BellyUpFish
Well-known member
Do you like it?
Any Grizzly G0704 users?
- Thread starter BellyUpFish
- Start date
Bib Overalls
Well-known member
2" of spindle travel limits drilling capacity. R8 tooling is a plus. For an additional $3-400 you can get a lot more mill/drill.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drill-Mill-with-Stand/G0704
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drill-Mill-with-Stand/G0704
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torqueman2002
Well-known member
Thanks Bib.
I like your sig. line.
I like your sig. line.
sasquatch12
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- Nov 6, 2013
- Messages
- 403
Ok, i have that same mill, only the Canadian version , and i find it so far very good.
I always see posts about only having two inches of drill travel.
What are you drilling that you need MORE than two inches for? I have no problem with the two inches, don't forget the head goes up and down also, giving way more movement.
If i run out of head space for drilling with jobber length drills, i mostly always use screw machine length drills, as they are only half as long, and much stronger.
As for milling i find it works fine, variable speed along with the micro depth adjustment is pretty nice.
Used within it's capacities these mills work just fine.
Google "Hoss Machine" there is a whole site on there with LOTS of good info about these mills.
I always see posts about only having two inches of drill travel.
What are you drilling that you need MORE than two inches for? I have no problem with the two inches, don't forget the head goes up and down also, giving way more movement.
If i run out of head space for drilling with jobber length drills, i mostly always use screw machine length drills, as they are only half as long, and much stronger.
As for milling i find it works fine, variable speed along with the micro depth adjustment is pretty nice.
Used within it's capacities these mills work just fine.
Google "Hoss Machine" there is a whole site on there with LOTS of good info about these mills.
kd4gij
Well-known member
I have a G0704 and am verry happy with it. I bought mine before the price went up. It is still the best bang for thr buck out there.
OP
BellyUpFish
Well-known member
sasquatch12
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I forgot to ask if your'e machine you are enquiring about has the larger table?
Mine has and if i remember it has 18 7/8 of X travel and 7 1/4 inches of Y travel.
The smaller table has considerably less, something like only 11 in of X travel and can't remember what the Y travel is but is quite a bit less.
Mine has and if i remember it has 18 7/8 of X travel and 7 1/4 inches of Y travel.
The smaller table has considerably less, something like only 11 in of X travel and can't remember what the Y travel is but is quite a bit less.
JoeFin
Well-known member
Better then nothing really - but then again I'm really into Metal working / Machining
Asian Hobby Machines just don't have "The Metal" or at least the "Right Stuff" as in Cast Grey Iron which has been used in machine tools since the turn of the century to dampen vibration and increase rigidity. Actually I think the Grizz is made from a blend of Mystery Scrap Metal, that China buys at an ever increasing rate from America.
Here I'll show you the trouble I had with a Grizz
As you can see it is a few models up from the 1 your looking at coming in at 1100 lbs and with a coolant tank in the base. You would think its size and weight would easily handle metal working too.
Problem wasn't with the size and weight - it was the wear. The machine was never made correctly, nor had the right composition of Grey Iron to resist wear and subsequently wore out extremely fast.
Here is a picture of the underside of the saddle as I was starting to fix it. - Notice where I used paint program to highlite where the surface grinder dusted off the "Highspots"
One of those "Highspots" was a deformity caused by the plastic saddle lock handle - Now That's Soft Metal !!
Then look at these shots
The surface grinder is as perfect a level as a 12" Starrett 98 can make it
First we got "Left Bubble" - then we get "Right Bubble"
But that wasn't all of the problem
Once I noticed the "Twist" in the saddle at first I thought it was "settling from age" - WRONG
I then started probing around with an indicator and found the Milling Cutter that machined the recessed area in the underside of that saddle was .030" out of tram across 8". Once I found that all the measurements made sense. They fly cut the left side out of trammel, then down the opposite direction on the right side out of trammel, then up through the middle - out of trammel - it all added up
That's more then your basic sloppy machine work - that's more like your basic "Stupid American Dog" type work ethic. I was surprised the folks doing the final fitment of parts, shaping the gibbs could do could a job as they did to get it out the door
But the end result is a machine that gets sloppy real fast
Asian Hobby Machines just don't have "The Metal" or at least the "Right Stuff" as in Cast Grey Iron which has been used in machine tools since the turn of the century to dampen vibration and increase rigidity. Actually I think the Grizz is made from a blend of Mystery Scrap Metal, that China buys at an ever increasing rate from America.
Here I'll show you the trouble I had with a Grizz
As you can see it is a few models up from the 1 your looking at coming in at 1100 lbs and with a coolant tank in the base. You would think its size and weight would easily handle metal working too.
Problem wasn't with the size and weight - it was the wear. The machine was never made correctly, nor had the right composition of Grey Iron to resist wear and subsequently wore out extremely fast.
Here is a picture of the underside of the saddle as I was starting to fix it. - Notice where I used paint program to highlite where the surface grinder dusted off the "Highspots"
One of those "Highspots" was a deformity caused by the plastic saddle lock handle - Now That's Soft Metal !!
Then look at these shots
The surface grinder is as perfect a level as a 12" Starrett 98 can make it
First we got "Left Bubble" - then we get "Right Bubble"
But that wasn't all of the problem
Once I noticed the "Twist" in the saddle at first I thought it was "settling from age" - WRONG
I then started probing around with an indicator and found the Milling Cutter that machined the recessed area in the underside of that saddle was .030" out of tram across 8". Once I found that all the measurements made sense. They fly cut the left side out of trammel, then down the opposite direction on the right side out of trammel, then up through the middle - out of trammel - it all added up
That's more then your basic sloppy machine work - that's more like your basic "Stupid American Dog" type work ethic. I was surprised the folks doing the final fitment of parts, shaping the gibbs could do could a job as they did to get it out the door
But the end result is a machine that gets sloppy real fast
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OP
BellyUpFish
Well-known member
Did you get with Grizzly to send a new piece out?
Since you asked. The first mill I received was not bolted in the crate properly. It fell over during shipping and broke one of the hand wheels and potentially other damage, so Grizzly replaced it. I travel 8+ months out of the year and did not discover the problem with this one until 2 years later. I emailed them pictures and asked if it looked right to them and could they send me info on what it should look like because the upper bearing is unsupported for a large part of its diameter. They asked when I bought it and what did I do to break it. I couldn't find my invoice, so I sent them the date and serial number at the top of the mill. Never heard back from them. I assume because it was out of warranty.
I have not pursued the voids in the lathe or the bad circuit board with them. The t-nuts that I ordered with the mill didn't fit either. I am not spending any more time trying to fix either machine. I am looking for good deals on a used bridgeport, monarch, or hardinge.
Oh BTW, War Eagle!!
I have not pursued the voids in the lathe or the bad circuit board with them. The t-nuts that I ordered with the mill didn't fit either. I am not spending any more time trying to fix either machine. I am looking for good deals on a used bridgeport, monarch, or hardinge.
Oh BTW, War Eagle!!
Falcon67
Well-known member
I have a G0519 that I like very much. How you'd like the 704 depends on what you plan to do with it. I bought an HF mini-mill first and it took me maybe 30 days - and I'm not any kind of machinist - to figure out that wasn't going to work for me at all.
OP
BellyUpFish
Well-known member
Yeh, yeh..
You guys are so far behind in National Championships, we are just trying to let you catch up.. Everyon needs a little luck every now and then.. It's all up to you boys now, don't let the SEC down..
Well, I have never operated a mill.. I have very little use for one. I'd just like to have one. Off the top of my head, I'd like to mill a pistol slide for a red dot.. I'm sure I could find other things to do with one..
OP
BellyUpFish
Well-known member
I'd be all over Grizzly about that..
Falcon67
Well-known member
That didn't stop me either. And now my drill press is very lonely. I wasn't sure what I'd do with the HF 9x20 lathe I bought years ago either. I had a coupon and it was on sale, so I drove to Dallas and got one. Then I figured out shortly I probably should have bought a 12x36. The 9x20 has paid for it's self twice already. The G0519 is probably not much more accurate than SK's but it's been a good tool to have. I've fixed a bunch of stuff that would not have been possible any other way. I bought the 0519 because it had the most spindle to table distance as well as a big table and a 3 phase motor. It's not a Bridgeport, but it's good to have around.
Very interesting, thanks for the post.
mooseracing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2010
- Messages
- 133
Did you look at the g0704 website? or Home machinist?
It's decent mill for it's size, I use mine often but you have to remember how much HP you have. I am trying to save my pennies for a DRO setup for it.
It's decent mill for it's size, I use mine often but you have to remember how much HP you have. I am trying to save my pennies for a DRO setup for it.
Since you had me looking at it, I emailed Grizzly again yesterday about the excess spindle play/bad casting, bad circuit board, and voids in my lathe. They sent me some info on how to adjust the preload on the bearings as they suspect that is the cause of my spindle play, not the obvious missing metal. But as far as replacing or repairing parts, "Unfortunately, due to the amount of time since the machines were purchased, we cannot cover any parts or service under warranty." The machines were purchased new in Dec. 2010. I. originally brought this up with them in Oct. 2012. I am not a machinist and already spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. You hear machinists talk about dusting 10ths, I was lucky to hold a 32nd. How many of you guys pull apart a brand new machine to inspect it?
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With regard to the 0602 lathe voids, they responded "The voids pictured on the compound slide should not affect the performance of the lathe. We would recommend monitoring them to verify that the voids are not increasing in size." Again, not a machinist, but do realize that the forces generated on the compound slide are not trivial. They are directly opposite the inside corner of the dovetails. I can see a couple of pounds of axa toolpost flipping up and hitting me in the head.
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