Bedair Machine Works
Steve Bedair
2-2008

 

Grizzly G6760
Vertical Milling Machine


  Comments:
       While comparing mills It surprised me how little information I could find on the G6760 or Encos's 100-1525 type
   mills. Both mills are model model X6320A according to the owners manuals. The few people I did find that owned
   the mills were happy with them. Since I've had mine awhile I am happy with it and would do it again. All controls
   are very smooth and the powerfeed works great.

  
   Pro's:

   Weighs 1620 lbs so it's capable of some heavy milling.

    Fit and finish are very nice.

   Angular spindle bearings

   One shot lubrication for the table.

   2 HP motor single phase (Grizzly's site show a 1.5 HP single phase motor, manual shows 1.5 HP three phase)
                                          
   The belt drive is super quite!

   Table uses 1/2" Bridgeport type clamping set.

   The base of the mill has a place to mount a coolant pump if you like (inside the base). The back of the
   base also has a drain plug for the coolant. I personally don't care for a flood coolant
   system  on a mill with a DRO. Makes too big of a mess. It would be easy to add if you liked.

   Grizzly's customer service was very helpful and shipping was very fast. Ordered Monday morning
   and it was at the trucking terminal Wednesday.
  

  Con's:

   Owner's Manual is a joke..... Very poor English and the pictures are barely legible. Grizzly really needs to work
                                                on this. (Enco's mill has the same bad manual).

   Changing drive belt is not the easiest thing to do but once you have done it a few times it's not too bad.

   Open unshielded  bearing under the spindle pulley. There is a roller bearing directly under the spindle pulley that
   is open and unshielded. Any dirt or debris from the belt can go directly into this bearing.  The bearing is not very
   big and would be easy to change out with a shielded bearing. This is on my "to do" list.

   The owners manual states that way protectors are included. I spoke with Grizzly customer service and they told   
   me this is referring to the small metal wipers that wipe against the ways, not an actual rubber way protector.
   After looking at the other larger Grizzly mills I see it's the same on these also. No big deal, just poor wording.

  




   A few mills I considered

   Enco's Model #100-1525 
   8X36 STEP PULL VERTICAL MILL 1.5HP, 3PH, 220V:
   This is a great looking mill and it was on sale. The biggest difference between this mill and the Grizzly G6760 is that
   the Enco shows to have 10 speeds compared to 5 speeds on the Grizzly.  This is because the Enco mill has a three
   phase two speed motor. Even with the Enco on sale there was over a $1000 difference when you added the
   powerfeed upgrade and shipping cost. I also found that the Enco and Grizzly have the exact same owners manual
   showing both mills to be a model X6320A.
 
    Grizzly's Model G0484 9" x 32" Gear-Head Mill / Drill with Stand  
   
For a bench top Mill / Drill I think this is a great deal ! It includes a table power feed and also a power feed to raise
    and lower the head. Also weighs in in at 838 lbs which is nice for a benchtop machine.
    This was one of my first choices but after talking to Grizzly I was told the G0484 was on backorder until May 08.

    Grizzly's
Model G3616 & G3617 Vertical Mills  
   
The G3616 & G3617 are vertical mills that include a lot of accessories. The G3617 also has a horizontal spindle.
    Both these mills include a 5" milling vise, coolant system, power feed and a set of R8 collets.
    The G3617 uses an R8 spindle on the horizontal spindle and I've never ran into a milling job that I could not do
    with a vertical milling machine. Because of this narrowed my choices to the G6760 & the G3616.
    The G3616 looks like a great mill and I have spoke to owners that are very happy with it but I went with the
    G6760  for a few reasons:
    The G6760 looks more like a scaled down version of the Bridgeport's.
    Machine weight, the G6760 weighs almost 300 lbs more than the G3616.

    (G6760 machine weight 1620 lbs / 
G3616 machine weight  1322 lbs)
    Coolant system, I personally don't care for a coolant system on a mill unless it's used for high production.
    It makes a mess and you spend more time cleaning  than milling
. (This is my personal opinion)
    The G6760 also shows to have Angular contact bearings for the spindle to where the G3616 uses sealed ball bearings.
    The G6760 also has one shot lubrication for the table and knee.
    The G6760 also offers a 4" riser block.
   


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