Hello from Maumee, OH (near Toledo)

Just getting into metal, I am a former Master cabinetmaker. I will soon be retiring from my career as a purchasing agent for manufacturing. I no longer have the space to work wood and decided it takes too much space, is too dusty and noisy, so here I am. I would like to build operational model engines. I have minimal equipment so far. I have a 4x6 saw and a drill press and some hand tools. I bought a Logan 400 in pieces with a stuck 3 jaw chuck. Assembling the lathe was a learning experience, had to make some parts, but I did get it operational and it seems to be accurate with very little wear, may be a thou or less in the ways. I managed to get the chuck unstuck by making a left hand threaded piece to put through the head stock with nuts on both ends. I put a piece of 1-1/2 hex stock in the chuck and then I took very long breaker bars and a 3 pound hammer to it. I had soaked it good with Kroil for a week and after about 5-6 good whacks, it came loose with no damage. Now I keep anti-seize stuff on the threads. I bought a 4 jaw chuck and made a face plate. I am now designing a chuck shield so chips and oil don't fly all over the place. In the mean time I am looking for a mill and would love a Bridgeport style knee mill but I don't think I could get it into my basement shop. I will likely get some sort of small mill but when I read about the issues with plastic gears and inaccuracies, I am reluctant to go that route. Time will tell.

Welcome to the forum.
At the risk of being caned, I'll add my .02
I've worked in full blown job shops with equipment that could hold tenths (.0001)" all day. That being said, I've made some pretty nice "stuff" on my Smithy mill/lathe combo. With DRO's selling for under 50 bucks, and the knowledge to minimize backlash, these machines can be accurate "enough". Some complain about excessive set-ups, but I don't find that to be a huge problem. I only wish my machine had a quick change gear box.
Good luck, have fun,
Russ

Does anyone have experience with the belt drive mod for the Grizzly G0704 or G0759? That seems like it could be a solution for the gear failure issue.

I have the Optimum BF20L ( which is the same as the Grizzly G0704) for over two years and have never had an issue with the gears. The machine is good value for the money and the fact that it appears in so many blog sites all over the world must mean something. I have had occasion to fit a 30mm drill into the 3 Morse taper quill to open up holes in steel and with care the machine handled it OK. It has its limits like all tools. Cheers and welcome to the forum. Peter.

Thanks for the welcome and the info on the G0704 and like machines. I understand it isn't a Bridgeport and so I will have to use it with lighter cuts and perhaps there have not been as many failures as it seems since I don't read so much about all of the machines working just fine. Perhaps I will pull the trigger and get one on order. Another point about the set ups is I am not going to be in production so the set ups to me will just be part of the hobby, testing my equipment and myself to see how accurate I can get "products" that I make. I'd rather do that than sit around watching all the drivel on TV and turning my brain to oatmeal.

Look up Tom Meek in Defiance he is't far from you. A skilled self taught model maker and tell him machinejack sent you.

almega said:

Just getting into metal, Bridgeport style knee mill but I don't think I could get it into my basement shop. I will likely get some sort of small mill but when I read about the issues with plastic gears and inaccuracies, I am reluctant to go that route. Time will tell.

Click to expand...

I have a good friend that can no longer use his equipment. He was a machinist all his life and is selling his whole shop and some of his equipment is like new and very well tooled. He lives over around Pittsburgh. Give him a email and he will tell you what he has. He would like to sell all at one time if he can.

[email protected]

Good luck
Nelson

The belt drive for the minimill is a big step up from the original gear drive. I have one I adapted from some timing belt pulleys I salvaged. The mill is limited, I did use it for a number of years, but I now have a small Hardinge (nice sized, but most are rather expensive) horizontal that I use. Get the biggest machine you can afford and have space for. And you will ALWAYS have some operation wher ethe machine you have is too small, so you will learn how to work around the limits of the machine.

Thanks all for the welcome and advice. It is well appreciated. I did pull the trigger and order a G0759 and I'm just waiting for it to arrive.

Well, the G0759 has arrived. I moved the base into the basement and have unboxed the mill. It is still hooked to the pallet and it is much heavier than I expected. I am going to have to see if I can unbolt some pieces to lighten it so I can move it to the basement. Any suggestions?

Well, I finally got it moved to the basement. Here it is in all its radiant beauty. Set up, leveled and trammed with the vise mounted and trued in. It is ready for break-in, once I read the instructions about that. Then I will finally be able to make some shavings. I will need more lighting as well.

For lighting on my mill, after getting annoyed with shadows and flexible lights getting in the way, I went for the strip LED's you can buy cheaply and soldered a few pieces of them together to form a square around the spindle on the bottom of the head. Lights up the work perfectly with virtually no shadows, nothing gets in the way and costs about $5 when you consider how much material I have left over from the $15 purchase price. Here's a similar product I found on eBay as an example of the stuff: LINK

Cogsy, Thanks for the lighting tip. I like it and will give it a try.