# My G4003g Lathe Journey



## WRMorrison (May 11, 2015)

After a lot of research, I finally decided to order a G4003G from Grizzly a month or two ago.  I was lucky in that I was able to purchase it with a 10% veteran's discount (might have been a promotion for Veteran's Day; I don't know).  With lift-gate delivery, the final bill was around $3250 (for future reference).  Here's a few photos of "Christmas morning":





After everything was in the garage, I started to inspect the crates.  There was some minimal shipping damage to the crates themselves, but the contents were unharmed.  Before I jumped in with both feet and began assembling, I decided to take it slow and make some of the improvements and modifications that I've read online first; easier to do it now than later I figured.

Steve Bedair's page said that he had removed a few inches from the cast pedestals since he found the overall height a little too tall.  Well, I'm 5'7" on a _good_ day, so without even setting it all up, that's what I decided to do first.  I don't recall the exact measurement, but I believe I cut somewhere along the lines of 3.25" off the bottom of each pedestal.  If you're thinking of doing the same thing, you can easily see where to cut once you look at it in person; I cut mine just below (maybe 1/4") the first angled section of metal from the bottom.  Also, as you'll see in the pics below, my pedestals were NOT cast; they're welded sheet metal...which I was slightly disappointed with.







Also, as you can see in the pics, the holes in the pedestals for the mounting feet are very close together.  I don't remember the measurement, but I think they were in the neighborhood of 10" on center.  Not enough to give me the warm n'fuzzies about balancing that much weight 4.5' off the ground.  So, I cut some 3"x3"x.375 angle I had laying around in 2' lengths (4 pieces) and welded them to each side of the pedestals.  I drilled and tapped them .375-16, 21" on center, for leveling feet that I purchased from Grainger (I'll add a pic of the feet and angle later).

I read somewhere that Rustoleum Metallic Deep Green was a match for Grizzly Green and that's the truth; pretty much a perfect match.  The only problem, is that I think the color has been discontinued as there wasn't a drop to be found anywhere near me.  I eventually had to order a single can online and have it shipped to me (with hazmat shipping of course...) to the tune of $14 for one can...but, at least it matches.

After the base was squared away, I turned my attention to other details.  I didn't like how the double-groove pulley on the motor stuck out so far on the shaft, nor did I like not having a set screw on the same pulley over the key.  So, I pulled the motor, moved the mounts over .500", and re-installed it with vibration dampening mounts from McMaster:

Pulley before:



New set screw:



Motor mount bracket before and new rubber mounts (notice the two sets of holes on one side; it was that way from the factory...):



Mounting bracket after:



I ordered the rubber mounts that were recommended online (I think it was this forum, but I don't remember), and they are the same size threads as the stock bolts; 8mm if memory serves.  If I could do it over again, I'd go a little larger in thread size (because there's room), but more importantly, I'd make sure they're a little longer.  These mounts were just a hair too short, so I shaved off the "pads" on the bottom of the motor to let it sit flat against the rubber mounts:




Since my garage isn't wired for 220V (and I rent, so I'm not sinking money into somebody else's house), I decided to wire my lathe up for a pigtail and use the same extension cord that I use for my welder; a real HD unit made from 10-3.  So, the pigtail was made out of the same 10-3...about a 6' length.  With wire that large (the manual suggests using 14-3), I had to replace the strain relief fitting with something a bit more substantial.






After it was wired up, and while still bolted to the pallet, I broke in the gears/motor per the manual.

I didn't like how the headstock oil drains through a plug directly over the change gears, so I added a 90° fitting and cap to replace the plug.  Now I can at least stick a funnel under there when I need to change the oil.  I can add a pic of the new fittings later, but here's one of the hole where the drain plug is at:




To be continued...

-WRM


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## WRMorrison (May 11, 2015)

Next up was the hardest part...at least for me...figuring out how to place the lathe on the stands.  My first thought was to use my cherry picker, but the angle of the legs kept me from being able to straddle the lathe in order to pick it up.  Even if I were able to pick it up, I wouldn't have been able to place it on the stand because I had no access from the side(s) (I wanted the back of the lathe as close to the wall as possible).  

As a side note; before attempting to place the lathe on the stands, I borrowed a precision level from a fellow machinist at work to level the pedestals with.  It was an antique Japanese model (recently calibrated) that was accurate to .0007 per 8" or so.  It was the first time I've attempted such a thing, and leveling something with 8 "feet" took an embarrassing amount of time.  But, I figured if the stand were level to begin with, I'd only have to fine-tune it later when the lathe was perched on top.

Back to rigging/lifting this pig...  Cherry picker was out.  How about renting a forklift?  Nope...even the small ones are too big.  A small forklift with a 7' mast could only raise about a foot with my 8' garage ceiling.  A "Genie Lift" was suggested (look it up if you've never heard of it; neat contraption), which might have worked, but the one's available for rent near me didn't have the capacity.  Lots of folks told me to move the stand away from the wall (maybe even take them outside the garage) and then I could use whatever I wanted to lift the lathe on top...and then move it all back in the garage.  But, after spending all that time leveling the stand, I didn't want to disturb it.  

So, after much thought, I decided to modify my cherry picker.  I cut off the legs right in front of where they mount to the main body of the hoist.  Then I welded a piece of 4"x4"x.125 wall tubing on top (a 7' length).  Then, I welded the stock legs back on...and added (4) 90° gussets per leg.  This allowed me to be able to straddle both the pallet the lathe was on, and the stand, with a little to spare on each side.  I worked out the length of the legs so that I'd have plenty of stability while leaving the picker set on the 3/4-ton setting.  I figured that if I needed to move it to the 1-Ton setting, then I'd figure out some sort of counterweight for the rear (which I didn't need to do).

Here's a pic of how the modified picker turned out:



Also, as you can see, I purchased a 2-Ton load-leveler from Harbor Freight; worth it's weight in gold!  

I had a heck of a time trying to find the right length of lifting straps too.  This is the first time I've attempted such a project, so I was learning as I went.  I originally purchased 2 different lengths of tow straps (20' and 30'...you know, the kind with the cheap hooks on each end?)...but quickly realized that wasn't going to work.  Then I bought (2) 4' lifting straps from Tractor Supply Co. like this:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/sto...ing-1-ply-3200-lb-safe-work-load?cm_vc=-10005



That seemed to work well for the tailstock end, but wasn't long enough for the other.  So, I bought a couple 6.5' straps from Harbor Freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-webbing-sling-44847.html



That went around the headstock, but I wasn't able to make the "double-pass" like what was suggested in the manual.  But, against my better judgement (and luckily, it worked out just fine), I decided to go with it anyway.  The lathe is definitely top heavy, but it also seemed to help stabilize the load and let it fully "seat" in the straps.  I was only moving it approximately 4' from the floor to the stands anyway...  So, with the help of a friend, we lifted it off the pallet and placed it on the stands...easy-peasy.  It took all of 5 minutes.  Lining up the bolts however, took a few minutes longer...

Here's a pic of it all in place and ready to go:



-WRM


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## WRMorrison (May 11, 2015)

I found another pic that kind of shows the angle iron that I welded onto the pedestals for the leveling pads:




Also, I watched a video on youtube that helped out quite a bit (I'd link it, but I don't know the rules on such, and I don't have access to youtube at the moment anyway...).  The video showed how to route the headstock lifting strap under a switch to keep from destroying it under the weight of the lathe while lifting.  That's something that should definitely be in the manual...  I'll add a pic of that later.

-WRM


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## coolidge (May 11, 2015)

Nice job, welcome to the G4003G club. I had to move my motor over also, as have others and like you the stand is too tall for me.


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## Dman1114 (May 11, 2015)

I like what you did to the Stand.... I need to Do that to mine....   Looks great..


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## WRMorrison (May 12, 2015)

Thanks for the comments; here's a better shot of how I modified the stand:




Here's the switch that you need to watch out for when lifting the lathe.  The manual has the lifting strap routed underneath this switch, but I think the weight of the lathe would easily crush it (it's just thin sheet metal).  I simply removed the single SHCS and slid the lifting strap behind the switch and bracket when I lifted it:




-WRM


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## epanzella (May 13, 2015)

Another welcome to the G4003G club! Great machine, you'll luv it. I added the angle iron to my bases but didn't cut the cabinet as I wanted a little extra height over the standard dimension. Good you caught that flub in the manual about routing the lifting strap right over the switch. I like what you did with the motor mount. I'll have to try that if I can bear having the machine down for the day. Good Luck!


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## Chip (May 15, 2015)

Very nice writeup! Lots of good info with plenty of pics.


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## twamp12 (Jul 8, 2015)

epanzella said:


> Another welcome to the G4003G club! Great machine, you'll luv it. I added the angle iron to my bases but didn't cut the cabinet as I wanted a little extra height over the standard dimension. Good you caught that flub in the manual about routing the lifting strap right over the switch. I like what you did with the motor mount. I'll have to try that if I can bear having the machine down for the day. Good Luck!


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## twamp12 (Jul 8, 2015)

I want to add the rubber feet  but do they compress  in a short time constantly throwing the level of the machine off


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## WRMorrison (Jul 8, 2015)

It's been a while since I installed them, but I don't notice any compression.  I also don't think the feet were made of rubber per se; more like some plastic of some sort.

-WRM


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## brav65 (Jul 8, 2015)

Hey nice write up and nice lathe!  Congratulations


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## epanzella (Jul 8, 2015)

I took the rubber feet off my G4003G and made metal ones. The rubber ones needed tweaking every time I checked the level. The metal feet are still dead nutz after almost 2 years.


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## dave2176 (Jul 8, 2015)

Yep, welcome to the G4003G club. Those are some nice mods that will only improve on a good thing.
Dave


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## Dragon (Aug 30, 2015)

I am about to buy something from grizzly, I don't really need big lathe, but I do need very accurate machine for making steel shafts that run 80000 rpm!  12mm OD X 300mm

did you made any accuracy test to the spindle yet?  4 jaw chuck? or even bed ways  or using collets? etc...

Oz


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## epanzella (Aug 30, 2015)

My 4 jaw can be dialed in as accurately as you're willing to go BUT... This accuracy is close to the jaws. As you get further away it goes off. I believe this is a trait of 4 jaws in general but if the other end is supported by a center, both ends will be as accurate as you are. You'll need a steady rest to go 300mm without deflection in the middle and the G4003G does come with one.  I can easily hold to within .001 with a lathe tool but if you're talking tenths that's tool post grinding territory at least at my skill level.


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## dave2176 (Aug 30, 2015)

Dragon said:


> I am about to buy something from grizzly, I don't really need big lathe, but I do need very accurate machine for making steel shafts that run 80000 rpm!  12mm OD X 300mm
> Oz



Whatever you cut will be centered on the axis of the rotating piece. 80,000 rpm is a lot of speed. It will have to be ground. Not sure that kind of part is a task for a general purpose lathe. I suggest you ask the question in the questions forum where you'll get more smart folks reading it.
Dave


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## wrmiller (Aug 30, 2015)

I am not one of the 'smart folks', but if your rpm requirement isn't a mis-print, I would have that piece made for me by someone who has the proper grinding equipment. But I agree with Dave, post your question in the Questions forum and it will get looked at by more people.


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## Dragon (Aug 30, 2015)

I think this g4003g is better choice and more accurate lathe than the g4003 and many other lathes in this cost! for one reason ; and that because it have NSK high quality bearings!  most of the headstock  accuracy belong to the bearings quality! 
BUT if using collet system like E40 or even 5C collets then you can hold same tolerances  what the Spindle face have, I agree about having steady rest or live center (if the tail stock dead center with the head) then take first light cut then little medium cut then you will get same reading  .0003 in anywhere in the shaft!    based on the PDF grizzly sheet.  also I see some people grind the sheck jaws tips to zero the center based on the spindle runout! 

I believe G4003g is my next choice, I know precision mathew 1340GT is better but money can talk! $$$$  but still G4003G better than precision mathew 1236 ! 

Oz


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## Dragon (Aug 30, 2015)

sorry about my typing mistake !    the required run-ou of the shaft is up to 8,000 and that more lease RPM     than my original error!  I make DC brushless  motors shafts in different lengths!  
please forgive   to much bears can effect the quality of  typing too!


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## epanzella (Aug 30, 2015)

Dragon said:


> sorry about my typing mistake !    the required run-ou of the shaft is up to 8,000 and that more lease RPM     than my original error!  I make DC brushless  motors shafts in different lengths!
> please forgive   to much bears can effect the quality of  typing too!



Too many bears can even affect your breathing.


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## Dragon (Aug 30, 2015)

hehehe no don't worry I still breathing good, but that was big mistake!


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