What's the difference?

[saturnnights]

I have a question regarding the difference between two types of "benchtop" mills. There are many clones out there, but I chose the Grizzly ones because it was easy to do a cost comparison for the sake of my question here.

G1006 mill: http://www.grizzly.com/products/G1006

G3102 mill: http://www.grizzly.com/products/G3102

The former I see a lot of, sold under many brand names. The latter I see less of, but that number may be increasing - even Harbor Freight has it now. Anyway, if anybody has experience with these, please tell me why I'd pay another $600 for the benchtop knee mill? It is heavier and looks prettier, but do you suppose it mills better? I'm just curious because I'm hankering for a larger mill (I have an X2 and a couple of Taigs). I wonder about CNC conversions for each? Hmmmm....

Any recommendations or comments?

Thanks!
Mark

[Runner4404spd]

if your looking at either one of those... i noticed your in NE ohio. its not to far from michigan. here we have www.wttool.com and they have both of those cheaper. you can get a G1006 clone for $799 and the other for around $1500.

[saturnnights]

Originally Posted by Runner4404spd if your looking at either one of those... i noticed your in NE ohio. its not to far from michigan. here we have www.wttool.com and they have both of those cheaper. you can get a G1006 clone for $799 and the other for around $1500.

Hmmm... Looking even better for that price! And I like the colors too

Seriously though, everyone talks about the Rong-Fu clones and I don't see much about this one, even though (in my limited knowledge) it looks heavier and more sturdy. I could handle $1,500 for one of those - and, of course, a road-trip to Michigan

[Runner4404spd]

wholesale tools also has an RF-45 square column mill clone for $1495 someone else is asking about it in another post here on the board.

Jerry

[pstockley]

In the past I've owned both those types of mills (not grizzly brand). There is no comparison between the 3102 and the 1006. I would take the 3102 without hesitation. The 3102 is way more rigid, has a better quill and you don't need to keep re-tramming the head. However, If you want to CNC it I wouldn't take either. Instead look for a square column mill.

[saturnnights]

Originally Posted by pstockley In the past I've owned both those types of mills (not grizzly brand). There is no comparison between the 3102 and the 1006. I would take the 3102 without hesitation. The 3102 is way more rigid, has a better quill and you don't need to keep re-tramming the head. However, If you want to CNC it I wouldn't take either. Instead look for a square column mill.

Really? Why the square column? I guess I can see that a knee mill may be hard to set up the Z axis?

[RJ.]

saturnnights,

Did you already see plane magic's very nicely done 6x26 retrofit?

http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11374

He did a beautiful job with CNC conversion.

[pstockley]

The big problem with CNC conversion is the Z axis. All the conversions I have seen have the ballscrew offset. The end result is an offset load on the quill which results in less than spectacular accuracy if there is any appreciable load. Also to get the best results with that mill I always locked the quill to eliminate any backlash which isn't possible with a CNC conversion.

[widgitmaster]

This supplier has a wide variety of machines, not sure of the prices tho!
http://www.engineerstoolroom.co.uk/new_page_1.htm

There are pictures of the various mill types, the Square columm being the strongest design, and has a greater Z-axis trave than some of the other designs!

The Mill Drill types are too weak looking!

Eric

[fyffe555]

Originally Posted by widgitmaster This supplier has a wide variety of machines, not sure of the prices tho! http://www.engineerstoolroom.co.uk/new_page_1.htm

prices are correct - as long as you're in the UK and paying in Pounds Sterling.......

[saturnnights]

Originally Posted by RJ. saturnnights, Did you already see plane magic's very nicely done 6x26 retrofit? http://cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11374 He did a beautiful job with CNC conversion.

This is awsome! I don't think I have the skill/patience to modify one quite that nicely...

For me, my first step would be to buy the mill and the CNC conversion would be later. I do however, want the option to be able to do it. But my little X2 just isn't rigid enough for some of the things that I do. I'd like to be able to use a face mill. Right now, I use a small flycutter and it works okay, but I have to take very small bites and it quite honestly scares me. I also seem to have trouble using mills larger than 1/4" as they start to chatter and the whole machine seems to be in disagreement over the operation.
Mind you, this was my first mill and I've learned a lot and have enjoyed it, but I need something larger without going all the way up to a floor model as I don't have the room. My bench is big and sturdy and can support a small turret mill or square column - I'd just take over the space where my X2 sits now.

Another thing that I like about the turret mill is the belt drive. The gears in the X2 are loud and I'm afraid they'll give me trouble. Plus, the whole head assembly gets very warm. For that reason, I've been leaning toward a no-gear head for my next mill. Those square column mills are all gear heads.

Mark