Browsing through my new Grizzly 2008 mag and came across this new Mill they just released. All I have too say is wow! I think it's pretty bad(wedge)ss. It sure looks like it includes some really nice features. It may not be necessarily be benchtop :) But I still wanted too share here with you all!

Look for yourself:



Description

The latest addition to our line of milling/drilling machines sports a dovetail column with a power feed. That’s right! No more cranking the head up and down for tool changes or clearance, just push a button and save yourself the trouble. And there’s more great features, too! A cast iron stand is supplied that has a coolant return trough. This adds mass and convenience to an already exceptional gear head mill. Check out the specs and don’t forget the tooling. You’ll want to fire this puppy up the minute it’s delivered!

Specifications:

* Motor 1-1/2 HP, 220V, single-phase, TEFC
* Spindle taper R-8
* Spindle travel 4-3/4"
* Max. distance spindle to table 16-1/2"
* Max. distance spindle to column 10-1/4"
* T-Slots 4 @ 2-1/8" centers, 1/2" studs
* Table size 9-3/8" x 32-1/4"
* Table travel (longitudinal) 21-5/8"
* Table travel (cross) 7-7/8"
* Vertical headstock travel 16-1/2"Max. drilling capacity for cast iron 1-3/4" Head tilt 90° R & L
* Number of speeds 6
* Speeds 120, 210, 340, 670, 1180, 1970 RPM
* Overall dimensions 68" H x 33" D x 46-1/4" W
* Approximate shipping weight 944 lbs.

Features:

* All steel gear drive
* Dovetail column
* Oil filled gear box
* Manual and motorized headstock lift system
* Table power feed
* Integrated headstock control panel
* Tilting headstock
* Coolant troughs in table and base
* Work lamp
* Cast iron stand


http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a96/SpeedsCustom/g0484.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a96/SpeedsCustom/g0484_det1.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a96/SpeedsCustom/g0484_det2.jpg




I think for the price and size, it's great. It would be very fun too CNC and enclosure it. Looks like a nice machine.

Price after shipping!
Your Price:** $1,971.50



-Jason

It looks like a nice machine but I think the Lathemaster has the same features and power head lift for a lot less money. The biggest problem I think is the part that mounts the head to the column is kinda small. If you look at the lathemaster machine and the Industrial hobbies machine the ring and mount are much larger and heavier. Besides Bob at Lathemaster is a super guy and has taken care of me and my Lathemaster mill for quite a number of years now. If you want a heavy duty benchtop mill in this class it is really either the IH or the Lathemaster I think and the IH is pretty expensive altho it does have a longer table. Mine has power x feed and power head feed. The head feed is a real nice feature because if you crank that head up and down a few times you will get tired of it real quick as it is pretty darn heavy. The only way up from here is really to get a nice knee mill. That is the point I am in now, trying to decide if I should sell my beloved lathemaster and get a knee mill to cnc or just cnc my current mill. There is a lot to be said for the bedmill setup tho when cnc because there is no reason to extend the quill if your mill head can travel up and down a huge amount and it is much more rigid. With the knee mill you have a heavier duty machine but under cnc you wil probably end up with a quill driven z axis which can introduce flex under heavy milling loads. I will probably end up doing my Lathemaster because I have seen and talked to several people who have them cnc and are very happy with them. I have to say that this machine has never let me down even under some pretty heavy abuse and initially with my inexperience causing some unnecessary stresses. It cuts aluminum and steel with little problem and is on a large welded up rolling stand I made so I can put it anywhere in the shop I need to. I just also bought a used rf30 round column mill for a very low price so I will still have a manual mill to play with while I am making this one cnc. Peace....

I just check your mill out, looks dang nice :) If I were you, I would CNC that for sure. If I do a get a new mill towards the end of the summer or whenever, it would probably be your Lathemaster or this Grizzly. But your Lathemaster is cheaper and that "saved" money could be put towards CNC'ing it :)

Interesting....


-Jason

I saw that mill in person when I was at Grizzly's Springfield place last weekend. I thought the same thing about the rotating ring. But as I got to looking closer, the head is bolted tight in 3 places instead of 2. My SX3 mill only has 2 bolts and in noticeably weak in that area when milling steel.

Frankly, If I wasn't there to buy my new bandsaws, I would have brought that back as well. I didn't have room though and I would have been divorced the minute I got in the driveway. lol..

My initial thoughts on the mill are the nice finish on it. This one was cleaned up very well compared to some of the other import models. And the electronics are in a very nice layout in the panel. You could just about fit some gecko's in there. ;)

It looks like a nice machine but I think the Lathemaster has the same features and power head lift for a lot less money.
Lathemaster doesn't seem to sell their machines now with a power head lift (nor do they offer it as an accessory). Maybe it was an option when you bought yours? Plus, the Grizzly base is definitely head and shoulders above the rest, it is a heavy duty cast-iron stand.

The only other RF-45 that I know of that comes with a power head lift is the RongFu RW326-1021 on sale for $3045 from Enco ($3200 with cheap sheet-metal stand). Add another $300 for power x-axis. PennTool also sells the same Rong Fu, also for $3200 (wthout stand or power x-axis).

The Grizzly is a steal at that price; bet it goes up $500 on January 1.

Oh really, well then...that solves that problem :) Thanks for the information. Does it come with the x-axis power-feed? Either sell it or can those be used for CNC, converted I mean.

It looks like a great machine, it really is making me interested lol :)


-Jason

are you referring to the x and y base unit or the stand it is sitting on? My Lathemaster came with the power head feed and I am sure if you ask nice Bob will get you one too. Basically the Lathemaster is the same machine as the IH but without the longer table. As far as the three bolts holding it on to the two, The real difference lies in the height of the z axis slide. THe Lathemaster and the IH are over 12" long whereas the grizzly at least in the pictures looks much shorter nevermind the small ring to tilt the head. My lathemaster mill also has two ground pins that locate the head that are drawn in with some small bolts. That head is not goin' anywhere beleive me. Not saying that the GRizzly is not a decent machine just that for less money you get a more rigid machine. I did not buy their stand altho it looks like most of the stands that can be purchased with these type mills, instead I welded a heavy wall rectangular tube stand for it that has very heavy casters and lift dogs. The only regret I have with my Lathemaster mill is that I purchased it wired for 110v thinking I would be happy with that but I wound up rewiring it for 220v sp which actually got rid of a lot of the wiring and relays as well as the large box that housed the control units. I hope to use that same box now to house my CNC controller etc. I am gonna put the x axis power feed unit I have on it now on my new round column rf30 and use that mill as a manual one and maybe build a dro for it. Should be fun!!!! Peace all...


Pete Matos
Matospeter@charter.net
865-363-9218

are you referring to the x and y base unit or the stand it is sitting on? My Lathemaster came with the power head feed and I am sure if you ask nice Bob will get you one too.
good to know, although I am surprised that Bob doesn't advertise power head lift as an option (although I am guessing it is alot easier to order a half a container all the same... ie. without power feed, and special order one or two at a time for the more discerning customer).

The G0484 Grizzly stand is about 300# of cast iron, definitelty a cut above the typical sheet metal mill/drill stands.

http://www.grizzly.com/images/pics/jpeg500/g/g0484.jpg

As far as the three bolts holding it on to the two, The real difference lies in the height of the z axis slide. THe Lathemaster and the IH are over 12" long whereas the grizzly at least in the pictures looks much shorter nevermind the small ring to tilt the head.

As far as the Quill, I would rather not have one for rigidity. I have taken the handles off of my SX3 to be able to put the head as close as possible to the part. ( But that is only for CNC. I would want it for drilling if it were manual, etc.)

As far as Z travel;

Web shows

Grizzly Max. distance spindle to table 16-1/2" Spindle travel of 4 1/2" quill travel. X and Z power feed. The size of the Slide is a good bit smaller though. That would be a weak spot.

IH shows 22.25 for the same. Also it is $600+ more. No power feed. Quill travel is 4.75"

Lathemaster shows 17" on the Z headroom. And is $1395 with no z power feed or X powerfeed. Quill feed 5"

that cast stand is for sure nice but for cnc which is the main reason for me buying this machine, I am gonna make a nice enclosure and coolant tray to add to the already heavy duty steel stand I welded up so the stand for me anyway is a non-issue. The IH mill is very nice but the 22.5" of z travel is over the top and I doubt you will ever need that much travel anyway. I have a very large Yuasa super accra dex dividing head and with the chuck on it sitting horizontally it is quite huge and even with only 17"( which I think is very conservative) I can still get my drill chuck and my longest drill bit over about anything I might want to put in the dividing head's chuck. With 5" of quill for drilling it is no problem to get about anything you would expect to machine on a mill of this size on the table and access it. The only real machining envelope issue with my machine is the y travel is a bit short but I am working on that..... I agree that no quill travel for rigidity is the way to go on a cnc machine and that Is why I chose the dovetail column machine to allow that setup. For the money, with a x-power feed unit and the machine for the price he is selling it you would be hard pressed to get more machine for less or even slightly more money. Besides to be honest if I were to spend near $2k I would not be looking at a Mill like this anyway, I would go straight to a fullsize bridgeport clone anyway. I looked around for some time before I laid the money down on my machine and despite the grizzly being not available at that time I still think the Lathemaster is better. Bob Bertrand is a super good fella and has taken care of me with replacement parts when I broke something even when it was really my fault. JMHO tho....Any of these mills is a nice addition to any hobby shop and once cnc'd might even be useful for light production or prototyping work. That is where I am headed anyway. Peace all...

Pete Matos
Matospeter@charter.net
865-363-9218

I think the Lathemaster is the better choice. This will be a short post as I have things too take care of, but more too come.


-Jason

I believe this is pertinent....ENCO is offering their RF45 equivalent mill for $1495 with free shipping.....if I had found a decently priced CNC kit for it besides the IH CNC kit, I would have bought it instead of the Grizzly X3 that I just ordered.

I too am very interested in these mills.

I looked at the Lathemaster and the photo DOES NOT show the large connecting ring that the IH machine has, despite someone's comment above. The weight also does not reflect the stout additions of the IH machine. The photos appear to show an identical machine to the Grizzly.

It also clearly does not have the power downfeed. Lathemaster's price is only $150 less (after adding power x-axis feed) than Grizzly's with power downfeed and the very solid stand.

I like Lathemaster's good name but I can't seem to come up with reasons to go that way. Am I missing something?

Incidently, the IH machine's price has increased substantially since I last looked.

Hold the phone guys, I think I have been mistaken on a few things. I just went to the Lathemaster website and looked closely at the machine. It seems that the machine he is now importing is not the same machine at all that I have here. The machine he is showing in the pictures looks just like the grizzly model. The long slot behind the head where the head bolts to the column slide and the small ring is the same to me in the picutres. Mine is almost a mirror image of the IH machine and has the larger ring and slide with the three bolt head mount setup. I apologise is there is any confusion as I have not looked that closely at the website assuming the machine is the same one. It is a shame too because I think the machine he used to sell was quite a bit heavier duty than the new one.

I just went to look at some pictures of the machine my good friend Bill South has and it is the same machine as the newer one too. I guess I got a very early one that is much the same as the IH mill. It is one heckuva lot heavier and larger than my used Rong Fu RF31 I just bought as well. I have some pictures of the head I will try to post so you all can see what I am talking about.

The first two pictures are from the millhead on my machine, the last one is a picture bill sent me of his machine from the side which is the best picture of this area of the mill that he had sent me to show his setup. These are clearly not the same machine it seems...peace..

Pete

I am very serious about considering this machine in the coming months. Thats is the Grizzly I mean. I have been looking at the Specs, Grizzly.com has an updated page on it; PDF manual, parts listing and so on.

I may need to start more production and the Taig may not be able too handle the work force.


I figure I would sell the x powerfeed and use that too CNC it, Maybe even use the Z-axis feed for CNC. Maybe, I don't know what type of motor it is?


-Jason

That is my fav mill. Known as the zay45/ru45 most are the same model, except there is one that the head rotates 45 degrees and the other, the table rotates 45 degrees. Great looking mills for the price, I think Wholesale Tool has it cheaper than anyone if I remember correctly.

They have it, but like with every other site. You can't beat the grizzly one. It comes with the X-powerfeed and Z-powerfedd. Which could probably both be sold for some money back, or even used for the cnc process. And the cast iron stand is included.


-Jason

This Newbie ordered the Grizzly last week.
Of course it's BO 'til October.

Oh man! When you get it in, please post pictures.


How do you think this machine would handle as CNC? Without upgrading too ballscrews, do you think it can handle speeds of 60 IPM or more without wearing quickly? I hope so, because If I do get this mill. It would be converted!


-Jason

Alas, I am a manual machinist.
I joined this site to learn more about CNC, but can't currently offer an opinion on whether this machine is 'CNCable'.

Jason, I looked at the mill while I was there and it was a .100 wheel. Meaning 10 tpi screw.

I really hope to purchase this mill in the coming months. I want to convert to CNC almost immediately and found that some Gecko Drivers equipped with Keling Steppers 500 Oz motors should be ideal! However, I am wondering if the Z motor can be used for CNC? Makes me wonder.

I would use the Taig CNC to make the brackets but just to keep it all simple, I would go direct drive here except maybe for the Z axis. However, I would make a counter balance.


The machine should only be a little over 2,000 after shipping/Tax.


I wish people had more pictures. More user pictures etc.


-Jason

I checked this morning.
I'm backordered 'til the END of October!:violin:

Oh that stinks! It almost sounds like October/November may be the best time for me to buy. But who knows, it's something I am looking into.

But again, then comes in the tooling, clamping and enclosure. I can see it running without coolant for a few months but then would need too enclose it for flood.


-Jason

I'm still wondering, is there any way to use that Z-axis powerfeed for actual CNC, it looks like it reaches almost the same RPM as a Stepper, looks some what like a Stepper and obviously has the torque and power to lift the head.

I guess after a month or so, I can hopefully sell off the powerfeed.

-Jason