Anyone have a Grizz horizontal boring machine?

[Jesse Cloud]

The Grizzly 0540 single spindle horizontal boring machine seems almost too good to be true. I see the motor is a little wimpy, but what am I missing. Its offered at about 1/3 the price of the Delta equivalent (which has either two or three spindles). I have been burned by low end Grizzly tools before and would like assurance from someone who owns one before I take the leap.

The product is at http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0540

Thanks in advance.
Jess

[Mike Henderson]

I've been thinking about the same machine but to use it as a slot mortiser. If anyone is using it that way, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Mike

[Mike Wenzloff]

The drill chuck would have to be machined well to run end mills for use as a slot mortiser. Which also brings up the issue of the chuck is most likely a morse taper fit, and should be a drawbar or other "permenant" attchment. The side pressure may well cause the thing to rattle loose at some point. An even, thin coat of lock-tite would help things. I know a guy using a press with a good XY table to mill with. Would make me nervous thinking I could blow a furniture part, though.

I think that 3/4 hp would be fine as far as power, though.

Take care, Mike

[Jim Becker]

I was looking at that on their site recently after reading a previous post about it. The machine seems to be specifically suited to be used with drill bits, rather than end-mills. I'm wondering whether it would really do a good job for slot mortising or not. IE, is the motor up to it? I don't remember anyone posting that they own one, however.

[Andy Hoyt]

I came extremely close to buying one about two years ago. Eventually abandoned the notion only because of the low rpms and a perceived awkward operating position for a very specific and small slot mortise I cut a buhzillion times annually and must control the operation by an easy line of sight to the cut. I ended up with a vertical milling machine (much more bucks) on which I've tweaked the speed.

[Alan Turner]

I have not seen or used one. However, there was a review on the web, somewherre, which included video, which I read and watched. I recall that for the price, ti worked well as a slot mortiser, but the fellow went pretty slow, and only nibbled about 1/8" if depth at a time. This was about a year ago, maybe more.

[Phil Pritchard]

3/4 HP seems a bit low for slot mortising. I'd alsio be concerned about bearings. For drilling all you need is a radial or thrust bearing - for milling you also need bearings to accommodate lateral or side pressure. If you don't have adequate bearings it will do a bit more than rattle!

[ROBERT ELLIS]

Jesse, what do you have in mind for this tool? I've owned one for a couple of years. I used a doweling jig for years in assembling rails and stiles and when I bought one of these it was an improvement in time versus the dowelling jig. I believe with the right bit it could be turned into a slot mortiser. Now for a couple of cons: Because of having to use a long 3/8" drill bit to make to holes for my dowels I always seemed to get a small amount of "deflection", i.e., the opposing pieces (stile/rail) would never quite line up perfectly; better than a doweling jig but not as accurate as I would have liked. This always causes me more sanding. Another thing is you'll have to use some outfeed stands on both sides of the table because of the weight of long pieces hanging over the sides will cause deflection (very slight tilt) in the table. In the end my opinion of the machine is that it is probably worth the asking price, but if I had to do it all over I would opt for a larger, higher $ machine, or look at purchasing some tools to make a mortise and tenon joint and forget the dowelling technique all together...

Robert

[Mike Henderson]

My thought for using it as a slot mortiser is to use spiral router bits and plunge the bit into the mortise area to make holes side-by-side, then to come back with the back and forth motion to clean it out. As Mike W pointed out, if the chuck is a Morse taper, some Loctite should keep it in.

I realize the motor isn't real big but I'm looking for something for low utilization and low cost. That's why I was interested in this tool.

I prefer a slot mortiser for chairs instead of a regular mortising machine, but could go with a benchtop mortiser. The slot mortiser is just cleaner and doesn't require maintenance on the bits.

Mike

[Mike Wenzloff]

And that's the thing. I think the motor, short of using very large bits, should be strong enough.

When I use power for slot mortising, I use a WoodRat and the large Festool router. The speed is not at its highest setting. Actually, it is as low as it can go and not mess with the speed compensting circuitry too much. Point being, this induction motor is in reality as strong as that router. So it is side load being the biggest bug a boo and Mike's method of plunging and cleaning makes for quick and clean mortises.

Mike, check into using spiral end mills. Often they are actually cheaper than router bits and the spiral angles are better optimized for the slower speed, even though they are design for cutting an obviously different material, they work great.

Another option for this is building one of the plans for a horizontal mortiser. Many are floating around. I think it was Wood Magazine had one that seemed decent a few years ago, and I know before I bought the Rat, I found several on the web as free plans.

Take care, Mike

[Rick Lizek]

http://www.woodcentral.com/articles/reviews/articles_729.shtml has a basic review on the G0540. I've talked to several folks using it as a mortiser with good results. I've used a Rojek which is around $1700 and seems to have a similar fit and finish. I typically use 2 flute HSS endmills in an industrial Griggio similar to Alan's Griggio for many years with great results. I've also used the Paolini and other mortisers along with the Laguna/Robland mortiser which is the mortiser of the combo machine and starts at $600 for the basic unit and you make your own stand and can use a router or use a seperate motor and jackshaft. It does come with a mortising chuck. The commercial mortisers typically run at 3600 rpm which is an advantge for doing doweling or mortising with endmills.