Buying a new mill

M

micad

Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
280
Hi guys,

I don't post here very often, but do a lot of lurking....there's been a lot posted in the past on the subject of milling machines, but nothing I could find on this particular one.

Origionally, I started looking for a mill/drill but this machine seems like a better way to go. Do any of you have any experience with this one? What do you think?

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=G3102

The biggest negative (to me) that I've found so far is that it's made in China.

Thanks in advance...........

Mike
 
Looks like a nice little machine to me. It seems to overcome many issues that traditional mill/drills have. Small enough to move yet flexable. It looks like a nice choice to me.

John
 
Mike, I have a little mini mill and love it to death but know of someone close buy that has a grizzly just like that one and it is awesome. Im not sure how it would compare to others in that price range but from my experience with grizzly, I dont think you will go wrong with this choice.

Shane
 
i also looked at that one. from my studing that would be fine for most knife
making i am getting the full knee mill http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?itemnumber=G3616but i expect to use it primarly for milling damascus billets and heavier work-- though as far as china made i spoke to several folks that is considered quite knowlegeable in
our habit ==don robinson,ray rogers and others all said the grizzly or enco would get the job done and quite close in price comes down to shipping who is closer to you would be the cheapest.
 
Mike I'm some what familar with the mill your looking at. The Chinees machines have come a long way in the last few years. Wish mine had the tilting head, like this one. The only question that I see in the mill is does it change speeds easily. Many of the bridge port copies, also carried by the Griz, as well as harbor freight, seem a little bit easier, or quicker to use. If your going for serface prep on billett, you might want to consider a serface grinder, with a magnetic chuck. Also check out MSC at www.mscdirect.com Harborfreight.com Good Luck, M.S. Lovett
 
Mike, I bought one of the mills your looking at and when I got it home and uncrated the dang thing it was rusted solid. Looked like they had used it as a boat anchor for about a month. A call to Grizzly and they checked all the remaining stock in all the warehouses around the country and came to find out all of them were rusted the same way as mine. They neglected to oil the metal on the unpainted surfaces before shipping these machines across the sea and they all arrived in the US rusted solid. Had to wait several weeks for a new shipment to arrive by slow boat from China and then the new mill was a piece of crap after uncrating it dragging it into the shop and setting it up. The motor quit right out of the box and then the fun really started. None of the parts Grizzly shipped me would fit the machine. They sent me a couple different motors,mounting brackets and nothing they sent would fit my machine. Come to find out that each machine must be drilled and fitted one at a time because none of the parts would fit my machine. I did finally get a new motor to fit after they sent me the complet swing arm with the motor that the motor attach's to but it just kind of hung down and put the belt in a big bind.Then the power feed and the on and off switch quit. I had the same problem trying to fix them, nothing they sent me would fit my mill. The holes didn't line up on the parts they sent just like they didn't line up with the motor that quit. Finally after several weeks and a bunch of phone calls, Grizzly decide to up grade me to a bigger model made in a different country as to my request not to send me another China made machine. The new mill they sent had the motor go out of it a couple of weeks later but at least the new one they sent fit. Another problem I had with the mill your looking at is that it didn't even come with any kind of operation manual and come to find out the Mfg didn't even make one for this model. I hope you have better luck with this mill than I did.

Good luck, I think your going to need a lot of it if you buy this mill !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ron
 
Mike, I don't have any experience with the grizzly but I did consider it when I purchased a Shure Line out of California. This is a nice machine that comes with a lot of information and options. A little more pricey, but a fine piece of machinery.
 
micad said:
Hi guys,

I don't post here very often, but do a lot of lurking....there's been a lot posted in the past on the subject of milling machines, but nothing I could find on this particular one.

Origionally, I started looking for a mill/drill but this machine seems like a better way to go. Do any of you have any experience with this one? What do you think?

http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=G3102

The biggest negative (to me) that I've found so far is that it's made in China.

Thanks in advance...........

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike, I'll add my two cents to this.

That mill in your link looks okay to me if all you ever do are things relating to knife-work on it. I have one similar to it, which I bought for my home shop. Soon as I lost my job and could no longer depend on using the machines at work, the little mill's shortcomings were quickly revealed.

The mill itself is fine for small work, such as knife parts, but will give you a lot of headaches if you use it for anything big. The Chinese imports are also not finished very well, and need a lot of TLC to get them to work precisely and safely. There are a lot of sharp edges on these machines that will slice you to the bone if not deburred.

So here are my thoughts about getting the machine: You are looking at $2000 by the time you get that delivered. Don't fool yourself - they are heavy too. You are looking at around 600 lbs+ for that rig. Ask yourself if you will ever use it for much more than knife work. If so, why not consider a used Bridgeport? There are thousands of them out there for around the $2k mark. Many of them will come with tooling already!

Now if you say that all you will be doing at the most will be slotting guards and some other knife work, then consider the Harbor Frieght mini-mill. The are only about $400 and they are preety nice for what you spend. Well worth the money. LittleMachineShop.com has loads of parts, upgrades and accessories the mini-mills, even DROs and power feeds!

Remember, a machine that is never used to its capacity is a waste.
 
R.Duncan said:
Mike, I bought one of the mills your looking at and when I got it home and uncrated the dang thing it was rusted solid.
Click to expand...

Holy Smokes, Ron. Talk about a big can of worms Grizzly must have gone through with those machines!

For the record, I would like to state that my mill is a Jet. The crating was rock-solid and the thing was covered with so much grease it took me a gallon of mineral spirits and half a day to get it cleaned up.

Also for the record, I'll be ditching this thing as soon as I can afford a better mill.
 
I have never had any trouble with grizzly,I have bought alot from them and they have been outstanding,the mill you are looking at is very good for the money.the one thing I would ad to it would be a digital read out,they do have some backlash on them.....
 
I have a Smithy 3 in 1 that I bought at least 15 years ago. Only issues I've had with it is revamping the headstock rigidity and a switch problem. Other than that its been fine for the small jobs it was designed to accomplish. You can get tooling for it much cheaper at places like Enco, etc. than at Smithy, however. When I started to contemplate making folders I figured maybe an upgrade would be nice for finer accuracy and I started to look around. I came across a Shopmaster Eldorado bridgemill (shoptask.com) and the literature at least looked pretty good. What caught my eye was the headstock rigidity looked much improved over mine.I never did buy it cause the small Smithy worked just fine. Has anyone purchased one of these 3 in 1's from Shoptask? I would love to hear a review on this product from someone, and if favorable, could be added to the list of possibles for another maker in the market for a mill. Thanx, Pat McGroder
 
Nice machine! New tools are always great to get.
Like Xmas in May!
Let us know how this machine does for you .

Have fun.
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the input!

The level of knowledge here (and the eagerness to share it) is really appreciated!

Ron, that's one heck of a horror story! I think that after reading of your experiences and the comments from JHiggins that I will look for something else. Who knows, maybe I'll find a good used Bridgeport.

JHiggins, at one time the mini-mill was seriously considered. But then I got the bug to make integrals, as well as folders, and figured the little mini was way too small.

The search continues...............

Mike
 
We have several of that exact model at work that we use for light jobs (including hogging through 1/4" A-2 steel). All were purchased over the past year and all (3) came in fairly good condition. Really, the only problem we've had has been leaky fittings on the one-touch lube manifold. The examples we've seen didn't really require any deburring or other work to get them going other than a good cleaning.

They ARE heavy. About 830 pounds, actually. And they come already mounted on that stand, so they're extremely top-heavy. Be prepared for that.

Ultimately, I'm with Higgy on the used Bridgeport issue. My boss won't pay more than $2000 for a Bridgeport and we've got a ton of them. (We use the Grizzly units where space is a concern.) The Grizzlys are nice, but every time I can't get at the one I usually use and end up on a Bridgeport I get a feeling of "Ahhh. This is nice." If you've got the space and the means to move it (and the means to power it, since most BPs are 3-phase and the Grizz comes wired for Household), get a Bridgeport.

If you do get the Grizz, get some leveling feet like these.

-Allin
 
F. Allin Kahrl said:
We have several of that exact model at work that we use for light jobs (including hogging through 1/4" A-2 steel). All were purchased over the past year and all (3) came in fairly good condition. Really, the only problem we've had has been leaky fittings on the one-touch lube manifold. The examples we've seen didn't really require any deburring or other work to get them going other than a good cleaning.

They ARE heavy. About 830 pounds, actually. And they come already mounted on that stand, so they're extremely top-heavy. Be prepared for that.

Ultimately, I'm with Higgy on the used Bridgeport issue. My boss won't pay more than $2000 for a Bridgeport and we've got a ton of them. (We use the Grizzly units where space is a concern.) The Grizzlys are nice, but every time I can't get at the one I usually use and end up on a Bridgeport I get a feeling of "Ahhh. This is nice." If you've got the space and the means to move it (and the means to power it, since most BPs are 3-phase and the Grizz comes wired for Household), get a Bridgeport.

If you do get the Grizz, get some leveling feet like these.

-Allin
Click to expand...

There's NOTHING like the feel of a Bridgeport eh, Allin? When you've used them, you'll understand. Its like you get to eat Oreos and fresh milk every day, and then you are forced to eat Hydrox and powdered milk. :barf: They get the job done, but its nothing like the real thing.
 
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