New Grizzly G0796 Mill For $4750?

The difficulty comes in trying to find a good used machine in our area. I have been searching craigslist for the last couple of years for a Bridgeport or similar mill and no luck so far. I missed out on a series 1 var speed head recently, that was the first I even had a chance on. High demand and very little supply is what drives people to the Chinese mills. That one was $3900 without powered X axis or DRO. It was 3 phase thou. I was also quoted $1500 to move it from Newberg to Damascus, about 30 miles.
 
Sanddan: Do you mean a PM45 from Precision Mathews? Is this is a Rong Fu RF45 in Precision Mathews clothing? I think this would definitely be a step up in ease of use, machining envelope, rigidity and capability. I have encountered the same problem buying used machinery here in Western Washington. In New Hampshire and Connecticut and most places on the right side of the map there are tons of machines for sale cheap. Not here. As to moving machinery, I have found it far better to move them myself. Harbor Freight sells a 4000 pound folding shop crane for $299 which is regularly discounted to $229. This and a rental trailer from U-Haul does the job for me almost always. I have moved all sorts of equipment with this combo including a Grizzly G0709 14 inch gunsmith lathe which weighed over 3000 pounds (Grizzly website says 1550 pounds, but the crate clearly said 1550 kilos). When you move your own machines it is easier to change their locations in the shop at a later time.

Doubleeboy: This will be my fourth Chinese milling machine and it will be my 15th Chinese Machine. I am very familiar with Chinese machines. I work with top quality American made machinery every day at work and have for decades. I challenge anybody to look at a part and tell me the nationality of the machine it was made on or if it had Melanite castings. If this machine was going to be used every day in a production capacity then maybe Mehanite castings would make a small difference 20 years from now. If this machine was going to be used with a .0001 capable DRO for very critical toolmaking then maybe the fact that it is Chinese rather than American would make a difference. If I were to buy a Bridgeport at this price level then I would have to repair it. This machine allows me to do what I want to be doing, making what I bought the machine for, rather than putting lots of time effort and yet more money into just getting the machine to work right. That is far more important to me than the brand name of the cast iron that is in the castings. I have the ability to scrape in a worn out Bridgeport. Just because I can does not mean I want to.

Barry Young
 
sanddan said:
The difficulty comes in trying to find a good used machine in our area. I have been searching craigslist for the last couple of years for a Bridgeport or similar mill and no luck so far. I missed out on a series 1 var speed head recently, that was the first I even had a chance on. High demand and very little supply is what drives people to the Chinese mills. That one was $3900 without powered X axis or DRO. It was 3 phase thou. I was also quoted $1500 to move it from Newberg to Damascus, about 30 miles.
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Dude 'the' professional rigger in the Portland metro area who moves all the big industrial machines would move it for you for $1,000. They quoted me $1,000 to move a 16x40 3,000 lb lathe into my garage, it was only that high because they have a 4 hour minimum. I don't know who quoted you $1,500 but that seems ridiculous.
 
I was quoted that price from Metro, the main company in Portland that does equipment moving. I also checked with a friend that works at a rigging and moving co and he said the same thing. He helped me move my current lathe and mill but said his tractor would not be able to lift the mill (he tried when moving his own BP). I am 63 and didn't feel ok moving and loading at the sellers house (sloped driveway and limited clearance through the garage door due to height).

I purchased my 45 mill from Enco, very similar to the PM from 3 years back. Both Grizzly and PM couldn't give my an estimated delivery date at the time I wanted to purchase and Enco had 20% and free shipping so I went with them. The lathe is ok, not as good of a fit and finish and missing some of the extras but I got it when I wanted it. I would like something stiffer with more mass and power downfeed. Being able to nod the head fore and aft would also be nice. I could see switching to a 3 phase motor with VFD at some point being a very good upgrade. I would also look at swapping my 3 axis DRO over so I could also have it on the knee. I would only have to purchase one longer scale if the 2 systems are compatible.
 
Metro was the rigger I was speaking of, perhaps the sloped driveway and other issues drove up the price, plus its a pick up and deliver I was going to have the new lathe delivered to Metro by the trucking company so they only had to haul it to my house and place it in my garage.
 
sanddan said:
The difficulty comes in trying to find a good used machine in our area. I have been searching craigslist for the last couple of years for a Bridgeport or similar mill and no luck so far. I missed out on a series 1 var speed head recently, that was the first I even had a chance on. High demand and very little supply is what drives people to the Chinese mills. That one was $3900 without powered X axis or DRO. It was 3 phase thou. I was also quoted $1500 to move it from Newberg to Damascus, about 30 miles.
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There's about a half dozen or so on Craigslist right now. A reasonable looking 9x42 BP in Salem with X power feed and DRO. When I'm looking, I check Craigslist every hour or so. There is also a Webb (I think) in Eagle Creek, don't know the price. A 10x50 if I remember correctly, nice machines.
 
Sounds like many of us are in the Pacific Northwest. We should have a BBQ.

Barry Young
 
Geez you guys, I did not mean to ruin this thread by suggesting a BBQ.

I talked to Grizzly today and they have pushed the delivery date out from July 10 to Aug 14. Of course they were very sorry for the inconvenience.

Barry
 
barryjyoung said:
Geez you guys, I did not mean to ruin this thread by suggesting a BBQ.
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Too hot for a bbq here at my house. 95F all this week. :D

Grizzly has had problems before getting new products to market on time. It takes a while, but it gets there eventually. I wonder if try to establish the right level of QA on a new product line sets them back?

Why are you choosing to CNC a knee mill instead of a square column mill; a bit more challenging? Are you going to cnc the quill or the knee as the z-axis?
 
I wonder how many they have pre-sold?

tmarks, I'm getting sick of the hot weather. I worked in my shop this morning until 11:30, it was 80 inside when I quit.
 
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