If you really want a gear head mill/drill, this is a good choice. Of
course, depending on when and where it is made, quality is variable. I
was lucky to get a good one. The gearbox and quill is smooth and
relatively quite, the bed trams out to .0007 both ways, and the motor
seems very good. Mine gets lots of use. Note these weigh in at about 1K.
Rigidity of the machine is very good. The handwheels are 0 settable, and
repeatability is more a function of skill than machine tightness.
Despite the seemingly major drawback of losing index if the head is
unlocked for moving, I find a little forethought in setup eliminates for
the most part this limitation.
Here's a link to a mill table I made for mine:
http://www.metalworking.com/dropbox/...retired_files/
See table.txt and the associated jpgs
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Louis Ohland wrote:

Anyone have a pointer to a comparison of the mill/drill machines? I
haven't the room for a knee mill downstairs [oh, MightyMax, forgive me!]

Items I looked at:
Harbor Freight 42827-0VGA
Grizzly G0463

Rules of the game:
20 A 115v.
Must get down stairs (bed, headstock and parts separate)
Rigidity.
Repeatability.

I'm not hot on the circular support with a quill on the side [a la the
drill press]. It would be nice if this puppy could be picked up within
roughly 200 miles of Beloit, WI. Gearhead over belt drive.


--
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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
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Dependence is Vulnerability:
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"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."