G0619

I've had this mill for almost half a year now - performance and accuracy are what one can expect from a Chi-com mill. The good: - The machine came well-packaged and with all necessary tools to get it up and running. - Documentation provided was good and clear, including set-up and run-in procedures - Main Spindle runs nice and smooth with good control over the RPM thanks to the LCD-readout. - The tapping feature allows immediate reverse of the spindle - one of the reasons I decided to buy this model (beware if you do small threads: the mill has a lot of torque) - The machine frame is rigid enough to hold tight tolerances (±.001") if I do my part - Tool changes are easy with the provided wrenches - repeatability of the mill is good enough for small production runs of aluminum parts - Customer service is responsive and provides spare parts in a timely manner - I'' address this in the "ugly" issues! The bad - Scale of the vertical axis wheel is in .001" while distance from between the graduation marks is .0005". Grizzly/Chi-Com used the same graduation wheel as on the other axis - apparently a cost-saving approach, that is not very helpful to the operator The ugly: - Digital depth gauge was DOA (dead on arrival) - Main switch handle was missing - in/out axis wheel was wobbly - Cross-axis had .015" slop upon arrival and required adjustment work. I gave the mill 2 stars because of the lack of quality control. ALL of the items on the "Ugly" list could have easily been caught with a short final inspection procedure. I do not appreciate being the final inspector and repair technician. The mill is good in regards to accuracy and repeatability, but I don't think I ask too much when expecting a product to work without having to invest several hours into troubleshooting before achieving the performance that it was listed with.

I have been toying with the idea of buying a vertical mill for my shop for years now. This year a number of projects that needed milling were done on my small lathe but it was a real chore so I decided to take action! I have been looking at mini mills from Little Machine Shop, Grizzly, Micro Mark and others but after reading pretty much everything I could find in the internet on this subject I decided to shell out the extra doe and go for the Sieg SX3, in this case Grizzly G0619. The reasons I decided on the Grizzly version of this machine is Grizzly's superb reputation for service, superior quality control and finally Amazon's price! For some reason Amazon is selling the exact same unit coming directly from Grizzly for 200.00 bucks less. This extra money can buy you a great quality milling vice for example. I placed the order a few weeks ago and within a few days (earlier than I anticipated) I got a call from UPS freight that my new toy had arrived. I recommend all prospective buyers to pay the extra 34.00 bucks for the Lift Gate service. The unit is about 420 lbs crated and it is very hard to lower from the truck. The UPS driver not only lowered the unit from the truck but also brought it to my garage! A+++ for UPS. Upon opening the crate I saw to my relief that the mill had made it to my home in perfect condition. After cleaning the grease from the machine (it took a few hours to do that right, using nitrile gloves, a plastic spatula, mineral spirits tons of paper towels and a tooth brush) I went through the Spindle break in procedure and the machine was ready for use. I forgot to mention that I opted for a base of my own design for this machine and I am very glad I did. This saved me some serious money and the base is super strong and exactly tailored to my needs. I made it 28" tall and this plus the heavy duty casters brought the table to the perfect height for my stature. By the way, either have a few friends helping you with the mill or have a small chain hoist (mine is 2,000lb capacity) to move and relocate this beast. As I was saying, the base I made double as a cabinet for all accessories that either came with the mill or I have purchased lately. There is actually space to spare. There is not much I can add about the quality of this great machine that others haven't already covered. Chinese quality has really come a long way in recent years. The machine is robust, perfectly sized for pretty much any project I could personally throw at it and it is a joy to use. I like the push button speed control but I am not crazy about it. I just prefer the feel of a rotary type pot for this. Another thing I am not crazy with the Grizzly is the time it takes to lift the head to maximum height. I guess I might adopt some method to make this either faster (motorized Z axis level control) or just easier (install some kind of counter weight to make cranking easier on the hand). Other that these two quibbles my mill came in perfect condition, the gibs were all perfectly adjusted with no play in any of the axis and it has power to spare. I faced some SS blocks I had at hand with the mill and it literally breezed through with minimal effort. Several drilling jobs I already did on it went through without a hitch. The chuck that came with the mill is OK but I plan to buy a better one in the near future. One thing for first time millers is to be prepared to spend some money...NOT just on the mill but on accessories. I have already spent about 500 bucks on accessories and I have another list for another 1200!!! Yes, I know...this is a lot but once you have them they can be used for the rest of your life. How many times do you have to change a rotary table or an indexer after all? All in all, a great machine that seem to be made to last. Highly recommended.

I’ve had my Grizzley G0619 mill for about 3 months now and it has surpassed by expectations for a sub 400 pounder. There are several good reviews already posted, and I’ll try to restrict by comments to the aspects that were/are important to me. I knew going in that the backlash was in the neighborhood of 0.005-0.008” but planned to add a DRO upfront. I purchased a 2-axis DRO-Pro Mag Scale unit on line at the time of my mill purchase (price around $800.00). See their site for less expensive units. As noted by others, the machine comes packed in a thin wooden crate. Be prepared to add around $35 in hidden changes to have it delivered to your home unless you have a pickup and a couple of strong buddies ready to drop what they are doing to help you pick it up at the UPS place. Mine had a smashed in top so I took a photo with my phone and had it notated on the UPS shipping form. The UPS guy was super nice and used his pallet jack to drag the crate into my garage/shop. As it turned out there was only the smallest of dent in sheet metal located at the top of the column. I did not feel the need to report it as it is so very minor. It took my son and me around 2 hours and a roll of paper towels to remove the shipping grease. Nasty stuff but it sure did its job. The mill works great and has more power than I had expected for a bench top unit. The chuck is of poor quality and I only use it for non-precision drilling with large bits after center drilling the part. Most of my work is gear cutting for making clocks and requires a high degree of precision. Therefore I use my special tiny chucks in a collet. I do plan on purchasing a good ½” chuck and salvage the R8 shaft from the original grizzley chuck when and if I ever need to chuck up a bit larger than 0.250”. I like the way the drilling function works with the large quill handle and the fine adjustment knob and Z-axis built in DRO. This little DRO is not all that accurate but has done a great job when tracking how deep my bit is going. I was able to use the bolt hole function on my add-on DRO to place 8 rods (#71 bit) in a circular patter the size of a baby aspirin and calculated the accuracy at around plus or minus 0.002 inch. I think this machine has lived up to all of my expectations and feel that the add-on DRO has made my experience much better.

Just tried to drill 1/2 inch hole in half inch steel and stripped the fiber gear. Had to finish drilling with a hand drill. I was told by Grizzly I am working the machine too hard, but I've been a machinist for 30 years, so I think I know how to drill holes. Now the PITA replacing the gear............

I received a GO463 Mill that would not run. After going through everything with Grizzly Tech. and Customer Service they sent me a replacement Mill that would not run. When trying to setup a return of the second Mill with Grizzly Customer Service they became very rude and are now charging me a 10% re-stocking fee. Both the machines they sent me had the same problem...they ran for about 5 seconds and would not run again because they were shipped with defective circuit boards.

A great little mill for the money. I would recomend not to use the wife or girlfriend as a clock for the spindle break-in. Performs very well, anything it won't do i can take to work. Remove the stupid little chip gaurd there is a vidio on youtube on how to do it.

OK, it's no Bridgeport, but it's nice little mill for the home machinist. Seems to operate smoothly with plenty of power. Machine arrived crated and in excellent condition. It's heavy, borrowed a lift table from a friend to get it onto a table. Like everyone one says, needs a light. No big deal, stuck a magnetic one on the side. Although the dials work fine, I'll probably put on a DRO some time this year. Anyway, having lots of fun with this and my C4 lathe. Well worth the money. Edit April, 2013 Pulling back a star. Spindle bearings went after only a couple months and very low hours. Grizzly sent new bearings as soon as I told them of the problem, as always, they did a great job. My disappointment was from when I disassembled the machine. The quill was full of grit. Nothing properly cleaned before assembly, my bearings never had a chance. This machine is a good design, but manufacturing is not so hot. Dirty and ill fitted. If you take some time with it, you'll have a nice mill, however out of the box, it's just OK.

STURDY, SEEMS ACCURATE, FEATURES, E.G. SPEED CONTROL.. MINOR PROBLEM IS ACCESSING THE Y-AXIS TABLE LOCK. SIZE AND WEIGHT ARE IDEAL FOR THE SMALL SHOP. STILL BUYING TOOLS FOR THE UNIT. PLAN ON SPENDING $2000 OR MORE ON TOOLS. CONSIDERING CONVERTING TO CNC, BUT THIS WILL BE IN THE FUTURE. WOULD BUY AGAIN.