what's this thing do

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

I just bought a GK12 and I am wondering if anyone here could shed some light on the actual capabilities of this machine. I know it was used as an engraving machine but I am hoping to be able to do light milling with it. Any advice.

bob · Jul 16, 2005

I hope you got the collets, they are very hard to find and expensive
Bob

ow2knives · Jul 16, 2005

Hi Peaches,

I am a long time user of a GK12. Great machine.

Apart from engraving these machines were used for die sinking and other 3d work. I use mine on a daily basis for profiling titanium, 303, pattern welded steels, 304, gold, silver and other materials up to 3/16 thick. The machine performs admirable. For general profiling I use 3/16 carbide cutters. With this cuts up 40thou deep at full cutter width are feasable depending on material. Try to remove as much material as possible by other means and leave the GK12 to do lighter finish work.Also a light spray onlubricant such as (dare I say it)WD40 works wonders. Control of the stylus is very important or you get chatter on the cutter.
If you want to do straight line cuts you will have to adjust the arms very precisely.
The GK21 which has the same base and tables but heavier arms and spindle is perhaps more appropriate for light milling. The 21 has an attatchment that clamps to the copy table to control the stylus arm by means of x and y screws for roughing out work.

Hope this gives you some insight. do you have a manual. If not Wrench will be able to help you.

Owen

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

to both bob and owen, i thank you your feedback. let me put forth that i have NO idea what this machine does and VERY LITTLE understanding of anything anything that owen said. i have never owned a mill, done any milling, or spent any time researching the deckel brand. until yesterday, i had never heard of a "deckelhead". clearly i am in over my head with this purchase, but i am positive that i can put this very worthy peice to use if i can only figure out how to maximize its capabilities. the dealer that i bought the unit from also has in stock a GK21. should i upgrade before i ship in order to maximize my purchase for the purpose of milling? ($450.00 US shipping from montreal to athens). Should i scrap the whole idea and go buy a bridgeport? Should i sacrifice my eBay reputation and tell these guys to piss off because the machine was listed as a mill? should i never make another impulse buy on eBay? we all know the answer to that last one. I am ALL about the deckel brand and its reputation for being the baddest **** ever. But am i wasting my time thinking that i'll be able to use the GK12 for milling. any input will recieved greatfully.

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

How much did you pay for it.
that's what matters.
can you show us the link to ebay
if you got it for a tenth of the price of a normal good second hand bridgeport ....then you got a bargain.......well that's a bargain for the usa i supose.
the gk pantograph is not a purpose built mill......they are mills in the secondary sence very light milling...they are ment for engraving and die-sinking.
all the best..mark

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

mark, thanks for chiming in. i payed $795.00 US for the machine. please excuse my ignorance, but I don't even know what die sinking is. let me re-ask my original question: "what's this thing for" with a new parameter. what does a deckel GK12 in non machinist terms and how does that relate to my need for a light duty milling machine that i can cut non-precision (e.g. sign parts) out of 1/4" stock. and what kind of tooling does this thing require. i did not know until yesterday that milling tools had different shaped shanks. again, thanks to anyone out there willing to help.
peaches

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

Is this the one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=12584&item=7530101089&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

ps I dont understand ...why in one pic it has a rusty table and in another it dont ...the pic of the one with the clean table looks sort of like another machine.
you got all the accessories with it ....including the cam former ...but i dont see any collets.
these machines are useless without collets...and the collets are almost inpossible to get hold of cheap.

you dont have any ebay history ..so your sacraficing no reputation .me thinks

all the best...mark

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

that is it. different machine? i dunno. Collets? what are those things that look like they hold drill bits?

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

btw $795 was a good price for the americas .that's if it comes with the collets.
but the shipping is a killer....sort of ruins the bargain.
all the best..mark

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

the collets look like this ..
see top of pic
they are about the same size as a thimble .

all the best.mark

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

and also it says 550v.......that says to me three phase....cannot be operated of domestic voltage without a convertor.......more money again.
all the best.mark

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

so you don't think the collets are in place on the machine? it looks to me that there is even a cutter of some kind chucked up into the machine from the eBay photos. i have three phase in my shop and plenty of converters left over from before. what is die sinking.

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

i've not got into die-sinking myself .....
but it is i believe ..making molds and paterns for plastic injection molds......

signs and lettering is the main stay of this machine ..here are a few pics of what it is capable of

all the best...mark

peaches · Jul 16, 2005

this little bit helps more than you know. thanks

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pantograph_Engravers/

my group click on members project in the slide show on the main page for more pics .
all the best.mark

aboard_epsilon · Jul 16, 2005

and go here
all the info you will ever want

http://www.antaresinc.net/FactRotary.html

all the best.mark

Frederick Harvie · Jul 16, 2005

A friend of mine bought a peice of machinery from abmachinery that was advertized on there web site as in excelent condition. They shipped a peice of junk with stripped gears and refused to accept it back or make the deal right in any way. If the add doesn't say that collets are included you can bet they are not.
550 volt is not a common voltage in the U.S. so you will likly need a transformer or another motor.

peaches · Jul 17, 2005

thanks fred. i have not sent any money yet but am counting my ammunition until monday morning as abmachinery listed this thing as a mill. it is on them at this point to deliver me a "milling machine", but to be honest, during my 36 hour crash test regarding what a GK12 can do i have developed an affinity for the lil guy. this is a really cool tool from a really cool company that has some REALLY dedicated fans. i love that **** and am more determined now than ever to own a deckel. my only fear is that i may outgrow the GK12 before it even arrives. can this thing mill or not.

Arno · Jul 17, 2005

The Deckel factory calls the GK a Pantograph Engraving and Profile Milling Machine.
G - gravier = engrave; K - kopier = copy
As Owen said, the GK-12 is for very light, sensitive work (1/4" collet cap.max.) the GK-21 can take 3/8" collets.
Your biggest problem for milling will come from the slowest speed of 1600 rpm unless you use single lip cutters.
Don't even think of having the 550 motor rewired as the vibration from a not perfectly balanced motor will show in the work.
Arno

Milacron · Jul 17, 2005

One point to be made is that it's pretty silly to be getting a Deckel pantograph all the way from Canada, when if you shake the bushes a little, you could probably find one for 500 bucks (or less) right in your home state !

Deckel *mills* are extremely rare in the US, but the Deckel pantographs are pretty common...thousands of them out there sitting in a corner unused for a couple of decades, under the shop dust. Cheap, because CNC has made them obsolete for industry and nobody wants them. And most of them here would be 220 volts, not 550.

If you place a "wanted" ad on Machinetools.com for a "Deckel mill", based on my past experience, you'll get no one calling with a mill, but get 5 dealers calling trying to sell you the Deckel *pantograph* they've had sitting around for 10 years. If you were to place a "wanted" ad for Deckel *Pantograph*, your phone would probably be ringing off the hook !

When they show up at live auctions, they typically sell for a couple hundred bucks.

what's this thing do

Plastic

Titanium

Cast Iron

Plastic

Titanium

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Titanium

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Titanium

Titanium

Titanium

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Titanium

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Titanium

Stainless

Plastic

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