I have always been mechanically inclined but my family didn't have the money to indulge me. In high school I took a year of machine shop where I gravitated right away to the metal lathe. As I recall, we didn't really have any classroom time, they just turned us loose in the shop and the instructor was available to answer questions if you asked. I made a chunk of brass that could fire .22 shells! I would shoot them off in the outdoor corridors (blanks) and never got busted. I imagine today I would be in prison forever! Later, it got worse. A friend had gotten me some dynamite and blasting caps and fuse to play with. Some time later I crossed the Canadian border and back when going to visit a friend in Vancouver with this stuff in a box in the back of my van. This was about 1972 during the Vietnam war and I had totally forgotten it was there. Someone must have been watching over me because no one searched me and I didn't go to prison that time either.
In about 1971 I was at loose ends and used to hang around the shop of a local Honda motorcycle dealer chatting with a nice tech who was a retired military mechanic. One day I got up the nerve to ask him if he thought I might be able to get a job there with my only experience being working on my own stuff. I did get the job! I made $2.50 per hour which was double the minimum wage at that time. I was rich! I worked there for the season and then again the next season and then just before I married in 1973 (still married) I worked full time until my retirement at the end of 2013. Over 40 years at the same dealership although I switched to working on Honda cars in 1976. I think the family-owned dealership and I were very good for each other, I was very fortunate and made a good living that allowed me to buy all the tools I really wanted to pursue my metal and woodworking interests over the years.
Soon after I got married I bought a used Logan 10" lathe with a quick-change gearbox and some accessories. I had no credit, etc. but a kind used equipment dealer in Seattle allowed me to take it home and make payments and I still have it today. $1200 when I was making $2.50 an hour was pretty big. I have never liked paying someone to do something that I could possibly do myself and I have been blessed to have the tools and ability to allow me to do it my way.
I have always wanted a milling machine but never went forward as I knew as a hobbyist I would rarely have a use for one so I couldn't justify it. Well, I have been retired for almost 6 years and have plenty of money and time so I decided there was no reason to put it off any longer. I looked at many brands and models online and on YouTube but with the cost of a new machine plus tooling, my thrifty nature was still holding me back. I posted on my local Craigslist that I was looking for a mid-size mill and one day a guy a couple of hours away replied that he had a Grizzly G1006 with a power drive that he had bought from an estate and he thought he had a bunch of tooling to go with it. $750, I was seeing stars! I went to get it but when I arrived he admitted that he didn't really know what he was talking about as far as tooling goes and all it came with was a drill chuck and face mill that came with it new. The machine was in need of cleaning and lubrication and the table was fairly scarred up but seemed pretty solid overall. He was a nice guy and threw in a few items including a magnetic base and indicator plus a spare argon tank for my recently acquired TIG welder (so far, I am the world's worst TIG welder.)
I got it home and into my garage where I set it up on the crude but strong stand that came with it. I had done some reading so I knew to cut the center out of the stand top to be able to reach the adjustment on the Y feed nut, although the backlash quickly returned to the hand wheels. Never mind, I got a DRO which I will post about soon. I removed the table and cross slide and cleaned and lubed all the sliding surfaces and the screws. I removed the spindle and cleaned and repacked the bearings and replaced the sheared-off guide pin for the collets. I stoned the high spots off the dings on the table. It seems to run smoothly and quietly in the light use I have given it so far. I emailed Grizzly and they told me my machine was made between 1983-1986. It's so old it has a 4-pulley system for setting the spindle speed.
I asked a machinist acquaintance if he might have a surplus vise and he sold me a 6" Kurt in very nice shape for $50! Another retired machinist sold me a Blake co-axial indicator in perfect shape for $100 (almost 400 new, they still make the exact same one). A set of parallels from Harbor Freight, a set of collets and small V-blocks and a pair of 1-2-3 blocks from Amazon and I'm ready to do some damage!
The very first thing I milled was the clamping nuts for the head to the column to reduce them from 15/16" to 7/8" so I could use the same wrench as for the nuts that hold down the vise. The power feed that came with it may not have been the most popular model because when you Google the model number it comes up exactly one reference on the whole internet. Still, it seems to work fine.
At this point, I am very happy with what I have and what it has cost. I think it will be a great hobby machine if I can only think of something to make with it! Actually, I have made a spindle wrench that I will post about. I am afraid my bad habits from my lathe of dimensioning most non-critical parts by eye will carry over to this, but watching Abom79 and his relentless, patient indicating of everything to death does make me want to try harder.
Rob
In about 1971 I was at loose ends and used to hang around the shop of a local Honda motorcycle dealer chatting with a nice tech who was a retired military mechanic. One day I got up the nerve to ask him if he thought I might be able to get a job there with my only experience being working on my own stuff. I did get the job! I made $2.50 per hour which was double the minimum wage at that time. I was rich! I worked there for the season and then again the next season and then just before I married in 1973 (still married) I worked full time until my retirement at the end of 2013. Over 40 years at the same dealership although I switched to working on Honda cars in 1976. I think the family-owned dealership and I were very good for each other, I was very fortunate and made a good living that allowed me to buy all the tools I really wanted to pursue my metal and woodworking interests over the years.
Soon after I got married I bought a used Logan 10" lathe with a quick-change gearbox and some accessories. I had no credit, etc. but a kind used equipment dealer in Seattle allowed me to take it home and make payments and I still have it today. $1200 when I was making $2.50 an hour was pretty big. I have never liked paying someone to do something that I could possibly do myself and I have been blessed to have the tools and ability to allow me to do it my way.
I have always wanted a milling machine but never went forward as I knew as a hobbyist I would rarely have a use for one so I couldn't justify it. Well, I have been retired for almost 6 years and have plenty of money and time so I decided there was no reason to put it off any longer. I looked at many brands and models online and on YouTube but with the cost of a new machine plus tooling, my thrifty nature was still holding me back. I posted on my local Craigslist that I was looking for a mid-size mill and one day a guy a couple of hours away replied that he had a Grizzly G1006 with a power drive that he had bought from an estate and he thought he had a bunch of tooling to go with it. $750, I was seeing stars! I went to get it but when I arrived he admitted that he didn't really know what he was talking about as far as tooling goes and all it came with was a drill chuck and face mill that came with it new. The machine was in need of cleaning and lubrication and the table was fairly scarred up but seemed pretty solid overall. He was a nice guy and threw in a few items including a magnetic base and indicator plus a spare argon tank for my recently acquired TIG welder (so far, I am the world's worst TIG welder.)
I got it home and into my garage where I set it up on the crude but strong stand that came with it. I had done some reading so I knew to cut the center out of the stand top to be able to reach the adjustment on the Y feed nut, although the backlash quickly returned to the hand wheels. Never mind, I got a DRO which I will post about soon. I removed the table and cross slide and cleaned and lubed all the sliding surfaces and the screws. I removed the spindle and cleaned and repacked the bearings and replaced the sheared-off guide pin for the collets. I stoned the high spots off the dings on the table. It seems to run smoothly and quietly in the light use I have given it so far. I emailed Grizzly and they told me my machine was made between 1983-1986. It's so old it has a 4-pulley system for setting the spindle speed.
I asked a machinist acquaintance if he might have a surplus vise and he sold me a 6" Kurt in very nice shape for $50! Another retired machinist sold me a Blake co-axial indicator in perfect shape for $100 (almost 400 new, they still make the exact same one). A set of parallels from Harbor Freight, a set of collets and small V-blocks and a pair of 1-2-3 blocks from Amazon and I'm ready to do some damage!
The very first thing I milled was the clamping nuts for the head to the column to reduce them from 15/16" to 7/8" so I could use the same wrench as for the nuts that hold down the vise. The power feed that came with it may not have been the most popular model because when you Google the model number it comes up exactly one reference on the whole internet. Still, it seems to work fine.
At this point, I am very happy with what I have and what it has cost. I think it will be a great hobby machine if I can only think of something to make with it! Actually, I have made a spindle wrench that I will post about. I am afraid my bad habits from my lathe of dimensioning most non-critical parts by eye will carry over to this, but watching Abom79 and his relentless, patient indicating of everything to death does make me want to try harder.
Rob
