# New G0729



## ronzo (Oct 30, 2015)

Got my new G0729 milling machine a couple of weeks ago. The front nut & bolt that fastens the turret to the main casting is locked solid . I was told I would have to cut it off. The only way I can see is to chisel it off off because of the limitted  access around it..There's no way I'm going to whale away on it with a hammer and chisel. Besides I don't have enough head room to lift off , so it is going to stay that way depriving me of the ability to rotate the turret.
When I tried to tilt the head in order to gain better wrench acces to the bolt in question the head bots jammed in the horizontal position when they reached the access portion of the circular T slot . I had to get a couple of guys to help me take it apart and re-orient the bolts.
The bolts seccuring the power feed casting bracket to the table were loose. Tapped holes in the table turned out to be stripped. I tapped the holes deeper in the table and counterbored  the holes in the support casting deeper to fix he problem.
The Y axis gib is tight on one end and loose on the other. Also will have to live with that.
There is a drag when moving the X axis even with the gib totally loosened. Looks like a bind between the lead screw and the nut this has resulted in a lack of repeatability.  The workaround is to lock the table every time I need to get rid of the backlash  Being a geezer working alone I'm not about to take the whole saddle & table slide apart. Another "live with it"situation. Another posssible workaround would be to add a DRO. Expensive. Tech support said "yep that would cost you a lot of money".
Besides the offer to send me new gibs which wouldn't have fixed anything anyway, tech support basically provided only a sympathetic ear. 
When I had a problem tramming the head in the Y direction on My Rung Fu mill which I bought a couple of years ago from Enco I shimmed it as a fix. Enco sent me a shim pack and gave me a $200 rebate for my trouble.
Ship it back you say? It cost me $500 to get it moved to my basement. It would cost more then that to get it back up the stairs. Then there is re-crating and shipping. All on my own hook no doubt. Nope I'm stuck with it. The machine is usable just not the way it should be. I have had enough experience with Asian machinery to know that they require some tweaking. This one goes way beyond.
Ron


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## tmarks11 (Oct 30, 2015)

ronzo said:


> Got my new G0729 milling machine a couple of weeks ago. The front nut & bolt that fastens the turret to the main casting is locked solid


Are you talking about the bolt that would allow you to pivot the enter head assembly left or right?  I would see where that would be difficult to get into.  Not too often that you need to mill something off the table, so you could live for years before you needed to do that.

Except.... you need to check that your head is aligned front and back on the mill table.  Because the only way to align the head (usually called the NOD on a bridgeport, but your mill head doesn't NOD) is by shimming under that collar, which would require you to loosen that screw.  Put a dial indicator on the spindle and sweep the table and see how it ends up.

I would have hoped this machine was a cut above the other asian offerings, as it is made in Taiwan.  Guess not, still obviously built to a price point.

I don't have this machine, but I have one of a similar size (Clausing 8520), and removing and reinstalling the table are not really that tough.


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## ronzo (Oct 31, 2015)

Yes, that's the bolt 'm talking about. I agree that it would be seldom used and that was the least of the problems I only mentioned it because if Grizzly thought it important enough to include in the list of features then it was important enough for me to list as a defect.
I forgot to mention that the head WAS off tram in the Y direction. I shimmed it between the head and the turret.


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## tmarks11 (Oct 31, 2015)

ronzo said:


> I agree that it would be seldom used and that was the least of the problems I only mentioned it because if Grizzly thought it important enough to include in the list of features then it was important enough for me to list as a defect.


I applaud your level-headed cataloging of your findings; most people would find it hard not to rant at this point.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't saying it was ok that the bolt was frozen, I was just reassuring you that if you couldn't fix it, living with it wouldn't be a huge impact.  Sounds like you are well acquainted with machining operations, and already understand all the ramifications.

DRO to me is a must.  Once you use one, going back to counting hand wheel turns and such is a royal pain.  There are lower priced alternatives.  Look at DROPros and igaging.


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## ronzo (Oct 31, 2015)

Thanks for the info. The igaging are ceretainly reasonably priced. Do you know anything about them?


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## tmarks11 (Oct 31, 2015)

No personal experience, but I know there are some individuals on this forum who have fitted those or similar ones:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/has-anyone-tried-the-new-absolute-dro-scales.24550/
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/igaging-dro-comparison.26283/
http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/does-it-exists-3-axis-display-4-igaging-dro.37555/

And here is a cool project using an arduino and an android tablet as a control head for these scales:
http://www.yuriystoys.com/2012/09/do-it-yourself-dro-with-arduino-and.html
http://www.yuriystoys.com/2014/11/touchdro-version-2-now-available.html


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## Rick H (Mar 4, 2016)

Hey Ron:  I have the same machine as you and while it may be a good starter machine for someone, it certainly leaves much to be desired in workability.  Mine was and still has a problem with maintaining tram.  I can't tell you have much I have messed with this machine trying to fix this issue.  One thing I discovered was the top cover is so heavy that if you do anything but very gently close it you will knock the head out of tram.  I eventually took the top cover off to avoid the problem.  While I don't like running the machine without a top cover, I simply got fed up with not knowing if I just washed my tram if I closed the cover too hard.  I have a DROPROS 4 axis dro on the machine and I mounted the read out head on the flat on the right side of the top turret.  Seemed like a good spot at first, the head was level, easy to see and relatively out of the way.  Unfortunately it really complicated trying to tram the mill.  Apparently all the extra weight of the readout head didn't help when adjusting the tram on the machine so I ended up moving the readout to the left side of the mill column.

The table is another issue in that it doesn't stay in tram very well and by simply leaning on it you can lose tram.  I have tried tightening the gibs and such but nothing much seems to help avoid this issue.  When I get the gibs adjusted to where the table seems to maintain tram I can't run it all the way left or right.  Something is up with the lead screw and I just don't have the knowledge to figure out what it is.  Shortly after I received the machine I discovered that moving the table down on the Z-axis changes the angle of the table and that I HAD to remember to go down with the table passed where I wanted to be and come back up to keep any sort of accuracy.  Again adjusting the Z axis gib did nothing to help this issue.

I also soon discovered that when using the quill to drill something that it had what I call "drop slop" in it.   I would start drilling a hole and the quill would drop an extra .020" or more all by itself.  Eventually with a little help from some forum members I found that if I turned the quill lock knob almost to the point of locking the quill entirely I could get rid of the drop in the quill.  I gather that the slop is between the quill and the handle mechanism,  but I was told nothing could be done on Grizzly's end to fix this, so live with it.   When I first received the machine I read the manual on tramming it, but noticed they only spoke to the X-axis and not the Y-axis.  I called Grizzly tech service about this and initially the person I spoke to was at a loss as to how to adjust the Y-axis.  He said he would have to call me back, which he did and he told me the only way to adjust X-axis was to split the column where it meets the base and put shims between the base and column to adjust for tram.  Well following his directions I did as he told me.  I cut the paint with a razor blade all the way around the column and gained access to the four column bolts and loosened them and tried to insert shims to adjust the Y-axis tram.  Unfortunately after I did all this I discovered the tech didn't have a clue as to how to do this job as this "procedure" he outlined had nothing at all to do with adjusting tram and only moved the entire column.  I called the same guy back and told him what happened and he seemed shocked by what I told him.  In retrospect I should have been able to recognize that his procedure wasn't right, but it just didn't dawn on me at the time.   He of course blamed someone else that he got the advise from and he apologized and even sent me a can of Grizzly paint to help fix what I had ruined when I split the column from the base.  True to form the paint was dried up in the can!!

When I bought this milling machine I had hoped it would be an enjoyable venture and one that I could have some fun with and perhaps do some odd jobs on.  I really have a fondness for working on old military surplus rifles and thought this machine would fit the bill for what I wanted to do.  In some respects it has, but only as a fancy drill press, not as a relatively accurate milling machine.  I didn't want a big heavy machine sitting in the basement taking up a lot of space I really don't have, and initially I thought the Grizzly G0729 was a perfect choice.  However I soon found the error of my choice in milling machines.  A few months ago a friend of mine asked me if I could install a Novak rear sight for him on a Colt 1911 slide.  Now this is not a "big deal" job and is relatively easy if you know what you are doing.  With some hesitation I said sure, I'll do it for you and I took his slide home with me.  Before doing the job I checked the machine several times to make sure all was in order and adjusted properly, but sure enough, somewhere along the line of moving the table in different directions it lost tram and I miss cut the slide.   While my friend thought the installation looked great I didn't like it.  I showed him what was wrong and even offered to buy him a new slide, but he said no it looks fine.  I guess his expectations aren't as high as mine.  When I was finished with his slide and saw what had happened I went back to the machine and checked the darn tram.  Sure as shooting it was out over .004"!  I was livid because I knew I had it adjusted spot on when I started that project.  At that point I told myself never again will this machine be used for any milling work except on MY property.  Drilling it can handle, but milling it can't.  It shouldn't even be called a mill!

I have to kind of laugh now when I read about the anticipation and high hopes that people have when they order or just receive a Grizzly mill, especially the lower end knee mills.  I had that same hope, expectation and excitement, but it has been replaced by frustration and disappointment.  I understand that you get what you pay for and boy did I get it from Grizzly.  I knew I wasn't buying a BP but is it too much to ask that a machine stay in tram, even a low end priced one?  Or that tram can be easily adjusted? The sad and ironic part of all this is that I was working in the Springfield, MO area for several weeks and I made multiple stops at the Grizzly outlet looking at their machines.  I had asked one of the sales guys if one can adjust X and Y tram on the G0729 and he said yes you can.  I suppose I should have asked him then and there how to do it, but I didn't.  In all fairness I had asked for opinions on my choice for a milling machine on some forums and I was told more or less that I would be sorry in the end which is true.  If I had it to do over I would have purchased a larger more accurate machine and one with a good reputation, but at the time money and size drove my choice for a mill.  So if you have a comfort in this matter it is knowing that you aren't the only one with a problem Grizzly milling machine.  Good Luck with yours......

Rick


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## ronzo (Mar 4, 2016)

Rick:
I feel your pain. I'm using the machine but have lost tram  several times. I never do anything the least bit critical without checking it, coupled with the fact that table travel is also unreliable. I just don't trust it.I think I know now what it must feel like to have an unfaithful wife.
After my original post I got a all from Grizzly offering me $400 in gift certificates for my trouble which I accepted. I picked out 3 fluorescent lights which were being discontinued. I asked if they had replacement bulbs for them, I was told they did not but there shouldn't be any problem finding them locally. Long story short, the bulbs burned out on 2 of the lamps whithin a couple of weeks. I can tell you that bulbs were to be found nowhere, locally and on line. I called Grizzly but they were no help. In so many words they said "tough". 
They got a little indignant when I asked if that was the reason the lights were discontinued. I told them that I had made my last Grizzly purchase. I don't think anyone at Grizzly lost any sleep over it.
Ron


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