Grizzly Tools?

[Potsy]

Anybody ever used any of their stuff? Quality? Customer Service? Decent stuff or just more chinese junk?
Was looking at their heavy duty bench top drill presses. Don't really care for anything I find locally.
If anybody has a real good recommendation for a bench top drill press for $300 or less, I'd be interested in hearing it.
Just looking for something to fool around with, build the occasional muzzleloader with, etc.
Thanks!!

[elk hunter]

Most of the stuff they sell is made in China. What I have bought from them has been as good as the other Asian made stuff. My biggest purchase from them was a 14 x 40 lathe. Their customer service has been OK when I needed it. If you can find older American equipment in good condition you will have better stuff in most cases. The trick is to find what you want that isn't worn out. Where I live used American made equipment in good condition is harder to find than an honest politician. Check "Craigs List" I see some good stuff there frequently.

Good luck.

[crabo]

I have a small 4" table top belt sander. It was $100. I could not find anything comparable for the price. I also buy small things from them. I bought a set of S&W screwdrivers and had one break. They sent me a complete new set, NC, and took my word for it.

I will buy more as the need arises.

[Ickisrulz]

I have a contractor style table saw I bought about 11 years ago, a 6" jointer, 12.5inch planer, and a combination disc/belt sanding machine all from Grizzly.

I am a hobbiest, but have been satisfied with all the machines. The only problem I had "out of the box" with any of the machines is with the sander. The holes on one of the tables were drilled off of where they should have been. I contacted Grizzly and they shipped me another table quickly. The new table was the same so I JB Welded the holes and then drilled and tapped new ones. Now it works good.

I really wish I could afford to buy American (or even Canadian) made machinery, but the prices aren't even close. I worry about buying old stuff and finding parts. Grizzly will be around to supply parts for a long while (I'd bet anyway).

I think I read somewhere that all drill presses are being made overseas now. Not sure where I read this though or if it's true. I have a Delta floor model and it was made in Asia.

[GeneT]

I have a Grizzly mill and wet grinder, as well as a number of bits / small stuff. I'd say they're pretty good import stuff - that is, they're not top notch stuff,. but they're pretty good as import goes. Service is excellent, technical support is weak. I ended up replacing the (American made) motor on my mill - Grizzly tech support was pretty much useless. OTOH, for most of what I've ordered Grizzly folks have been great.

GsT

[jmsj]

Potsy,
I have their 13"x37" belt drive lathe and I like pretty well now. It would not run when I received it. It had a bad motor from the factory, half of the metal tags that show engagement directions were backwards or upside down and the microswitch on the saddle was bad. But after getting these things going it has been giving good service.
I also have one of their Mill/Drills, it is a 1 or 1 1/2 HP unit, it seems to do okay if I don't use endmills much bigger that 1/2". The motor is big enough to turn the bigger end mills but the unit is not rigid enough to not vibrate or hold any accuracy. Man I miss having acces to a Bridgeport J head mill.
When I bought the mill I also bought one their end mill sets, They were horrible, I think the geometry of the cutting edges must have been bad. I bought a set of American end mills and was much more pleased. I have heard better things about their newer cutters
Most of the American manufacturers are either shut down or too expensive for me. I am real pleased w/ the lathe now. As for the mill/drill, if I take things real slow and am very careful it allows me to do the things that one needs a mill for.

[Bill*]

My brother has a bunch of their woodworking tools (lathe,planer,drill press,table saw,bandsaw,etc.) He swears by them,but he is a hobbyist,not full time. He says he would buy from them again without hesitation, but like posts above, the equipment needed a bit of "leementing" at first,but were a solid value

[dudel]

Stuff I've gotten from them has been pretty good. No complaints.

[WallyM3]

I had one of their 12x24 gear head lathes. It was a good, strong machine. It did need a teensy bit of adjustment and a bit of stoning here and there for some rough spots, but it served well enough.

I did have a condenser on the motor go "ka-pow" one day. Blew fluff into the air and scared me considerable since I was making a heavy interrupted cut. IIRC, they shipped me a new one pronto.

I only have SBL 10L and a Logan 9" right now. The only reason I don't still have the Griz is that when I move to the present shop, I also had a SBL 13". How many lathes does a one-man shop need?

Griz is reintroducing some of the old South Bend patterns in 9 and 10 inch. They have plans to make the 10L at some point. With the wide range QCGB and a taper attachment, it's a dream lathe within its size. A 10 inch lathe weighing 900 lbs and a spindle hole of 1.375"?

Their machinery may not be Hardinge-like, but neither is the price. I think they're a cut above the ENCO ChiCom product.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I purchased a 14x40 wood lathe from them. Its Chinese mfg and so far its done a good job. Castings and machine parts are solid. No complaints on the bearings. I use it for home/hobby use. Accessories that I have ordered have been good quality. Prices for everything involved have been reasonable. Satisfied. LLS

[82nd airborne]

i have a lathe from griz. the arbor chuck got some runout and they sent me a new one the day i called for free, didnt even have to return the old one. cuts suprizingly well, despite its small size.

[PatMarlin]

I got their 2hp ultimate bandsaw and it's a darn good little saw for lighter work.

I was looking for another smaller bench drill press until I found a deal on a big Supermax CNC mill that I will add to my machines. The one thing I need in drill presses of any kind is a drill stop. Why it's not standard equipment is puzzling.

Anyway, the best deal for a smaller bench drill press with a stop was Jet if I remember correctly. Bout's a 2 hp 5/8" chuck. Looked pretty good for chicom.

[John Taylor]

I have an older Grizzly lathe that I bought used several years back and it does what it's supposed to do. It gets used almost daily.