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

[Mr Mike]

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...

Hi.. as I've been shopping, what I'm finding is exactly what your saying.. Most all end mill tooling I see is falling in the 8ths realm. I currently don't want to buy a 32nds set but I do see the the need for them due to the stricter size use requirements compared to ER collects... Thanks for the heads up, Mike.

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.

Hello Sir.. Can we talk about this quality requirement for a sec..?

I noticed shopping around this morning that most brands I've looked at have a two selections of collets, including PM, Shars, Colton and others. They all seem to have " I'm being nice here " a Good set and an even Gooder set..!

Its important to note that this will Not be my forever mill, that being said any tooling I buy now will be kept and not sold with the G0704. My big question is do I need to buy the really high end expensive brand name Collets - If so then I will buy a 1/8, 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2 for now and fill in the rest as needed, Or will a " Gooder " PM Ultra Precision set be sufficient - If so then I will definitely buy an 11pc style PM set in 16ths...?

Thanks , Mike..

Edit: just ordered the PM Ultra Precision 11pc set, I'm guessing its a middle of the road set that'll get me going...

 

[Aaron_W]

Looking around a bit it seems like most of the reputable sellers offer 0.0005" max runout as their "good" set, PM does offer a set with max 0.0002". The cheapest sets I found claim 0.007" or do not specify.

Other than not getting the cheapest Ebay / Amazon set you can find, maybe not so critical with R-8 collets since they are by default milling collets, unlike MT2 or ER which can be used for both tool holding and work holding.
With ER in particular quality and cost varies greatly. The Techniks ER32 collets I bought ran around $15 / ea, there are sets available for the same amount. The Techniks have a claimed TIR of 0.0002". If that is needed vs 0.0005" I don't have the experience to say, but certainly doesn't hurt.

 

[Mr Mike]

Looking around a bit it seems like most of the reputable sellers offer 0.0005" max runout as their "good" set, PM does offer a set with max 0.0002". The cheapest sets I found claim 0.007" or do not specify.

Other than not getting the cheapest Ebay / Amazon set you can find, maybe not so critical with R-8 collets since they are by default milling collets, unlike MT2 or ER which can be used for both tool holding and work holding.
With ER in particular quality and cost varies greatly. The Techniks ER32 collets I bought ran around $15 / ea, there are sets available for the same amount. The Techniks have a claimed TIR of 0.0002". If that is needed vs 0.0005" I don't have the experience to say, but certainly doesn't hurt.

I ended up getting the better PM 11 pc R8 set, and other tooling like parallel bars, 1/4 & 3/8 roughing endmills, short arm magnetic base with Test indicator, picked up tons of cleaning supplies to make this mill like new again - Still need to figure out what tram to get.

Also I do have the PM ER-40 collet set for my lathe, I'll get an R8 holder down the road if needed.

I scoured the web for mod sites, YouTube & forums pertaining to the G0704 I found nothing for upgrading the plastic gears, no motor upgrades, no tips & tricks or anything normal - everything was related to the CNC conversion of this Mill. I'm sure there are a few 7"x27" mod sites but nothing specific to this Mill...

The only mod I've done so far is adding quick disconnects to the motor wiring so it can be removed from the headstock, That's all the new info I have till I start reassembling.

You have a wonderful 4th, Mike.

 

[Aaron_W]

I scoured the web for mod sites, YouTube & forums pertaining to the G0704 I found nothing for upgrading the plastic gears, no motor upgrades, no tips & tricks or anything normal - everything was related to the CNC conversion of this Mill. I'm sure there are a few 7"x27" mod sites but nothing specific to this Mill...

There is a belt drive conversion, which makes it more like the PM25.

Mini Pro G0704 belt drive

 

[Mr Mike]

There is a belt drive conversion, which makes it more like the PM25.

Mini Pro G0704 belt drive

Hello...
I took a look at that system and its pretty neat, but I'd prefer not to invest to much upgrading this Mill since its being used as an educational reference for a future purchase.

Currently the whole mill has been torn down to the nut and bolt for a deep clean, and figured now would be a good time to replace the plastic speed change gear during reassembly... I haven't found any available in the US just over seas and fear the use of a credit card for purchase.

Mike.

 

[Mr Mike]

Hello all..

This stock Grizzly G0704 - 7" X 27" Mill was manufactured in 2015, it was functional except for the RPM display when purchased, the previous owner had a couple new and used electronic boards on hand that he included with the mill.

I'm Just getting started on the clean up, inspection & reassembly of this G0704 Mill, Its mostly a quick teardown looking for damaged or worn parts, Lots of reassembly photos, but I'll document issues that others may find useful and bring the machine back to a serviceable state.

I used Purple Power to Clean and Degrease the Stand & Chip Pan using blue Scotch Bright pads. followed by a soap water bath and rinse.
Plastic Razer blades were used to removed the curling aged stickers. WD40 & blue Scotch Bright pads to clean the mill base.






More photos to come as we get this put back together... Mike.

 

[gerritv]

I have a 2023 King KC20 which is essentially the same as the G0704.
You will want to add a 1/2" piece of mdf between the tray and the cabinet to reduce/remove resonance. I added 1/2" thick bars to the base and put it on rubber feet. The original hole pattern is too small to really plant the machine on the floor.
I use metric R8 collets from KBC Tools, with 4, 6 and 8mm AliExpress 4flute carbide end mills. Cuts steel like butter.

Personally I find sets of anything a waste of money and space. Imperial end mills are 1/4, 5/16, 3/8. I see no point using 1/2" end mills on this machine. Even Stefan Gotteswinter uses only/mostly 6mm carbide end mills because they are affordable.

I use a 1/2" R8 for drill chucks etc that have straight arbours. Same collet will hold a 1/2" edge finder thus reducing collet changes when locating and then drilling holes. Make yourself a spinner knob of the draw bar, saves a lot of time when you do have to change collets.

I bought my 4 axis DRO from Aikron (X, Y, Z column, Spindle summed to Z), very good quality, use the same on my 1022 lathe. I have found no reason to make any other mods to the machine, it already had a centre bolt and 3 around that holding the head to Z slide, its not moving under reasonable loads.

If you are looking for mods, search also for BF20, it is the source machine for all the variants. This site has the best info I could find, great for adding power feed to X and Z. No need to convert to ballscrews for that. https://einfach-cnc.de/bf20-version-2/

Gerrit

 

[Mr Mike]

I have a 2023 King KC20 which is essentially the same as the G0704.
You will want to add a 1/2" piece of mdf between the tray and the cabinet to reduce/remove resonance. I added 1/2" thick bars to the base and put it on rubber feet. The original hole pattern is too small to really plant the machine on the floor.
I use metric R8 collets from KBC Tools, with 4, 6 and 8mm AliExpress 4flute carbide end mills. Cuts steel like butter.

Personally I find sets of anything a waste of money and space. Imperial end mills are 1/4, 5/16, 3/8. I see no point using 1/2" end mills on this machine. Even Stefan Gotteswinter uses only/mostly 6mm carbide end mills because they are affordable.

I use a 1/2" R8 for drill chucks etc that have straight arbours. Same collet will hold a 1/2" edge finder thus reducing collet changes when locating and then drilling holes. Make yourself a spinner knob of the draw bar, saves a lot of time when you do have to change collets.

I bought my 4 axis DRO from Aikron (X, Y, Z column, Spindle summed to Z), very good quality, use the same on my 1022 lathe. I have found no reason to make any other mods to the machine, it already had a centre bolt and 3 around that holding the head to Z slide, its not moving under reasonable loads.

If you are looking for mods, search also for BF20, it is the source machine for all the variants. This site has the best info I could find, great for adding power feed to X and Z. No need to convert to ballscrews for that. https://einfach-cnc.de/bf20-version-2/

Gerrit

Hello Sir...

Nice bunch of information. got it.. fix crazy sound vibration issue and add stabilization, thanks for the heads up... will do...! Can you please post a photo of your spinner knob when you have a chance.

What size fly cutter & face mill do you recommend.

Have you had to replace the high/low nylon gear in your head and found a metal replacement for it..?

thanks Mike.

 

[gerritv]

I don't have a face mill, I use a shopmade fly cutter with maybe 2" swath using a HSS cutter. Works well enough for me.

Photos attached, it is a knob I had, added an aluminum filler, drilled it out and filled to fit the square on the shaft.

I haven't replaced the gear, not even sure mine is nylon. I use sharp small carbide endmills almost exclusively, lightens the load considerably.

 

[Mr Mike]

I don't have a face mill, I use a shopmade fly cutter with maybe 2" swath using a HSS cutter. Works well enough for me.

Photos attached, it is a knob I had, added an aluminum filler, drilled it out and filled to fit the square on the shaft.

I haven't replaced the gear, not even sure mine is nylon. I use sharp smallisg carbide endmills almost exclusively, lighten the load considerably.

Thank you for the photos, Short sweet and to the point, I like it..!
My understanding was to steer clear from Carbide End Mills on these low HP mills... But I bought a couple roughing ones anyway just to see

Thanks Mike.