I got my lathe! (Grizzly G0602)

[Jawn]

That was quick. Ordered it in the wee hours of the 11th, delivered on the 16th. Came via UPS Freight. I paid $34 extra for liftgate. The driver parked in the road, then wheeled the pallet up the driveway and right into my garage. Crate arrived in good shape.

For now, it's on the floor while I de-gunk it and verify it's all good.

(pardon the mess... I'm in the midst of de-junking / re-organizing)

The red toolbox behind me in the above picture may get built into a bench for the lathe, similar to what this guy did:
http://gordsgarage.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... gradation/

[SteveM]

(pardon the mess... I'm in the midst of de-junking / re-organizing)

I WISH my workshop was that messy.

Steve

[hobgobbln]

DO NOT OIL YOUR SPINDLE BEARINGS!!!

At least not until you do some research. The manual says your supposed to but most people seam to agree that is incorrect. I oiled mine when I was first setting mine up and I wish I hadn't. The bearings are greased from factory and the DTE oil it tells you to use will wash it all out. They get much louder and feel sloppier too.

Please look around online first.

That being said, congrats. It's been a good machine for me so far.
Griz

[Jawn]

DO NOT OIL YOUR SPINDLE BEARINGS!!!

At least not until you do some research. The manual says your supposed to but most people seam to agree that is incorrect. I oiled mine when I was first setting mine up and I wish I hadn't. The bearings are greased from factory and the DTE oil it tells you to use will wash it all out. They get much louder and feel sloppier too.

Please look around online first.

That being said, congrats. It's been a good machine for me so far.
Griz

Crudmuffins... too late, I ran it through the break-in as recommended by the manual already (still on the pallet on the floor). I did vary from the process by heavily dousing the spindle bearings with oil (through the ball oilers). That said, what came out didn't look good. Had that grayish look like oil with suspended metal particles. So maybe it's good that I flooded the bearings.

Aside from that, looks good. Paint issues, but I expected that.

[Jawn]

Oh, and I took apart the compound, was pretty nasty inside. Probably need to take apart the cross slide too.

[hobgobbln]

Crudmuffins... too late

Well, hopefully yours will be ok. Since mine are much louder after I did them, I plan to replace them in the spring. They're good enough for now much I don't like how they sound or feel if I spin them by hand.

Oh, and I took apart the compound, was pretty nasty inside. Probably need to take apart the cross slide too.

Honestly, strip the whole thing. Clean it up and file all the edges and reassemble with fresh Vectra. It will make adjusting and getting a feel for the cuts much easier if you eliminate all the dragon blood and burs before you start.

Good luck,
Griz

[Jawn]

Tomorrow I'm picking up a workbench that should be sufficient to hold the lathe. Then I'll use my engine hoist to lift it into place.

Also, I just received a quick change tool post from Enco (Phase II, "111" wedge type). It came with a generic piece of prethreaded stock to use as a T-nut... not quite the full length of the slot of the compound, but I suspect that doesn't matter much. It's oversize in both height and width, so I should be able to mill it to fit.

[SteveHGraham]

I was kind of surprised to find that the T-nut that comes with the Phase II sets is oversized. I had to mill mine down with the lathe I was trying to mount it on.

[BadDog]

They pretty much have to be over size and milled to fit. Different compounds (or blocks) have very different t-slots.

[Falcon67]

Same here - the t-nut that came with the Phase II 200 is huge. I'll trim down the exiting post mount first. And yes, take apart everything that you dare. I still have to do the saddle/compound. I need to fix the oil sight plug at least so I know how much I've overfilled it (other than the steady drip coming out).

Looks good! And that plan for the tool box is a good one. It's nice having drawers with tooling right at the machine.

[Jawn]

The toolbox workbench plan is sidelined, I just picked up a Waterloo workbench for free. Not the heaviest bench, but seems solid enough to use until something better comes along. I may turn the toolbox into a wheeled workbench though, for nice days when I feel like working on something outside.

[Jawn]

Crappy pic, but here's the freebie bench with the G0602 chip pan on it. Tomorrow I plan to place the bench and lift the lathe onto it. It's going to be out from the wall a bit... need room for the gear cover to open. Moving the lathe closer to the front of the bench might make it too "tippy".