Brought home a used G0704 to get my feet wet...

[Mr Mike]

Hello Peoples...

I bought this G0704 to help figure out a future mill purchase, one that will compliment a PM-1236T in capability. at one point I had it nailed down to a PM-932 then ran into a cost vs size problem... Turns out that a PM-932 PDF and PM-940 PDF are the exact same price. Another problem when trying to decide is the never ending Feature Creep with these hobby Mills, there are a lot of options to consider - then there's the size & space available.

Everyone tries to help out asking question that will point you down a path... Its hard for anyone to help you out when you lack any knowledge and can't answer basic questions, Instead of spending a ton on a blind purchase - I bought this used Mill to get some hands on and help answer those questions asked of me in another thread...

The person I bought it from was upgrading to a larger Mill, It didn't come with much, the spindle speed display was dead but he gave me the electronic board that should fix it, only other item was a fair bit of backlash on the Y axis, I didn't see any signs of abuse, neglect or rust, the machine handles ran the length of the ways fairly smooth and there were no odd noises while running - I think a lube & maintenance check is in order before moving forward,,,

I paid $1200.00 - a bit over half the cost of a new one delivered... Just getting this Mill home has already answered a few of my questions... and now I have a place to start

The corrugated truck bed liner made It super easy for 2 people to carefully load and unload the 265 lb machine.

 

[MikeInOr]

Nice buy!

I think you should be able to adjust most of the backlash out of the Y axis. My 8x32 mill had almost a full turn of backlash that I was able to adjust to about an 1/8th turn of backlash pretty easily when I first brought it home and was cleaning it up.

I put a cheap Ditron (Chinese) DRO on my mill which is by far one of the best upgrades I have done to any machine I own.

 

[David2011]

Congratulations! There’s probably no better way to figure out what you really need than to start using a machine. Stick with this one until you’ve determined that it’s either perfect for everything you want to do or its limitations keep you from completing your projects.

If you’re not already using a speeds and feeds calculator it’s a good time to start. If the end mills are turning too slowly, cutting will be difficult and you’re more likely to break them. Too fast and the cutters can be damaged. Just right is a delight. The calculator on Little Machine Shop is easy to use and adequate for the materials typically used in home shops on small to medium machines.

Speeds & Feeds

The premier source of tooling, parts, and accessories for bench top machinists.

littlemachineshop.com

 

[Mr Mike]

Nice buy!

I think you should be able to adjust most of the backlash out of the Y axis. My 8x32 mill had almost a full turn of backlash that I was able to adjust to about an 1/8th turn of backlash pretty easily when I first brought it home and was cleaning it up.

I put a cheap Ditron (Chinese) DRO on my mill which is by far one of the best upgrades I have done to any machine I own.

Hello Sir.. I'm currently doing some maintenance on it, Ill get most the back lash out for sure. Since this may not be my forever mill I'd prefer not to get to deep in it just yet. If I keep it then DRO for sure. Thanks, Mike.

Congratulations! There’s probably no better way to figure out what you really need than to start using a machine. Stick with this one until you’ve determined that it’s either perfect for everything you want to do or its limitations keep you from completing your projects.

If you’re not already using a speeds and feeds calculator it’s a good time to start. If the end mills are turning too slowly, cutting will be difficult and you’re more likely to break them. Too fast and the cutters can be damaged. Just right is a delight. The calculator on Little Machine Shop is easy to use and adequate for the materials typically used in home shops on small to medium machines.

Speeds & Feeds

The premier source of tooling, parts, and accessories for bench top machinists.

littlemachineshop.com

Hello, thanks for the link, yes that calculator looks quite handy... One of my big questions will be answered milling an AXA T-Nut for my lathe, Most everything I will be milling will be in steel. If this Mill can handle steel reasonably well then ill have more time with it to answer other question.

The manual says its max End Mill capacity is .75" and Face Mill 2.5" - I've been looking around to find info on Endmills for my T-Nut operation, I found all kinds of good info but nothing yet indicating a goldilocks zone or chart.

With all I can find so far, It looks like I need a 1/4" R8 End Mill Holder, And cheap HSS roughing endmills for my T-Nut project.

Thanks for the link, Mike.

Might as well just do a quick teardown check, clean up and lube while waiting on tooling to get here...

 

[David2011]

Mike, after owning 3 mills I would offer an alternate solution to your end mill holding. You might look at getting a set of R8 collets rather than a single holder that will only accommodate a single size of end mill. For machining a tee nut for your AXA toolpost you can use anything from a 1/4" to a 1/2" end mill. You certainly have the power to turn larger but smaller is more versatile even if it takes longer. You aren't going to be removing all that much metal machining the tee nut. I've had good results with end mills from Kodiak (American made, reasonably prices) and YG-1 (Korean and also good prices).

 

[Weldingrod1]

+1 on a set of R9 collets! End mill holders really aren't useful for end mills that are "small" (think: under 3/4"). And they eat up your daylight! Collets are your go-to 80% of the time, with a drill Chuck rounding out the list . Heck, I don't even OWN an end mill holder for my Rockwell mill!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

 

[Aaron_W]

I think this is a really good decision. Play with the mill until it fails to meet your needs. By that point you will have a much better idea of what you want / need before plopping down multiple thousands of dollars. At the price you paid for this mill there is a good chance the cost of education will simply be the effort expended moving this mill into your shop.


As far as a face mill, small mills often struggle even with small diameter 2 or 3 flute face mills.
Sherline has started offering their carbide fly cutter with a straight shank for other small mills instead of the MT1 shank used on the Sherline mills. Although they call it a fly cutter, it is essentially a small (about 1-1/4"), single flute face mill. I use one with my Clausing mill and it works great.

Sherline straight shank carbide fly cutter

 

[Mr Mike]

Mike, after owning 3 mills I would offer an alternate solution to your end mill holding. You might look at getting a set of R8 collets rather than a single holder that will only accommodate a single size of end mill. For machining a tee nut for your AXA toolpost you can use anything from a 1/4" to a 1/2" end mill. You certainly have the power to turn larger but smaller is more versatile even if it takes longer. You aren't going to be removing all that much metal machining the tee nut. I've had good results with end mills from Kodiak (American made, reasonably prices) and YG-1 (Korean and also good prices).

Thanks for the links... USA end mills cheaper than I thought.

I have a set of ER40 for my lathe, Its only $50.00 for the R8 holder for the Mill.. but again I would lose couple inch's head room, Question is I can get a complete set of Shars or Colton R8 collets in 32nds - 1/8 to 7/8 cheap $140.00 but I'm thinking a bunch in the set never get used - the price goes way up if you start buying quality ones per piece as needed.. what's the best way to handle that dilemma.

Thanks, Mike.

+1 on a set of R9 collets! End mill holders really aren't useful for end mills that are "small" (think: under 3/4"). And they eat up your daylight! Collets are your go-to 80% of the time, with a drill Chuck rounding out the list . Heck, I don't even OWN an end mill holder for my Rockwell mill!

Sent from my SM-S911U using Tapatalk

One day very soon Ill order my forever mill, they make these End Mill holders as small as 3/16... See lots of 5 piece sets of these small sizes from 3/16 to 3/4, What are the mostly used for - Carbide ?
Thanks, Mike..

I think this is a really good decision. Play with the mill until it fails to meet your needs. By that point you will have a much better idea of what you want / need before plopping down multiple thousands of dollars. At the price you paid for this mill there is a good chance the cost of education will simply be the effort expended moving this mill into your shop.


As far as a face mill, small mills often struggle even with small diameter 2 or 3 flute face mills.
Sherline has started offering their carbide fly cutter with a straight shank for other small mills instead of the MT1 shank used on the Sherline mills. Although they call it a fly cutter, it is essentially a small (about 1-1/4"), single flute face mill. I use one with my Clausing mill and it works great.

Sherline straight shank carbide fly cutter

Hey You...

lol, this Mill has plastic gears deep in the head, I have read face mills and fly cutters are the #1 cause of their death, even that 1-1/4" Sherline one you linked with carbide inserts scares me now....

Currently the plastic gears on this mill are in pristine condition - The idea of breaking one is a big strike for this Mill since I will be milling Steel mostly...

I agree with you, really glade I got this Mill - I have already learned a thing or two just having it in my possession. after I get it all fixed up and use it for a bit.. it should be a no loss education sale, well... as long as I don't eat a plastic gear up...

Thanks for dropping by, Mike.

 

[Weldingrod1]

For milling, 1/8" R8 collet sizes are really all you need. The 1" size is VERY weak, BTW.

BUT, I now ALSO own a 1/64" set so I can avoid a drill Chuck in special situations My Rockwell has kinda limited daylight, and no way to add a Z spacer...

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[Aaron_W]

I'd spring for a quality set of collets. Excessive run out not only reduces accuracy, it also kills endmills so money saved on cheap collets will eventually be paid for in end mills.

My Clausing uses MT2 collets. I have a set of 7, 1/8" to 1/2" by 16ths which has been fine. In fact I'd probably be perfectly happy with just a 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" to fit the common endmills and accessories that I use. I have an MT2 adapted drill chuck so I don't need a collet for every size drill bit.

My Sherline mill has a much higher top speed, so it is my preferred choice for endmills under 1/4" and I have good quality ER32 collets specifically and only used with it, 1/16" to 3/8" by 16ths adding 1/32s as needed. Again a drill chuck is available for it.

The lathes share their own set of ER32 collets which I'm less fussy about, but also a wider range going to 3/4" by 32nds since workholding is not always as uniform as tool shanks.

I would think the G0704 would be happiest staying with 1/2" and smaller. Increasing by 16ths seems more than adequate, choose a lower end that fits the smallest endmill you feel you might use, shanks for accessories tend to stick with 8ths and 1/4s. It couldn't hurt to include a 3/4" collet as well so you could use accessories with a 3/4" shank.
That is the only size cillet I don't have for my Clausing that would be useful, but MT2 stops at 1/2".