The Home Machinist!

Just noticed that Grizzly has an interesting new small machine. It's a benchtop machine with a knee that converts from a vertical mill to a horizontal mill. Not much information other than the 2012 catalog page
http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2012/Main/550 and the website page
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mini-Ho ... Mill/G0727 .

The work envelope looks a little small, but it's pretty heavy.

I wonder why the shipping costs more for this than say a g0619 mill which is heavier? Looks like the pallet and box isn't any bigger than the G0619 mill. Are they starting to pull the fleabay trick, low cost for item and way over priced on the shipping!?

I think somebody screwed up when they set the shipping cost.
shipping for their G0728 6x26 mill at over 700# is the same - $150.00

Thanks Wheels for the mention and links. Interesting machines, both it and the G8689. I think many are going to have a blast with these. One tiny quirk about the pic of the G0727 with the ram converted to verticle. They show a jacobs type chuck attached where it shoulda been a 3/8 endmill because it's R-8. There's little room to drill.There is no way to drill or feed at an angle. The smaller 8689 has a honking MT#3 taper and quill advance feed. No way a MT#3 drill is going in there so there are collets. I didn't notice the drawbar, only the cover above the quill.
"if I already have MT#3 collets, will they Fit? Well now do you think an actual 1"-1 1/2 drill bit or milling head...No. This tells you the Taper angle only.It's a fine angle, a normal angle and the collets built toward that are a section of that angle.

The g0727 is a joke. I bought it as a first machine, not really knowing much about milling machines. It has many major flaws/ shortcomings.

1. the horizontal shaft is 5/8", all I have found that will fit it, is a small slitting saw.
2. The milling column is held to the base by 3 bolts, the holes in the base are much larger then the bolts, allowing the column to move in relation to the base (table is mounted to the base, with no connection to the column). To tighten the bolts, requires you to lay the mill on its side.
3. no down feed for the quill, you have to move the table up and down, a major PITA.
4, the lowest position of the table, has the table screw poking down from the base by about 1". Bolting the mill to a bench, you need to account for the screw, or lose an inch or so of vertical table travel.

Shortly after I got the g0727, I scarfed a used RU40, off craugslist for $200, so it looks like the G0727, will collect dust in the corner of the garage.

Sam, maybe you can find someone you don't like to sell it to .

That was my first thought when looking at the picture.


Richard W.

You could slap some white and blue paint, and a nice South Bend logo on it, and sell it for 3 times what you paid for it!

I got the catalog and got intrigued looking at this page also. It is smaller than I'd want so I m not really looking to buy it, but I did read the catalog description.

In particular I was wondering what cutters do you use on the horizontal shaft? I've never done this for a living or gotten to play with a horizontal mill myself, but the cutters I have seen looked like they were for a shaft (and a MOTOR) a lot bigger diameter than what I see in those pictures. Do normal horizontal-mill cutters fit on it? I tried searching the Grizzly site and couldn't find anything they were offering. The smallest horizontal-mill cutters I have seen were about three inches diameter.... ain't no way you're gonna run that on this dinky thing....

It does have an interesting assortment of features--assuming you can find useful cutters for the horizontal shaft--but I can imagine some problems just from looking at the pictures too. Mainly I wonder if I would really have any use for it or not.... I already have a (larger benchtop) G619 and I don't have anywhere to put any full-size machines, but I've always wondered how useful a benchtop horizontal mill would be. I've never had enough interest to track down an Atlas antique to find out that way.

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Also on the subject of odd features,,,,,,, the machine below it on the same catalog page (the G0720R) is a vertical benchtop mill with a power...... downfeed?
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Heavy-D ... ine/G0720R
Uhhh.... I don't recall ever seeing any other mill that--if it had only one power feed--was a downfeed. Usually, is left-and-right-feed,,,, ?

Bridgeport probably made more milling machines than anyone else and their most common machines came with power downfeed only. It is mainly intended for boring. It is true that the most common add-on power feed is on the X axis and Z axis is least common.

_________________
Don Young

The Z axis, in this case, being the knee, not the quill.

Harold

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Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.

Just to hijack the thread for a minute 8>) as the subject Harold touched on here is pertinent to my situation... On the Rockwell vertical mill I'm setting up the quill has just 2-1/2" of travel, while the knee has over 16". I'm thinking therefore the knee is a prime candidate (after the table X-axis) for power feed by way of a DC gearmotor and VS drive.
This would be relatively easy to fit, and seems like a no-brainer to enable drilling and boring operations of considerable depth, as well as facilitating movement of the knee in general.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks for your indulgence 8>)
Shaggy (Dave)