2009 Grizzly catalog

[kennyd]

My new 2009 catalog showed up today ;D

Lot's of cool pictures to look at in the reading room

 

[ksouers]

Just got mine today, also.

Been thumbing through it to see what they have. Looks like there's more in the catalog than they have on the web site.


Kevin

 

[Propforward]

Just got mine too!

Am I the only one who rushes to shove it out of sight when someone walks in the room, only to remember I was looking at a machine tool catalogue? ;D :-[

It does look like there is more stuff in the catalog than on the website. Great folks to deal with, too.

 

[Paula]

Me too! (Ah, so many tools, so little money... :'()

It looks like the catalog has slimmed down a bit from last year -- by some 40 pages. Which is good, in a way. They need to concentrate on their niche, and not allow their catalog to morph into a boat anchor (as MSC's and Grainger's have.)

Big news in the mill area is the re-introduction of the 8" x 30" mill. To me this seems like a nice size for the home shop -- a very workable compromise between the bench mills and the full-size, Bridgeport-size models. Sometime in the early-nineties(?) they discontinued the 8 x 30 (perhaps it morphed into the strange "Wood Mill"?) Now they've brought it back, but added a varable-frequency drive and some fancy folding handles and priced the thing into the stratosphere. The price for the 8 x 30 (G0678), with power feed, is $4115.00. Meanwhile, you can purchase their basic 9 x 42 turret mill (G9901, Bridgeport clone), with power feed, for $3,895.00!

Here's the "new" 8 x 30 mill:

This is the one I bought new back in the mid-eighties for around $1800:

After some tweaking, it was a really nice machine. Hated having to get rid of it.

Paula

P.S. - The catalog alludes to some kind of a round-ram version of this mill, directing the reader to Grizzly.com for more details. Could find no mention of it on the website. ???

 

[Propforward]

That is a nice machine, I would love to have one of those. Bit out of my reach - now the older price - I could make that work. When the time comes I may have to go for one of their smaller models - although in reality one of those would probably do fine.

 

[kennyd]

Yeah, I was real attracted to that 8x30 also till I saw the price

The lowest speed though even with the VFD is 200 RPM with is a little fast isn't it?

 

[Paula]

...I may have to go for one of their smaller models - although in reality one of those would probably do fine.

Indeed, that's what I did. I purchased the Grizzly version of the Seig SX3 (G0619), and have been pleasantly surprised with its capability, for a "mere" bench mill.

The lowest speed though even with the VFD is 200 RPM with is a little fast isn't it?

I think so, but I guess it kind of depends on the nature of the work you do.

Also, depending on the exact type of Yaskawa VFD they're using, the mill may not have much torque at low speed. Many of the less expensive drives exhibit "constant torque", which is another way of saying "variable horsepower". In other words, the drive only develops its rated HP at the highest RPM, while the power delivered to the spindle is proportionately less as you dial down the speed. To make matters worse, they have removed the compound step-pulley drive in favor of a simple, fixed-ratio V-belt drive:

At the very least, they should have considered using a toothed-belt drive, as that V-belt may tend to slip in the lower speed range. Better yet, leaving the step-pulley arrangement intact would have given the operator a much greater range of speeds and usable torque. Even better yet, why didn't they just leave the drive as it was and let the buyer add the VFD if they so desired. I can't see this mill being a great seller the way they've modified it -- and priced it.

Paula

 

[shred]

I've been eyeing the 8x30-size machines for a little while now-- they're the perfect size for the space I have available, but not for those $ unfortunately. I could get a Jet 8x36 mini-BP for about that.

I suspect Grizzly is in a bad spot catalog pricing-wise-- they want to honor the catalog prices all year long so they have to print something they think will be good all year. Couple that with layout and printing the catalog in Sept/Oct or so and you get mid-2007 pricing levels when metals and transport were still through the roof and heading upwards. I suspect (and hope) we'll be seeing some sales and discounts before too long.

 

[Jack]

I also received my 2009 catalog and now I have tool envy. I want one of these 5 C Collet holder thingies for my lathe,

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Collet-Attachment-for-G4002-03/G4026

so I think I will drop a hint or two to my kids after all "Fathers Day" is only six months away.

OH By the way "Happy New Year" to all... Jack

 

[shred]

I also received my 2009 catalog and now I have tool envy. I want one of these 5 C Collet holder thingies for my lathe,

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Collet-Attachment-for-G4002-03/G4026

so I think I will drop a hint or two to my kids after all "Fathers Day" is only six months away.

OH By the way "Happy New Year" to all... Jack

I ordered just the spindle-to-collet piece because I wanted to make a draw-tube handwheel-style closer.. unfortunately it seems perpetually back-ordered from spare parts. Going on 4 months now. IIRC you have to do some assembly/disassembly to switch to a chuck (or through-stock) and back with the lever closer, or at least the manual seemed to imply it, so you might want to check on that if it's important.