# Anyone use or have one of these ?



## V 45 (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm looking at a bigger lathe for my friends shop. Does anyonyone have a review of the Bolton 11x28 lathe ?? A B290VF.
Looks like a nice benchtop for the size and has power crossfeed. Good and the bad advice taken...I've personally have never seen one in person.
Thanx again,
  V 45


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 2, 2012)

I do not know the company or the lathe but looking at the photos and the manual here are some observations. 
the good
appears to have a built in electronic tach.
factory variable speed on the fly.
5mt spindle bore  large for pass through
allows for 5-C collets. 

a lead screw and a separate drive shaft for auto feed. 
11x 28 is a good sized envelope for a BT home lathe. 

the down sides :
I see. few accessories
face plate 4 jaw and steadies are all options. 
these are standard on some packages. 

the mounting system is low end, IMHO a cam lock mount is the way to go if possible it allows for faster changes of chucks and face plate. 
bolt on has advantages over thread on in that you can run the spindle in reverse for threading etc. 

I think in any case when shopping for a lathe make a wish lits of the sizes and features that are important. and try to find a lathe that best meets the list. also realize there are always trade offs. 
While bigger is better is often the battle cry of lathe shopping remember the safe top RPM of a 12" chuck is a lot slower than that of a 4"  and if you are turning an 1/16 th drill bit or piece of work you need some speed..


hope this helps your decision. 
Tin


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## Jasonb (Sep 2, 2012)

This lathe is done by a lot of other suppliers, Warco, Chester, Precision Mathews, Optimum and so on.

I have had the warco one for about 4 years and am quite happy with it. There is a big bore version about that is nice ifyou work on larger scale models but the standard 1" bore if fine for most things.

Also some of tehother suppliers do it with 3 & 4 jaw chucks, steadies and faceplate as standard so shop around for the best deal.

J


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 2, 2012)

grizzly has this for the same money:


http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-x-24-Gear-Head-Cam-Lock-Spindle-Gap-Bed-Lathe/G4002








you lose the vs on the fly and the tach and a couple inches of ctc distance.
but you get abit more other features and tooling.
and these tools 6" 3-jaw chuck with two sets of jaws
8" 4-jaw chuck with reversible jaws
Steady rest
Follow rest
10" face plate
Tool Box
Quick change tool post with one tool holder
1 Dead center: MT#3
1 Live Center: MT#3
Set of six change gears
1/2" chuck w/ MT#3 arbor.
almost twice the iron for the buck.


Tin


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 2, 2012)

You do know the Grizzly show room is only an Hour and 45minutes north of you. Take a pickup and go take a gander. shipping is about $250 so it would likely be worth your trip. 
And they have  a 12 x 36 for just a a couple hundred more. 
still cheaper than the on you are looking at. 
Tin


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## V 45 (Sep 2, 2012)

Thanx for the quick reponse...I should go up there next month...huge tent sale !! I think Muncey is a little further but still cheaper than the 250 !! Are the GAP beds OK ?? I didn't look at that one because of the GAP bed..my ignorance. I know very little about them. Any feedback would be great about the GAp bed !!!!!
  Thanx again...V 45


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 3, 2012)

I also do not have experience with gap beds. they do give the flexibly of turning large diameter pieces. 

I think if you never used the gap bed feature you will probably never notice it is there . the only problem is if it is removed is getting it back precisely where it belongs. could be fussy. 

IMHO for the piece of the lathe look at the gap bet as an extra feature you will not likely need but is there if you do. 

grizzly does have knowledgeable folks at the showroom to answer questions.
you can always call ahead and talk to someone.
Tin


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## V 45 (Sep 3, 2012)

Thanx Tin....I doubt I would use the gap...I will check them out. V 45


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## V 45 (Sep 4, 2012)

Does this type of lathe require all the mods the 7x... do ?? The Grizzly in particular.
  Thanx again...Dave


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 4, 2012)

the lager lathes have a better reputation for fit and finish and having much more in the way of real lathe features a lot less need for upgrade. 
it is a $ 3000 dollar lathe not a $30,000 dollar one  new. so expect a few quirks but should be pretty good bag for the buck. I would consider these upper end hobby lathes low end industrial machines. 
Tin


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## V 45 (Sep 5, 2012)

Thanx again Tin


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## LSAGuy (Sep 5, 2012)

I don't know how Grizzly quality is these days, but be very careful. My friend bought a bandsaw from their Bellingham, WA store a few years back. The wheels were machined so out of round that he could not get a blade tension that would allow him to cut a straight line in wood. He wasn't the first bad review I had heard of their stuff. Sort of second rate Enco machinery.


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## ThomasJ. (Sep 5, 2012)

Hi All; I've had a 12X36 G4003 for some time and found it to be very good quality. I anticipate import machines will be high quality kits...not finished. I have never been dissapointed with that mental set. My lathe was 4 years old but never run. It was stored on a cement floor in a garage near Sacramento, CA. still on a pallet. Upon startup the 2 hp. 220V. squealed the belts....pleanty of power but I'm spoiled because my other machines are DC with soft start and variable speed and torque. Parting off was not too good. A catch resulted in a broken blade and spoiled work so when the original motor died I was delighted! I installed a used 180V 1.5 hp motor (craig's list)and a new power supply that was a spare from an elevator co. I do so enjoy eBay! No more parting off issues. Not relevant to this post but Grizzly sells a Cobra G5330 oiler that aids parting off...best $100 I ever spent The tail stock was dissassembled, surface ground and shimmed to bring it true. I added an oil port for the input idler gear and 2 for the half nuts. I recessed all the ball ports so they no longer hamper magnetic bases. I did take pix. if any interest will post. I would buy another 4002 or 4003. IMHO, a great bargain!


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## ninefinger (Sep 5, 2012)

The price range indicated by your 1st post does put you right in the 12" lathe range.  I did some serious shopping for one of those 12"x36" import lathes about 6-9 months ago and even had a deposit on one (the PM1236) but ended up getting a local used machine instead.  I can share with you my shopping spreadsheet which compared a bunch of the different lathes available to me (I'm in Canada so some suppliers won't / don't ship here or shipping is much higher).  Anyways, I'll attach the spreadsheet in case its of some use (at least is shows the grizzly and QMT lathe).  I compared a bunch of the different features and included accessories that each offered.

For me I was looking for the following features (in roughly this order):  Cam lock spindle nose, stand included, QC tool post and holders, 3 jaw chuck with removable / reversible jaws (so I can make soft jaws), then the type of gearbox and the ease of use to cut various threads (ie does a change gear need to be removed to switch some ratios), and the number of spindle speeds, foot brake and coolant pump.  (I had settled on the PM1236 but found a local used machine while waiting for delivery..)

BTW this size lathe is the one that Rake60 (Rick) had a few issues with on his purchase from Enco...

Good luck with your shopping - 

Mike 

View attachment lathe-shopping.xls


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## Leo (Sep 5, 2012)

For what it's worth I have the 12X24 Grizzly and I'm very satisfied with it. Check out the specs. I drove from Rhode Island to get mine. Spent the night and drove back the next day.


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## V 45 (Sep 7, 2012)

ThomasJ. said:


> Hi All; I've had a 12X36 G4003 for some time and found it to be very good quality. I anticipate import machines will be high quality kits...not finished. I have never been dissapointed with that mental set. My lathe was 4 years old but never run. It was stored on a cement floor in a garage near Sacramento, CA. still on a pallet. Upon startup the 2 hp. 220V. squealed the belts....pleanty of power but I'm spoiled because my other machines are DC with soft start and variable speed and torque. Parting off was not too good. A catch resulted in a broken blade and spoiled work so when the original motor died I was delighted! I installed a used 180V 1.5 hp motor (craig's list)and a new power supply that was a spare from an elevator co. I do so enjoy eBay! No more parting off issues. Not relevant to this post but Grizzly sells a Cobra G5330 oiler that aids parting off...best $100 I ever spent The tail stock was dissassembled, surface ground and shimmed to bring it true. I added an oil port for the input idler gear and 2 for the half nuts. I recessed all the ball ports so they no longer hamper magnetic bases. I did take pix. if any interest will post. I would buy another 4002 or 4003. IMHO, a great bargain!


 

Hello Thomas,  I would be interested in what you did to your machine. !! Pics would be great !!  Thanx again... V 45


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## Rex (Sep 10, 2012)

This appears to be the same as the PM 11" lathe. I almost pulled the trigger on one earlier this year, when I realized it is not a quick-change lathe. It's apparently sort of a hybrid, and still requires a set of change gears. Download the manual and make sure. That was a deal-killer for me. 
I'd be ordering a G4003G from Grizzly.  You can use it for years, then you or your heirs can sell it fast for premium price, because it has "gunsmith" in the name.


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## capin (Sep 10, 2012)

V45, I also have the g4003 and am very happy with it. I have used it for about 5 or 6 years now and it's very faithfull. I have used it for general use and also hardened steel- not any problems at all, the gap has been in and out a couple a dozen times and goes back perfect every time. I would highly recomend this machine. Brian ps, we even had a driveshaft in the steady rest-camlock spindle has been flawless so far also


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## V 45 (Sep 18, 2012)

Well, after looking around and listening to some advice here...We will be going to the Grizz tent sale and checking them out. I think the 12x24 is very appealing as others have mentioned.
  Thanx again for the assistance !!
 V 45


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## V 45 (Sep 22, 2012)

Well... I went to the Grizzly tent sale today !! I should've just let my buddy go alone !! He ended up ordering a G4003G. While he was doing that I walked the tent...too many toys !! I ended up bringing home a scratch an dent G4002, 12x24 lathe home !! It was a floor model never used, just a little scuffed from all the folks admireing it. Wife just said,,where's that going ? In the basement once I figure out how to get it there !! Got a pretty good deal..$2000.00 with the stand. Just missing the change gears, but I don't use too much metric thread so it was a good deal for me !!!!
Now have to add a sub panel to juice it up !! My 200 amp panel is already full. I'm thinkin probably a few weeks to have it all hooked up and running...can't wait !!
Thanx again for the input...
   V 45


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## Tin Falcon (Sep 22, 2012)

good for you i had to work out of state just got home
Tin


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## V 45 (Sep 22, 2012)

Thanx Tin...gonna be a big job getting in basement...need to a few of my BIG friends over to help !!


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