Grizzly G9972Z Bench Lathe with Gearbox, 11 x 26-Inch

Everything on the mill uses bolts instead of levers which is a hassle. I had to buy a set of ratcheting wrenches. This is also a bit of slip in the morse taper, which may indicate that it is not a clean taper.The switch is also in a TERRIBLE place. You need to reach over the chuck to turn the machine on. My last lathe had the on/off on the carriage which was much more convenient.On a complex machine these are my only real complaints, hence the 4/5 stars

I bought this lathe to make my prototype parts for the machines I design. It has exceeded my expectations every time.I was impressed with the spindle which has almost zero run-out less than .0002 as best as I can measure it. I tightened it after many hundreds of hours of use and still runs true. The way bearings are chosen for tight tolerance is by taking normal bearings and testing them until you find them. This has, apparently, accidental super close precision tolerance tapered shaft bearings. I don't know if they all come this way. But it appears to be: ABEC 5 or better.The three jaw chuck has about .0005" of run-out and I was actually able to make arbors for my milling machine with it.When I flipped the part, I used a dial indicator and turned the part until it had close to zero run out from the opposite direction. Basically, flipping the .0005 offset run-out in the opposite direction.I also fixed a drill chuck that had about .010 run-out by setting up the Jacobs chuck taper on the compound. I put the Jacobs (copy) chuck in backwards with a drill blank in it and chucked the drill blank in the 3 jaw chuck.When I used it for boring and cutting stainless steel cylinders 3 inch ID and 3.4 OD I had to tighten up everything to get rid of chatter on the end of the cuts. That was easy to do. I even tightened up the spindle a little for this. After months of use, there is nothing wrong with tightening it up a bit following the instructions.I would like to have a variable speed motor and that would be easy to add, but for the money, I don't think you can go wrong. There are times when I want it to run slower than 150 RPM and I have just about worn out the belts from constantly changing the speeds going from cutting to making threads, and different materials at different SFM.I had a problem with one of the jaws on the 4 jaw chuck. It developed a hair line crack. Grizzly has been great on any issues I have had with them. They are sending a new chuck to replace it. Great warranty service.For metric threads the thread dial does not work to reset it each time, unless you mark the spindle and the lead screw and put it exactly back on those marks each time. That takes spinning the chuck several times. It is best just to learn to start and stop the lath with the half nut never released until the threads are done. Just reverse the motor each pass to start over. The lathe comes with a USA Lead Screw and apparently for metric threads you need a metric lead screw to make the thread dial work.I gave it 5 stars because of the value for the money. It is not a super high end lathe, but with care and understanding the limits, it can do high end work.

Arrived early and everything seemed to be well packed/crated. The only issue I have with it is that the splash guard on the back was separated at the corner for about 6 in. It appears the welding was not sufficient to hold it together.

These lathes are much better then those tiny 7*12" lathes. It's ideal for a small business or for the serious garage tinkerer. Like another reviewer stated, I also had to machine the base plate on my four jaw chuck too. Every thing is tight and very accurate. The best part about my lathe is the addition of a quick change tool post. I found one made to fit it for a fairly reasonable price on ebay.

This is a great lathe for the money. It's bigger than the 9 by 20 and a lot beafier at close to 400lbs. I had to face the back of the 4 jaw chuck but other than that, it's reasonably true. If I had more room, I would have bought a 12 in lathe, which is more professional type and more accurate but this was the largest I could lug around my basement and it is good enough for my purposes. I replaced the switch after a bout 4 years use but that's all

I bought this lathe about 9mos ago to make parts for my business. I have not had any problems and it is still tight. There are set screw adjustments on the carriage to keep things smooth and accurate. The tool post is just ok since you have to shim all the tools up to centerline. A quick change tool post will make things much better. Changing spindle speed is a bit of chore, but only takes 5min when you figure it out. The only complaint I have is with the stand. The bolt holes did not line up on the chip tray and required modification. It's Chinese, so you have to expect some of this. This lathe is very basic and works well for the price.