# My new Grizzly G0761 Mill



## Redmech (Apr 12, 2017)

So Friday I received my brand new G0761, a couple days before I received the G7156 4" "premium milling vise" and T25937 5" Rotary table/indexing head.

I spent last Saturday building the stand, and was able to get it moved into its resting spot, stand painted, and mill mounted.  Sunday I did the break in, and changed the oil, and started tramming the head.  The left to right I was able to adjust.  I used my indicator setup, 4" out away from spindle, so about a 8" circle.  The front to rear which there is no adjustment is about .009" out over the 8" swing, my math says its .057 degrees off, essentially 3 minutes and a few seconds off.

I've seen the video of using epoxy and copper wire to tram the head in to zero.  Here is what I think I may try, I have an assortment of shim stock, I will shim it till it measures correctly.  See if .006" on one side will zero everything out.  If that will, I'll take a piece of 1/4" plate steel and either mill, or mill and grind a tapered shim plate to put in between column and base.  Should work I think, and I have plenty of 1/4" plate around for this project. 

pictures up shortly,


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## Redmech (Apr 12, 2017)




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## Redmech (Apr 12, 2017)

Using my surface plate and height gage, the vise is very parallel, less than .001" variation, I'm pleased with it so far.


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## DAT510 (Apr 12, 2017)

I can't see how your column mounts to the base, but you might want to check for sand or casting flash between the column and base.  My Mill had some, and cleaning it off help bring the tram in.


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## Redmech (Apr 12, 2017)

I've checked to make sure the 4 bolts are tight, but you bring up a good point, I haven't separated it to see if there is any foreign material or high spots.  good thinking.  This weekend, I'll check into that.


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## fitterman1 (Apr 12, 2017)

I reckon I can see a bolt back there.
I would do what dat510 suggests.
If it works well and good, if not I would scrape the column. I feel this would be the most accurate method.
Lots of work though.


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## fitterman1 (Apr 12, 2017)

A thicker spacer is a good idea if you want more head height, you can incorporate the taper.


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## Redmech (Apr 13, 2017)

I loosened up the hardware between the column and the base.  Stacked up some lumber between the bed and table, and lowered the head, separating the base by a bit.  I saw a bunch of crude, metal shavings and that sort of thing.  I reached up under through my table and brushed out what you see in the second picture into this clean drain pan, this was setting on top of the base enclosed by the hollow section of the column.  The screws that hold the back cover on that allow access to the Z axis screw were finger tight or I mean loose, makes me question all the other hardware on this machine.  

Up till this point I was fairly pleased with all of this mill (shy of being out of tram front to back by .009"), but I know this isn't a high end mil.  I am very disappointed at the amount of shavings left behind.  I'd like to think that these outfits would have the machining done before paint and assembly, and have better housekeeping than this.   So tomorrow or this weekend I'll install some longer bolts, and get my cherry picker hooked up separate the top from the base, and do a thorough cleaning and knock down any high spots, retorque, and check the tram.

Here are a few pics,




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr


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## TomS (Apr 13, 2017)

If you haven't already done so make sure your Z axis gib is properly adjusted.  If it's too loose the head will "nod" and will show up as a plus dial indicator reading on the front edge of the table when checking tram.  I have a PM-932 mill and I tighten the Z axis gib until a .002" feeler gauge can be inserted between the gib and column dovetail about 1".

Tom S.


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## fitterman1 (Apr 14, 2017)

Amazing what you find in these machines eh, I had a headstock with a heap of sand in it. Needless to say its now clean. I wouldn't be surprised if your tram comes up pretty much closer.
Enjoy.


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## Redmech (Apr 14, 2017)

Today I hooked the cherry picker back up, installed longer bolts and lifted the head and column off of base.  Very disappointed, this is the left hand side, looks like a junior high shop student used a hand grinder on the surface of the base that the column bolts to.




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr

This picture show the high spots and low spots with a straight edge and a flash light.  The left side was the first side I looked at, there were no more milling marks left, just uneven grinder marks, probably from a hand held grinder,




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr

The column hasn't been ground on, appears flat,




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr

This is the right side, you can see mill marks on the left hand side of this picture, but the right 75% of this mounting surface has had the hand grinder to it as well.




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr

I used a few scotch brite pads, to knock down any loose material left behind.  Lots of brake clean and towels, and both surfaces are now free of foreign material, I bolted it back together, tightened down hardware tight, and set up my indicator to recheck my front to back tram.

It measured the same as before,




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr




Untitled by redmech, on Flickr

My first thoughts was that the base was ground on to have the head trammed in to "serviceable" spec.  But looking at the clues, grinding on the rear portion of the base, will tilt the column rearward making my readings read the exact way it is.  I kind of think, if the base was like how it was machined the first time (before hand grinder), the head would be much closer to perpendicular and square like it should be.

I am getting the feeling I should return this machine and look for a good used Bridgeport.  I was worried about my basement floor supporting a heavier machine, and at this point I'm ready to try and take the risk.  I don't think I want another Grizzly, this has me worried of their quality control.  Even if they offered to exchange for another one of the same model, just a bit gunshy.  I also hate to let weeks and months pass, and before you know it, I'm stuck with something that should have never passed quality control.


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## Redmech (Apr 14, 2017)

I still need to check adjustment of the Z axis gib, see if that changes things.


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## fitterman1 (Apr 15, 2017)

I can feel your angst from this side of the world.
What do you want to do?
Considering this is still under warranty, you could send it back to Grizzly and ask for a refund. If you go down this path who knows how long before you get another, and whether its in better or worse condition.
Personally, I would repair it myself, warranty or no warranty. I see you have a flat base on the column. I would leave this alone for the time being.
 I would file the ground part of the base reasonably flat and with a dial indicator set on the table top and running on your filed faces, measure flatness and parallelism to same. Do this to both sides and make them truly flat then scrape both sides flatter and adjust to get correct tram, using just the table top as a reference. Then scrape the column base to suit and check tram upon assembly and continue adjusting by scraping until square.
Time consuming? Yes, but it'll be better than anything coming from a chinese factory.

" before you know it I'm stuck with something that should have never passed quality control."
I think everyone of us is stuck in the same boat, I haven't seen one iota of chinese quality control yet.


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## Redmech (Apr 15, 2017)

You nailed it. I've slept on it,  I know it's repairable,  and a used Bridgeport could/will bring its own hurdles. Today I'm going to shim it to fialit in, and this will assure me how far off and where. 

At that point, I probably will do as you say, indicate off the bed ways or the table, and start working the mounting surface parallel to the bed. I know the problems with this mill, I don't need a different Grizzly mill, I think I'll work on this for a week or two, and see how much I start to like it or hate it. 

Thanks for your thoughts and time. 

Ross,


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## fitterman1 (Apr 15, 2017)

No worries Ross, keep us posted how you go. I'm trying to buy one of these same mills from work. It is physically the same mill, but no brand name. I know it has 006" forward tilt, similar to yours.
Just need to convince the boss it needs to be replaced., as it's too light for our requirements. Ok for home though.
cheers Alby


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## Greebles (Apr 18, 2017)

Have you seen this?


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## hman (Apr 18, 2017)

Interesting technique.  I like the way he left the bolts in place, to prevent the column from swinging away out of control.  And by the way ... the US distributor for Diamant products is Devitt Machinery Company http://www.moglice.com


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## Redmech (Apr 18, 2017)

Yes, good method he has in that video. 

I installed .005" worth of shim stock between the column and base on the front bolts, the bolts that still had a bit of the mill marks still there. So I know now that where the China man ground on the mill was to bring the head closer to being trammed in. I'd imagine the grind job was "good enough" for their tolerances. I'm going to call or email Grizzly this week with pictures and see where I'm going from here.


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## tweinke (Apr 18, 2017)

Its a shame that the Chinese "kits" that we buy need work out of the box to make them right but on the same note I'm fairly certain that if they were perfect we could not afford them. Keep a good attitude call Grizzly and see what happens. In my opinion I bought a Chinese mill with my best judgement of dollars vs knowing I would have to possibly do a bit of rework compared to an older machine that was worn in ways I could not fix.


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