# Just Starting Out With A Grizzly G8688 Lathe. Want To Upgrade Some Of The Features



## Bigandtall

As I said I have just gotten this little small Grizzly lathe and lets face it it's a cheap product and doesn't offer a lot in convenient features so I wanted to do some improvements. First thing on the list is a quick change tool post  Grizzly says they don't offer anything like that for that lathe and sent me to Little Machine Shop   There I found something that might do what I want. We will see when it comes in.   But now I need to find the right holders for the carbide inserts. Can anyone make a recommendation on some good all around 1/2" holders and tell me which inserts I need to get. Also some good HSS cutters would be nice too

I'm pretty much starting from scratch although I do have a pretty well equipped wood shop already but those are completely different tools  Now I need to start buying all the things I'm going to be needing for this lathe i.e. Thread gauge, center drill, tap wrench following tool and a host of other things. Can anyone tell me or recommend a good starting list. Since this lathe is fairly sloppy even as new as it is, and since I don't as yet have a 4 jaw chuck, I'm not too concerned about getting a lot of indicators gauges right away

Any help would be appreciated


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## royesses

The Tormach 0xa from LMS is the best qctp for that lathe. I use the A R Warner tool holders from LMS or  A R Warner's web site that come with hss inserts. They are pricey but good. They are also available with carbide inserts. LMS has a chart with the list of tools and the inserts and screws that fit. The real machinists here will have recommendations for other brands and inserts that will cost less and or work better. You can also purchase HSS blanks and grind them to suit.

There is a list of suggested tools on this forum. Check on the stickies. MT2 drill chuck, turning tools, boring bar, parting blades (the holder comes with the 0xa kit), mt3 dead center, faceplate and dogs, mt2 live and dead centers, clamp type knurling tool if you plan on knurling. Dial indicator and magnetic base, good 6" caliper, center drills or spotting drills, 0-1" micrometer. LMS has a list of recommended tools for beginners on their web page and also full starter kits of tooling that will give you a good idea of what you need. Metal to start turning on. I get mine from online metals, but they are a little expensive-sign up for the mailing list and get monthly coupons for discounts.

If I can think of any more I'll post it. There is so much you can purchase for this hobby and it depends on what you want to do. LMS is a great resource and the best people you will  find. 

Check every bolt nut and screw on that lathe. Check and make all adjustments.

Welcome to the best hobby machinist forum on the net.

Roy


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## Bigandtall

royesses said:


> The Tormach 0xa from LMS is the best qctp for that lathe. I use the A R Warner tool holders from LMS or  A R Warner's web site that come with hss inserts. They are pricey but good. They are also available with carbide inserts. LMS has a chart with the list of tools and the inserts and screws that fit. The real machinists here will have recommendations for other brands and inserts that will cost less and or work better. You can also purchase HSS blanks and grind them to suit.
> 
> There is a list of suggested tools on this forum. Check on the stickies. MT2 drill chuck, turning tools, boring bar, parting blades (the holder comes with the 0xa kit), mt3 dead center, faceplate and dogs, mt2 live and dead centers, clamp type knurling tool if you plan on knurling. Dial indicator and magnetic base, good 6" caliper, center drills or spotting drills, 0-1" micrometer. LMS has a list of recommended tools for beginners on their web page and also full starter kits of tooling that will give you a good idea of what you need. Metal to start turning on. I get mine from online metals, but they are a little expensive-sign up for the mailing list and get monthly coupons for discounts.
> 
> If I can think of any more I'll post it. There is so much you can purchase for this hobby and it depends on what you want to do. LMS is a great resource and the best people you will  find.
> 
> Check every bolt nut and screw on that lathe. Check and make all adjustments.
> 
> Welcome to the best hobby machinist forum on the net.
> 
> Roy




Thanks a lot for the information. I'll take a look at all of it

Funny story about this lathe   I first bought a used lathe off eBay trying to save a little money. It was also this same 8688 Grizzly model. When I got it I quickly realized something was very wrong. I started tearing into it and had the headstock off before I discovered the problem. The main gear on the headstock shaft had sheared the pin. I was surprised that all the gears were plastic on this lathe. I did some checking and found where you can buy replacement metal gears for that part. The other gears are very easy to change so this set that had broken and sheared the pin was all that they offer as metal. But to change this gear set out you have to press out two shafts, put on the new parts and press the shafts back in again. I contacted the seller and since I already had it torn down I told him I would still keep it if he would refund about half of what I'd paid. But we couldn't come to an arrangement so I ended up sending the lathe back to him   

Since I was already very familiar with that model AND it was on sale from Grizzly, I bought the same lathe brand new. And if the same part breaks I'll be ready with a replacement set in metal AFTER the warranty runs out

But when the new Lathe got here I still didn't have any cutters. So I got a cheap set of cutters from HFT just so I could do some turning. Didn't take me long to want that quick change toolpost. 

Thanks again for the information


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## Bigandtall

royesses said:


> The Tormach 0xa from LMS is the best qctp for that lathe. I use the A R Warner tool holders from LMS or  A R Warner's web site that come with hss inserts. They are pricey but good. They are also available with carbide inserts. LMS has a chart with the list of tools and the inserts and screws that fit. The real machinists here will have recommendations for other brands and inserts that will cost less and or work better. You can also purchase HSS blanks and grind them to suit.
> 
> There is a list of suggested tools on this forum. Check on the stickies. MT2 drill chuck, turning tools, boring bar, parting blades (the holder comes with the 0xa kit), mt3 dead center, faceplate and dogs, mt2 live and dead centers, clamp type knurling tool if you plan on knurling. Dial indicator and magnetic base, good 6" caliper, center drills or spotting drills, 0-1" micrometer. LMS has a list of recommended tools for beginners on their web page and also full starter kits of tooling that will give you a good idea of what you need. Metal to start turning on. I get mine from online metals, but they are a little expensive-sign up for the mailing list and get monthly coupons for discounts.
> 
> If I can think of any more I'll post it. There is so much you can purchase for this hobby and it depends on what you want to do. LMS is a great resource and the best people you will  find.
> 
> Check every bolt nut and screw on that lathe. Check and make all adjustments.
> 
> Welcome to the best hobby machinist forum on the net.
> 
> Roy




Ok I just checked and the Tormach is the qc tool post that I have on order.  

 I started trying to search for LMS and was not able to find them. Can you give me their website

Thanks again


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## scrollsawer61

Just put Little Machine Shop into Google and it will find the site for you.

Barry.


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## royesses

Bigandtall said:


> Ok I just checked and the Tormach is the qc tool post that I have on order.
> 
> I started trying to search for LMS and was not able to find them. Can you give me their website
> 
> Thanks again



Sorry, I am so used to LMS I forgot that many may not know what LMS is.  Little Machine Shop. The HF 5 piece 1/4" carbide insert tool set is actually pretty good. LMS sells the inserts for them.



One of the first upgrades I made on my little 7x10 was the all metal gear set from LMS. Pricey but well worth it. A great upgrade for me also was the 3 to 1 reduction belt/pulley set on Ebay. Slows down the rpm's but increases torque. The Harbor Freight 7x10 has a 250 watt motor so is a little bit anemic. The extended travel saddle was another great upgrad.  4" chucks are great. I love the 16" extended bed kit also. Tapered roller bearings are very good too. I recently changed over to tapered roller bearings on the 7x16 and do think it is worthwhile. I had previously upgraded to angular contact bearings which also are a good upgrade. There is so much you can do with these little lathes it's worse than hot rodding.

Tooling: carriage lock can be made or purchased from LMS. When parting the carriage should be locked to help prevent chatter. A carriage stop is also a very useful tool only for manual operations not for use with the half nuts engaged.
The A.R. Warner threading bar kits are very good. They are pricey though.


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## Zoltan

Blatant spam warning!

I've modified my lathe fairly extensively (and am currently in the middle of two big upgrades) and cataloged them on my blog:
http://benchtopmachineshop.blogspot.com/

My favorite mods are:
- Android based Touch DRO - by far the best mod I've done
- 0XA QCTP
- Compound slide delete
- Z axis fine adjustment


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## mikey

royesses said:


> The Tormach 0xa from LMS is the best qctp for that lathe. I use the A R Warner tool holders from LMS or  A R Warner's web site that come with hss inserts. They are pricey but good. They are also available with carbide inserts. LMS has a chart with the list of tools and the inserts and screws that fit. The real machinists here will have recommendations for other brands and inserts that will cost less and or work better. You can also purchase HSS blanks and grind them to suit.
> 
> There is a list of suggested tools on this forum. Check on the stickies. MT2 drill chuck, turning tools, boring bar, parting blades (the holder comes with the 0xa kit), mt3 dead center, faceplate and dogs, mt2 live and dead centers, clamp type knurling tool if you plan on knurling. Dial indicator and magnetic base, good 6" caliper, center drills or spotting drills, 0-1" micrometer. LMS has a list of recommended tools for beginners on their web page and also full starter kits of tooling that will give you a good idea of what you need. Metal to start turning on. I get mine from online metals, but they are a little expensive-sign up for the mailing list and get monthly coupons for discounts.
> 
> If I can think of any more I'll post it. There is so much you can purchase for this hobby and it depends on what you want to do. LMS is a great resource and the best people you will  find.
> 
> Check every bolt nut and screw on that lathe. Check and make all adjustments.
> 
> Welcome to the best hobby machinist forum on the net.
> 
> Roy



+1 - Roy's list is very good. I recommend HSS for your lathe, too, but understand the need to get up and running. You would do well to consider brazed carbide tools; they can be sharpened VERY sharp with a simple hand held diamond stone and will hold an edge quite well. They cut with higher cutting forces than HSS but they will get you cutting for the least amount of money. 

If you want to go with inserted carbide then I suggest using 3/8" shank SCLCR turning tools that take CCMT and CCGT inserts. They have a 5 degree tip geometry that allows for both cutting and facing. Inserts come in many grades and nose radii that work well. In particular, the AK geometry CCGT inserts have an aggressive positive rake and are very sharp out of the box; this works well for aluminum cutting. I own both SCLCR (right hand) and SCLCR (LH) tools and they work well provided I can get the speed up high enough. In my opinion, the SCLCX tools work better than the TCXX flat triangular inserts found on the AR Warner-type holders (I have those, too). 

None of these tooling options will beat a well-ground HSS tool on a little 7X lathe but they will get you started.


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