Grizzly G0704 v. an X3 mill - what are your thoughts?

Lone Watie

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What are your thoughts out there between an X3 mill v. a Grizzly (BF20) G0704. It seems that weight-wise, they are in the same category. With the 0704 you get the digital height adjustment and the stand, but pay less, is there that much of a quality increase in the X3 styles, namely the G0463. My question stems from seeing the similarities between the G0619 and the G0704 but the huge (~$500) difference in price. I know they're made in different factories in China, but, while not as popular as the X3 styles, there seems to be a decent following on the BF20s, so just wanted to get some input from the users. Thanks.
 
Great information - thanks. I'm hopefully within a few weeks (positive thinking) of acquiring a mill. I don't have a lot of room to play with, and even less money (same old song and dance I'm sure), and think I have it narrowed down between the X3 and the G0704. I'm sure you've been on the www.g0704.com website, and I noticed the following there, as well as the CNC conversions. Has the tilting head on the 0704 caused you much anguish for tramming? It seems a bit more solid than having the column tilt on, for example, the LMS X3 with the column tilt. Most of my reading shows that not too many use the tilt feature of either the head or the column. Have you used it much, or do you simply use a tilting vise? Again, great information.
 
Be very careful when milling SS, I burned out the motor on my G0704 which Grizzly rapidly replaced.

I have made a mod by installing a thermo-disk overload inside the motor and I also installed a cooling fan to draw the heat out of the motor. I will not be doing any SS in the foreseeable future as it is VERY hard stuff to mill.

For 4140 steel there is no apparent issue, especially since installing the cooling fan. All-in-all, it is a nice machine with a small footprint. My problem is available floor space of which I am very limited in.
 
As the guys have already mentioned, for all the right reasons, get the 704. What you get is more workspace and lower cost, but less weight than the 463. A lot of guys would say the weight makes the difference but you have to weigh that against your budget. As I've said before, when I was looking for my first mill months ago and researching as much as I could I had decided upon the 704, until I found a used Johansson small knee mill that popped up only 2 days before I planned on riding out to Grizzly for the 704. Get the 704. It's a great machine and the $ you save over the 463 will buy you some needed tooling or accessories.
 
FWIW..... I just got a catalog from Penn Tool (New Jersey, USA) and I see they have a small knee mill from Top Tec for around $1800, link here. I've read of guys' positive reviews of their lathes but so far haven't searched for any reviews on their mills. If I had saw that before I bought my used 1956 Johansson/Clausing small knee for only a few hundred more, I might have went with that.
 
Hi,

Grizzly did have some issues with the motors on a batch or two of 704's. They replaced a lot of motors under warranty for people. They even stopped selling the machine until they found a suitable solution.

I'd love to see your fan set up and the thermo overload mod. I've got a 115v pancake fan around here somewhere.

dalee

IMG_0330.jpg

120Vac fan powered from inside the control panel on the G0704. Installed a SPST toggle switch as you can see in photo.
I cut a large opening in the top with a dremel tool as the slots don't allow enough volume of air flow.

As for the motor, I installed a thermodisk inside the motor inline with one of the brushes. Should the heat rise to a dangerous level, it will open and thus shut down the motor until it cools to the pre-trip level.

When the fan is running, it sucks an enormous amount of air thru the cover thus effectively preventing heat build up and motor melt down.

Thermodisk = $8
Fan = $20
Not having to worry about 2 weeks down time = Priceless

Top view (motor was installed a little crooked) NOTE: must install screw heads on the inside and nuts on the outside as there is very little clearance between the motor and the cover. Also use nyla-lock nuts so doesn't loosen with the vibration.
IMG_0332.jpg

IMG_0330.jpg

IMG_0332.jpg
 
I have had my G0704 for almost a year and have been very pleased with it. The latest ones comming from grizzly have the 3 bolt mod already done.
 
Got mine last month. It did not have the 3 bolt mod. But it does now.

Ron
 
Might want to see what Precison Matthews/Quality Machine tool has.

Although my mill is the dovetail column "45" size, I found that PM had the best overall price/package.
While I did not care for the PM lathe I got (and sold) , I am very happy with the Mill.
 
I talked to the owner of PM about 2 months ago and they only had the bigger machines in stock with no ETA of the smaller ones, like the PM20/25/30. Might be obvious but you should definitely call them before you start seriously considering them.
 
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