Another thing to keep in mind is that Harbor Freight also sells a 7 x 12 mini lathe that’s not available in their stores. You have to go online to their website and order it. Until the last few months it was actually cheaper than the 7 X 10, but now it’s about $30 higher. The HF 7x10 is actually 7x8, because the dimension is measured between centers, with a dead center in both the headstock and tailstock, and HF evidently measured this one with a bogus ruler! Ha! The 7x12 is actually 4” longer than the 7x10, not 2”. Don’t waste your money on the 7x10. HF also sells a good mini milling machine online. Both of the lathes and the mill are manufactured by Sieg in China. A helpful hint: HF doesn’t sell parts for any of these machines, but “The Little Machine Shop” carries all of these parts along with a bewildering array of accessories for mini lathes and mills!
the Grizzly variable speed control produces an additional Humming sound, which is constant right down to almost zero rpm, because it uses a KB controls DC motor controller which is based on SCR's , not MOSFETS as the power switching device. The KB are more respectable drives, but they do use the 60Hz AC line frequency as a modulating carrier to achieve their pulse width modulation.
Thanks for the comment. Yes, I did perform the break-in procedure as described in the manual before I shot the video. Hopefully, it will quiet down in time. However, I do believe the noise is coming from the motor bearings, not the spindle. Also, I think some of what I can only describe as a harmonic at higher RPM's may actually be a result of the electronics, and not the spindle. I agree with your point - in spite of all these issues, the G0765 is still best of breed in the world of 7 x mini lathes. I guess I just expect Grizzly products to have a higher quality standard than the competition. I was shocked that HF actually did better job with a few details on their version of the mini lathe. I'm still happy I brought the Grizzly home.
Part of the noise you are hearing is the high amp motor. The other noise sounds like the plastic gearing. My 7x10 hf was making that noise till I figured out which gear it was. turned out it was the forward/reverse lead screw gears rubbing on a screw washer. A little tweak later and now its quiet as a can be. The high amp motor noise I found on my 8x12 was a different issue. The drive gear bushing wasn't oiling and binding up. Somehow when they machined the bolt that holds it they forgot to drill the passage to the bearing. it ate a couple of belts before the light came on that something was wrong. Drilled it out, gave it some oil and now all is happy with it. For the tail stock I agree its annoying. That mod is in the future on my bigger one.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video and help so many of us. I was going to complain that you were comparing apples to oranges but those two lathes are similar. The Grizzly weighs 110 lbs and costs $595 while the Harbor Freight weighs 87 lbs and costs $570 ($456 after 20% discount coupon). So, the Harbor Freight is a bit smaller and $150 cheaper. I see now that Harbor Freight offers a 7x12 ($600 before discount) and an 8x12 lathe ($1,000 before discount) that might incorporate some of those better features that you found on the Grizzly lathe. I guess one of the advantages of Harbor Freight is their handy stores everywhere and their extended warranties. With mail order companies, you got to box up the lathe and pay to send it back for repairs. With Harbor Freight, put in in your mini-van or truck and drive it over to the store. I think I'm talking myself into the Harbor Freight lathe. Thanks for making me think of all facets while comparing these lathes.
I'm glad you found the video useful. There's nothing wrong with buying a mini-lathe from Harbor Freight but the stores will only exchange items you purchased off of the floor and they only carry the 7x10 in the stores. Everything else has to be handled via mail. I had to use the HF warranty replacement program and it took FOREVER for the new parts to arrive. Grizzly, on the other hand, has really good customer service as far as mail order distributors are concerned.
One thing to keep in mind is that these are both made by the same (Chinese) manufacturer. They are just different models. That is why some of the components swap out.
The Grizzly G0765 is not produced by Seig! It’s similar to the Seig units sold by HF, Northern Tool, Micro Mark, Little Machine Shop etc., but another Chinese company that Grizzly will not disclose. Frank Hoose has a good comparison video documenting all this!
Not quite true. SIEG makes all the castings for these lathes and sells them to other makers who spec them out how they like (or to attract their target demographic). So the castings are all the same, but the flatness and finish of the ways/bed and the lapping quality of all the sliding parts vary from company to company. Some build these casting out to fairly decent machines that do not need much work out of the box, while some sell you a box of assembled parts that needs to be torn down and carefully worked over to make an accurate machine. Places like Little Machine Shop sell accessories that are of pretty good quality and that can significantly increase the potential or extend the life of a given machine. This community is large and very supportive.
I just added the digital display to my Harbor freight 8x12, (I liked the 8x12 more than the 7x10.) I have already added the A2Z quick change tool post. (The biggest improvement you can make to a lathe.) When my 4 jaw chuck comes in I cam make the cam so my tailstock works like yours. After I add the VFD and the 1hp motor I think it will be better than the Grizzly. Beyond that I'll be adding steppers and a PC. If I was to spend more it would be a South Bend 10 inch.
The best mini lathes are the ones with the quiet 7x16 brushless DC motors that are sold by Micro Mark and Little Machine Shop. The torque of those motors does not require the noisy 2 speed gearbox, which is where a lot of the mini noise comes from. If you want to true the front of a Mauser for a custom barrel, you will need the 16" lathe to use the mandrels made for that purpose. Of course there are other reasons to get a longer lathe bed. The only down sides are the increased costs and the digital RPM indicator is a plug in option. The good news is that these two companies also sell mini mills that use the same powerful quiet motor.
It seems the HF "benefits" are cosmetic for the most part...The nicer finished handles for example, while the Griz has better function items, like the marked travel wheels on the bed and tailstock, as well as the bed and tailstock cam locks. I vote Griz, despite some plastic in inappropriate places and the slight motor noise
Don't buy anything smaller than a 7x12. Personally, I think the Grizzly G0765 is a great value and well supported by the company. If you can spend more money, check out the Precision Matthews 10x22 machines.
Thanks for the review. It has helped me decide which one to start out with. I plan on going with the HF. Cost is a factor so is the fact for me HF is close by. I plan on using for hobby level work.
+J Rowell I know this message is 6 months old, but the difference between HF 7x10 and Grizzly 7x14 is 100 bucks (Grizzly is still on sale I was told till the end of year and 600 bucks is introductory price) For 100 extra you're getting way more features. I already want to upgrade mine :-) mainly because I just tried to setup threading and I couldn't even get feed to engage, my gear has stripped teeth, I want more expensive lathe with gearbox now and metal gear for sure. I am waiting Monday to see what Grizzly is going to do about my stripped plastic gears.
+Dima Prok Check this out: littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=3446 Metal gears for the mini lathe from Little Machine Shop dot com
+Franco Thanks, I'll look in to it, maybe I can find it cheaper. $210 is a bit too steep for me, I rather spend this money getting bigger and better chuck or milling attachment.
I had a chance to take my G0765 to my uncle who has HF 7x10 (BTW, it's actually 7x8 that's why 7x14 is 6 inches more, there is also G0768 which is 7x16). My uncle was fixing my 0765 and he pointed out to me several more things that were better build on his HF like threading. Right now I ordered for him 7x16 bed from Little Machine Shop and other parts, he is going to upgrade his HF and make it even better, it served him 15 years already and he made many things on it. He also has G0602, but he likes his little HF.
You know... for less money you could have bought the harbor freight 7x10/12/14” lathe bed extender and made it a 7”x16”. It’s less than $200 at Little Machine Shop, and you get everything including the drip pan. Including the price of the HF lathe and ordering the extender you’re still be looking at spending less money on the Grizzly(especially with shipping costs), and I ordered an rpm sensor and voltage monitor from Amazon to retrofit to my mini lathe, and you guessed it... still spent less in the long run.
I'd just like to point out that harbor freight does not make lathe's or mills ! I hear a lot of people bitchin that harbor freight sucks an they would never buy something like a lathe or mill from them... the lathe's and mills they sell are built by central machinery and are high quality equipment ! I own a mill from central machinery and its really a great machine. in fact its one of the best knee mills ive ever run ! its their biggest one harbor freight carries its 2 hp with a 3-3/4 " spindle !!! And the ways are very smooth and tight. its truly a very high quality mill.
Out of curiosity, have you performed the recommended spindle break-in procedure as detailed in the Grizzly G0765 manual [pg 23]? Also, the headstock gearing might need some time to break in from use before they quiet down, as well as good dose of lubricant. I'm surprised you were able to transplant the ball cranks from the Harbor Freight to the Grizzly. I tried replacing mine with parts from Little Machine Shop and it seems the hardware is specific to the G0765. I also noticed the castings were a bit rough, i.e., pits, blowholes, coarse machining, etc., along with some of the hardware was defective and some holes didn't seem to be drilled properly. I do think the G0765 is worth every penny, though, just for the tail stock. Tail stock alignment with the G0765 has been a snap compared to the wretched, miserable exercise of tedious frustration of the 7 X 12's tail stock.
jlg4880 The spindle break-in was performed as described in the manual prior to shooting this video. Long story short, Grizzly swapped out that lathe for a different one and I now I'm happy. They have top-notch customer service and that, in my opinion, is worth paying a little extra for. Like you, I'm a fan of the G0765 lathe.
@@FrancoCNC Thank you. Some of the information has been hard to find. What would you recommend for a guy wanting his first lathe? Bench top, smaller but not mini, not terribly expensive but quality. Thx again.
@@wht240sxka Hi. This would be a good choice: www.precisionmatthews.com/shop/pm-1022v-pm-1030v/ This would be another good choice: www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-9-x-19-bench-lathe/g4000
@@FrancoCNC I really do like grizzly tools too I think I made my decision with your help. Thanks so much. Watched some of your other videos, thx for the great content. Subbed!!
Franco, the humming sound from the G0765 indicates that it has an AC motor. Apparently it uses current modulation instead of a proper frequency modulation to vary the speed.
Beginner or not, try to get the best you can afford. Start out looking for good used lathes. Many people buy them and give up after a few projects. I'm not sure what you'll find in your part of the world, but I often see the 9x19 lathes for sale on Craigslist. Look at the Grizzly G4000 as a reference. If you need to buy new, remember to set some money aside for tooling. The best lathe in the world is useless without tooling. I'd consider the Grizzly G0765 as it is a good value and comes with a few attachments. Then, I'd use the rest of your budget to get a 0XA quick change tool holder and some indexable carbide tooling . I hope this helps.
I think the extra noise comming from the Grizzly is the bearings, ball bearings will have more slopp, where taperred roller bearings will be more stable which is btter for side loading
Hi. They do have power feed on the Z-axis for turning and threading. You have to change gears to get different thread pitches. You can machine harder materials if you use the right tooling. You'll be taking light cuts with really sharp tools.
Yeah, Been dealing with them for many years, and being a Luthier myself, really admire Mr Balolia's excellent Craftsmanship. If you've seen his Catalog Pics. you know what I mean. So is your Quick Change Tool Holder the Phase ll Hobby model, and how do you like it? Going to pick up a Beckett #M130AS submersible pump at Ace Hdw. in the AM, due to a DIY coolant system set up I found on line. Man, so much knowledge at our fingertips!!! If the "Net" was around when I grew up, we'd ALL be Guitar 'Hero's", Ha! "Thank you very much"--------. Gb bg
squarewrangler Hi. You can always cut wood or plastic on a metal lathe. The only downside is managing the dust. If you want to use traditional wood turning "knives" then you may be interested in buying this attachment from Little Machine Shop dot com: littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1685&category=
What is it compared to the microlux 7x16 mini lathe ? .... I'm thinking of buying a mini lathe and i want the best one ... Cost is not an issue so please help . Thanks
+Ibrahim Alhammadi Hello. I've not seen the Microlux lathe in person but it looks like it is the same product as the LMS Hi Torque Mini Lathe www.littlemachineshop.com/5100. I've never purchased anything from Microlux but I have purchased many items from LMS and they provide really good customer service. Grizzly also provides good customer service. I think the Microlux and the Grizzly have the same bed casting. The tail stock on the Grizzly is larger than the Microlux and I believe that is why they call their lathe a 7x14 when others call it a 7x16. The larger tail stock takes up more room on the bed. In my opinion, Grizzly has the best tail stock. If you look closely, the casting for the cross-slide is different on the Grizzly than on the Microlux. There is more metal on the Grizzly cross-slide and the Grizzly has rubber wipers where most other mini lathes do not. The Microlux may have a better spindle drive than the Grizzly. The Microlux looks like it has true inch collars (and perhaps lead screws). The Grizzly has metric lead screws and collars that are marked in metric and the closest approximate inch value. I usually think in inches when I'm working with my Grizzly and I haven't had any problems with their graduated collars. One point I need to make: The Grizzly has a graduated collar on the carriage travel wheel where most other mini-lathes do not. Unfortunately, the scale on the collar is not correct and you have to do a little bit of a math conversion if you want to use it. Grizzly looks like it comes with more accessories than the Microlux. In my opinion, it looks like the only reason to spend the extra $220 on the Microlux is the possibility that the spindle drive is better. If price is not an factor and you want to stay in the realm of the mini-lathe, you may want to step up to a slightly larger lathe like the Grizzly G0768. It is like a mini-lathe on steroids. Everything is just a little bit bigger and more heavy duty. It also has metal change gears where most mini-lathes have plastic gears. www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-16-Variable-Speed-Lathe/G0768 I hope this helps.
I have a 9" and consider it to be a toy. But I did build a live steam locomotive using it and the mini mill, another toy. When it comes to machine tools, bigger and heavier is usually better.
jockellis I built a Allen Models Fitchburg Northern which is the Tom Rhodes adaptation of the 2 1/2" scale Chloe, the late Ward Kimball's plantation engine. The drivers are 5" finish diameter. I used a bare minimum of tooling, lathe cutters of the insert type, a adjustable boring head, I milled the link radius by mounting the links to a slab of aluminum with a pivot hole and crank arrangement as I don't have a rotary table. My engine runs very well and can be seen on various videos of Los Angeles live steamers spring meet last year 2018.
Johnny James I remember the Chloe from late 1990s Live Steam ads. Weren’t they made in British Columbia? My cat is setting on my legs and I can’t go look for one of those magazines. If I were not a big fan of American steam, Chloe is the one I’d want. So pretty. Congratulations.
Yes Sir, the company in China is SIEG, they make them all. I actually have a nice one with tapered roller bearings that came standard. Quiet and smooth and accurate.
Thanks for the video. I have a HF 7x10 lathe. As I have programmed CNC Lathes and Mills for at least twenty years, I would like to convert this lathe. I would like to find a one-stop shop for all equipment required. Do you have a recommended vendor that can foot that bill?
Hi Tony - there isn't one single place to buy everything. I'd buy the CNC software and control board from Centroid (www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_diy/acorn_cnc_controller.html). As far as the motors go, I'd go with Automation Technologies (www.automationtechnologiesinc.com/products-page/nema23-closed-loop-stepper-motor-system-hybrid-servo-kit/hybrid-servo-drive-kl-5080h/). You can buy a conversion kit form BD Tools (www.bdtoolsusa.com/sieg-7x10-12-14-ballscrew-kit). I hope this helps. Something to consider is it won't cost that much more to convert a larger lathe like a G0602. Since you're just getting started, you may want to consider selling your 7x10 and starting out with the larger machine.
Plastic but I have to say, my harbor freight is an older one I bought used of eBay and it’s gears are still fine. One was broken in shipping and I replaced it with one from “the. Little machine shop dot com” and it’s still great, I think you’d have to abuse the heck out of this thing to strip a gear.... and, there’s a guy on eBay why sells stainless steel gears for these if you feel you’ll need them but if you are goin to abuse it that badly, you’d probably them burn up the motor instead of the gears and they are like $200.00 to replace where as the gears are like $5.00 so you could actually buy a spare set in case they do break so you won’t be down a week waiting for them to be shipped!
I'll stick with my vintage lathes,,50 years old and are still better and have proven the test of time and not to mention much cheaper with all cast iron no plastic are stamped steel and USA made.
Hey Mate, I wonder if some of the "resonant" noise could be coming, (or at least amping- up) from your table top? If your top is not a solid wood laminate as the top that the H'F' is sitting on-------?? I have my very first, (self-owned) G0765 Lathe coming as soon as "Griz" gets them BACK IN STOCK! As a CNC Machinist, (and even before) I've always wanted my own "METAL" Lathe, and Vertical Mill, one down, one to go, LOL! Have Fun, and be blessed! Gb bg
Thanks for your comment. The tabletop does make a difference. However, as I recall, the intermediate shaft had a bad bearing that was contributing to the noise. Grizzly exchanged the lathe for a new one. They have good customer service. As far as small lathes go, the G0765 is hard to beat. I really like mine.
That depends. What type of stainless do you want to cut? There can be a big difference between the different grades. For instance 316 is way more difficult to work with than 416. Also, turning is probably going to be easier than drilling. You can machine stainless steels but you may have some limitations depending on what you want to do.
How the hell can the harbor freight one not have measurement marks on the handle....how would u know how much materiak u are taking off......you must have a defect
+Bison Workshop Interesting...Well, if it really bothers you I'll be happy to trade my G0765 for your G0602. All joking aside, how to you like the G0602?
+Franco its ok except the carrage will only auto feed in one direction and the compound doesnt auto feed. other then that its ok. my next tool will be a mill
+Bison Workshop Thanks. I think I'm going to get a bigger lathe one day and I've been thinking about the G0602. You could always convert yours to CNC - that would solve those feeding issues.
Hi Alex. Probably. What type of stainless steel are you using? There is a big difference in alloys. For example, 316 is a lot harder to work with than 416. If you get some good drills (not the stuff they sell at Harbor Freight or Home Depot) and start with a smaller drill and work you way up, I'm sure you can make your 1/2" holes.
well it's a lathe ru-vid.comUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.
Great video. I'm in the market for a benchtop lathe so I can get into dart making and dart modification. I'll be working with 80-90% tungsten. I think either of these would be a perfect investment.
Thanks. I'm guessing your parts will be on the smaller side (let's say under Ø0.5") so, yes, the mini-lathes should do the job. I think tooling will be more of a concern for the Tungsten material - you really need carbide inserts. Additionally, the jobber drills sold at Harbor Freight probably won't work well. You may want to look at a professional brand, like Titex. A foot actuated coolant mister may be a good idea, as well.
These lathes have been around for years and they still haven't ironed out the problems. The first moan is the tail stock with that nut to lock it, apparently some do have a lever lock but most do not. If they can do some why not all? They ALL make a noise of some sort in the motor area. I bought mine in the UK where they sell under different names, and colours!! I wish some firm here or in the USA had some gumption to set up and make one, and of course the ancillary equipment. The price maybe a bit more but I am sure we would get a better quality. Come on President Trump you can do it.
The problem is labor cost, yes American can make much better product, but the price would be so high that makes it impossible to compete with the chinese. In China labor works in factories and instead of wages they get factory coupons which they have to spend in factory store to buy food and pay for their dorm room, something very close to slavery.
@@transformer889 In the U.S. back in the day, very similar to The Company Store that Tennessee Ernie Ford sang about in "Sixteen Tons". "I OWE MY SOUL TO THE COMPANY STORE" was the line. Maybe '56 or so? Nope, i was wrong. Google says '55.
+Kevin Keel Cool. There are some more differences between the Grizzly and the HF that I didn't notice at first. The Grizzly has rubber wipers on the ways and the HF does not. Grizzly has an actual two piece half nut and the HF only has "half" of a half nut. the bottom piece has threads and the top is just a smooth, fixed piece if metal. One bad thing about the Grizzly is that the graduated dial on the carriage is not the correct scale. I still like the Grizzly over HF but there a lot of options out there.
+Franco Yeah, I noticed that about scale being wrong too on G0765. In the manual it says that one revolution is 0.04", well it's actually 0.08", each little division is .002"
+Dima Prok Yeah, the cross-feed is in radius, not diameter. The carriage feed (Z-axis) is really strange. As I recall, I think I need to multiply everything by ~1.3 to get the actual amount of travel that I want. Is your's like that, too?
I wouldnt give harbor freight out of pure principle. They sell utter and complete crap. I bought a 2 horse electric motor and it was packed with turnings. that was the final straw for me.
