# Grizzly G4003 Spindle Rotation Control



## Groundhog (Aug 24, 2016)

Just got a used Central Machinery 12x36 lathe. It seems to be just like the Grizzly G4003.

Background; I inadvertently smashed the cover of spindle control switches (lucky didn't break them) when moving the lathe into the shop. I had to remove them to straighten the cover and get the switches to fit the cam again. Also, the previous owner had some electrical issues (lack of understanding mostly) and I'm not sure if all wiring is as from the factory. Maybe one of us put something together wrong.

Question; The Grizzly manual says that "Moving the lever down causes the spindle to rotate counter clockwise.", but I'm unsure where that is viewed from. On my lathe when standing at the tail stock looking toward the spindle the spindle rotates clockwise when the lever is moved down (and counter clockwise when the lever is moved up). Is that backwards?

It all works fine but I don't want to get used to operating the lathe in a non-standard configuration.

Thanks


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## rgray (Aug 24, 2016)

My Shop Fox M1112 moves opposite yours. And the same way the grizzly manual says counter clockwise when handle is moved down. Viewed from tailstock.


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## Groundhog (Aug 24, 2016)

rgray
That's what I was afraid of! Yesterday I messed with it for quite awhile trying to get it changed around. Not as easy as it looks!
Anyhow, thanks for the confirmation. I know what needs to happen - just don't know to do it yet.


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## abrace (Aug 24, 2016)

Just to confirm, my g4003g rotates counter clockwise when the handle is down as well.


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## rgray (Aug 24, 2016)

I'm pretty ok with general electrical wiring, but when it comes to contactors and the complication that is in the back of one of these lathes it's pretty intimidating.
I think there is a forward contactor and a reverse contactor so it may be just a simple wire swap.


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## Groundhog (Aug 24, 2016)

There are 3 contactors used, 2 normally closed and 1 normally open with 4 wires and a few jumpers. The cam has 3 positions (up, middle and down). I've just started testing which circuits are completed in what position. So, it may take me awhile and I may need to ask here for more help, but I'm getting there right now. I've just been working on the electrical when taking a break from building the stand - and wasted a day there looking for a problem with my tig welder when it was just a loose wire in the ground quick-connect. Good thing I don't have a deadline. Setting up this lathe might take me awhile!


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## abrace (Aug 24, 2016)

If you push the 'inching' button on the front, does the chuck spin counter clockwise? If so, then the motor and control box wiring is probably fine and it is just the spindle switch on the carriage that needs its wiring reversed. In theory you shouldn't need to be in the control box.


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## Groundhog (Aug 25, 2016)

Yeah, the inching works right. I've been trying to figure out the proper wiring of the spindle switches. Harder that it would seem at first. I tried swapping the switches around but it isn't as simple as that. Unfortunately the wiring diagram for the Grizzly 4003 (which I found a manual for) isn't the same as my Central Machinery's (which I don't have a decent manual for).

I think I just need to spend some time with my as-built wiring diagram and figure out the right combination. I'm not having much luck with that thought process though.


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## Groundhog (Aug 30, 2016)

OK. Got it. Lever position and spindle rotation is now like other lathes. In the end I found 2 wires on the switches that needed to be swapped.


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## abrace (Sep 1, 2016)

Great! A simple fix. The hard part, I am sure, was figuring out which wires!


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## Tony Wells (Sep 1, 2016)

I remember wiring in an old Summit lathe (hate those things) and had forward rotation with lever down, as I thought it was supposed to be. Turns out that is wrong, and the oil pump was being driven the wrong direction and was NOT pumping oil up to the top of the headstock. Good thing I didn't leave it wired backwards! At that time, most of the lathes I had run were properly run with lever down = forward, so I thought it was right.


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