New mill is on the way

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gbritnell

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Hi gang,
Well the new mill is ordered. It should be here within a week. I looked at Bridgeports, Bridgeport clones, mills similar to Bridgeports, some larger, some smaller, and I came to the conclusion that I didn't have a tractor to try and lower it down into the basement so I settled for what I believe is the next best thing.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/VS-Milling-Machine-with-Ram-Head/G0695
It has some nice features, some I'm not crazy about but I can live with. First and foremost it has a knee. Second it has a variable speed with reverse. Third it has 20 inches of space between the spindle and the table.
I'll keep you updated on the arrival, disassembly, move to the basement, reassembly and set-up.
George
 
Good for you George! Looking forward to the report!

Dave
 
George,

Like yourself, I used to use a mill/drill for many years but now I have one with a knee lift, I could never go back.

It makes life so much easier.

I had to have fitted a power feed onto it as I couldn't raise it too well with the power I have left in my arms. That bit of kit transforms the way you can use the machine, especially for large drilling and boring, I can get surface finishes that I could never achieve before.

I was astounded at what you produced on your old mill, goodness knows what you will be able to do with this new one.


John
 
That looks like a winner George!!! ;D

Nice solid construction and a one shot lube system!!!! :eek:
Looking forward to the trip to the basement and the first project!!! :big:

Andrew
 
I have the 1979 LuxMill version of that Grizzly Mill. You'll be happy with it.


DSC00412.JPG
 
I've got a 1985 Jet version of that milling machine. It's been pretty good. This Grizzly looks better, assuming it's of decent quality and is probably is. The Grizzly has a VFD, a one-shot oiler, and 2" of Z space. I had to buy a VFD, there is no one-shot oiler, and the Z space maxes out at around 12 3/4". You can sort-of see mine in my photo.

According to a friend of mine, the white/cream machines are Grizzly's "premium" line and are of better quality than the green machines. FWIW.
 
Very nice. This one doesn't require a tractor then? Just slam it onto a hand truck, get your wife on the other end to keep it upright and down the stairs you go? ;D
 
Hi Trout,
Boy I wish it was that simple. I will be breaking it down into manageable bits to make the move. That will also give me a chance to see if there is any 'debris' lurking in the shadows.
George
 
Even in smaller pieces, it will still be a handfull. Be carefull and watch out for your back. Hope the new one only increases your capabilities by 10 fold!!!!! Does this mean that your radial engine project may be put on hold till you are acquainted with your new toy? Anyhow, congratulations and good luck to ya.
 
Good luck with the new toy, tool, turret mill. ::)

Best Regards
Bob
 
A few hints, which you may or may not find useful:

Assuming your new mill disassembles more or less like mine, you should find nearly all the pieces can be managed by a single person if you grunt loudly enough, though by "managed" I mean "lifted well enough to disassemble the mill without having anything drop on the floor because it's too heavy." You will appreciate a hand truck.

The exception to single-person moving is the column and base. I took the two apart and I still found the two pieces more than I could lift individually, though I admit I am no weightlifter. I managed with a hand truck and creative rigging, but a second person would have helped a lot.

It would be advantageous, if you can manage it, to move the column+base as a unit. The joint between them is not dowel pinned, just bolted, and it's possible to reassemble with the knee screw slightly out of line with its nut in the base.

FYI: The table comes off mine by removing the left-hand handwheel/leadscrew bracket from the table and unscrewing the leadscrew from the nut, at which point the table can be slid off the saddle. Be careful of the gib.
 
Thanks fellows,
The owner of my old Enco is coming with a friend tomorrow evening to haul it away. I'm going to start taking it apart to give him a head start. I took pictures of all the digital hookups and mounts so he shouldn't have trouble reassembling it.
George
 
Congratulations, George. Ought to make a great addition to your shop.

Chuck
 
I installed a similar mill in my basement, down a narrow flight of stairs, alone. It is a Clausing 8525, that is about the same size and weight, and I am a little guy. First, I took the pieces down with a big rubber tired hand-truck. Hoping not to sound like a braggard, I then used the Egyptian method. That is, levers, wedges, and ramps. Seriously, I took it apart into the several big pieces, table, knee, motor, etc., and gradually walked each piece up to it's required height with a big pry bar, stacks of 4 x 4 wood blocks, and many wedges. It took a few hours, but except for the motor and it's mount, I didn't actually lift very much, and it all went back together by sliding across the wood blocks. If you approach it right, you only have to lift one end of each piece at a time.
 
That is about the same size as my Clausing 8520. I upgraded from a Grizzly Mini Mill. I really enjoy using my Clausing. I recently added a DRO to it, and I have to tell you I never want to use a mill with out a DRO again! I still have the Mini Mill as it is nice some time to have a 2nd mill. I will be adding a DRO to it also, but not as nice of one as I have on the Clausing. When I got it I removed the tables, knee, motor and head. My son and I carried everything but the column down the steps. Used a two wheel truck to get the column down the steps. Was not that hard of a move. Much easier than my 12x40 lathe!

Dale
 
The new mill is here. It came by UPS freight.
The shipping weight is 1200 lbs. so I had 2 of my friends lined up to give me a hand. Having never done this before I didn't know what to expect.
The dispatcher said it would come between 10:00am and 6:00pm. I said with such a range could they call me after their last delivery so I would have time to get my people here? They said no problem.
I was in the basement working when my wife informed me that UPS was here. Oh @#$%^!!! Where was my call?
I went out to meet the fellow and find out what happened. He said he missed the information on the shipping notice but he had another delivery and he could come back.
He asked me what my friends were going to do. I said they were going to help me get it from the street to my garage. He replied that he would wheel it up there, no problem! They just weren't allowed to go in the premises.
What a relief!!!! I had visions of this thing sitting on the street while we tried to figure out what to do with it.
When they put in new subdivision streets they pour the curbing with the street. Then when they put your driveway in they cut out the curbing with a diamond saw. This leaves about a 1 inch step up to the driveway. I had made 3 ramps out of MDF for what I thought would be my job. I layed them down. We lined up the wheels on the pallet jack. He pulled, I pushed and it rolled up to the garage as neat as you please.
So here's a pic of the crate with the machine lurking inside. At first glance I'm already thrilled. I couldn't go to see it in the showroom as they didn't have any on the floor so with all the other machines ruled out I wasn't quite sure what this was going to be.
Now the job of taking it all apart to get it in the basement.
George

GRIZZLY MILL.jpg
 
Looks like you are going to have a very busy weekend George!!! ;D

Are you going to be keeping a pictorial update going on the uncrating and moving?
Would make a great thread!!!

Andrew
 

Congratulations George. It looks to be a good sized machine. I would be thrilled too.

I'm looking forward to your report.

I also see you have a potential auxiliary satellite shop there, too nice a space to store cars...
 
Hi Kevin,
No satellite shop in the garage. My hardly driven Mustang resides in the extra space. I bought it new as my children leaving home present in 1990 and it only has 16,000 summer miles on it.
Anyway if I built a satellite shop it would need walls, lights and heating for the winter months so that surely eliminates it.
George
 

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