[wolfend]

Ordered the new mill on 1/29. Delivered by UPS last Tuesday 2/23. That day I was only able to uncrate and hoist onto stand with shop crane. The machine itself was pristine with no damage whatsoever, despite a few minor gashes in the crate. The stand, which is shipped in a cardboard box, did not fare quite so well. The door on the stand was a bit tweaked, would not close properly, and required some persuasion to bend the "hinges" so it would close. Nothing bad enough, for me at least, to require replacement.

This weekend spent time doing the cleanup, break-in, and set-up. Machine seems really nicely made and I am very pleased with the build quality. When I did the spindle break-in, I observed the same behavior that Hoss documented in his break-in video. I don't think this is a problem, just the way the design works. Specifically, the direction switch has to be in either the F or R positions (not the middle, neutral position) when you push the green "on" button in order for the motor to come on. Pressing the green on button when the direction switch is in the middle position will not turn on the motor.

I initially planned to bolt the stand to the garage floor, but after fooling around with shimming to level and seeing what a pain in general it was going to be to bolt it down, I have decided to go with the machine mount approach as described in the manual as one of the recommended options. I have 3" diameter ones on order from Grizzly. This will make it much easier to level, will help damp the system, and I believe will make for an overall better install on my garage’s concrete floor.

It was when I tried to install some R8 tooling that I ran into drawbar problems. I had purchased an R8 collet set from Enco and the G0704 comes with a B16xR8 arbor and drill chuck. No matter what I tried, I simply could not get the drawbar to engage in the threads of any of the collets or the arbor. I hesitate to reveal how long I struggled to make this happen. I was very careful in making sure the internal taper of the spindle was clean, there was no debris, etc. I tried gently tapping the arbor (w/o chuck installed) with a dead blow hammer to push it farther up into spindle, etc., etc. No luck.

The drawbar is a captive design and, initially, it was not clear to me how to remove it. It is actually very simple- just unscrew the “retainer cup” (ref 246-2) from the spindle, while holding the spindle’s lower portion with the hand. The drawbar can then be removed from the top. After removing, I verified the drawbar threads did engage just fine with the collets and arbor. I then put a collet in the spindle and inserted a thin piece of aluminum rod stock into the spindle from the top to use to determine the distance from the top of the spindle to the start of the threads in the collet. I then compared this distance with the length of the drawbar from the end of the threaded portion up to the shoulder that sits on top of the spindle. I discovered that this part of the drawbar was at least 0.3” too short- there was no way for the drawbar to even reach the threads of the collet.

I am not sure if the fundamental problem is the wrong drawbar, or something in the assembly of the machine, bad collets/arbor, user error, or what, but I decided to take matters into my own hands. I chucked the drawbar in a 5C collet in my lathe (G0602) with the shoulder part extending a short distance from the chuck and faced (from the left) the surface of the shoulder that sits on top of the spindle in order to remove material so that the drawbar end would hang lower in the spindle. I carefully removed a bit at a time, testing in the mill after each bit was removed, until the drawbar hung low enough to engage the threads in the collets and arbor. After doing this, the drawbar drew the collets or arbor up into the spindle just at it should. After making this mod, when the retainer cup was screwed back on the top of the spindle, the drawbar did not extend far enough up through the hole in the cup to grip securely with a wrench. Therefore, I also reduced the length of this cup by facing the open end in the lathe by the same amount as the amount of material I had removed from the drawbar shoulder.
I am very curious to see if others encounter this issue or if it something really stupid that I missed. In any case, I am happy with the results and everything now works great and I have made some initial cuts with the with good results. Also, prior to making this mod, I carefully measured and documented the initial dimensions of the drawbar and I could make a new one if I need to in the future.

[hoss2006]

Might be a problem with your drawbar, I have over 3/8 thread engagement with an R8 collet.
My drawbar is 9 3/4 end to end with 8 inches from the shoulder to the end of the threads.
Hoss

[Enraged]

Where are you located? I'm in Victoria BC and order 1/25, curious to see where your machine came from.

[Crevice Reamer]

QUOTE=wolfend;741834]I am not sure if the fundamental problem is the wrong drawbar, or something in the assembly of the machine, bad collets/arbor, user error, or what.....[/QUOTE]

Hi wolfend. Welcome to the Zone!

Uh, I assume you DO know that R8 tooling has a notch, and won't go fully into the spindle unless the notch is turned to line up properly, Right?

What are your drawbar dimensions? Did your original drawbar match Hoss's drawbar dimensions?

CR.

[wolfend]

Enraged- I live in the Phoenix AZ area and my machine was shipped from St Louis MO.

Mr. Reamer- Uh, I DO know about the R8 tooling notch guide pin. The collet was fully up in the spindle, the drawbar just did not reach.

My drawbar is 9.225" end to end, compared to the 9.75 Hoss measured. The distance from the shoulder to the end of the threads was 7.485" before I made the mod. After, it is now 7.780"- closer to the 8" Hoss measured.

Actually, I think I may have figured out the problem. I believe my mill came with the wrong drawbar installed- I believe it is a metric M10 drawbar. It is 9.94mm in diameter and when I put a thread guage to it, I found the thread pitch is not 20 as it would be with a 7/16-20 drawbar. The threads were close enough, however, to support engagement for several turns in the collet- enough to draw the collet into the spindle after I made the mod so the drawbar would reach the collet threads. I will call grizzly tomorrow to ask for the correct drawbar, but I have a feeling with a new machine like this, they will not have parts on hand. In the meantime, I will make a new drawbar of the proper dimensions on my lathe.

[iGG1e]

Both my model equivalent of the G0704 and SX3 came with metric drawbars. Had to make my own for both. Kind of takes the initial hook it up and play excitement out of getting a new mill.

[rlfervan]

So I have been using the Grizzly G0704 for a couple weeks and have some impressions and observations. I have it trammed in Very close to 0. In both z/x and z/y It took 2 sheets of paper above the screws and some raps with a rubber mallet. Test cut with a fly cutter show a couple things.
1 column is pretty square and 2 I don’t know how to grind the fly cutter Any help welcomed.
I am not to impressed with acme screw and nut on X either too much slop or too tight. I want to make a knob to tighten the draw bar, spinning the 8mm end with fingers no fun. other than that no draw bar issues. 6 inch vise is too big. Should have went with 4 or 5inch. Over all I am very happy with the mill and the tooling from The Little Machine Shop. Can’t wait to see the cnced projects start to develop.

[Twmaster]

Did you get the X axis slop/tightness sorted out? I'm going to buy a new benchtop mill/drill and this machine is one I am considering.

Any other issues pop up yet?

[rlfervan]

Yes I got it a lot better by adjusting the gibs and the nut to the point I am happy with it and stopped messing with it. No other issues to speak of there is room to improve some things but I ma very happy with the mill.

[brojt]

I'm new to this forum but wanted to share my experience with the G0704 Mill.
I received my G0704 2 weeks after I placed the order. Grizzly informed my that the machines were on back order when I placed the order and that was OK as I needed to finish up some garage re-arrangement.
I received my mill on June 3, 2010. The first thing I noticed is that the Box for the stand was split open. I decided to open it while the truck driver was still here so I could examine it for any damage. Well it was pretty sad. Bent on 2 corners, more than acceptable. I called Grizzly while the driver waited. I was told that Grizzly would replace the stand and I could refuse the entire shipment or just the stand, or keep it all and return the stand when I got the new one. I decided to keep it and would return the damaged stand when the new one arrived.
The stand is shipped in a cardboard box with just a thin sheet of bubble wrap arond it. I'm surprised that the damage wasn't greater.
See Picture: http://jtechdesign.com/G0704/G0704_Stand.html
As I examine the machine I will post my findings.

[LX Kid]

I'm pretty sure I'm gong to get the Grizzly G0704 and was wondering if you had Amy more concerns with your mill? After having it awhile now what are your second opinions? Thanks