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Grizzly G0694 vrs Powermatic 3520B

G

Gil Jones

Joined
Mar 5, 2005
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Location
Lake Seminole, Georgia
Grizzly G0694 vs Powermatic 3520B

Does anyone own/use the Grizzly G0694, 20" x 43", 3-hp lathe?
If so, how do you like it.
Pros / Cons ??
Thanks
 
Last edited:
Gil,

I just googled the Grizzly and checked it out. It looks interesting, but then I spotted the toolrest and offset banjo. It looks like a good idea, but it has built-in overhang and the vibration is going to be a problem. With that offset, the contact area of the banjo with the ways should be an inch wider at least. I have not seen nor tried the lathe, but I see the offset banjo as a possible weak link here.

Ed
 
Don't understand when Grizzly would start design a wood lathe that wood turners want. The gap bed design is old.
Grizzly G0694 discussion
It doesn't have a through hole in headstock spindle - NO through the spindle vacuum chucking.
I believe this is the replacement for the G0456 that was rated last in FWW Heavy Duty Lathes Comparison
Grizzly doesn't show any warranty detail on this model. They are so confident about the previous model, it had only 1 year warranty.
Powermatic has a 5 year warranty.
Don't just look at the initial purchase price. There are plenty of Powermatic out there. Many of them are owned by professional turners, gone through field tests by actual turners and abused. Some of the weakness in early production were corrected.
 
Deja-Vu. It's a blast from the past without the Reeves we had. http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=8544 http://www.owwm.com/photoindex/detail.aspx?id=7700 Agree with Ed that the toolrest is extremely odd. Like the one on their "me too" 12x20 (0658), the post mounts opposite the work, which makes no sense to me, accustomed as I am to the one on my 3000. Assuming the lock screw on the banjo allows the removal of the arm to allow use of the toolrest alone rather than being "built-in." Then it becomes a means of getting up close for the fine finishing control you'd like in a deeper piece.

Outboard turning setup is the way things should be, though they fail to mention the outboard threading. I can see how nice it might be for a production type to have a big LH pin chuck for outside roughing and then move the piece over the bed for interior work.

I've had trouble in the past with green castings (inside, not out!) on Grizzly equipment, so I guess yoiu'd have to rely on their generous return/replacement policy. Which is generous, but it is aggravating to have equipment down for weeks on some complaint which any half-baked QC type should have caught.
 
Grizzly lathes.... don't go there....

Grizzly makes (...actually, Grizzly has Chinese or Taiwanese workers make) some decent tools..... but IMHO, their lathes aren't among them.

Some time ago, I visited the Muncy, PA showroom that Grizzly has there, and while impressive in number of tools shown on one showroom floor, I was underwhelmed by the quality of their wood lathes. For example, 'less-than-smooth' (being polite) operation of banjos and tailstocks, rough edges on machined parts, flash from castings still present, etc., noisy spindle movement when had rotated, plastic handwheel and adjustment parts, stamped metal support bases (read: noisy in operation), etc.

It's clear to me that the lathes they offer are either lower grade knock-offs of others' successful lathes (Like the Jet 1642/1442), or are de novo "creations" by people trying to design and sell tools who apparently have no knowledge of woodturning at all. Case in point is the "left hand sander" lathes with the disc sander located where the lathe's handwheel/outboard spindle should be. This seems like they are just basically appealing to the "woodturning challenged" crowd who have money in their pockets, trying to sell two tools at once to people who should know better. To me,THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL SAFETY ISSUE, and speaks volumes that Grizzly doesn't really know anything about woodturning!! The other example already noted that there is no knockout bar hole through the headstock spindle making vacuum chucking a challenge, as well as hopefully getting out the Morse Taper accessories in the headstock, using a spindle nut that you hopefully remembered to put on before you inserted and used the center in the taper.

It should be a no-brainer to stay away from these problems, and select your machine from a supplier that has a proven track-record of thoughtful design, product development, and updating of lathes as woodturning machines, instead of "How can we sell another motor and some iron?". You can click HERE to compare lathes of a number of different manufacturers.

Please know that I own a Grizzly drill press that I've had for over 20 years that still works fine. One of our club members owns a Grizzly joiner and planer which also perform well. I own and am satisfied with the Grizzly knock-off of the Vicmarc VM-100 chuck. I am not opposed to Grizzly tools in general, but can only give advice to stay away from Grizzly lathes in preference to other lathes more worthy of consideration.

The adages: "You get what you pay for." and "Caveat Emptor" apply here.

Rob Wallace
 
Just about any American (and many other) branded lathe is at least partially made in China (or somewhere similar). The issue is that there are good manufacturers in China, there are bad ones, and ones everywhere in between. Most Delta, Powermatic, Jet and the like are made over there, but these companies are keeping tabs on quality control.

In my opinion, Grizzly seems to do this for some items, but is more concerned with being the cheapest guy around. They also don't seem to comprehend what wood turning is about or what wood turner's need.
 
waltben said:
.... They also don't seem to comprehend what wood turning is about or what wood turner's need.
Click to expand...

I remember Powermatic was in that situation years ago until they hired Rude Osolnik as a consultant and it still took a couple of iterations.
 
I have the G1495 Broke 3 tool rests they replaced 2 and then wanted to charge me even though it was stiil under warranty so I bought a Woodcraft tool rest and am very happy with that.They told me I was expecting too much from the machine even though they sell it as a Heavy Duty 14 inch lathe I couldn't get the tool rest out in front of a 12" blank had to buy an extention from I think a jet so it looks like the G0694 still not sure how it will hold up for a heavy piece but it seems to move alot. The variable speed pulley sticks and they told me to take it apart and use emery cloth to clean up the shaft that others had the same problem (no big deal but something I feel should be addressed during production).The outboard tool rest is pretty much useless since I can't find anything but a faceplate to attach to it and there again the way the toolrest is set up I don't really get any more capacity any way. I use the sanding disk with 220 to touch up my tools but it does worry me when I have to work closer to the end of the lathe. I have other Grizzly tools (jointer,Planer,Bandsaw Etc). and am very happy with all of them but if I could do it over I would save for a PM or Oneway Or even a Stubby they all seem to have better lathes.
 
If you are looking at that Grizzly because you want to stay in the lower $2000 range, you would be better off getting the Jet 1642. Very good lathe with all the bugs worked out. The choice between that Jet and a PM3520 is a much harder one, but neither are problematic, and owners of both love them, unlike what you hear on that Griz.
 
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