Grizzly G0704 drill/mill questin.

[Brian Sommers]

for those of you who have this.

How long is the chuck?

I want to be able to drill through a piece of 4" wood. Could I with this machine?

This is what I'm thinking: the spec sheet says 13" from spindle to table

3" ?? for chuck
4-1/4" for drill bit
3/4" for tear out stock underneath work piece
4" for workpiece.

so... 13-12 should leave me an inch to spare.

how is it in reality?

[John Aperahama]

This mill drill has 2 inches of spindle travel and 11 inches of column travel more complicated than it needs to be.
Is this a precision hole? it is in wood so probably not.
There are drill presses out there that have a 6 inch stroke Steel city is one. And way cheaper than a mill drill that was primarily designed to drill and mill metal.
Then there is the tooling the G0704 is a R8 taper machine way different that what we are used to (morse taper) not difficult to get appropriate tooling but again unless you really need it...................

[Brian Sommers]

Yeah. I sensed it was overkill. I'll check out steel city.

[Keith Outten]

Lots of us here own Mill/Drills and prefer them over a drill press. Whether they are overkill is a personal decision but I would never trade my Mill/Drill for any drill press.
.

[Susumu Mori]

I upgraded my $99 bench top drill press to a mini mill.
For one thing, I couldn't fine a high quality drill press in the market.
Also, I found many in this forum enjoying milling machines.
Another thing is about my small Delta mortising machine; I never liked the idea of pushing a square bit with such a force and cutting quality has been so-so.

So, I decided to invest $900 to a milling machine.
I admit that there are operations that would be easier with regular drill presses but I really enjoy the versatility.

It can bore holes, make clean mortises, and remove most of wastes for half-blind dovetails.
The X, Y table is quite handy for many operations. It can take some tasks away from routers too (I'm a router hater).

They also has more z-travel with their column travel (mini mills have only column travel, no spindle travel) than drill presses, but it has smaller z-clearance as the table is fixed. So, you can't use long drill bits for thick materials.
I put 6-inch low profile vise on it. So, it can handle most of materials but it is not good at wider boards.

So, shortcomings are there but if I have to choose one, I would pick a milling machine.

[Brian Sommers]

I upgraded my $99 bench top drill press to a mini mill.
For one thing, I couldn't fine a high quality drill press in the market.
Also, I found many in this forum enjoying milling machines.
Another thing is about my small Delta mortising machine; I never liked the idea of pushing a square bit with such a force and cutting quality has been so-so.

So, I decided to invest $900 to a milling machine.
I admit that there are operations that would be easier with regular drill presses but I really enjoy the versatility.

It can bore holes, make clean mortises, and remove most of wastes for half-blind dovetails.
The X, Y table is quite handy for many operations. It can take some tasks away from routers too (I'm a router hater).

They also has more z-travel with their column travel (mini mills have only column travel, no spindle travel) than drill presses, but it has smaller z-clearance as the table is fixed. So, you can't use long drill bits for thick materials.
I put 6-inch low profile vise on it. So, it can handle most of materials but it is not good at wider boards.

So, shortcomings are there but if I have to choose one, I would pick a milling machine.


Well, as much as I would like a milling machine. I think for what I do I'll have to go with the steel city dp

[Keith Outten]

If a drill press is the best choice for you that's the direction you should go. The variety of machines available these days makes the decision more difficult and the research a complex chore, the good news is that somewhere in the mix is the best machine for each of us.
.

[Cary Falk]

Yeah. I sensed it was overkill. I'll check out steel city.

Steel City is dead. It was a great drill press but I don't think you will be able to get one.

[Brian Sommers]

The Grizzly mill/drill I would need that has the amount of throw I want ( a min. of 3-1/4") would be the G0463 for $1500. This would be awesome and fun I could do the same thing on a drill in the 500-700 dollar range.

[James White]

You may be shocked to hear this. But this is an excellent drill press for the money. It has a 4" spindle stroke. With a 20% off coupon it is a down-rite bargain. Grizzly sells the same basic machine for more $$. I went over mine thoroughly looking for run-out and checking the table for square and I could not find any flaws. You will need to change the cheap belts since they vibrate but other than that it has been a real gem and i do own a mill as well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-in-12-speed-production-drill-press-61484.html
(http://www.harborfreight.com/20-in-12-speed-production-drill-press-61484.html)
Grizzly version
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-in-12-speed-production-drill-press-61484.html