# Fianlly ordered a metal lathe



## wolftat (Jul 10, 2009)

I have been looking for a while and have been listening to what everyone here has been saying and I finally made up my mind, sort of. I wasn't sure if I should get the Enco mini lathe or the Micromark or the grizzly min lathe so I went with this one. I have had some issue wiht Grizzly in the past, but I feel I am gettinmg the best deal from them and my past problem may have just been with the person I dealt with. My wife said I should just get the one I want instead of settling for a smaller one so here is what I ordered.
http://www.grizzlytools.com/products/11-x-26-Bench-Lathe-w-Gearbox/G9972Z
What do you think, is this okay for a first metal lathe? It should sit nicely next to my mini mill that I don't have a clue how to use yet either. It will be here next week so I can play with it.
Also, Paul I wanted to thank you for spending the time talking to me and helping me to understand the problems with me getting a little tiny lathe 4x5...what was I thinking?


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## BRobbins629 (Jul 10, 2009)

You'll love it.  Life will never be the same.  Enjoy!


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## skiprat (Jul 10, 2009)

Excellent choice!!!:biggrin: You won't be sorry.

Check out Steve Bedair's site and all the links from it. I go there regularly.
Tons and tons of great info:biggrin:

You also got a bargain That's the same price that I paid in Pounds, 2 years ago ( £1300.00 )

Did you go for metric or imperial lead screws?

http://www.bedair.org/9x20.html


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## USAFVET98 (Jul 10, 2009)

Awesome. Let me know how you like it. My wood lathe is grizzly and I have never had any problems with it. Good stuff.


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## VisExp (Jul 10, 2009)

That's looks very cool Neil.  Congrats.  It looks like you also saved close to $100 on shipping.


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## wolftat (Jul 10, 2009)

skiprat said:


> Excellent choice!!!:biggrin: You won't be sorry.
> 
> Check out Steve Bedair's site and all the links from it. I go there regularly.
> Tons and tons of great info:biggrin:
> ...


I'm not sure what it is, I would think that it would be imperial, but I'm not sure.
Thanks for the hint, I'll check out his site.


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## wolftat (Jul 10, 2009)

VisExp said:


> That's looks very cool Neil. Congrats. It looks like you also saved close to $100 on shipping.


Thanks. The shipping was $144, the shipping is curbside only and I am supposed to unload the truck myself. I probably should have checked the weight of this thing...LOL


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## John M (Jul 10, 2009)

At 560 lbs, you might want to get your ol lady out there to help ya.  That thing is a beast.


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## wolftat (Jul 10, 2009)

John M said:


> At 560 lbs, you might want to get your ol lady out there to help ya. That thing is a beast.


 That's just the shipping weight. I'm sure it can't be much more than 555 pounds.  I have a couple of handtrucks around. The rough part is going to be getting it onto the bench, I think I may have to borrow an engine hoist for that. I probably should have looked at the weight earlier.


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## LEAP (Jul 10, 2009)

You Suck! 
Can you tell I'm jealous. been wanting a metal lathe for years. But first I've got to build a new shop The one I've got is full already.


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## ldb2000 (Jul 10, 2009)

Congrats Neil . The weight is why I went for the smaller lathe , the floors in my shop never would hold that much weight . I would have moved my heavy tools back into the basement when I added that monster , when the floor caved in .


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## hunter-27 (Jul 10, 2009)

wolftat said:


> Thanks. The shipping was $144, the shipping is curbside only and I am supposed to unload the truck myself. I probably should have checked the weight of this thing...LOL


 I see it says FREE shipping now hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.


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## rjwolfe3 (Jul 11, 2009)

> I see it says FREE shipping now hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.



Saw that too!

Neil, I am so jealous!


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## holmqer (Jul 12, 2009)

Nice addition. I went with the smaller 7x14 but am starting to wish I had gone larger.


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## johnnycnc (Jul 12, 2009)

You're going to enjoy your new lathe, congrats!


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## greeneyedblackcat (Jul 12, 2009)

Welcome to the "Dark side" its addictive, you wont regret getting the larger one.


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## bradbn4 (Jul 12, 2009)

When I had my lathe shipped to me from them - it cost around 30 dollars for lift gate service - well worth the money.  I had them drop it off in my garage.

Enjoy all the new stuff you have to pick up to use it


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## wolftat (Jul 12, 2009)

I friend dropped off his portable engine hoist today and a roller ramp section for me to use to unload. I should be okay unloading it, I'll drop it right into the back of my truck and then set it up and lift it right onto my bench. Sounds simple, I hope things go as planned.....LOL


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## johnnycnc (Jul 12, 2009)

Neil, you might want to have a friend there when it is delivered if you need a hand;
many drivers, wether lift gate or not, do not touch freight.
That's a pretty big boy you have coming.
Also, make sure your workbench is up to the job and then some.


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## wolftat (Jul 13, 2009)

johnnycnc said:


> Neil, you might want to have a friend there when it is delivered if you need a hand;
> many drivers, wether lift gate or not, do not touch freight.
> That's a pretty big boy you have coming.
> Also, make sure your workbench is up to the job and then some.


Come on John, what do you think I am, weak? This is just one box, maybe two. I think I can handle it:beat-up:. I also have several people on standby just in case though.:biggrin: I built the bench myself out of pine and balsa and used lots of CA to hold it together....LOL   In reality, the bench that this is going on is actually pallet racking for a warehouse, it came out of a friends engine shop where he used it to store engine blocks and it has a 2.5 ton per shelf rating. I should be okay for now.


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## Paul in OKC (Jul 14, 2009)

Hey Neil, it was a pleasure to chat with you the other day. That is deffinately a step up from your first thoughts, and I'll agree with the others, I think ya done good! The weight will be a plus. As for threads, it should be able to do both standard and metric, according to the info on the web site.


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## Dalecamino (Jul 14, 2009)

Neil , that's just wonderful ! Thank you very much . When can I expect it ? :biggrin:


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## Texatdurango (Jul 14, 2009)

When I got mine, I cleared out an area on the shop floor.  I started unbolting and uncrating the lathe and immediately say that the degreasing chore was going to be a LOT more than I thought.

As I took parts off to degrease I sat them aside on the workbench and when it came time to lift it onto the workbench it didn't weigh as much.

Do you have plenty of degreaser handy?


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## wolftat (Jul 14, 2009)

dalecamino said:


> Neil , that's just wonderful ! Thank you very much . When can I expect it ? :biggrin:


 Go wait by the mailbox and let me know when it gets there.:biggrin:


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## wolftat (Jul 14, 2009)

Texatdurango said:


> When I got mine, I cleared out an area on the shop floor. I started unbolting and uncrating the lathe and immediately say that the degreasing chore was going to be a LOT more than I thought.
> 
> As I took parts off to degrease I sat them aside on the workbench and when it came time to lift it onto the workbench it didn't weigh as much.
> 
> Do you have plenty of degreaser handy?


 I am hoping WD-40 will work but if not I have several cans of engine degreaser if that will work. Is this the same stuff that they pack the new rifles in for overseas shipping and storage? We used to use gas to remove that if noone was around to see it.
 I think I will try stripping it as much as possible, but for the lift I am going to chain it up to the engine hoist and let that do all the heavy work for me. I received a call to let me know that it will be here tomorrow between 11 and 1, so I am throwing some steaks on the grill and have some friends coming over to relax(they think).


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## Texatdurango (Jul 14, 2009)

wolftat said:


> I am hoping WD-40 will work but if not I have several cans of engine degreaser if that will work. Is this the same stuff that they pack the new rifles in for overseas shipping and storage?


I don't know about the rifle grease but my Grizzly had about 2 lbs of thick foul smelling grease EVERYWHERE!  The degreaser recommended to me at the time was the "Orange Lightening" or whatever it's called, sold at Walmart and it worked great.  I bought a couple gallon jugs and poured one into a plastic bucket and dumped the smaller stuff in and it just floated the heavy grease away after a bit.


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## wolftat (Jul 14, 2009)

Texatdurango said:


> I don't know about the rifle grease but my Grizzly had about 2 lbs of thick foul smelling grease EVERYWHERE! The degreaser recommended to me at the time was the "Orange Lightening" or whatever it's called, sold at Walmart and it worked great. I bought a couple gallon jugs and poured one into a plastic bucket and dumped the smaller stuff in and it just floated the heavy grease away after a bit.


Thanks, I just talked to a friend that said the stuff we had to remove was cosmoline. He suggested that I swing by his place and get his small electric parts washer and a couple gallons of kerosene and plan on spending a day or two doing this. I think I may invite some of the kids from my shop class over to do that part.


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## Dalecamino (Jul 15, 2009)

wolftat said:


> Go wait by the mailbox and let me know when it gets there.:biggrin:


 :crying:


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## greeneyedblackcat (Jul 16, 2009)

To degrease that lathe I would use kerosene or WD-40 either will lubricate while cleaning, try not to use a water based degreaser, if you do you may be sorry. Scrape as much of the goop off with a plastic scraper first. You can get a gallon of WD-40 at homedepot or lowes for under $15 Just my 2 cents


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## holmqer (Jul 17, 2009)

I buy my Kerosene at the local home heating oil dealer thats on the way to the grocery store. They have a gas pump that dispenses Kerosene at a price similar to gasoline. You should be able to find the same in your area.


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## wolftat (Jul 17, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. I have it pretty much cleaned at this point. I did it the easy way, a friend of mine came over for the cook out and brought his father. He is a retired machinist and was begging to get at the lathe. Being the nice guy that I am, I let him get into it and do whatever he wanted to do(cleaned it all with kerosene). He is also taking a couple of days to go over the machine with me and teach me how it works and what it can and can't do. Right now I'm waiting for my cutting tools to be delivered so I can start playing with it. I'm going to try and find a local supply house for tooling.


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