G0709 Review

[wachuko]

I saw these massive leveling pads on somebody else's G0709 lathe. As the lathe is very top heavy and we do get the odd earthquake on the west coast I thought this was a good idea. They would significantly reduce the tippy'ness.

So I choked on the cost ($80 each) and ordered 6 of them. UPS damaged shipment, they returned the package to Grizzly. I had Grizzly send them a 2nd time, again UPS damaged the shipment and returned them to Grizzly ugh! So I gave up.

Then a few days later a single leveling pad showed up at my door. lol I contacted Grizzly and they didn't want it back.

Another week goes by and bang these $80 leveling pads go on sale for 50% off with free shipping. So1 free and 5 at 50% off I'll take that deal. The other 5 arrived today!

View attachment 501268

Yes Sir. Those are the same ones that I have. I think that I got them from Precision Matthews...

 

[coolidge]

Yes Sir. Those are the same ones that I have. I think that I got them from Precision Matthews...

View attachment 501322

These are 6.25 inches in diameter, the PM's are 4.7 inches which is still quite large.

 

[wachuko]

These are 6.25 inches in diameter, the PM's are 4.7 inches which is still quite large.

Oh wow! Not the same then.

 

[coolidge]

1 down 2 to go on the Baldor isolated motor mount.

 

[coolidge]

Isolated Baldor motor mount finished. It was a bit tricky, with lots of stuff to line up and clear up/down, left/right and in/out so here are some pics and build notes.

Required 3 pieces, a front plate that attaches to the Baldor motor .75 inch thick, a rear plate that attaches to the lathe .75 inch thick, and a 1.5 inch thick spacer between the two.



Note the rear plate is offset to the left from the front plate. This lines up the Baldor motor pulley with the spindle pulley.



Test fit to the lathe. This has 1.5 inches of up/down adjustment just like the factory motor mount. From this position the motor can go up about 1/2 inch or down 1 inch, same as the factory motor. The Baldor motor mount also has about 1 inch of up/down adjustment.



Test fit was spot on with the CAD drawings Baldor pulley to spindle pulley.



Here's a sneaky GOTCHA I almost missed in the design. The Baldor motor face is flat, vs the factory motor which is cone shaped. You have to allow for some space between the face of the Baldor motor and the lathe end cover. I designed in 3/16 inch total spacing between the two.

Other GOTCHA's to consider.

1. You must account for belt clearance inside the end cover in the design. In my case I'm switching to link belts which adds about 1/4 inch more outside the diameter of the motor pulley.

2. This Baldor motor has a large electrical box on the bottom as mounted on the lathe. The motor needs to come out from the lathe a total of 4 inches (the motor mount 3 inches plus isolation mounts 1 inch) to clear the chip pan. I have about 1/4 inch of clearance.

 

[Cloudsmoker]

The motor mount is beautiful. Shame not to feature it, with it's own vanity lamp.

 

[coolidge]

The motor mount is beautiful. Shame not to feature it, with it's own vanity lamp.

Great idea, I should mount a web cam back there so I can watch it on a monitor! lol But seriously, I am sad that it mounts with the Baldor motor tag facing down.

 

[Chip Hacket]

Great idea, I should mount a web cam back there so I can watch it on a monitor! lol But seriously, I am sad that it mounts with the Baldor motor tag facing down.

I'm sure the motor tag facing down is the proper orientation. Every mechanical engineer I've ever worked with positioned them as such. Although occasionally some would have them rear facing. I don't really know the science behind that. Must have something to do with the light of day hitting the tag causes damage to the motor or something.

 

[coolidge]

Baldor/isolated motor mount modification complete! Put your hand on the headstock or anywhere on the lathe casting and it feels very quiet. Gone is the nasty buzzing from the metal on metal mounted factory motor.

 

[Cloudsmoker]

Gorgeous