Grizzly G5963 Surface Grinder (6 x 12), is it worth it and can it hold tolerances < 1 tenth?

[Unix]

Hello,

Starting a small basement machine shop. Max budget $10K and need three machines: CNC mill, lathe and surface grinder.
I plan to spend less on the lathe and get a mini lathe while spend more on a surface grinder and milling machine which will be converted to CNC.
Between the surface grinder and milling machine, I plan to not go over $3K for a milling machine and spend the bulk of the budget on the surface grinder.

At of all the machines the surface grinder is one of my most favorites, it's able to make parts which holds tolerances sub micron and I can do some really nice projects/work with it.

Would like to hear what everyone have to say and experience with the Grizzly G5963 surface grinder.
I see its being sold for $4,361.16 after tax and shipping from the Grizzly website.
To be frank, which seems to be the cheapest deal in the market right now, specially coming from Grizzly.

I really do not want to buy a used surface grinder because it's the only machine which has the most risks of not being able to produce perfect tolerances.
I have also seen many YouTubers not being able to repair or rebuild their surface grinder back into factory specifications.
So with a surface grinder, it's best to buy it brand new for the safety of good investment.

Anyone had any issues with the Grizzly G5963 surface grinder? Something I might need to know about?
I would like to make some precision ground parallels, plates and spindles (using a special attachment).

I've seen some skilled precision machinists on YouTube precision ground some scratch made parallels on their used surface grinder which was able to hold less than 1 tenth tolerance, really remarkable.

Has anyone ever attempted/accomplished to obtain tolerances less than 1 tenth on their imported surface grinder similar priced to the Grizzly G5963?
Think it's "doable" to hold slightly less than 1 tenth on a brand new Grizzly G5963 surface grinder when putting some good care and attention?
If it's possible and proven to be so, I guess I'll buy it.

Thanks for any advice and information.

 

[Ischgl99]

Did you check out this video @BladesIIB made? He’s had it a couple years now, so should have some good experience with it by now. Send Bud a message, I’m sure he would be more than willing to help you with your decision.

Grizzly 5963 Surface Grinder - Unbox, Review, Set up and Grind

Complete delivery, unboxing, set up, review and operation of this Grizzly 5963, 6x12 Surface Grinder and the Southbend 6x12 low profile magnetic chuck. Mine is a Grizzly model 5963 but this casting and grinder design is used on many different brands of 6x12 Surface Grinders such as the Tormach...

www.hobby-machinist.com

 

[Alexander McGilton]

I don't think you are going to get anywhere near the tolerances you are expecting with that import grinder or a variant of it. What that machine is in essence a milling machine with grinding wheel for a head. Look at the base of the saddle and the over arm to the wheel head, they are dove tail slides with significant cantilever. Where as a boyar-schultz, Harig, or B&S Micro master, all have box ways to a surrounding column, and the table assembly has a large foot print so that the center of gravity to the working envelope is always within said foot print. The Micro master goes a step further with a traveling column instead of table and saddle. This is needed when holding sub tenths. Even if you got that Grizzly surface grinder hand scraped to perfection, I would imagine a few tenths of deflection at the out extremes of travel.

Who that surface grinder is meant for is creators who want a ground finish and milling machine tolerance. Things like knife blades, sheet metal punches and dies, and such.
Making milling fixtures that can be brought to the mill and treated as absolute perfect references, needs one of the aforementioned quality grinders. And I don't think you will find one for less that triple your budget, or the equivalent amount of labor.

I had my own saga with my Harig surface grinder. $500usd plus import from Vermont, and a few years of on and off work of re- scraping it. There is a lot more to hand scraping that just rubbing blue paint and scraping the iron. You need a reference that can be articulated to the working surface, and a means of checking overall alignment. At first I was using three marble slabs that had been lapped together to make one straight edge, and a pair of precision levels. I don’t recommend this method as I had been doing a fool’s errand much of the time trying to remove a twist. In the bed and saddle. The real break through was getting an 8- and 4-foot cast iron straight edge. Verifying them with the autocollimator, and checking for twist on a large granite plate. It was very much a pleasant surprise to have ground a 12in, 1in by 1in piece of cold role steel come to the granite and with about one ten thousandths arch over the granite and less than that in discrepancy with the micrometer along its length.

In those years I spent more time improving my machines that producing with them. For your desires, a new Chevalier or Kent surface grinder may be what you are after if the budget is not out of reach.

 

[BladesIIB]

@Unix I have the G5963 and as mentioned above, I have a video out there about it. Other than my own wiring fiasco with it, the grinder has served me well. I would have liked one with stepper motors and some automation, but for the amount of grinding I do the manual aspect of this one has not been a huge issue. As mentioned by @Alexander McGilton I don't think I would use this small unit to make parallels or other fixtures and expect sub tenth type tolerance. I love the machine, but I would say 2 tenths is about what I would claim for accuracy over 5-6 inches and 2" wide. I did not grind the chuck in, so that could maybe get a little better but this is an entry level machine and for what you are asking it to do, I think you would want a larger machine and probably one with coolant for sure, automated for consistent feed would be another recommendation to get what you want. I hope that helps, and all the best getting your shop together. I spend a lot of time in my shop and can't imagine life without it. Happy New Year!

 

[benmychree]

One could easily buy a good used B&S Micromaster 6 X 18 for less than is being asked for the Grizzly, the Micromaster also has hydraulic drive on both X and Y travels, grinds wet and most of them seem to have electromagnetic chucks and Neutrofiers.

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

I don't care what grinder you buy, holding sub-tenths is going to be tough.
And with that grinder at this price and no coolant, I don't think it will happen consistently.
I have an old Reid surface grinder and have tried to grind a part and afterwards measure it on my surface plate and it is pretty humbling.
Joe

 

[hotrats]

There is a central machinery grinder on FB marketplace in FL. looks the same as the grizzly. priced at $400. I 'almost' bought one like it a few years ago. don't really have the need - or room these days. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/922969935830985

 

[Alexander McGilton]

The used market is mixed bag, no surprise in saying that. A well cared for quality machine won't go out the door for less than a sizeable sum. A new grizzly machine has it's place for turn key operation reasonable flatness of work. The Harig and Boyar-Schultz I had, came with several thou, not tenths of wear, in the table. Looking at a barn find with rusted handles and table top is not something to reach for unless you intend to scrape it.

Of the units available from grizzly, the next two sizes up appear to a better value, for the shape of the castings as I mentioned prior, no dovetail ways and the bigger foot print.

On the topic of coolant, it is nice to have but a necessity. I mean, I use it as it is quieter than a vacuum and is very effective at keeping dust down. If you take the time to spark out the part and take fine passes, yes you can get very flat dry. How else do you get the chuck flat on a dry grinder? The answer is to take minimal off while taking shallow increments crosswise. Wet grinding becomes essential in production tasks, where your wheel height is calibrated and the part is .001-.010 over size, and you want to one pass it to dimension. When you are making a one time complex part, you can afford the time to let it cool, take your time to approach dimension, and take next to next to nothing passes.

 

[Beckerkumm]

Don't give up on decent used. This is my $4500 Kent 10x20. Came from a one man custom shop with little use. The guy knew how to use it and was willing to show it could hold tenths. Sub tenths is a different deal but machines can be finessed if they are built well enough. Three axis feed, coolant ( I seldom use ) extra wheels, and DRO. If you want smaller, add Mitsui to your list. Takes some patience but can be done. Dave

 

[jwmay]

Is this for personal use? Or are you planning to start a business? Any background in this work?