D1-4 gunsmith back plate

B

Boe

Member
Does anyone have any information on the production of a GRIZZLY D1-4 Gunsmith Back Plate? There were some posts on the subject a couple of years ago from Shiraz Balolia of Grizzly, saying that it was in the works.

Maybe lack of demand would not make it cost effective? I see that Mr. Balolia post here now and then maybe he can shed some light on this.

Boe
 
I bought one about a year or so ago. I made a spider using this backplate/
 
I only recall them being available for the D1-5 and D1-6 mounts. Those are still lsted on Grizzly's site.

James
 
Boe,
I was in Grizzly's showroom in Springfield, Missouri Saturday before last. I saw a D1-5 in the showcase. I was looking for a D1-3 to fit my lathe. I think the D1-5 is the only one they make. It is listed in their new(2011) catalog. I ended up buying a second backing plate in a D1-3 configuration and making a spider out of it. Picked up my brass tipped allen head bolts ($3.50 each)in Chicago last week. Let me know if you go this route and I can get you the info on the bolts.
Best,
Dan Batko

"Where are we going and why am I in this basket?"
 
I would check Enco or a used machine sales place for any of the adaptor plates. It doesn't have to be for a specific brand lathe. If yours uses D1-4 any brand will work.
Butch
 
Butch,
Your'e right, it doesn't have to be lathe specific, I just lucked out and ran across a D1-3 backing plate that was the same one as the one for my adjust-tru . It was a deal(make your best offer) on Ebay. Enjoyed the visit last week and thanks for the boring bar info. :)
Best,
Dan Batko

"Where are we going and why am I in this basket?"
 
I called and Aske Shiaz about making a D1-3 Spider a year or so ago..

Shiaz comment to me was there would not be enought demand and they had no plans to make a D1-3 cathead. My Grizzley toolroom lathe cam with an extra D1-3 face plate. I bought the stock to build the cathead but have not had the time. I also was going to build a center bearing/cathead for my steadyrest.
Nat Lambeth
 
I would like to have one already made too. And I can't find a backplate that has a long enough step down to drill and tap with out being right on the edge.

Boe
 
Lou Murdica said:
I would like a spider already made
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. I think if you want one, you will have to make it. I know of nobody that sells one.

They are dirt simple to make. The one I made is, in my opinion, superior to the one Grizzly sells (mine has no spider bolts sticking out ready to grab your shirt and rip your arm off), and it cost me almost nothing to make it. I used the back plate for my 4J chuck (I can put the chuck back on it anytime I need it), a piece of 6" diameter rod a bit over an inch long I got from the drop rack at a metal supplier, and some socket head capscrews.

Recrowned2009-02-28RS.jpg


Took very little time to make it. It works great.

But then I've been a hobby machinist for going on 61 years - I still have my Dad's lathe I started with (supervised) when I was 8 (I'm 69 tomorrow). I do it for the fun of doing it. When I decided it would be fun to work on rifles, rebarrel them, true actions, bed actions to stocks, I made a whole bunch of gunsmithing tools - spider chuck, spider for the back of the spindle, barrel vise, couple of action truing fixtures, precision mandrel for action alignment, floating reamer pusher, fixture for using a dial indicator on the tail stock ram, couple of rear entry action wrenches, tenon measuring sleeves, firing pin protrusion measuring tool, and others I just don't think of at the moment. I did it for the fun of doing it.

YMMV.

Fitch
 
In case you are interested, and want to make the plate yourself, here are the coordinates for the locking lugs for a D1-4 chuck.
Assuming you have a DRO they should be easy to locate.
Threaded 7/16-20
3 holes in pattern
3 holes in pattern
Bolt Circle Diameter: 3.25
Centered at: (0,0)
( 1.6250 , 0.0000 )
( -0.8125 , 1.4073 )
( -0.8125 , -1.4073 )
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was headed down the same trail of making a D1-4 spider to shorten the length of barrels I can work through the headstock until a saw a recent article in Home Shop Machinist or Machinist Workshop. The article describes making a 5MT insert for the chuck end of the headstock with the insert extended far enough to install the four spider centering screws. I plan to give this a try when I get a few other projects completed.
 
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