[wildonewest]

I ordered the G0704 from grizzly a week or so ago and Grizzly said they will start being delivered the first week of January.

With all the research I did on this machine I seen somewhere the motors are now 800 watts and now I can't remember where I read it at so as of now "it's only a rumor."

I've been a mechanic for 25 years for Dodge and Toyota and the last 5 years as a underground coal mine mechanic now retired. I bought the G0704 machine to add to my shop so that I can try gunsmithing, since you can't get your guns worked on around here unless you wait 5-6 months and then the work is shabby at best and most gunsmiths don't even know what a 1918 BAR is.



My question is;

I would like to add DRO to this machine and since the spindle has DRO I'm thinking on getting just a 2 axis DRO kit from LMS or would it be better to go with the 3 axis DRO kit?



Thanks!

[Fastest1]

Dont forget DroPros or the drostore online. Both have great products as does LMS. If money isnt an issue by all means get the 3 axis. Much better to have everything right in front of you! LOL

[Starleper1]

shabby at best

I would say this about the quill DRO. Get a full 3 axis DRO and save yourself a headache.

[wildonewest]

Yeah, That's the only reason I could come up with by getting the 3 axis unit, just for practicality of it ( And less headaches). But then again, what do I know. Not much on mills and laths! That's why I'm here so I can learn this stuff.

I will check out the on line DRO stores and do more research like I did on the LMS DRO's, they are all about the same price. I just need to shop and research for the best one I can afford.

[Fastest1]

Btw the drostore is an ebay business out of Singapore? i think That is where I got mine and it is a very nice unit labeled "CHFOIC". There seems to be a lot of repackaging or labeling of the same DROs.

[photomankc]

You want to mill by raising and lowering the head, not the quill. If you replace the craptastic plastic block that attaches it with something metal and square it all up so it can't rock around then the quill DRO can be useful. I use it to touch-off the last few thousandths by lowering the head, setting that to zero and then lowering the quill till I just pinch down on a 0.025" feeler gauge. I then know I can drop the quill another 0.025" and lock it and be within +/- 0.0015 of the surface. After that, I never touch the quill again. All other Z moves I do on the column. I added a cheapo DRO to my X and Z and they made life a TON easier. Never got around to Y. I started converting to CNC before I got to that.

[wildonewest]

I would like to thank everyone for there input to my question about DRO's!!!

I think at this point I may order the TDS-3i LCD kit which is the 3 axis kit for a price of $510.00.

I will keep an open mind for other suggestion that you all may have before I place the order sometime this week.

Someday I would like to convert to CNC but for now I need to learn to make some chips. Heck, I don't even have the mill yet so I don't even know what it feels like to touch one let alone work with one!............. :-)

Chris

[Fastest1]

There will be plenty of challenges ahead then. Dont worry about cnc right off. Sure dont watch Hoss and others on youtube (I am kidding just dont be discouraged), they definitely get results you wont get for a while. You will really need to start accumulating vises, calipers, micrometers, 123 blocks, end mills, fly cutters, collets, and the list goes on. It has been mentioned before that tooling is where the real price is. It is true, the machine is probably the least expensive of the equation. Great start.

[wildonewest]

I called Grizzly yesterday to ck on my G0704 order to make sure it was still going out tomorrow and they said no. but MAYBE by 1-21-11. So I canceled the order and just ordered the HF 44991 just to get started and with a 20% coupon it only cost $544 shipped to my house. Not a bad deal I think.

OK now you got to remember that I never touched a mill before let alone used one so with that I'm thinking of starting small with the HF mill and see how it goes and by taking it apart piece by piece to clean it, learning how to adjust the gibs, setting it up correctly will be good for me to learn how these things work.
Then when the G0704 is readily avalible with out waiting 2,3.4 or more months is when I will order one but for now I can play with the HF unit. I also ordered the LMS starter kit/tooling package and the air spring conversion kit today. I'm holding off on the belt drive kit untill I get my HF mill because the specs on the HF mill reads "belt drive".

Are they now Belt drive?

Tomorrow I will order the DRO kit from the dro store!

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated and Happy new year to all.
Thanks, Chris

[Starleper1]

Chris,

No they are not belt drive. I believe the SX2 with the brushless motor is but the mill you bought is not belt driven. Must have been a typo. They use plastic gears that break sooner or later (usually sooner.) I suggest getting your self a belt drive kit ahead of time.

Think of it as an Advil for that headache you'll want to avoid.

By the way check out my store, I sell belt drives for the X2 as well.

Have a nice day.

~Scott

[luv2ride]

Chris,

No they are not belt drive. I believe the SX2 with the brushless motor is but the mill you bought is not belt driven...

~Scott

I got my HF x2 about a month ago and saw the same thing in the advertisement. They are no belt driven unfortunately. With the 20% I think the HF is the way to go, without it I would order the LMS Hi-torque instead. I can't wait to some day move up to a bigger mill.

[wildonewest]

Thanks, I will order one next week! Yours is a lot cheaper then LMS and LMS prices are going up on a lot of there stuff like the air spring conversion is up $10.00 more and the belt conversion kit is now $145.00
The 3900 mill is way to much with shipping of $150.00. For that much money it should have the air spring kit and the 20 TPI feed screw kit with it.
Speaking of the 20 TPI screw kit. Would it still help to convert my HF mill with the 20 TPI kit now that I'm getting a DRO kit for it? Seem to me with the DRO I will not be needing to watch the X and Y division dials.
Thanks, Chris







YouTube - strangefire1's Channel

[wildonewest]

I got my HF x2 about a month ago and saw the same thing in the advertisement. They are no belt driven unfortunately. With the 20% I think the HF is the way to go, without it I would order the LMS Hi-torque instead. I can't wait to some day move up to a bigger mill.

I'm with you on that! If I didn't get the 20% off and the $28 shipping to Colorado I would of ordered the LMS 3900

First I was going with the HF mill, then I found the LMS 3900 and then someone told me if your going to spend that kind of money just go ahead and get the G0704. Geez, Now I'm back to the HF mill. I have no regrets except I should of ordered the HF the first time because I would be playing with it now!!!







YouTube - strangefire1's Channel

[Starleper1]

Would it still help to convert my HF mill with the 20 TPI kit now that I'm getting a DRO kit for it?

No the DRO doesn't care what TPI your lead screws are. It reads position from a scale.

The X2 is a great place to start for beginners. I think now though, instead of upgrading to an X3 for the "larger mill" most are going right with the BF20 style machines. eg.. PM25MV, G0704 etc..

This place is a wealth of information. So before you go and break that $40 carbide endmill, be sure to ask first

Happy New Year