When did you?

jwmay

jwmay

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I was curious for those who bought an "entry level" milling machine: When did you decide to buy something else? What drove your decision?
For context, I've had a Grizzly 8x29 round column mill/drill for a few years. I don't use it very much. In fact, I don't like using it. It is accurate enough. It's newish and clean. But belt changes for different speeds are downright laborious. Moving the head up and down is also a big friction point. I don't have a lot of time for this hobby, so minutes count. I've bought some DRO's for it. I'm constantly thinking about a power feed too. I've also bought an er40 to r8 adapter because tool changes were starting to annoy me. So as I continue to nickel and dime myself into a really handy sub-optimal machine, I am wondering if I'm putting lipstick on a pig. No offense to those who have and like their round column machines. It just seems like using one is pretty well no fun for me. I personally despise improving/modifying a "new" machine. Seems like if a person is going to the trouble of adding Dro's, power feeds, and vfd's with 3 phase motors, it might be better to just cut bait before the money is spent, and put it back for a more user friendly machine. So if you had one and got something different, I'd like to read your reasons why. And also are you happy with what you got to replace it? How about about some pics?
 
I have the G0755 it has been very good, but my shadow, and I have been having discussions about getting a knee mill that would be a bit more substantial. It want's a Bridgeport.....
 
I have limited experience with round column machines, but enough to know that I don’t care for them.
I learned on a BP M-head, so that has set the bar high, for me.
I have seen excellent work produced from RC milling machines, but you will burn up minutes fiddling with them.

I have purchased a couple vertical/horizontal mills on the 726 (currently) and 728 envelopes- these have proven to be very capable machines- i enjoy operating these machines, but they don’t have powered feeds- they can be upgraded but I never found it to be a deal breaker

I have owned a Wells/Index machine that feared no metal-full power on all axes.
It weighed about 2800lbs

At my shop at work, I currently have a BP-J1, with power feeds on spindle and table- this machine has performed beyond expectations. I wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.

if i were to only have one choice for a home shop, the VHM 728 with power table feed would be and is my choice
 
Not exactly "on topic" for the question you're asking.. I have a couple of lathes, a Craftsman 12x36 and an Asian 9x19. And an Atlas shaper, which answered for most of the work where milling was required, I don't have a machine shop as such. I build models, sometimes out of metal, that require irregular mill work.

A while back, I encountered a situation where I was drilling plastic, acrylic, for tap size 2-56. A Nr 50 drill as I recall, it may have been a 49. The drill press ran far too fast, the drill was melting the inside of the hole. I could thread, but it was hit or miss and I needed a usable tapped hole. I purchased a Horrible Fright "mini" mill so I could get the lower speeds for drilling without melting. I have tried a couple of times to do milling, but for one reason or another it never really worked out. That may well be because I am not as good a machinist as I like to think I am. It still is set up as a low speed drill press. I fitted a small 0-1/4 chuck so it takes less room than the included chuck.

I did acquire an Atlas horizontal mill later. As much because I had the "hots" for that particular machine than any particular need. Having acquired tooling for it, the machine has done much of the work I used to do on the shaper. Not so much because I needed it, the machine showed up on eBay at a price I was willing to pay. I purchased it, rewired the motor and installed a reversing switch. It was dirty and "well used", I cleaned it up and refitted anything that needed it. And slapped on a coat of rattle can gray.

I would like to get a Bridgeport or clone, but my shop is in a wooden building where the floor wouldn't support such a macinne. Then there is space, actually lack of it. And it would be hard to justify, the Atlas and my lathe can do the milling I run across.

.
 
I started with a Grizzly G0704. It worked fine for what it was and I learned a lot about feeds and speeds and fixturing and more. However after a couple of years, I grew tired of the small work envelope, especially the Z clearance. I sold the G0704 and bought a precision Mathews PM45M-CNC and it has been GREAT.
 
I started out with Bridgeports back in the late 70s . Never ran anything smaller so can't comment on the smaller mills . I've owned other knee mills , Kondias , Laguns , Indexs , etc but keep coming home to the BPs . Preference I guess , but there's nothing a well tooled BP can't do in my opinion . :)
 
I started with an Rong Fu (the real one, not a clone) RF-45 benchtop mill with square column, power downfeed on the quill, 12-speed geared head (the motor was two speed). I insisted on a square column to ensure consistent alignment after repositioning the head. I can't imagine dealing with a round column mill/drill, but I know poeple who do. At the time, I was searching for an "industrial quality" drill press and the mill/drill seemed like it offered the facilities I wanted. Within a year, I was using it more frequently to mill aluminum. By year three I was doing low volume production of small stainless steel parts. Ten years after I purchased the Rong Fu, I decided to upgrade to a knee mill - I was driven to it in order to get power feed on all 3 axis (something that wasn't feasible on the RF-45), and to increase material removal rates. That was in 2015. To this day, I have mixed feelings about the so called "upgrade". The RF-45 was in fact substantially more rigid, although friends who have bought current-day clones in the same or larger weight category are not impressed with the rigidity compared to something like a PM-935. But I do like the convenience of a power drawbar, and the additional feeders on Y and Z, and I'm generally happy with the machine. You can see the knee mill I bought and how I customized it by clicking here. If you want more background or details on my decision, DM me. Always happy to help.
 
I was recently guided by David to a very sweet deal on an original Rong Fu-45 (made in 2011) with power down feed.

Now this is my first metal working machine, so take this with that in mind.

I've been working with it for about a month now and I am very impressed with the overall quality and precision of this mill. The only reason I can see wanting to upgrade from this would be if I were to find myself limited by the capacity of the machine in the x, y and z axis. It seems to be a very capable machine for its size.

If you can find a good deal on an older RF-45 you might want to seriously consider it. Just my .02
 
I bought my first mill, a new HF 44994 mini, in ~2008. I'd retired from Hewlett-Packard, where I played "engineer" and designed assembly line equipment. Sending drawings out for machining was fun, but I never really realized how much it cost. When I wanted some machning done for myself, I came to a rude awakening. So I bought the mill, about $500 or so at the time, and started "saving money on machining" (famous last words!) I still have and still use that mill, especially when I have a setup on my other one that I don't want to mess with.

I bought my second mill, a used Grizzly RF-30 clone, about 5 years later. That was mainly for the sake of increased capacity, plus improved rigidity.

Bought a small CNC mill, a refurbished DynaMyte DM2400 retrofit with Centroid Acorn and new steppers, from a local friend in 2019. Wanted to learn all about CAM, G-code, etc. Still learning!

My most recent mill purchase was in August of 2020 - a PM 835S. I wanted something "brand new," as well as more rigid, more versatile, and increased capacity over the round column. LOVE it! I sold the Grizzly as soon as I had the PM fully set up.

Belt changes - Yup, what a drag! The HF and DM both came with variable speed motors. And I retrofit both the Grizzly and the PM with VFDs and 3 phase motors. On both of these, I found myself doing about 95% of everything with one "sweet spot" belt setting. Of course, the PM does have a "back gear," which I use for tapping, etc.

Collets - The DM spindle has an ER-16 taper. I have a handful of ER16 collets with a solid ER-compatible end that fit into the spindle. This allowing pre-measuring tool heights and makes tool changes easier. All the other mills I've owned have used R8. Aside: at the time I bought the HF, I chose it over the similar Grizzly because Grizzly only came with an MT3 spindle. I splurged on the PM and got a power drawbar.

DRO - This was one of the first accessories I added to the HF. Finding it indispensable, I quickly installed one on the Grizzly soon after purchase. I ordered the PM with factory installed DRO.

Power feed - I retrofit the HF with a LMS power feed. The Grizzly came with a non-working power feed, which I repaired. I bought the PM with X power feed, and I use a drill motor adapter to "power" the knee up and down.

Bottom line answer to what I think is your main question - I did spend quite a bit of effort, as well as some money, getting the Grizzly round column set up to my satisfaction. It was a good, workable machine and I did make a bunch of good parts with it. I suppose I might have kept it if I had the space. But then one fine day I checked my machine budget and decided to go for a brand new "real" mill. So there was indeed a large element of "impulse buy" in the purchase decision.

PS - I'm friends with the guy who bought the Grizzly. He's continuing to make good stuff with it.
 
A few years before retirement I knew I wanted my own machine shop. I was familiar with Tree brand mills and the Bridgeport series I machines since we had dozens of them in several machine shops throughout the company. My first choice was a Tree 2UVR. They're considerably heavier than the Bridgeport's, and have (in my opinion) a nicer collet system.

I looked for over 2 years and passed on over a dozen because they were either too worn or way over priced. In the end I found a Bridgeport Series I machine from a local high school in good condition and at a good price. I still love the Tree machines, but they weren't in the cards for me at that time.

I've had the Bridgeport about 20 years and it's done everything I've asked of it. It's a stretch (literally) for us short guys to change collets, but overall the machine has been well worth the money. In that time I don't think I've put $100.00 in repair parts, but I have spent several thousand on tooling, a power feed, and a DRO. In my opinion Bridgeport's are the most economical of the bunch. Tooling is relatively inexpensive and plentiful. Should you need repair or replacement parts they too are readily available and not overly expensive.

At times I still yearn for a shorter, stouter Tree machine. They are now more plentiful and less expensive in the past. The only downsides are the cost and availability of parts and tooling. Since they aren't made anymore parts are getting more expensive and tooling is harder to find. Having said that I passed on a 2UVR last year for lack of space. It was offered to my by a local shop for $500.00 because they too were having space constraints.
 
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