So I've had the g0766 for about 6 months now but wife having a baby not long after it arrived, haven't been able to address any of the issues and was looking for some opinions. First on my list which is the biggest problem for me is where the base of the spindle on the headstock is too large for Nova chucks and faceplates to fit over and secure well. Read where people file them down, but curious what kind of files do you use or what process? Second question, did you buy a reamer and fix the banjo hole to 1inch, or take it somewhere? Thought about buying a reamer then noticed they were like $70 and that was for harbor freight, figured it might be cheaper to find a place and have it done. Last question, should I call grizzly. The motor and everything works fine on my lathe except for 8-900rpms, it has a slight shake to it, even if nothing is on my spindle, it'll still shake. My solution has been to not use it at those speeds which is easy. Anyone have an idea of what it could be?
I used a triangle file, but a smaller flat file will work okay. Just try to keep it flat, and run the spindle at about 500 rpm, checking the fit of the chuck every few seconds....you do not want to over file the spindle boss. I used a 1" twist drill bit and cutting oil to enlarge the banjo hole. On my first Grizzly lathe I did it with a hand drill, my 0766 with a drill press, had banjo clamped to table.
I'm going to assume my files being from harbor freight had something to do with it not working, going to have to go buy one from somewhere else, talk about frustrating. Was wondering, can you still use the 6" faceplate that came with the lathe once filed down since it fits over it fine currently?
If the files from HF are made for metal they should work just fine. You are only trying to reduce the diameter by a little over 0.010 by removing 0.005" all the way around along the circumference. To enlarge the hole in the banjo most people use a 1" drill (like a Silver and Deming that has a 1/2" shank). While a reamer would work fine, they are much more expensive. Definitely drill it out on a drill press with the banjo clamped to the table (as Roger pointed out). Otherwise you are likely to get vibration as you drill and make a triangular shaped (oversize) hole. Save the extra packing bolts as some fit the banjo. After you make the hole 1", a second bolt is nice to make everything rock solid if you ever want to use the original 25mm tool rest.
The HF files were metal but the rubbed flat and didn't do much, think i was probably going to fast is my only thought. Will have to look into getting a 1" bit to drill it out myself, since the reamer was real expensive.
BTW, when you are using a file on a circumference, the correct method is to turn on the lathe at some medium speed (perhaps 300 rpms) and to STROKE the file on the shaft as you apply some pressure. Let the file do the work. If you are running the lathe in the normal forward direction then you would push the file away from you on the top of the part. You don't want to just hold the file in one place as it will load up with metal particles and stop cutting. For safety don't do this without a handle on your file. Otherwise if you get a catch of sorts, it may run the tang into your wrist (this happened to my father-in-law who is a machinist).
Got the shaft filed down finally, still have to find time for the banjo. I did have something new happen to me tonight when I was turning a bowl and wondering if anyone else has experienced it. Was sitting there turning on a bowl at 1600rpms when all of a sudden it went up to 1800 rpms for like 5 seconds then went back down, little power surge of sorts. Anyone ever have that happen to them?
I sometimes have found that the motor controller "hunts" a bit (speedwise). That is, it speeds up a bit and drops down a bit. It seem like if I rotate the speed control back and forth several times that it settles down. I think that the speed control "pot" (potentiometer) is a bit "dirty". This is pot #2. The first one would give me drop outs where the speed would drop to zero momentarily when I would turn it up. Try exercising the pot - - like you would do with an old radio volume control that got scratchy. The pot is cheap ($2.50) and not too hard to replace. If it is under warranty Griz will send you a new one. I don't know if this is your problem or not Next time it jumps up in speed, try rotating it back and forth and see if it makes any difference. If it does, then maybe you have a "noisy" pot that should be replaced.
My G0766 had the same shake at 900-1000 rpms. Went back and spent time trying to get it as level as possible. Seemed to do the trick, for now.
