Enco vs. Grizzly square column mill

I got a little aggressive while back with my HF 44991 mill (X2?). Maybe I should only be cutting wax and plastic with this machine? :violin:
As I'm rebuilding and improving the milling head, (I did a little climb milling too and have to tighten up the table). I'm planning a new purchase later down the road for a bigger bench top machine when money and job prospects improve. There's no room in the garage for a Bridgeport. :(

My research has narrowed down to two larger square column milling machines:

An Enco Model #PQ328-6257 with the power down feed and DRO (Rong Fu)
Enco - Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Machinery, Tools and Shop Supplies

Or the Grizzly G0722 G0722 Milling Machine with Power Feed but no DRO. Grizzly has the DROs but I'll have to install it myself.

The cost would rise to about the same for either machine when I add the DRO to the Grizzly.

I've notice some "slight" differences with these machines. For example, on the Grizzly machine, there's a digital angle readout for the head (how accurate? and if I tram and keep the head at vertical, why do I want or need a head angle readout?).

Now I have to ask the question... :confused: What do you all think?

Anybody in the So. California area own one of these machines?

Thanks in advance.

George
Lancaster, CA

George,

There are decent digital angle gauges available for $30.00.
It would be handy for certain setups if you needed to set the head to a specific angle.

This one is accurate to .2 degree's, is magnetic and has a aluminum case.

Workroom Garage Workshop, Guages Measuring items in angle magnetic gauge digital store on eBay!


Jeff...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jalessi

George,

There are decent digital angle gauges available for $30.00.
It would be handy for certain setups if you needed to set the head to a specific angle.

This one is accurate to .05 degree's, is magnetic and has a aluminum case.

Workroom Garage Workshop, Guages Measuring items in angle magnetic gauge digital store on eBay!


Jeff...

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No, it has a *resolution* of 0.05 degrees. The accuracy is stated as 0.2 degrees, which is a 0.040" error at 12" - useless for setting the head back to vertical tram, but probably ok for any tilted application. And I'd be highly skeptical of its ability to actually meet those specs....

Regards,
Ray L.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HimyKabibble

No, it has a *resolution* of 0.05 degrees. The accuracy is stated as 0.2 degrees, which is a 0.040" error at 12" - useless for setting the head back to vertical tram, but probably ok for any tilted application. And I'd be highly skeptical of its ability to actually meet those specs....

Regards,
Ray L.

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Ray,

Good catch, I corrected the misinformation in the previous post.

Jeff...

Thanks for the info on the electronic angle gauge.

It's a bit far for me to visit WA State to see a demo machine at Grizzy and there wasn't much info on the accuracy of the digital angle dial on the machine head, but when tramming a head, my dial indicator and something of an Indicol product attached to the spindle would be more accurate and desired. I don't know if I could trust the installed digital angle dial by itself.

When cutting angler contours or holes on a project clamped in a vise, such as steam passageways in a steam cylinder, I'd prefer to use a triangle or combination of triangles for the desired angle.


George
Lancaster, CA

I would say that the Grizzly is a far more versatile machine right out of the box. It is a variable speed from 100-1600 with a digital readout while the RongFu is only capable of predetermined rpms by switching gears. The RongFu with Power Feed on the table, stand and DRO is $5,721.98. The Grizzly is $3,544.00 for the Power Feed on the table and stand plus the price of whatever DRO you decide on. Plus the Grizzly is set up for tapping. I would look harder at the Grizzly than the RongFu. The Grizzly is basically an X4 while the RongFu is a 45 machine.

The 722 is 574 pounds and I think the Rf-45 is 750. You can get a manual IH mill for around 3K. They come in at about 1000 pounds.

If I remember correctly the 722 is a X3 super. It should have a three sided column.

I would get a PM-30/Weiss 30LV over the 722 for the money, I have yet to see a 722 converted to CNC here but perhaps someone has.

I'm not sure what to think of the weight of the 0722. If you look at the web page it says the shipping weight is 572 pounds, but the pdf spec sheet says 850 pounds. I would tend to lean more toward it having the higher weight.

the Grizzly 0722 is a sieg sx4.
Sieg SX4 Mill
walt

The question of what's in the milling head was going to be next...

Whether the head was a variable speed or belt drive. My experience with belt drive milling heads aboard my ship in the machine shop was troublesome. A variable speed head would be more convenient presuming the quality is good and I don't mess it up. :(

You'd figure, after the 722 gets a following like my little HF 44991 machine, there'd be CNC conversions eventually. The 722 already has a power downfeed on the Z axis.

I looked at the Tormach web page lately and noticed the PCNC 1100 looked similar to the Rong Fu machine. Anyone know what machine Tormach started with? I have a problem where the electronics were placed as I'd have to move everything around if I were to enclose the machine and install a flood coolant system. In the end, once everything is relocated, the PCNC 1100 would look like a small Haas mini mill.

There's going to be an open house at Little Machine Shop in Pasadena on Oct. 20th, maybe I'll get to see the Tormach in action.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Oops Change that to a SX4....

Has anyone CNC one here?

This reminds me of barbell sets from the distant past, where a 110 lb set had a shipping weight of 89 pounds. Obviously one of the numbers is wrong, but I'd suggest that shipping weight would be more accurate as the various carriers would likely take acception to grossly mislabeled pallets.

So I'd go with the 572 number. However it would be most interesting to see the machine weighed on a honest scale.

A quick edit here! How many boxes does the machine ship in? I didn't think about that possibility.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 109jb

I'm not sure what to think of the weight of the 0722. If you look at the web page it says the shipping weight is 572 pounds, but the pdf spec sheet says 850 pounds. I would tend to lean more toward it having the higher weight.

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I'm sure the 0722 ships in one crate since the stand is not included.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wizard

This reminds me of barbell sets from the distant past, where a 110 lb set had a shipping weight of 89 pounds. Obviously one of the numbers is wrong, but I'd suggest that shipping weight would be more accurate as the various carriers would likely take acception to grossly mislabeled pallets.

So I'd go with the 572 number. However it would be most interesting to see the machine weighed on a honest scale.

A quick edit here! How many boxes does the machine ship in? I didn't think about that possibility.

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if you'd have bothered to read the link to the review of the SX4 i posted it would tell you all you want. "Due its nearly 800 lb. (355 kg) weight, moving the SX4 up onto a workbench is not as easy an operation..." This is also the net weight posted by MTW for their SX4. https://www.machinetoolswarehouse.co...cat=253&page=1
walt

I can give you a hand setting up the SX4 Just let me warm up first.

Thanks for all your opinions. I'm starting to lean toward the G0722 machine when there's money. I guess I'll have to install a DRO myself.

As far as the machine's weight: I downloaded the specs and it weighs over 700#. Plus the shipping weight is under 850# crated not including the stand.
When the time comes, I'll have the right cherry picker and help to set the beast up.

What got me is the specs say the crate size as it ships is 49" x 40" x 82"!