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Old 09-21-2024, 05:18 PM
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Default DRO or more hp?

I haven't been on here for a while, but I would like to hear an opinion on my choice factors.
I'm trying to decide on a Chinese import bench top milling machine with 1100 watts (1.4 hp) or a Grizzly (probably Chinese too, but with some customer support) with only 3/4 hp, but the Grizz has DRO included. Which would be more important for purely hobbyist use, the extra oomph of 1.4 hp or the DRO? I don't want to be limited to just machining aluminum or plastic.
Thanks for any input.
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Old 09-21-2024, 07:08 PM
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DRO hands down.

My Southbend mill is only 3/4 HP according to the literature.
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Old 09-21-2024, 07:51 PM
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After using a DRO, I would vote DRO. Being a small entry level mill either way, you probably will have rigidity issues anyway, so you will be limited on cutting depth and feeds. Dro will make holding tolerancesss and layout of holes so much faster and accurate.


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Old 09-21-2024, 09:30 PM
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Grizz is generally Taiwan, better quality than CCP.

I also would vote on the DRO.
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Old 09-21-2024, 11:52 PM
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Yup, DRO all the way. A mill of that size is going to have the rigidity of a limp noodle so the extra horsepower won't do you much good. On the other hand, a mill without a DRO is a useless tool.

And a word of advice, with a small mill like that, first thing you do is invest in some roughing or corncob endmills, they will remove material faster than anything else you can find. Save your regular endmills and facemills for light finishing cuts and let the roughers do the heavy work.

A sharp 1/2" roughing mill running at about 300 RPM with a 1" depth of cut will walk through a chunk of steel pretty nicely without a lot of strain on your machine. Start it off easy with a light feed and push the feed rate up till it's just nicely chewing through the material. Listen to the sound of the cut; it will tell you when the machine is happy...
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Old 09-22-2024, 04:04 AM
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Thanks for all the input. I was just worried that 3/4hp was not gona be enough to do more than aluminum. I'll go with Grizzly.
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