Another 12Z owner joining the fold

I don't have a swivel base on any of my vises. Just haven't needed one, and I don't like the additional height and tolerance stack-up you get with the swivel base mounted.
 
Same here, I prefer the vise right on the table with no swivel base. I got a 4" vise with swivel base for free with my mill (not a 12z) but I have never used it. I just haven't ran into a situation where I needed to use a swivel base but at least I have one just in case.

For me I don't like the height it adds either. And "in theory" it's less rigid than the vise bolted straight to the table. I'm sure if you get a quality unit it should be ground pretty accurately but that's just one more thing that can add to a loss of accuracy (if it really matters). But again I have never used one on my own mill so I can't say for sure.
 
GunrunnerX, congrats on the new machine!
I too am a new 12Z owner. I've have a Grizzly G0704 that I CNC'd about a year ago, plus I've been a machinist for about 30+ years. Here's my input (for what it's worth):
Regarding the tools - R8 works fine if you're not going to CNC the machine. If you do plan to go CNC, the two viable choices seem to be Tormach Tool System (which is the route I went with my G0704) and the NT30 tool holders ($$). I'm not at all sure the Tormach system is suited for any sort of heavy duty work. I plan to CNC my machine, but I'm sure if any heavy work is needed I"ll just end up using R8 based tools due to concerns about the Tormach system letting go. The good thing about the Tormach Tool System is it's very reasonably priced and reliable if you work within its limitations.
Regarding the vise - I'd go with a 5" vise, no swivel. It's sized just about perfectly for the 12Z (IMHO).
Regarding ballscrews - If you're going CNC, by all means! If no CNC, I'd just get a nice DRO and be done with it. It's worked for many thousands of manual mills all over the world.

Enjoy the new machine!
 
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback.

Conan, the x and y on my machine are already ball screwed. I had Paul do it at the factory for me. So I'm ahead of the game I think there come CNC time.


Has anyone "pinned" their tables like it shows in the CNC Cookbook? (I think that's where I saw that, please forgive me if I'm wrong).
 
Conan said:
Regarding ballscrews - If you're going CNC, by all means! If no CNC, I'd just get a nice DRO and be done with it. It's worked for many thousands of manual mills all over the world.
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I think I remember hearing some of you guys talking about converting to ball screws & not going CNC. I was always under the impression that ball screws are not recommended on a manual machine because of the reduced resistance. Are you guys just going to crank down on the gibs to compensate? And what happens with your dials? Well I don't use my dials either because of the DRO but you never know when you might need them again.
 
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My mill has ballscrews and when I'm using it in manual mode, I have never had a problem with the table drifting, even with no table locks. I can climb cut manually as well as conventional. It is much easier to turn than any manual machine I have ever used. There is probably some added resistance due to the servo motors, but it's not noticeable.

There is no reason you couldn't have dials with ballscrews.
 
Ok but you have servo motors, how about with them? I have no desire to convert myself, just curious cause most say it's not recommended. And if there isn't any problem, I would think there would be a lot more people out there using ball screws on a manual machine.
 
gunrunnerx said:
Now that sounds like fun. I always wanted to shoot competitively but my dang back has slowed me down too much. Too many bull rides, race cars, ball sports and other reckless abandon earlier in life. I'm not that old, but I feel like it now.
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This is why I buy machines. :))

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darkzero said:
Ok but you have servo motors, how about with them? I have no intention of converting myself, just curious cause most say it's not recommended. And if there isn't any problem, I would think there would be a lot more people out there using ball screws on a manual machine.
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Couldn't you just add a drag brake if the machine moves too freely with ball screws?
 
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