# Guys/Gals I need some serious advice



## Shawn_Laughlin (Apr 5, 2020)

I have a g0791 which is a g4003g with a very sloppy mill in the middle of ways. I’ve been noticing, well it’s always been easier to move the saddle the closer you get to the chuck but, a couple days ago I noticed a little more friction or a little harder to turn the hand wheel. I added thrust washer to saddle handwheel that was left over from my trans rebuilt kit and made a world of different so when it had resistance turning it I knew something was wrong.

Well I checked everywhere for something caught between ways and saddle and checked to see if the added bearing was dirty and nothing.So like normal,after I finished turning a 20” piece of 2.5” steel round bar down,I was cleaning my ways so I could oil it and when I went over the rail where the gap seem is I could feel a bump and when I looked it made me sick to my stomach. I never intended and never would’ve removed the gap for any reason At all bc I’ve read that people have went through hell and back and back to hell trying to get the gap back in line.

Now I’ve noticed here lately that it has been turning bigger towards the chuck and I didn’t know why bc everything is level and the tailstock hasn’t changed a bit but now it makes sense bc the bed shifted in the -y direction.Its not a small amount either but what is a small amount when talking about machining precision parts? That was a rhetorical question.

I’ve had a lot of problems with this order and have had to replace a few parts And other things bc they just were not installed bc of grizzly QC and UPS For losing a ton of tooling but for the most part Grizzly has been good except when I got the runaround when trying to get a refund for a bunch of tooling that was lost in transit but, came through in the end bc PayPal was going to make them refund all 7000 dollars I spent on everything. Now my motor is going out and worst my bed has shifted and I’ve barely used the damn thing bc i had to wait long periods of being sent 2 of each, 3 jaw chuck,compound gib and auto feed rod bc the first ones sent out were for Different machine.

Ive really had enough but I really don’t want to lose my lathe so what would y’all do?
I’m mostly worried about the bed gap?
One more thing the back gear bind in one spot when rotating so that another thing I haven’t even mentioned to them.

By the way it’s not even a year old so I’m still under warranty.


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## Dhal22 (Apr 5, 2020)

Ugh, what a mess.


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## mickri (Apr 5, 2020)

Sounds like you got a very sour lemon.  Send it back.


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## DavidR8 (Apr 5, 2020)

I’d be on the phone to Grizzly and keep going up the ladder until you get satisfaction. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## matthewsx (Apr 5, 2020)

Sounds like you got a lemon, see if they will take it back. Probably more likely if you accept store credit than asking for a cash refund....

I would write directly to their CEO, he seems pretty proud of himself. It might help too if you mention you are a member here and maybe they should consider a corporate membership like their competition  does 

It's not worth struggling with something you paid that much for IMHO.

Cheers,

John


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## Ulma Doctor (Apr 5, 2020)

if you were so inclined, you could attach a dial indicator to the saddle and sweep the ways near the gap, looking for deformation.
a twist in the bed could have similar consequences
close inspection could reveal a loose gap, or misalignment

if all else fails, demand a refund


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## mickri (Apr 5, 2020)

You paid thousands of dollars for a brand new lathe so you wouldn't have problems.  Why should it be your responsibility to diagnose and repair a defective machine.   It sounds like it is getting worse as time goes by. Tell them to come and get the lathe and demand a full refund.  If Grizzly refuses then have Paypal back charge them.


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## GunsOfNavarone (Apr 5, 2020)

I wasn't following the problem so I went to their site and saw a picture of the machine....yeah I can see that now, right where all the business take place at the foot of the chuck, I can see where the rack has a split....and above that on the ways That's a crazy design. Grizzly has always been very helpful to me, and since their machinery isn't necessarily top notch, they probably deal with customers a lot on QC issues. I would talk to somebody, with your receipts/phone calls close by. Return that and get something else. A mill or a lathe, putting 2 things together you always get gradated versions of both.
good Luck!


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## matthewsx (Apr 5, 2020)

My first mill/lathe was a combo unit (not Grizzly but also made in China). I could never get any decent work out of it which might have been largely due to my lack of knowledge but the tool sure didn't help.

I bought a very old Seneca Falls lathe which has served me well for many years and sold the combo machine to someone who was glad to have it even though I gave full disclosure on my issues with it.

For most of us a lathe is the first machine tool to start with and it can take quite a while to produce good work while we learn about things like cutters, feeds & speeds, and workholding . Mills are great but knowing what I know now I would always choose the lathe first for my shop, there's just too many things that it can do that a mill can't.

The number of members on here who have separated their combo machines should be a dead giveaway of the failings of the concept. It's easy to understand why folks would want something that performs both jobs but very few of these designs have been successful in the long run and the concept goes back a very long ways. Make room for both a lathe and a mill, or settle on a lathe and learn how many mill-like operations you can do with it.

Cheers,

John


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## GunsOfNavarone (Apr 5, 2020)

@matthewsx For sure. I was SERIOUSLY considering a Smithy combo machine. SO MAY folks on these hobboy/machinists forums gave me warnings so thankfully I didn't. When you're buying less expensive import machines, trying to make it an even more value priced...there is a reason. Not that my Grizzly lathe or PM mill are God sends, but it could be MUCH WORSE.


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## Shawn_Laughlin (Apr 5, 2020)

Sorry guys for not responding earlier. So many of you have chimed in and I feel better about calling grizzly up. I’ve had so much down time it’s unreal,bc of all the problems I’ve had.

not long after having it I removed the cross life bc it didn’t seem right and I could easily rock even with gin tight so I removed and cut it in with some lapping compound. Anyways when I removed the slide I noticed that a corner was mushroomed like it had been dropped during assembly and they basically just oh well, it’s not mine and let go. But I Mostly got it lined out.
Honestly I read so much about people saying that you have to have a frame of mind when buying a Chinese lathe that you know your getting Something is going to have to be tweaked for it to be a good machine,that I just thought there was a lot of tweaking that had to be done when I started finding all the bad.

I absolutely wouldn’t mind store credit at all. I just wouldn’t buy this model again but instead get something better. Oh and there’s no need to put an indicator on it if you can see it with your own eyes and can feel it at all. Precision is suppose to be precision not half ass.

It took a couple months before I got a 3 jaw chuck that I could use. The original  jaws we’re ground with a taper,front to back. The replacement was for a d1-3 I believe spindle and finally on the 3rd I had a working chuck. The first replacement compound gib was cut short by them and it took forever to get bc it came from China well the 2nd replacement was oversized so that’s good, but took about 5 months to get. It was long enough that when the box came in with grizzly on it I wondered what they were sending me. The feed rod was bent on machine so they sent me another one for a Much smaller machine and the 3rdI installed and it’s good. Also the Mill spindle collet screw came loose while it was spinning at 2400 rpm and just slammed on of the breaks stopping scaring the shot out of me and when I tell them, they send me a spindle out of a another machine that I can’t use bc the taper is .010 out of round or off center,who knows but I was done with the mill then.

but hey they did screw up and send me 3 hand wheel knobs and a cross slide gib that I never asked for. I will be on the phone with them tomorrow. Thanks for all the replies.

Y’all stay safe and don’t let this coronavirus  ruin your Easter. keep yourself busy in your home and it will be over before we know it. Take care


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## Shawn_Laughlin (Apr 6, 2020)

I would also like to add that I added an I beam column from mill base to concrete secured with anchors and was done after I got machine level. The two columns the lathe sits on from grizzly did not sit flat and rocked so getting it level was a pain but once level I added the middle column and a brace between columns to help with harmonics and shaking/vibration I was getting and it did help. 
I have to keep one of the spider bolts with a nut screwed all the way to the head screwed Into one of the spider holes or at any speed above 360 shakes like a mother.

I’ve never really sat and thought about all every single problem I’ve had but this thread after reading what I wrote and what y’all had said,I believe I did get an unlucky lemon.


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## Richard King 2 (Apr 6, 2020)

When I hear the name Grizzly and purchased in the same sentence I get ill.   I know there brochures look good, but you should never buy them in my humble opinion.  In my opinion they are lousy as other cheap machines. You get what you pay for.  They may get it right 3 out of 6 times.  It seems your one of the 3 who got a lemon.  Think about it.  It is lousy when new, just think about it after you decide to keep it and it begins to wear and out of warranty.   If I were you I would send it back freight collect and demand your money back from Pay Pal.   You spent $7000.00 and never saw it in person, never took it for a test drive....try that next time when you buy a car.

A good friend of mine bought a wood planer from them and when he unpacked it  last week and saw the poor workmanship  he called them for help and said their customer service sucked and told him to stop complaining and use it.  He is a precision machinist and said it was junk.   I suspect the average customer of Grizzly is not a machinist and doesn't know quality and uses it and figures lousy is good..   sighhhhhhhhhh


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## Inferno (Apr 12, 2020)

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I like my Smithy Combo. 
I bought it new and it's done a pretty good job with the upgrade of a DRO. 

I never expected it to be as good as the machines I learned on (removed from aircraft carriers) but it's done a good job. With the DRO I can get within .001" repeatability. Machine deflections prevent it from being more precise. My DRO will read .01mm differences but I'd never expect that from a lower end Chinese machine.


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