Which Milling Machine To Buy?

I think what you are after is round column verses square advice/experience.

You may want to chime in with your expectations for the machine and what you hope to be able to do with it.

Both machines in the OP will do quite a bit. You mentioned daylight, it's always nice to have but do you need it for your projects. The issue with round columns is having to adjust z height during machining operations and not be able to locate the head precisely after adjustment. With the square column that's not an issue.

Everyone is pointing you to a Bridgeport with good reason. It's the go to, ridged, large work envelope, what you will want in a year. That being said you have other constraints and needs. You may only be making models, a smaller mill will do that work happily.

The PM machines have a great reputation but I think you usually have a wait. Options have been presented, consider them. I surprised myself a few weeks ago moving a piece of equipment. Breaking it down took 30 minutes and then I could move it myself.

Movers can be hired as well for reasonable rates. The uhaul website has a link to movers with reviews. My friend gave that tip and I've used them twice and recommend it to anyone needing moving manpower, even just in the home.
 
Stay away from the round column. The G0704 is a very capable little mill. If you need proof, watch the videos Hoss has done. Of the two you list, there is really only one choice.
Dave
 
I had a Jet round column mill in 1984 and used it in my shop til 2003. Took getting used to adjusting it almost every time when changing axis. I liked the mass and weight.
 
I have the round colum mill, but, it was built in 1985. It's been a solid machine for what I used it for, but it has limitations, the biggest being loosing your zero if you have to move the head.

I still have it, but now that I have a full size machine, it gets used much less. I would get the square column machine.

Jason
 
As far as I can tell, I'm in sort of the same place you are. You are still a youngster though, but I think I can see where you are coming from.
IF (big if) I upgrade my second hand Grizzly 8689, I would go to the Grizzly 0704 or the PM version thereof. This is a Hobby
machining site after all, and my hobby is making and modifying telescopes, telescope mounts and ancillary equipment for my main
hobby which is astronomy. I would stick to the rectangular dovetail column style and avoid the round column. much more stable.
I have friends that have Bridgeports which I have used and they are remarkable, but given a little time and patience, I still can do some
great stuff with my little mini mill. After all a hobby is a means having fun, stimulating the mind, relaxation and the feeling of accomplishments.
Living fairly close to a Grizzly outlet, would be a great way to combine a road trip into picking up your machine, and I do like road trips.
Keep on swarfing!

Chuck the grumpy old guy
 
Curtis said:
Answering my own question? How so? In my OP I was asking for opinions and information on two specific mills, which you can see in my OP are a Harbor Freight option and a Grizzly G0704, both of which are relatively light machines. I was not asking whether I should buy a one ton Bridgeport. This seems to be the type of response one can expect from a person who does not read the original post for comprehension. So what is there to laugh about?
Click to expand...
someone laughing ? I just mean it looks like you know what you want. boy do you have thin shin wow !!!
 
I have had my G0704 ever scence grizzley game out with it. I have been happy with it. It does everything I need , Just need to know when to take it easy.
 
Curtis said:
So it looks like no one owns one of the round-column "Rong-Fu" type mill-drills like the Harbor Freight mill that I linked to in the OP? I was hoping someone could shed some light on their experience with it if they owned one of these machines. The two attractive features of the HF are the relatively big table and the 18 inch spindle to table distance it has. Oh well, maybe it is just too outdated in design or something such that no one here has one.
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Curtis -
I have an older Grizzly G1007/RongFu 30 mill, and I'm using it just about every day on my current project. Others have mentioned a couple of factors, including the loss of zero when the column is moved. I'll add another - you have to open the tin belt box to access the draw bar nut every time you want to change tools. Keeping the spindle from turning while doing so is also a hassle, unless you buy something like:
http://www.luminarproducts.com/spindle-spline-wrench.html

Other thoughts, in no particular order -

Rick Sparber has an Enco RF30 clone. His website has several articles that may be of interest to you.
http://rick.sparber.org/ma.htm#8

You mentioned you were a bit disabled, so I'll add this - My mill is on a 29" high table and when the column is cranked up, tool changes involve either tiptoes or a step stool. Finally, turning the crank to raise the head is nice whole-body exercise. [Of course, the head elevation crank on the Grizzly is up pretty high, isn't it? But I'll bet it's geared better.]

That said, the RF30 is a lot more capable mill than the mini-mill (HF 44991) I also own. Larger work envelope, stiffer, etc.

If you're at all serious about the HF mill, I'd very strongly suggest giving it a close personal look. Might be good, but I've been disappointed by HF tools too often to buy one (especially such a major purchase) without thoroughly checking it out. And be sure to factor in HF's poor after-sales service.

As for the G0704, I've lusted after one for some time, and narrowly missed buying one from Craigslist about a year ago. Durn! Somebody else suggested the PM-25 as an alternative:
http://www.machinetoolonline.com/PM-MV-BenchMills.html
I've heard nothing but good comments about Precision Matthews and about machinetoolsonline's responsiveness. Grizzly is good, too.

Best wishes, whatever your decision is. If you come up with any specific questions about the RF30, please feel free to PM me.
 
Curtis said:
Answering my own question? How so? In my OP I was asking for opinions and information on two specific mills, which you can see in my OP are a Harbor Freight option and a Grizzly G0704, both of which are relatively light machines. I was not asking whether I should buy a one ton Bridgeport. This seems to be the type of response one can expect from a person who does not read the original post for comprehension. So what is there to laugh about?
Click to expand...

fast freddie said:
someone laughing ? I just mean it looks like you know what you want. boy do you have thin shin wow !!!
Click to expand...

Play nice gentlemen! This is the FRIENDLY Machinist Forum.
 
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