Xplorer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:07 am
^^
Hi Tom. I have been using a Grizzly G0704 for about 5 years.
Griz G0463, the rebranded Sieg X3, for me. Now disco'd by Griz, I notice. Also an R8 machine. No CNC, just manual, though I did buy a DRO for the Z axis. Also purchased a rotating table. So I can mill straight lines and arcs, but I can't mill, say, lettering or any other complex curvature.
I think the 0463 is a bit cheaper and lower HP and heavier than the G0704 (353 vs 265 lbs), so more of a donkey and less of a race horse. Since 2009, still running strong. No tilting head, which I have missed only once...when I wanted to make a fish-scale pattern. The general advice is to buy as heavy as you can manage, and 353 lbs is a bit
more than I can comfortably move on a dolly, and a bit
less than I wish I owned. Ideally I'd like a 500 lb machine. (A real, truly manly mill such as a Bridgeport is more like 2000 lbs, IIRC. I think Rusty owns manly machines, capable of creating engine blocks out of solid chunks of steel, leaping over tall buildings in a single bound, etc.)
Avoid round column machines, unless you want to spend your days tramming the machine over and over! I've seen guys find clever workarounds for round columns, such as beaming a laser attached to the head, onto a line on the wall, etc, but it's enough of a faff that it might discourage you.
Like C.K., I went back and forth between Grizzly and LMS as my source. At the time, LMS only offered the X2 and I wanted the larger X3, so Griz it was for me. Have eyeballed the Encos and they look good, too.
I wonder if the X3/0463 has the plastic gear protection also?...
TomAiello wrote: ↑Wed Jun 01, 2022 9:20 am
I have some Proxxon tools that have been really nice for knife work ...
Proxxon...nice! That's quality toolage, Tom. I have not gotten around to it yet, but I've often thought of making a custom holder for my Foredom flex shaft and inserting that into the head of my mill, to do fine, high RPM work. The X3 tops out at 2000 RPM which is OK for wood but not ideal. (Not that you would EVER do wood on a mill...you'd get lectured for sure...but I have, after draping the ways, and really cleaning up after.)