worse.

In short just going a bit insane chasing zeros and wanted to know if anyone else has been there and what is a reasonable compromise etc.
 
If I'm one of the "some people" you refer to. I wouldn't bank on what I'm doing as acceptable. I barely make anything longer than an inch. I've never even checked anything for level, square, twist, etc. MY parts have virtually no precision requirement. Even when they do, I've found that nothing I do is as demanding as people act like it has to be. I'm making parts for me. I have pretty low standards. If it works, or I learned something, the project succeeded. Lol But if you're planning on making things 5" long, you're gonna have to sort it out. I'll leave the advice to those who are not in the "some people" camp. Lol
Edit: .0017"? Never mind. I don't think there's anything wrong with your setup, and I would move on with no further changes or effort.
 
jwmay said:
If I'm one of the "some people" you refer to. I wouldn't bank on what I'm doing as acceptable. I barely make anything longer than an inch. I've never even checked anything for level, square, twist, etc. MY parts have virtually no precision requirement. Even when they do, I've found that nothing I do is as demanding as people act like it has to be. I'm making parts for me. I have pretty low standards. If it works, or I learned something, the project succeeded. Lol But if you're planning on making things 5" long, you're gonna have to sort it out. I'll leave the advice to those who are not in the "some people" camp. Lol
Edit: .0017"? Never mind. I don't think there's anything wrong with your setup, and I would move on with no further changes or effort.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback and by no means did i mean "Some people" as a derogatory remark, I just seen pictures or know that some people put them on a tool chest and went heck yes storage i want that. it was just like they got to do alright by it, do they have the same issues or see similar stuff as me.

So .0017" was jacked up on wood blocks to level it so i could actually compare the bed/remove twist via shimming. setting it back down in the same spot on its legs I got -.00725" rotate the machine on its stand 90 degrees on the floor i get -.00615" so a thou over five inches by moving the machine some doesn't seem horrible.

I feel like I have descended the rabbit hole of accuracy and still planning the permanent home for it in the shop and its just making me wonder rethinking its current and or future stand, was mainly what I was getting at.

Really the peace of mind that I am trying to get to is that the head stock is properly orientated to the bed. On this lathe you can adjust the head but its a PITA and generically I want to avoid doing it if I don't need to but I'm not sure if i can get to the point of proving it accurate or not which annoys me. I feel like I can grip twist of stand or moving objects will adjust that twist and you can measure or calibrate if needed but i want to get to the sanity check point that the headstock orientation is true I'm only the second owner but its a import lathe that also has been hoisted a few times bounced on a trailer for 4-5 hrs and torn apart and traveled down a flight of stairs.

Sort of want to prove a truth that I can assume is true for any future adjustments if needed. IE for sanity i trust my surface plate if flat or that a certain square is square, but I cant assume that particular key relationship is right as i cant quite get to the point to check it as i cant prove or disprove the bed is properly not twisted, and that any error remains in the headstock alignment.

The funny thing is i don't think anything i will do would need insane precision its more of a personal OCD or setup thing being new to this realm of stuff that the tool is properly setup that i can trace inaccuracy to me or what I'm doing rather than some original setup step.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top