[pike3e]

I will be picking up my G0704 at the shipping terminal after work. I have zero experiance with milling. What do I need to do to get this machine up and running? I am talking from pallet to first chips??

I have purchased:
some end mills
a swivel vise
bunch of collets
face mill
dial indicator set
clamp kit
fly cutter set of three


Thanks

John

[photomankc]

-You'll also need some spirits or WD40 to clear the goop off.
-Edge finder/wiggler to pick up the exact edge of the work.
-Set of parallels to position the work where you can reach it in the vice.
-A Dial Test Indicator for tramming, squaring and so forth. It can be done with just the dial indicator but its a pain.
-A good set of drills fractional and numbers. It sucks constantly needing another drill bit. I buy the rest of the more odd sizes/letter drills as I go.
-Get some "way oil" to lubricate the dovetails. I used Mobile1 to get started but proper way oil stays put much better and even clings pretty well on the column dovetails.

You can start cutting into stuff right away but doing it well you'll need more to work with for setups and measuring.
-Sqaures
-V-Blocks
-123 blocks
-Calipers
-Micrometers
-Punches
-Scribe
-Center-punch


Probably some other things I didn't think of.

[hoss2006]

start here.
http://cdn1.grizzly.com/manuals/g0704_m.pdf
you'll be ready to make some chips after setting it up according to the manual.
preview pics are here.
http://www.hossmachine.info/G0704.html#pics
Hoss

[lordedmond]

dont climb mill , if you do you WILL regret it big time

[mattbesquare]

dont climb mill , if you do you WILL regret it big time

really? I haven't had an issue with it. I did have to learn how to climb mill and why it is something you should be careful about.

I would say start getting the feel of the cutting action with wood (will get old fast I know).

Buy a bunch of cheap cutters, yes the china ones everyone hates. Why? because you will break a lot of them. Enco has two sided HSS 1/4 4 flute end mills for 2.99 each, and with "PFSJUL" shipping code they ship for free if you buy 25.00 worth of anything. And contradictory to some opinion, they actually cut metal!! and quite well at that. You will get a chance to get high helix carbide bits later to build your space program parts..for now you will be bled to death just getting the basics...

Get the usual sizes 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch (ify ou machine can use), and maybe a 3/16th and 1/8th.

I would get 2 or three of the 1/4 inchers, I used them a lot and as you get smaller things break. Go slow, get a feel for things and start with wood, aluminum, plastic, etc before going to steel.

And in the RPM range you are using, HSS has a slight cutting advantage over carbide (dont hate me, Mr. Gwizard has a graph up that shows it. and that man has done his research)-so dont bother with carbide yet (IMHO of course).

A vise is important, a "clamping kit" is extremely important. 1-2-3 blocks are 10.00 a set at enco if you grab those cutters they are giving away. I use them alot. I am very happy with the priceerformance ratio, you can set them up like a Tsquare to scribe lines in small parts, run them across your work to cut down the burrs, use for setting up clamping configurations, etc.....

As Mr. Hoss said, read those articles. Clean with WD40 and I used Mobile 1 Synthetic 80wt gear oil on my machine and have been quite happy. I haven't tried vactra 4 yet, but that is next. You can get the mobile 1 80 weight at walmart here...

My wife is visual impairment specialist-you dont want to have to see her in a professional environment so use safety glasses. Dewalt has a set that are like 3 dollars each and they are the lightest most comfortable and clearest I have ever used buy several pairs so you always have one sitting in reach.

Go get the cheapest natural hair fibre paint brushes you cam, get a bunch. use those to clean your machine while you cut, and dip one in oil to lubricate your cutter while in progress.

a 5-10# box of rags from menards/homedepot/etc is the most used item in my shop. I love grabbing brand new clean ones then throwing them away when they are gross. They are made of Tshirt material and are the best rags ever IMHO..

No work gloves around this kind of equipment, it hooks and pulls your whole arm into whatever you are cutting...

hmm...then practice practice practice...Experiencial learning that doesn't kill you is the only real way to learn (again, in my humble opinion).

HAVE FUN! :-)

[pike3e]

Thanks for the links and the detailed information in the posts. I got it into my garage and will read the manual before proceeding. I am sure I will add a few more questions before I get up and running. I appreciate all the help

[hoss2006]

dont climb mill , if you do you WILL regret it big time

No problems climb milling here.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXG8idjegDg"]YouTube- G0704 Aluminum Hoggin music[/nomedia]

Hoss

[pike3e]

the manual talks about setting it on machine feet. Does anyone have a link to where I can get some. I have looked around a little and not had great luck.

Thanks

[allenj20]

the manual talks about setting it on machine feet. Does anyone have a link to where I can get some. I have looked around a little and not had great luck.

Thanks

Grizzly has them

http://www.grizzly.com/products/sear...achine%20mount

Also you can DIY some from hockey pucks which is what I normally do. You can get hockey pucks at most sporting goods stores and the hardware from your local hardware store.

http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCBlogMar08.htm