Re: WHO HAS A G0709 14 X 40 Gunsmith's Gearhead Lathe
Brodie - again, two completely different machines coming from different factories. If you check the specs side by side you will see many differences, once again starting with the D1-5 Camlock mount on the Grizzly with Japanese tapered roller spindle bearings. Those bearings come at a premium price for a reason.
If you go to the grizzly website
www.grizzly.com and go the G4003G page, you will see a specifications button. I know of no other company that gives detailed specs like we do. Worth studying when you are comparing machines. I don't generally like doing the comparing for customers, but the postings with "its the same machine because it looks the same" sometimes are very misleading.
Sometimes, during design of machines, the gearing is such that speeds are affected a certain way. I just went through that on a South Bend lathe that I was designing. I needed a certain lower end speed, and the gearing design was different and unlike any on the current market. I had to lower my high end speed expectations to achieve a lower speed. Anyway, as easy as it is to talk about why a speed cannot be faster, there are engineering complications sometimes. Another thing to remember, and one that not too many people pay attention to, is the limitation of maximum safe RPM on a chuck. Another subject altogether.
There are well over a thousand G4003G lathes in service with a very good track record. Yes, many super accurate rifles have been built with them, but skill of the user also plays a role in the end result, just like shooting.