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Yep have one and am quite happy with it. Don't be put off by the comments you'll hear about the round column. I've had no issue with it all at and the ability to rotate the head to reach the odd part has been a blessing.
Happy Holidays
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Yep have one and am quite happy with it. Don't be put off by the comments you'll hear about the round column. I've had no issue with it all at and the ability to rotate the head to reach the odd part has been a blessing.
Happy Holidays
Hi,
I have one that I am CNCing. It's a beast. It works fine and the geared head is a MILLION times better the the belt drive head ones.
It's real heavy and as far as it goes the ways seem nice enough.
Dan
Depends whether you can live with 1,500 rpm. Try feeding a 1/8" endmill in steel by hand. Ooops - damn. You will need to buy them in packs of ten.
Also I've used a round column (geared head) for more than 8 years and a square column for the past 2 years. I would never ever revert back to a round column.
Phil
Originally Posted by dan_the_welder
Geared Head? Are the gears Plastic or metal on this type of Mill?
I know this is NOT a X2 Mill. Im thinking of changing my X2 Mill Plastic gears to Metal? Would it be better than a Belt Drive?
Noting at all wrong with belt Drive, as stated above the low rpm will kill small e-mills. Round column is just fine most of the time but if the part being made requires multiple setups with different tools the square column shines again.
Just an opinion!
http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/pr...ategoryID=6692
is a square column mill in about the same price range - model is a Bf-20v
http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/pr...ategoryID=4493
is a bigger zay45 type
I bought HF 93885 for $850 special ordered though the local store with a 15% off coupon. The specs on their web page are wrong! Its an x3 same as Grizzly's but red instead of green. http://www.grizzly.com/products/Mill-Drill/G0463
The 3,000 rpm on the Penntool machine looks useful
Phil
Just want to give an opinion about something. All over this Forum I see People degrading the Round column Mills. It is true that that there may be situations where you may find yourself in a problem setup that requires you to move the head up but as with all setups allot of problems can be avoided by using the rite tools and thinking about the whole setup before you start machining the part. Using Collet holders will dramatically improve on a setup. Considering that a RF31 or clone costs considerably less is more them enough reason not to disregard the Idea of using one. I have seen them as low as $900.
As with anything, a machine is only as good as its operator.
If I had the Money for a Square Column Mill I would buy one but if my budged is not allowing for it I also would not hesitate to buy a round column mill.
For Hobby purposes they will both do just fine. If you plan on running production you better start saving your Money.
I agree. From what Ive seen, the people who seriously persue the use of a round-column mill seem, at the very least, content with them (especially for the price). Their explanations of how to use them most effectively also make sense (like you said, using tools all with the same height). The main good things I notice about the round-column mills is that for the price, you typically get a much larger horizontal work area than if you bought a square column mill. Also, I notice that you can alot of times get a more powerful motor (1.5-2HP, instead of .8-1.25HP that comes with the X3). For people (like me) want to cut low-profile things like flanges (either a large single flange, or multiple smaller ones), the larger work area and greater power would be very useful.
I also have to throw it out that we arent sure if that RF40 comes with the same 32.25 x 9.5 that the Grizzly comes with, which gives about 24" x 9" of travel. I say that because the HF X3 is listed with smaller travels than the Grizzly, but is actually the same model as Grizzly. So, we should at least be aware of the possibility that such a trend would apply to other models. I wish there was somebody who had bought one recently who could verify. The only verification Ive found was from somebody who bought one like 14 years ago, heh.
The bigger work envelope is what most everybody seeks, but in all reality one has to think very hard and ask the question "What am I going to need"
Me personally, I would take the 3000rpm Motor over an extra inch any day of the week. Once you get familiar with the machine or machine work in general you will find that multiple setups on the same part is no problem at all. I have seen many statements where people say that the round Column Mills are not very stable when you lift the Head all the way to the end of the column. My take on that will have to be this, these Mills are not rated to take a heavy load on the table so I have to ask! How many times do you have a part that is tall enough to where you have to raise the head up that far?
Again this is just my opinion but if I'm going to be working on parts that are that tall all the time I would save my Money and go for a Bridgeport Clone.
In my particular case, the head is almost all the time all the way down. But again I use a quick change collet set as well as DA and ER Holders.
All comments made are my opinion!
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