Mill stories

[plain ol Bill]

Alright you have had it long enough to have some stories, adventures to tell us about w/ your mill - spit it out buddy.

[Ed Caffrey]

Well, not much has happened. When the mill arrived it was missing some things (collets, manuals) and I had to call Grizzly to get those sent. The vise that came along with it is junk! I tried setting it up with aluminum jaws, and then tramming everything out......just no way. The el-cheapo vise that comes with the machine is just too squirrely to make it work right. Last Monday I ordered a new 5" precision milling vise from Enco, and just got it on Thursday.

The mill itself seems to be a pretty good machine. The first thing I noticed about it is that you can certainly tell that it was designed and made for SHORT people! The table is only about 30" from the floor. My first order of business before it arrived was to build a base that would bring it up to "my" height. So after building a "stout" 8" raised platform for it, it was "wait for it to arrive." I had it delivered to Swain Spring (Thanks Jeff!) and got a call from them that it had arrived. Jumped in the truck, stopped by the rental place (just a 1/4 mile from Swains) and rented a 5K forklift. Drove the forklift to Swains, lashed the crate to the forks and proceeded to drive it the 3 miles to my shop. Now, if you've never driven a 5K forklift for a few miles down the road in reverse, while trying to stay twisted around in the seat enough to see....then you haven't lived my friends! Of course the fact that there is no suspension on a forklift just adds to the experience....and not in a good way! (makes you feel like you've been kidney punched a few times!)

Anyway, now that the machine is actually set up with a decent vise, I can get some work done. This evening I started work on new batch of hammers. Since 4140 is such a bear to hot cut, I drill two 9/16" holes slightly overlapping, then mill out the web, THEN I can manage getting a handle hole drifted out. I drilled eight hammer heads this evening, and it was MUCH easier and faster than the old bench top mill. And ya know what.....it's really nice with the table isn't doing the hula like the old mill did!!!

What I like most and least about the new mill:

Most: -POWER FEED!!!! Sure beats cranking that handle until your shoulder is numb!
-The ease of loading and unloading tooling. The drawbar is easy to tighten/loosen, and there is no resistance when putting in a collet!
-Having a machine that is tight enough, and heavy enough that it doesn't do the hula when things get tough!
-220v SINGLE PHASE power. No need for a 3-phase converter.

Least liked: -The cheesy, cheap milling vise they send with the machine. If you added 50 ft of rope to it you MIGHT have a good boat anchor.
-Changing speeds! Once again they made the openings in the casing for hands of a 5' person....not someone my size.
-The cooling system: The nozzle is about the size of a garden hose! You can easily take a bath in the coolant if your not careful.

Tomorrow I'll do some more milling and facing when we get home from church...by then I should have some more things to yak about.

Overall the machine is a giant leap from what I had been using, and as of right now I think it's a very good deal for the money.

[B.Finnigan]

Originally Posted by Ed Caffrey

Drove the forklift to Swains, lashed the crate to the forks and proceeded to drive it the 3 miles to my shop. Now, if you've never driven a 5K forklift for a few miles down the road in reverse, while trying to stay twisted around in the seat enough to see....then you haven't lived my friends! Of course the fact that there is no suspension on a forklift just adds to the experience....and not in a good way! (makes you feel like you've been kidney punched a few times!)

Was the backup alarm beeping the whole way? If it was then that would make a good video to toss up on Youtube.com. But only if you were wearing a pirate costume.