[Trike]

So I just got my mill in and while cleaning it up I noticed a crack under the electronics box. I took the electronics box off to get a better idea of what's going on.

I couldn't remove it, but I didn't try very hard since I didn't want to crack it more and mess up the finish. This is what I found:

http://turborocco.com/gallery2/var/r...g?m=1321851927

Does that look ok? Someone mentioned in hoss'es thread that it might just be the bondo that's covering the bolt for the quill

I want to start disassembling the machine to clean all the ways and be able to move it onto the stand by myself. Is there a good process or order in taking it apart? I don't want to remove the column with the head on and not be able to assemble it back together by myself. Just how heavy is the column and head?

Sorry for the need to hand hold, I've never taken a mill apart before and just want to make sure I do this correctly and not damage anything.

Thanks

[LUCKY13]

I feel sure this is bondo/spot putty that was installed to cover something. It being a circle like that does make me wander just what they was covering up because most of the time its used to hide imperfections in the castings & its spread out a lot more.



Its already loose ( its not the casting cracked), so yuo may as well dig it out to see what your working with ( screw driver or picks will help get it out). Then if needed you can recover it with some better bondo/putty as needed. Its possible it has some pin holes from sand when it was cast under there. WHen you get all the bondo out if you go to install more use lacor thinner to clean the metal and this will help anything you use stick much better. If it has oil seaping through the metal then it will need drained & make sure you get all oil out of the speaping place or bondo will not stick again ( spraying the lacor thinner works great here but should be done outside for fire & health reasons).


If it does turn out to have pin holes or some leakable imperfection after you clean it then a layer of J&B weld would be good to use so it gets sealed back up. But it must be clean of oil film. Then bondo over the weld and all should be good.



AS far as taking the mill apart just read Hoss's G704 thread and you should be able to find any info yuo need. And your right lifting the column & head together is a bad idea. Lowering the head down to the table and using something like a block of wood to support it while you take the bolts out to remove the head will help. Around where the head swivels will be three or four bolts that will need removed to remove the head. Once the head is removed then removing the slide from the column for the head would be next, then remove the column.

Take any handles or switches or anything else you could break off the head & this will help make it safer & less chance of screw ups.


Remember the head should have oil in it & there should be a drain on the bottom of the casting with something like a set screw to remove for draining it. It may need cleaned out anyway & better oil installed would be best ( just incase of sand in the oil from where it was cast).


As far as weight I think atleast a couple people could handle the head, and maybe even one. But its best to be safe & try to have something like a engine hoist to lift the head. You can figure the head/motor & column will weight about half of the whole mills weight. And then you spit this up when seperating so two people should be able to manage it without a lift if you have to. But dont under estimate it, even if it where only 50lb it could be bad if you drop it.


Jess

[MikeSherman]

Remember the head should have oil in it & there should be a drain on the bottom of the casting with something like a set screw to remove for draining it. It may need cleaned out anyway & better oil installed would be best ( just incase of sand in the oil from where it was cast).

Unless that's something new, spindle bearings are only greased. Although, my mill was received last month with a small round sight glass on the head, it's purpose is not clear. Perhaps a rolling change to move to oil lube??

It's not difficult to move around the head or column by itself. One thing to add when removing the head - after you have removed the center bolt and the single t-bolt screw, there is also a small setscrew that rides in a groove on the center boss. Be sure to back that setscrew off or the head will just rotate and NOT pull off.

-Mike

[LUCKY13]

Yea guess it does depend on the machine having a gear head or not. your right on the bearings, even when they have a oil bath the bearings are greased & have seals Itss the gear for speeds on the RPM which use the oil.


A site glass is just take, its used to site the oil level. But even though it has it dosnt mean it needs oil. It could be a casting that has gears for some series & not for others. But if it has any drive gears inside, it needs oil. If it has a belt drive, more than likely it doesnt need oil. This would depend on the bearings again, because not all are sealed & have grease.



The bearings inside the quill would not get oil even if its used. That brings a nother thought to me, machines that dont have gears will be lighter in the head because of having no gears. Shew these RF-45 machines the head is so heavy it will hurt you. I wander how much wieght is lost after the guys do belt change overs. I dont think the G704's which this thread is about will have gears now that this is meantioned. This will be good, no leaks, less weight.



Jess

[Trike]

Awesome thanks guys for the tips.

As for the bondo plug, Some are suggesting it's the bolt that attaches to the quill, and the bolt head may have backed out and pushed the bondo out. the quill appears to be functioning fine though, I just want to make sure it's nothing serious.

I also have the round sight glass on the right side of the head. Mine had specks of blue grease in there.

The order I'm going to do this in, is:
1. Remove head from column.
2. Remove column from base.
3. Remove table from base.
4. Clean/lube all ways.
5. Place base onto stand.
6. Attach table to base.
7. Attach column to base.
8. Attach head to column.
9. Tram the mill.

Is there any other gotcha's or things to know while disassembling/reassembling, let me know. The tip about the set screw holding the head in is good. I'll stare some more at the manual to see if there's anything that's not obvious.

As I'm still very new to this. All I need to tram the mill is a spindle rod and dial test indicator/base for it? Is there an affordable dial test indicator that will get the job done? There seems to be a lot but I don't know which ones will be accurate enough.

I'm slowly tooling up as I go. Measuring equipment to tram the mill is first, So I'm trying to figure out everything I need to do that.

Thanks!

[hoss2006]

I have one of these DTI's and it works fine.
.030"/0.6mm LARGE .0005"/0.1mm DIAL TEST INDICATOR | eBay
You'll need something to hold it away from the spindle and this zero set is shown in my tramming videos.
shars.com - Zero Set Universal Attachment
Also, do you have collets? a drill chuck isn't good enough to hold the rod true for tramming.
you could get this kit instead.
LittleMachineShop.com - Inspection Kit, 6-Piece
Good luck, Hoss

[hoss2006]

Unfortunately, that crack looks to be opposite of the quill handle shaft so someone may have dropped the mill on that side
punching the quill shaft thru the casting, would explain the funked up quill handle rubber.
If your planning on doing away with the quill for cnc it shouldn't be a problem.
The rest of the casting around the spindle is pretty stout around there so it should be fine.
Hoss

[dugpits]

Unless that's something new, spindle bearings are only greased. Although, my mill was received last month with a small round sight glass on the head, it's purpose is not clear. Perhaps a rolling change to move to oil lube??

It's not difficult to move around the head or column by itself. One thing to add when removing the head - after you have removed the center bolt and the single t-bolt screw, there is also a small setscrew that rides in a groove on the center boss. Be sure to back that setscrew off or the head will just rotate and NOT pull off.
-Mike

+1 on that. Been there done that - didn't know why the blasted thing wouldn't come apart.


There is not oil in the head - just grease. There are some thread topics talking about the glass "oil check gauge" - just there for show. (Unless something has DRASTICALLY changed in the last year. I received mine 2/2011 with a machine made date of 11/2010 and it has the glass - just grease inside).

I want to start disassembling the machine to clean all the ways and be able to move it onto the stand by myself. Is there a good process or order in taking it apart? I don't want to remove the column with the head on and not be able to assemble it back together by myself. Just how heavy is the column and head?

Having recently taken mine apart for converting - I would take off the head, take down the column. At this point you MAY be able to move it by yourself - I cannot - I am not strong enough for that - BE CAREFUL. At this point unless you really want to "take it apart" I would get someone to help and lift the table assy onto the stand - then put the column and head back on. Would be easy for 2 people.

Otherwise...

At that point you would remove one end cap from the x-axis table, remove table 2 ways: 1. You could use the remaining handwheel to take the table all the way off - watch your bearings. I wouldn't recommend this because it leaves the leadscrew unsupported flopping around - not to mention much more cumbersome putting it back together (have to line up the screw AND the dovetail). 2. Take both handwheels off and you could take the leadscrew out (use a drill and grip the leadscrew end and zip it out - see pic). Remember then to loosen gib and slide it off. Then the saddle/base combo is very manageable.

Refer to the manual for the parts breakdown and you can see what has to come apart better than my explanation:

http://cdn0.grizzly.com/partslists/g0704_pl.pdf

Again - I recommend getting help from someone at head/column/table assy breakdown.

I am a lightweight and this is my first mill also - and I was able to move the head myself - just have somewhere to go with it (have a plan). Same with the column, though it seemed a bit clunky to put it back together (standing it up, holding, aligning the bolts back in the holes...). The main problem with these parts is not the weight (they're stout but not ridiculous), just the awkwardness of where to grip the castings.

Good luck

-Doug

[MikeSherman]

If it were my mill, I'd have a call into Grizzly. Not so much for how I would be using the mill, but for resale value later on. A cracked housing is usually a red flag for prospective buyers.

Something to think about before you tear into it.

-Mike

[Trike]

Unfortunately, that crack looks to be opposite of the quill handle shaft so someone may have dropped the mill on that side
punching the quill shaft thru the casting, would explain the funked up quill handle rubber.
If your planning on doing away with the quill for cnc it shouldn't be a problem.
The rest of the casting around the spindle is pretty stout around there so it should be fine.
Hoss

Hrmm.. that does make sense/ while I was cleaning it, I removed the quill handles and noticed some were bent.

I do plan on cnc'ing it in the future, but would still like the capability of using the quill. What are some things I need to check for to make sure the quill still functions correctly? Or would it be better to contact grizzly for a replacement head, if that's even possible?

[Trike]

I have one of these DTI's and it works fine.
.030"/0.6mm LARGE .0005"/0.1mm DIAL TEST INDICATOR | eBay
You'll need something to hold it away from the spindle and this zero set is shown in my tramming videos.
shars.com - Zero Set Universal Attachment
Also, do you have collets? a drill chuck isn't good enough to hold the rod true for tramming.
you could get this kit instead.
LittleMachineShop.com - Inspection Kit, 6-Piece
Good luck, Hoss

Thanks hoss for the suggestions.
Are they both decently accurate? since I dont have anything yet, the package at little machineshop is appealing to me. That would be all I need to tram it? I'll order some collets when I make a order.

[Trike]

Dugpits,

Thanks a lot for the info, that helps quite a bit. Also gives me more confidence in doing it myself. I guess the main question before I tear into, is whether or not I want to replace it.

One other thing I noticed while breaking in the motor, I noticed the drawbar shaft up top doesn't run completely true. It's not as noticeable at higher speeds speeds, but it does look off. If that's supposed spin true, then something is wrong. I'll be more inclined to get a replacement if that's the case, since they dropped it, the drawbar could've also hit something on the way down.

[hoss2006]

Grizzly is unlikely to send you a replacement head, more likely to just have to return the whole thing and sell this one at a tent sale.
Get on the horn anyway, make sure to sound peeved as you should, you may get a nice coupon for something if you decide to keep the mill.
That kind of force really shouldn't have damaged the gearing inside but try it, make sure the quill moves up and down smoothly.
Hoss

[hoss2006]

Thanks hoss for the suggestions.
Are they both decently accurate? since I dont have anything yet, the package at little machineshop is appealing to me. That would be all I need to tram it? I'll order some collets when I make a order.

They aren't Starretts but they are fine.
I'd still get a zero set for the dti.
Hoss

[dugpits]

One other thing I noticed while breaking in the motor, I noticed the drawbar shaft up top doesn't run completely true. It's not as noticeable at higher speeds speeds, but it does look off. If that's supposed spin true, then something is wrong. I'll be more inclined to get a replacement if that's the case, since they dropped it, the drawbar could've also hit something on the way down.

that could just be the retainer cup - and if you don't have anything in the spindle it might be shifting around.

You need to check the runout of the spindle taper itself.

Hoss has a video he did after replacing the bearings here:

hossmachine's Channel - YouTube

Hoss's exact setup isn't necessary to duplicate - you just need to check the spindle taper. The set with the DTI indicator and magnetic holder can be used the same.

I have a Shars (ebay DiscountMachine) 0-30 DTI similar and it has worked fine. Actually, I have a shars brand and a Mitutoyo (or is it Starett??) and I haven't noticed any major difference in readings.

You do still need the tramming equipment to hold the indicator in the spindle and allow for a swing.

Also - if you have a HarborFreight near you, you can pick up from time to time a digital 6" caliper for $9.99 (maybe black friday??). Yeah, it's a harbor freight brand - but I've had ZERO problems with mine. I got 2 just in case one bit it, but still rocking on #1. I use it practically every day and I like the digital so you can rezero at any point and use metric and english with the push of a button.

-Doug

[Trike]

Thanks, for the suggestions on the DTI. I'm not sure what the quality is like with the littlemachine shop package, but If I decide to get the package, I'll pick up the Zero set for it too. Otherwise I can pick them up through shars.

I called grizzly and they had me send pictures of the mill to them. I'm waiting to hear back from them.

[jeremy0203]

to move mine i took off the whole head and slide assembly(had to anyways since i was converting it to CNC. and i removed the whole table. so all i had to lift was the column and base. was a cinch.

[Trike]

while I wait on Grizzly now, I started looking for measuring equipment.
Since I have a digital caliper, I probably don't need the while package. I picked out the following three. What do you think?

Dial Indicator w/base
DTI
Zero Set Indicator

I'll have to look elsewhere for drill rods and collets.

[hoss2006]

Those are good choices, Discount Machine Shop is one of my favorites.
Technically still Shars but even cheaper.
Hoss

[Trike]

Grizzly called me back this morning. They're going to replace it. Have to wait for another call from their freight department now. Hopefully I can nail the crate back together correctly.