Question on Milling machines

[Keith Outten]

Don,

I own an older model Grizzly bench mill/drill similar to the link you provided above. I have had the machine for a dozen years I guess, its a great little mill/drill for the work that I do in my shop. I did add an X axis power feed on the table that made things a bit more convenient for a job that came up, I rarely use the power feed these days. I built my own stand, a massive one welded together from 6" by 6" by 1/2" thick angle iron.

The round column that most people seem to dislike has never been a major problem for me but the price point of moving up to a larger machine when I bought mine was not an option. FWIW I am very satisfied with my Grizzly mill/drill and I would not hesitate to purchase another one.

[Ron Brese]

Don I'm sure that vise would be fine, however if possible you may want to consider a Glacern Vise, a bit pricey, but more likely to be accurate and easier to use. While we're spending your money (grin), the x axis power feed would be a great idea. You'll get tired of cranking that table in short order.

I have two 5" Glacern vises on my knee milll that are indicated to each other and I had to use nothing more than 1/2 thou film to fine tune them. That's pretty accurate for a vise.

Ron

[don wilwol]

While we're spending your money (grin),
Ron

Ron, I appreciate the help, but Keep in mind, I have to get this approved by my financial manager, and I doubt that's going to be an easy sell. I stopped to pick up a small blasting cabinet I've wanted for a while now. She promptly reminded me Mothers day was coming up. I'd offer up a Glacern vise, but I can't afford a divorce.

[Mike Heidrick]

If I had the space, I would get a Grizzly G0704.

Great advice!

[Carl Winterbauer]

Don,
with the economy being so screwed up the past 10 years many small and large machine shops have shut their doors allowing
many used Bridgeports to hit the used machine equipment market.
You'd be surprised how cheap some deals become with most having 3 phase motors. Rotary converter a simple fix then let the chips fly.
Must caution adding a good vice, rotary table, collets and end mill selection can add up quickly costing more than the mill alone.

[Bruce Boone]

Carl says my philosophy exactly. Get the most machine that you can possibly afford, take on a job or two that will pay it off, then keep the better machine for the rest of your life. You will never regret this decision. I have often regretted doing the opposite, getting a lesser machine then having to get the better one eventually, so getting the better machine from the onset has become my default decision. I have never once regretted doing that. You tend to find new ways to use it that you had no idea about when you were first contemplating which machine to get.

[don wilwol]

albany.craigslist.org/tls/4031706675.html I believe its an older version of this

[Adan Bailey]

Last week I have purchased a Milling machine and getting training to well manage it. I am able to use different skills from this discussion. Its really helping and acknowledging discussion for my type of newbies.

[Charlton Wang]

Ron, given you have experience with all these mills, if you to choose between the belt driven round column mill or the square mill with gears what would you choose? I have concerns (perhaps misguided) about the durability of gears in addition to the noise. A full sized Bridgeport would be ideal but the are far too large for my shop. A smaller 6x26 knee mill seems ideal but they are expensive here and there is no used market for deals to be had.

Thanks,
Charlton

[Ron Brese]

Sorry it has taken me a while to respond to Charlton's question. The round column mill will be considerably quieter than the gear head, however the round column mill may not be quite as robust when it comes to having the power to remove metal when roughing. If you plan to install a DRO then the issues with aligning the spindle to the back jaw of your vise on the round column mill can really be minimized, adding a vise that swivels makes it even easier when coupled with the DRO. Personally I'd prefer the belt driven round column just due to the noise factor, but then again I have a full size knee mill at this point and for me there's no looking back.

Ron

[Charlton Wang]

Thanks for the feedback, Ron. I would love a belt-driven mill but I can see the round column being a nuisance. I can see why a full-sized knee mill is ideal but like many, I simply don't have the space for one....maybe one of these days.

Cheers,
Charlton

[Brian W Smith]

First post here......usually oogling/drooling at ya'lls shop pics,haha.Anyway,don't know if this is "polite" or not?But if you go on the Practical machinist site,look for a guy with the handle "sidecar"(I think thats him).He's getting on up in years but is an absolute treat to deal with.He grew up in a machinery "rebuilding" family.Think,handscraping and all that goes with it.He sells used BP mills that he's rescraped,for very good prices.His family bought Norton's surface grinding dept when they got out of that line.....He sent me an original manual(complete with a few greaseprints)....NOT a reprint,for our 1947 6x18 surface grinder.If I was buying another BP,wouldn't think for a second and buy from hime.Major thumbs up guys.

[Duncan Potter]

I have the Grizzly 0619. It does pretty good work but you have to go slow, compared to a knee mill. If I had room (and a few more dollars) I would go for a knee mill. I got some inexpensive DROs on fleaBay that actually work pretty well. I think they were 30-40 per axis and they are fantastic for the price.

[Jim Ritter]

Hi everyone I usually am up in the "Hand tool" section but have gotten into metal work for tool making. A year ago I bought this Bench Master mill it is really quite nice for small things but has no quill feed.



But just yesterday I upgraded to a Millrite, it's about 3/4 the size of a Bridgeport and I will most likely not out grow it. It runs on 110 and has a power cross feed.



So I guess I'll be watching this section from now on.
Jim

[Bruce Page]

Very nice Jim. You should look into installing an X-Y DRO on the Millrite.