Grizzly Mill Or Pm

A

almost retired

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I have lurked for a while and just joined this forum. After my last couple projects pushed me over the edge fighting my HF $60 bench press I thought life would be much easier with a mill. I have other projects waiting that I could do easier, like restore my tractor, build pedal car, work on cars, etc...

So, I read some and came up with some basic ideas on a mill.
Weight between 600-800 pounds. I don't want the mill to move.
Gear head, I don't want to have to change belts.
1.5-2HP. I don't want to stall the motor.
I don't have a preference between 110-220 volts. I can wire in 220 if needed.
I want to be able to upgrade later to CNC, add cooling, and/or power options.
I don't think I want a knee mill.

I might go with a used bridgeport later, but I am not interested in rebuilding a mill. I am thinking more working out of the box. Same with not getting HF, since I would be fixing it as soon as I bought it.

So as of today. I am looking at PM 932 and grizzly G0755. (I could change and may change tomorrow)
I am close enough to drive to Bellingham to save shipping from grizzly.

So, I guess since I haven't owned a mill before, is there one that is clearly better than another?
I don't want to wait till the spring tent sale for grizzly. Hopefully there is some coupons or sales that make one company a better deal.

I started looking at the G0704 but the more I looked at photos and videos, the more it looked like there were other models that were superior with incremental cost.

thanks for reading
 
I looked at both of the mills you mentioned in your post and went with the PM932. I have been happy with it. The service from Matt at QMT has also been great.
 
I'm also another very satisfied QMT customer who owns a PM940M-PDF. I settled on this model for the extra capacity and power down feed. You won't go wrong choosing a PM.
 
I know I'm shopping again too (Like I said previously around here somewhere; like a dummy I sold my Jet table top)... anyway I found a used Grizzly knee mill on Craigslist yesterday with an Enco X pwr feed and a DRO installed on it for $2200 I want to take a look at it so yes, I see some guys that have Grizzlys here so how about them? Any complaints?
 
I also just ordered a PM932m. 3 year vs 1 year warrant on the Grizzly is a huge difference.
 
I personally don't see much difference other then color & price between Grizzly & HF. I've had to clean the casting sand out of both. Who ever did the electrical in my HF knee mill took great pride in their work. It looks like a master piece inside the casting. Every wire is so neatly place ever terminal is so uniformed in length. I was shocked how everything is placed & uniformed.

I have no complaint on my Grizzly lathe but thee guy that mounted the switches & ran the wires didn't have the same pride & it really sucks to try to trace a wire or get in to move one.
 
Hozzie said:
I also just ordered a PM932m. 3 year vs 1 year warrant on the Grizzly is a huge difference.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the replies. This is great. I think my wife kind of realizes that she might not see me much if I get a mill. There is another model I found today that looks better for the future. Charter Oak 12Z which used to be IH as I understand. The company has the upgrades offered to buy as you go. Looks like the same mill as the Bolton mill. It looks like to me really what it comes down to buying customer service.
 
If you have the space and funds, I would strongly suggest a 940 instead of the 932 because it's not a question of 'if', it's just a question of 'when' you will want/need that extra travel in the Y-axis. I can speak from experience in telling you that it can make all the difference in the world on some setups. Just my $0.02. :)
 
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