[Gooserider]

from the Grizzly specs...

Spindle Taper: MT #3 - VERY BAD!!! IMHO this is a deal breaker! I will never again by a mill with anything other than a Bridgeport R-8 taper. It is easy to get tooling for that taper, any other taper is much harder to find, and several times more expensive!

Head Travel: 9-7/8" - Does this mean that the bit movement is done by moving the entire mill head up and down on the colum? If so, I'd have real doubts about the accuracy you could expect with that setup. If you do have a moving mill quill, how much travel does it have?

Head Tilt: 45 degrees L/R - Good, though you probably won't need to tilt it much. More important is to find out how easy it will be to get the mill shaft exactly perpendicular to the table

Max. distance spindle to table: 11-1/2" - Nice, more than you need for making a block, but otherwise OK. I'd be more interested in finding out how CLOSE you can get to the table. The general rule is that you want the setup as tight as you can so that you can mill with minimal quill extension. The idea being that the closer everything is, the less opportunity there is for vibration and slop to mess you up.

Swing: 12-3/4" - Again, nice, but more than you need. Can you pull the quill closser into the colum if you don't need that much swing?

Longitudinal Travel: 7-7/16" - adequate for doing a block, but on the short side

Cross-slide travel: 4" - Adequate, but VERY much on the short side

Table size: 3-5/8" x 15-3/4" - Considering the movement specs, not unreasonable

Speeds: Variable; Speed Range: 0-2500 RPM - OK, but would be nice if they had higher. Small bits and copper can use really high speeds.

Motor Size: 3/4 HP - OK, but on the light side

Shipping Weight: 153 lbs. - Definitely says this is a light duty machine, I've had drill presses that weigh more.

Aside from the non-useful quill taper, I'd say that it would be acceptable for doing very light duty work, just don't push it to hard.

Gooserider