Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

I think you would be a lot happier with the standard mill/drill setup
like G3358 Prices run in the $1000 range from Grizzly,
www.harborfreight.com www.useenco.com www.harborfreight.com and others.

Look for at least 1 hp, table travel in the 6"x18" range, R8 spindle, etc.

These units are way hevier than you want to move around but they have
the hp and rigidity to think about a 1/2" mill in steel plate.

BP wrote:

Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

For context here, I'm also a hobbyist though I've been at it for three
decades. I've never been a professional machinist.

Small machines like this can mill steel just fine if you take small
enough bites per pass. Rigidity is far more important than
horsepower in a small mill. The motor on my Bridgeport J-head is
only 1 HP.

Rigidity does seem to go with weight. If you want light weight then
you must expect less rigidity. In hobby work, that's only a time
limitation. It doesn't take a lot of rigidity or horsepower to skin a
few thou off of steel or even 303 stainless witha sharp endmill. It
just takes patience.

Sharp well-ground endmills can make a big difference. They cost
about double the price of cheap imports and work at least twice as
well. That could make the difference between satisfaction and
frustration with a small mill working with steel.

Since price is not a strong limiting factor for you, I'd say go for a
small machine. It may well do what you want to do just fine. If
it doesn't, or if what you want to do gets more ambitious, you'll
learn from it what you might like down the road.

When we're done buying tools we're ready for burial, right?

My newest toy is a Miller 210 MIG machine. Ernie advised me that it
is an excellent machine, nuff said. I thought I knew how to weld
but I now see that I have ample opportunity for growth ... I'm making
strong sound welds with it, still pursuiing beauty. I'm already
sure I'm gonna like that hoss a lot when I learn to ride it well.






On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 19:35:43 -0400, "BP" wrote:

Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

Thanks for the advice. Perhaps I should consider this. Do you know if
something like the G3358 would come in pieces or even apart for movement
into a basement? This would make things easier. I'm not crazy of the
thought of getting 600 lbs down the steps though I would be lucky in that it
is a straight shot from the garage straight down into the basement.

Thanks

Barry

"RoyJ" wrote in message
link.net...
I think you would be a lot happier with the standard mill/drill setup
like G3358 Prices run in the $1000 range from Grizzly,
www.harborfreight.com www.useenco.com www.harborfreight.com and others.

Look for at least 1 hp, table travel in the 6"x18" range, R8 spindle, etc.

These units are way hevier than you want to move around but they have
the hp and rigidity to think about a 1/2" mill in steel plate.

BP wrote:

Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree.
What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement
which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517
at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice
the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any
other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

BP wrote:

Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

Avoid the round column machines ... these are commonly called
"Mill-Drills", and are much more drills than mills. The smaller machine
you mention would be the better mill (if with a bit less capacity). It's
still a 'mill-drill' of sorts (no knee), but has dovetail vertical ways
to hold head alignment far better than any round column machine.

Most 'true' milling machines have (more or less) fixed heads with a
'knee' that rise and falls on dovetail ways to carry the table. This
allows the head to table distance to be varied without losing whatever
alignment you may have established between the head and work.

With a round column machine, every time you need to change the table to
head distance (by raising the head), as when changing cutters, you lose
alignment. You can re-establish it again, but it wastes time. If you do
a lot of tool changing , which is common with a mill, you can waste a
LOT of time re-doing your set up.

SERIOUSLY consider a bigger mill with a real knee, perhaps like the
Grizzly G3102, an A1S type mill. This is a HUGE amount more machine than
the mill-drills. It is larger, heavier, and more expensive though.

Still, even a mill-drill is a LOT better than no mill at all!

Dan Mitchell
==========

The head comes right off the round column. Cuts the weight into two
seperate and reasonably equal chunks.

BP wrote:
Thanks for the advice. Perhaps I should consider this. Do you know if
something like the G3358 would come in pieces or even apart for movement
into a basement? This would make things easier. I'm not crazy of the
thought of getting 600 lbs down the steps though I would be lucky in that it
is a straight shot from the garage straight down into the basement.

Thanks

Barry

"RoyJ" wrote in message
link.net...

I think you would be a lot happier with the standard mill/drill setup
like G3358 Prices run in the $1000 range from Grizzly,
www.harborfreight.com www.useenco.com www.harborfreight.com and others.

Look for at least 1 hp, table travel in the 6"x18" range, R8 spindle, etc.

These units are way hevier than you want to move around but they have
the hp and rigidity to think about a 1/2" mill in steel plate.

BP wrote:


Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree.

What

does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement

which is

not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517

at

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice

the

smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any

other

suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 16:40:05 GMT, RoyJ calmly
ranted:

The head comes right off the round column. Cuts the weight into two
seperate and reasonably equal chunks.

I picked up one of the $20 pneumatic-wheeled hand trucks
from HF when they were on sale and the things are good
for 600 lbs IF you can handle it yourself. One of those
would be good to slide 300 lb objects into the basement.
I can't believe how much easier it is to move things
around with that truck. Wonderful!

That G1006 looks nice, and it's closer to my budget (IF
I had a budget) than the G9959 that I'd prefer.


-- Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Turkey and Drive --

The SEIG minimills like the G8689 are decent machines in my opinion.

The Harbor Freight and Homier versions have R-8 spindles (ie. the same taper
found on a Bridgeport). The Grizzly and Micromark versions have morse
tapers. R-8 collets are cheap and easily available.

Whichever model you get, be sure to turn the X handwheel and watch the dial.
The Micromark version has a true inch leadscrew with a dial that makes
sense. The rest have a really strange thread pitch and a equally strange
dial.

"BP" wrote in message
...
Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which
is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517
at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice
the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any
other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

"BP" wrote in message ...
Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at

I have one of the HF equivalents of the G8689, haven't used it too
much yet, only a couple of jobs. For the size, it's pretty rigid,
works well with the cutters I've asked it to turn, up to 3/8" end
mills. Don't remember if the Griz has an R-8 spindle, but the HF
does. As others have said, Morse taper tooling is available, hard to
find, and expensive. That would be one of the first things to look
at. Several things to consider, it's a small machine, made for small
work, and like any machine that's overloaded, it doesn't handle big
jobs well. When you get it, it's not adjusted properly, the gibs are
loose, and I still have to scrape the column in to be square. The
head tilts from side to side, along with the whole column, but it's
heavy if you're doing it alone, and squaring it up again isn't a
treat. My guess, I haven't tried it yet, is that a 1/2" end mill is
going to be just about the limit that you can pull with it and have
any good result.

On the plus side, it seems to pull well, even with the electronic
speed controller. Having the two geared ranges helps, and it has
pretty good height clearance for the size of the machine. Again, it's
not made for big stuff. The materials I've tried it on were both
nasty, 321 stainless and Ammco 21, it handled it about as well as my
bigger KBC did, but the parts are small and so was the cutter.
MIlling can eat a lot of power, but you're limited to what the machine
will stand without chattering itself into oblivion.

For small, light work, it should handle just about anything I'd ask it
to do. For something bigger, that's why I also have the bigger
machine. The biggest problem I've found is trying to find a milling
vise that isn't too big for it.

"BP" wrote in message
...
Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which
is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517
at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice
the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any
other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry


Suggest you get answers to these questions from the appropriate user group
(8689)

1. Does the column positively lock at the chosen tilt angle - I think there
is only a single bolt to tighten against movement.

2. How prone are the plastic gears to breaking?

3. How much play is there in the fine Z feed?

My choice (I'm just learning this stuff and in a similar position to you)
would be the 1005 machine.

At this end of the market though you just end up picking which problem you
can live with! Hence the other guys suggestions to go up market as much as
you can.


Regards

Steve

Haven't seen the whole thread, sorry if any of this is duplicated.
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/Main/mini-mill.htm
http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_mill/...er_mill_p1.htm
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/ent..._mini_mill.htm
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/Info/minimill.php
http://www.homier.com/thumbnail.asp?a=03947&b=250&c=208
Which was the one I was finally able to get (traveling show). I was able to
compare it to
http://www.homier.com/thumbnail.asp?a=03989&b=250&c=208
which was not only cheaper, but appeared stouter built. 2 things, from what
I could see, it had the same components (bearings, head, support column) as
the 14" drillpress next to it (cheaper price if I recall correctly but sans
the X-table), and if you mount a vise, there would be almost no room between
the vice and a bit. Because of pervious comments about using a drillpress
as a mill, and some of the other features of the mini-mill, I bought the
3947.

Joel. phx

The mill-drills I believe are all shipped like the drillpresses that is the
head, column, and base are separate and so can be carried as pieces into
your shop for assembly.

"AL" wrote in message
news:6bYSc.247201$%_6.233911@attbi_s01...
The SEIG minimills like the G8689 are decent machines in my opinion.

The Harbor Freight and Homier versions have R-8 spindles (ie. the same
taper
found on a Bridgeport). The Grizzly and Micromark versions have morse
tapers. R-8 collets are cheap and easily available.

Whichever model you get, be sure to turn the X handwheel and watch the
dial.
The Micromark version has a true inch leadscrew with a dial that makes
sense. The rest have a really strange thread pitch and a equally strange
dial.

"BP" wrote in message
...
Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree.
What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement
which
is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517
at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice
the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any
other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry

AL wrote:
The SEIG minimills like the G8689 are decent machines in my opinion.

The Harbor Freight and Homier versions have R-8 spindles (ie. the same taper
found on a Bridgeport). The Grizzly and Micromark versions have morse
tapers. R-8 collets are cheap and easily available.

Whichever model you get, be sure to turn the X handwheel and watch the dial.
The Micromark version has a true inch leadscrew with a dial that makes
sense. The rest have a really strange thread pitch and a equally strange
dial.

The thread pitch is not strange and it's not metric as some would have
you believe, it's 16 tpi. The Grizzly dial is messed up, no doubt. The
Homier dial is normal (just read thousandths off of the dial). The only
weirdness is that the one turn is 1/16" or .0625, so there is a half
division at the end of the turn that you need to keep track, if it
matters to you. I didn't find it that hard.

I put a kit DRO on mine. I think that's a better upgrade than going to
the 20 tpi leadscrews that Micromark sells.

The Seig lathes, however, do actually have metric screws (with the
exception of Micromark).

Anybody considering one of these (mill or lathe) should study
www.mini-lathe.com first. Everything that you need to know is there.

-Greg

I am also a HSM. I use a round column Rong Fu type mill/drill which
does most of what I need to do. If, however, I was doing it now I
would probably opt for the Grizzly G0519 mill or similar. This mill
comes with a 3 phase motor so you will need a VFD (~$200 from
dealerselectric.com) unless you have 3 phase power in your workshop.
That isn't really so bad because you get a variable speed capability
that makes the mill more useful. The 1 hp motor should be enough power
to do most milling jobs. I would suggest an x axis power feed (~ $200
from harborfreight.com). This will give you a better finish on cuts
and can really save time. The total cost of the G0519 and the above
accessories will run about $1900, which is not a bad deal. By way of
comparison you can get a HF round column mill with a power feed for
about half that price.

You can disassemble this mill into small enough chunks to make it
moveable. This mill has vastly more capability than the mini-mill.

"BP" wrote in message ...
Would like to buy a small hobby mill. Think grizzly might be good as to
parts availability. Price is not a limiting factor to some degree. What
does limit me is size and weight as I want to put it in my basement which is
not too large and I really don't want to move excessive weight. I am a
complete beginner so I was looking at the grizzly models G8689 and G0517 at
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...010&sort=price .
These both seem to be manageable from size/weight perspective. I notice the
smaller one supposedly has more Horsepower. Any suggestions or other
options? Would these be powerful enough to actually mill steel? Any other
suggestions.

Thanks

Barry