Enjoy. Just want to say you don't want to get into the habit of completely undoing the drawbar before breaking the taper as you can end up damaging the thread on the end over time. Just loosen it then tap it to break the taper.
I’ve been on the fence about these for a while. I have a mini lathe and while it’s always broken, when it works, I find it quite useful. These mini mills are expensive and for just a bit more, I could have an old ‘real’ mill. But those are heavy, hard to move, and take up a lot of space. Oh, and use 3-phase power. So there’s the fence. Good video. You might have me leaning a bit.
Cheers, I think the value proposition for these mills also depends on what can be found on the used market too. That market is very limited where I live so these mini mills are the only option at their price point. Cheers
They work good for the size and power. It doesn’t come with many accessories. I ordered a hold down kit from Amazon for 50 USD. It is also really good quality for the price.
I quite agree.....a DRO make the mill much more usable, once fitted you'll never want to be without it.....anyone going into that field is advised NOT to go to the cheapies that are little better than the digital caliper type scales.
As someone who went the cheapest route and bought the X2 I congratulate your decision. That being said, I learned a lot in the last few weeks, trying to tram in an "untrammable" machine, and adding all the rigidity it doesn't have right from the factory.
Hey ! Just a quick tip for when you remove the tool older, instead of unscrewing the drawbar entirely and then tap it with a hammer, just unscrew it like one turn, tap it and then unscrew it completely to remove the tool holder, like you're doing right now you could damage the thread on the drawbar or on the tool holder ! Nice work tho keep it up and have fun !
@@BLECHHAUS Yes I have the SX3L with the same system. Unfortunately when you loosen the drawbar with collets you need 3 hands, 1 to hold the tool/spanner on the underside of the spindle, 1 to loosen & tap the drawbar & 1 to hold the end mill. I made up a spindle lock negating the need for the under the spindle stupid spanner. It also uses the micro switch for the safety shield so you cannot start the mill with the lock engaged. Cheers Peter from Oz
@@petermurphy3354 Yep - three hands ;-) I always put a block of wood under the cutter so it can't fall out. For this purpose I have a couple of different sizes. Now I only need two hands. I dismantled the protective shield and removed and short-circuited the microswitch, now it works without a protective shield.
That is extremely important when removing the tooling.........NEVER unscrew the drawbar more than a turn or you could burr the threads when you tap the end to release the tool.......Morse tapers are the pain and I always preferred the R8 over a Morse any day. It's also something to mull over about the table length.....how many people actually need to have that long a table travel when most of their work is done in a vice of at most 100mm wide for these small mills......but you might want to co-ordinate drill some long plates so it's as you need but the once in a blue moon syndrome will get expensive if it never happens., and the same will apply to the Z axis height, nice to have but will make the machine more costly.
Thankyou for the advise, any is always welcome. I will admit that I probably shot taking the tool holder out of the taper about 3 times, so for the shot you saw the chuck was very loosely held in. Cheers
Man, I dunno. I asked about getting a mill a couple weeks ago to see your first impressions, and now the man has a mini mill. I dunno if my comment had something to do with this decision, but I'm happy to hear your feelings on the mill. Thanks man
@@artisanmakes awww, that made my day. Hope you get plenty good use out of the mill. I can tell with the quality level of your content, and your way of explaining, that I'll be a fan of yours for a long time 😀
Try to hold the end mills shorter, right above where the spiral ends. Rigidity is very important. Also, short spindle, don't lower it to much, rather bring down the head more. For steel, I would use carbide end mills.
Bugger me with a broomstick, @ 11:34 I thought "Dickey Knee had made a comeback, for anyone out of Australia he was a regular character on an Aussie kids show here. Good luck with the mill, I am just about to put my toe into the minefield that is buying a mini mill/lathe, your timing is great.
It was 3 years ago so I don’t have a link anymore, but from memory it was the cheapest listing I could find on eBay. I think it was the ausee machine store I bought it from, and during a sale
I just came upon this video and am glad I did as I live in the US and this is not easy to get but various clones are available locally. I was looking for a similar mill and found one by WEN Industries in the US that offered a similar mill with a brushless 1 HP motor with the same elongated bed as the one you have for about $1200. I am not sure if you are planning to add an auto-feed at least for the X-travel which would be a very useful addition. I definitely will look for your other videos on this mill before I will finalize my purchase, Thanks for sharing such detailed reviews about your shop tools and projects. Rama
Just spent $240 at my local mc shop getting 4 pins machined up out of stainless! Got no beef with paying for quality! Makes me wonder how much I could save by investing in a $600 lathe!
@@davidwillard7334 38mm 316ss x 160mm long gate hinges. 900mm 38mm round stock (offcut), 76 x 8 flat bar (316 off cut) $10. $70 in material so far 240 divided by 4 = $60 each for machining Weld myself....... Galvo ones on the net work out about the same $$ but I need SS
My mini mill is the "XJ12-300 (RO8)" from Amadeal in the UK. The motor power is half way between the 350 and the 750 watt versions you quoted, coming in at 550 watts. Yes, it has the tilting head, which will likely be a sod to tram in each time I move it, but I see it as a necessary evil for some of the work I intend to do on building or maintaining miniature working steam engines. Since it only came 2 days ago, I'm still in the process of clearing space on (and extending) the workbench where I intend to fix it; straight across the width of the workshop from the similarly sourced 7" X 14" mini lathe. Like you, I will be 'getting to know it' for a while before I add a DRO. I can't see a future in which a full motor drive and CNC doesn't come to pass ... one day! Meanwhile I've already taken delivery of a set of ER32 (2mm - 20mm) collets, with the R8 collet holder to follow. Somewhere I have a small selection of end mills, with a further _full(?)_ set to come as well as a small mill vice. Of course a set of decent quality parallels will soon be required. I think my first order of business, once everything arrives, will be to take some my existing steel stock and make a few more T nuts and hold down clamps. Good luck with yours!
Thank you for your review. I'm getting the SX2L (500W brushless, belt drive - no plastic gears) though. I'm pretty certain it will be more than enough for my needs . I'm forced to order from Germany to Sweden though, the SX2L is AU$ 600 cheaper in Germany than the SX2 (with the smaller table) is in Sweden. Yours is AU$ 3700 over here btw.... Unfortunately there are no models with a rigid column over here except the really big ones. Cheers
Glad to hear it, hope you enjoy it when it arrives. I have seen lots of mods to help improve the column, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue. Cheers
Cooling is imperative with steel cutting When doing aluminium use paraffin to lube and cool prevents the swarf sticking to cutter and gives great finish End mills are generally not used for facing a surface, use a tipped cutter or turn up a fly cutter on your lathe, At the price i think is great for small jobs especially ally work What was table and head vibration like while cutting steel
Early days with the mill and I was pretty unprepared with cutters. Mostly use kerosene nowadays, sometimes a blend of that and parrafin which works great. Cheers
@@mrillis9259 depends of the kind / type of paint. The paint on my lathe or mill was not effected. At least I did'nt notice it. But when I remove the diesel oil from the paint with acetone, the paint will be dissolved. Well - not that much, just a tiny little bit. So I just wipe the diesel off with a clean rag.
Very happy for you! Looking forward to follow-up videos. I am sure you will learn a lot with the new tool. I was wondering if it would be easier on the end mill with some cutting fluid (ex. wd-40 on aluminum and vegetable-oil/bacon-grease on steel) ?
Old hands do not use a lube or cutting fluid on aluminium and others with tungsten bits eschew them even on steel. I use cutting paste on all cuts, even brass and copper. Load the cutter grooves with some paste and as it heats up, it melts and feeds into the cut. The paste keeps the heat down, lengthening it’s life, but more importantly, it smoothies the cutting, allowing faster cuts.
Well you gotta admit the grease comes off a hell of a lot easier than rust does !!! So be thankful they took the time and money to put it on the machine !
Cheap d.r.o.: Take apart a couple of cheap digital calipers and glue them on temporarily. Or screw hole within bracketing reach. Just for when you need it. That's 150mm's/2 to play with until a proper setup goes on sale at least. Cheers.
Hi, I have a question: You mentioned that the reason a drill press can't be used to mill is because the side/radial loading will cause the Morse 3 taper tooling to pop out. Your milling machine has a Morse 3 taper spindle- is there something that the milling machine has that a drill press doesn't that keeps the Morse-tapered tooling from popping out?
@@chrismorgan200 Pretty much the draw bar, I have seen some people on youtube use drill presses as mills, using those mill tables, but you have to be very conservative with the feed or the taper tends to pop out.
Don't completely undo the drawbar when you take the tool out. When I was an apprentice, doing that smashed the bone on one finger when got it caught between a 6" milling cutter and the table. The worst part was the doctor taking an 8 mm long chip out that went through my finger nail. This was 32 years ago and my finger still looks squashed.
Regards comparison on the X2L vs X2.7L and rotating column, people should know the SX2LF has a fixed column and a considerably better motor than the X2L and for 'only' AU$200 more, which leaves it at AU$670 cheaper than the X2.7L . As an aside, the brushless DC motor on the SX2LF despite being 500W, vs the X2.7L at 750W, could have better torque at lower speeds due to the far superior brushless technology. Table size and overall solidity of the machines the 2.7 is way ahead of course. For AU$700 more you can have the far superior SX3L but it's a heavy and big beast to get into the workshop. I think the only wrong answer is the X2L.
A mill is next on my wish list, so keen to see how you go. I have looked at the Sieg range, (Lets face it, there isn't much else in my price range available here in Oz!) with no real idea of what I might want - so will be good to see how you go.
Hi Jack, have you considered the second hand market, dont know what the availability of used small industrial machines is like in Oz, In the UK we are spoiled rotten with machines from our industrial past. If possible I always buy 2nd hand industrial machines, just far superior to the new stuff from China. Regards Del.
Cheers Jack, I feel ya, seeing the American machinists and their wide range of brands can make a bit envious at times, but I am glad we have the sieg stuff available to us. They all need a little work done to them, especially on the lower end machines, but I am amazed at what they offer for the price. cheers
I think you will find many will suggest getting a rigid column version as opposed to the tilting column version. And I would agree. I would shop only among the rigid column choices.
Generally speaking looks like a very nice mill. It is very similar to the Grizzly 0704 mill I use and may be simply a knock off. To me the down side of this mill is not having a R8 spindle which is pretty standard in vertical mills of Bridgeport size and smaller. I had an early X2 with MT3 spindle and it was nothing but trouble and tooling was pretty limited and crude. Interchanging tooling with a lathe isn't important to me because I consider them different machines for totally different purposes. Do yourself a favor and buy some mist coolant and a squirt bottle. Squirting your workpiece with coolant will make for better tool life and give you a better finish.
Thanks for letting me know. I knew that getting the MT3 spindle was going to be a compromise, but having interchangeable tooling was enough to convince me to get the MT3 over the r8. Plus R8 spindles were a more difficult to find in stock when I was buying my mill so I would have probably chosen this model anyway, rather than wait for them to get a shipment in from china. Cheers
Looks like a good bench top mill. I’ve just bought my first mill and getting to grips with it all, especially trying to get my head around conventional and climb milling.
@@artisanmakes cheers dude yeah slowly getting use to it now. Love what you do on your channel and thank you for being a subscriber on mine. Keep up the good work 👍
Every time I buy a large Chinese power tool, it performs so poorly that it just becomes a matter of getting rid of it and replacing it with a "real" tool. So I spend more than if I had just started with something decent. Been a few years now though, maybe the Chinese stuff has improved.
@@artisanmakes Consider getting a mist cooler if heat is an issue. It not only works well, but blow chips out of the way to some extent. I've operated machines in a shop that used flood coolant. But also some not equipped for that and we would rig up a mist cooler. Also have one for my mini-lathe at home, and also floor model knee mill I have at home. I never much cared for WD 40 on machinery. It tends to get gummy after awhile if you don't get it all off.
i was lucky got aClausing lathe and Bridgeport Mill for $4k lathe was from trade school and mil was in very good shape used them 6 years and sold for same price
Varies depending on where you are, but I picked this up for $1,800 AUD. There is a more expensive brushless DC motor version of this and it sells for around $2,400 AUD.
you gotta get a good (not kurt good, but chinese good) milling vise, a set of parallels, and some surfacing bits, maybe a boring bar/head too, and you'll have a good time
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately kurt vises are not easy to come buy in my part of the world. I have a fair amount of tooling in the mail, that has still yet top arrive. I'll certainly be in the market for a boring head in the future though. Cheers
I know these were "test cut's", but on real parts, you might want to brush a cutting fluid on the part/end mill. ATF or wd-40 are great for aluminum. Used motor oil will work, in a pinch for steel. (cheap, but not as good as a "high sulfur cutting oil")
Thanks for the feedback, I used a little bit of wd in the shots bit it looks like it didnt show up well in the camera shots. I'm actually testing out high sulphur kerosene as a cutting fluid, as I have been recommended it. Cheers
LOL! Cleaning the sealant off! That stuff looks ALMOST as bad as the Cosmoline we had to deal with in the service. That stuff would only come off with soap and water, and not easily at that.
It has become clear to me that grease sealant what have you can only be wiped off on a cloth one finger space at a time. Very time consuming. No circular motion. Just wipe off.
Basically you will have to take the entire machine apart and put it together again. I also bought a mini mill, I replaced all the leadscrews with ballscrews (=no relevant backlash anymore), replaced all the bearings with japanese ones (=the machine doesn't run hot anymore). And of course added some motors to have a mini CNC.
Thanks for the feedback. I can already tell that in time I will probably have to replace the spindle bearings. As for the cnc part, I hope you enjoy your cnc upgrade. I have worked with quite a few cnc mills over the years, but i'm planning on keeping this one as a manual mill. Cheers.
Sorry, this might be my own ignorance as there are lots of machine shops in my area, but why not buy a used full size knee mill for around the same price or a new one for 5k USD or so?
A few factors for this. Mostly because this is a hobby so budget is a big limiting factor. Plus I don't simply have the space for a knee mill, and it would probably be impossible to transport a big mill into my workshop. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a bigger mill, but it just isn't practical for me.
I've had my SX2.7 (same as yours but came with a DRO) for 3 years and it's been a joy to use. Only made two mods: removed the dog clutch spring because it gets annoying real quick, and replaced the rubber Y-axis way cover (which perished after a year) with a 200mm wide non-rubber bellows from AliExpress. In hindsight 250mm would be better as It would also cover the DRO position sensor.
I was not aware that they come with DRO's from the factory, but I am sure mine will end up having one installed in time. I can also see myself removing the clutch too, an auto feed is not too high on my list and the cutch it a hinderance at times. Cheers
@@artisanmakes Oops, you are right. I remember now that it was some kind of anniversary deal by the Australian dealership (they added a DRO + green & yellow paint job)
The x2.7 and SX2.7 should auto eject the tool so don't need a tap from a hammer to release the taper. Leave the metal cover screwed in place and then undo the drawbar after a couple of turns it will tighten up and then pop the taper apart as the flange around the hex socket pushes against the underside of the metal cap. Amount it needs to turn will vary slightly depending on length of tooling.
if considering purchasing a mill like this, I think an R8 spindle is a far better choice than the Morse. You give up a little in vertical work space, but it is a better method for milling machines with a vast amount of tooling available. My larger milling machine at home is an R8. (And larger lathe is Morse #5 in the spindle) When I bought a Chinese mini-lathe and mini-mill, sort of just for the fun of it, I got illogical and bought the Morse taper mill version since that is what the lathe had and I could share the same collet set. So not only did I get a mini-mill that doesn't hold cutters as well and is more difficult to release, but the R8 tooling for my larger mill won't work. So I made the wrong choice for two reasons.
Thankyou for the heads up. I will admit that I filmed knocking the collet chuck out about 3 times so it was never too tightly seated in the spindle. Cheers
I love the Chinese interpretation of English! This Old Tony has a humorous episode on the “Chinese Minilathe” (not mini lathe!) that pokes fun at several of these mistakes!
Got the X2P a year ago. Fine Machine for my kind of work. First thing you should build with your Mill is a Fly Cutter It is so a handy piece of tooling and easy to make. Oh, and you schould inverst in Collet Blocks in Hex-shape and Rectangle. they make some jobs so much faster and easy. Like Milling Hex-Heads on round stock.
I made the mistake of buying a stig X1 . No where in all the advertising on ebay does it say that the gears are all plastic and are not covered in the warranty , I found out after telephoning the company that sold it to read the fine print on their web site . I am in the process of making metal gears to replace these planed obsolescent parts .
I am not as familiar with the x1 as I am with the larger x2 and x2.7 mill. I am a bit surprised about the fact that is uses gears. They are probably the same as the acetal gears that are in the sieg lathe that I own. I have never had issues with the acetal gears, but metal gears are the way to go or a belt drive conversion. Cheers.
I guess it would depend what you cut, but it's certainly not unheard of to put one of these in an apartment. If you look at the early NYC CNC videos you'll see it's all set up in an apartment. Usually for an enclosure you would want to go CNC. I know they are small but sherline, proxxon and taig machines are quiet and should be fine for apartments. Cheers
@@artisanmakes Thanks for the help. Yes enclosure would probably make manual machining inaccessible. I've been considering the Taig CNC mill and lathe but believe manual might be more rewarding. And that you might get more bang for your buck with manual machines. I'd buy an old used bridgeport or similar mill and large lathe if I had a garage but guess we'll see where the future takes me.
No worries, if you want to go manual, a sherline or taig should be quiet enough without an enclosure. And I agree with you, manual is a lot more fun and rewarding.
hi, i have just bought a mill of the simlilar kind, i went for a paulimut f307-v. it stood between the sieg 2,7 and that one. the issue i am having with it isa high pitch sound from the motor, the paulimut support are saying that it is normal and as it should be. i have asked if the sieg has the same horrible sound and they say it has, but watching your videos i cant hear any of the noice similar to mine. whats your opinion on the sound level of the sieg 2,7 machine?
Don’t know too much about your mill but would it be possible if they have different motor types. That might explain the difference. The is a brushed dc.
@@artisanmakes yes, mine has a three phase motor with some kind of converter that makes it go on ordinary 220v wall socket. they say it is a very high torque motor, but to me it does not matter if you cant work with it due to the noice it makes. you should consider yourself lucky with your machine and motor 😀
Hello 👋 friend. I'm not sure if you said, that the drive motor was brush or brushless?? Still waiting for my Lathe. Because of my general background, 40yrs involved with machinery. I wanted something specific. Good luck 👍 and hopefully I'll see you milling.
Picked up yet another clone. One thing I hate, just one. Quill. Z axis from is practically useless attaching it to the head. And you cannot attach it to the quill 😥
I wonder how they can make mini lathe for 600-900€. But mini mills are like 1800-2000€. I dont understand their pricing system. I have a mini lathe from Amadeal. Now looking for a mill but Im unable to find any such mini mill for less than 1800€
I bought it off eBay. This is the sieg model, but there are other brands that sell this under different names (harbour fright, grizzly). Generally they will have x2.7 mill in the name though. Cheers
@@artisanmakes this size and price of this X2.7 is exactly the one I am looking for, but those selling on eBay or Amazon, either bigger, heavier, cost more and run on 110V, or smaller ones with only 350 watts output
If I remember correctly, two flutes are better with low RPM machines, and the bit you used on the mild steel looked like a four flute which requires higher RPM. Just for the life of me, I can't remember why. The bed size seems like a fairly significant improvement over the SX2P and the locked head; I think you have won me over on the 2.7L Cheers for the video on it.
Maybe one day ill have a properly stocked set tools but at the moment I made do with what I have on hand. From memory i though 4 flutes were better suited for steel and 2 flute for aluminum (had a quick look in the black book but I can't seem to find anything on the topic), but the 4 flute end mills I have seem to machine aluminum just fine. And having used the mill for a while now, i can say the extra bed length has really come in handy on several occasions.
@@artisanmakes The brain loves playing tricks on us all. I have only been taught by youtube, so good chance I remembered it wrong. And I guess there is only one way to find out, and that is to buy a mill.
What made you decide on this model as opposed to similar models? I'm currently looking at the Precision Matthews 727, which seems to be one step up from this one, for about the same price as a Sieg x2.7 - which is the primary US importer of your same model
Deciding which mill to get was a pretty difficult process, but here in Australia, the range of bench top mills is much more limited than other countries. So I was left to decide between the Sieg X2, x2.7 and X3. I can't comment on any precision Matthews mills since I can not get them here. With that said I would always edge towards a solid column mill. Past that I just made sure that the table was large enough and ensured that I wouldn't be limited by work area. Cheers
Thanks for the feedback. I have run into this problem a few times, if I stick the tool in more it won't show up on camera with the angle I'm filming at. Too much stick out and I loose rigidity. Always a difficult balance to find for filming. Cheers
also, the boards on the basic X2 burn out, maybe due to underpower/lack of power? I've seen sev. youtubers having to order new board from harbor freight....that table on the x2.71 looks as huge as the rong fu mill drill clones which are over 600lbs.
That does not surprise me, if I am right in thinking the X2 shares the same motor and board as the Sieg c3 that I own, and incidentally I that board burnt out too. Cheers
There is another important reason why a drill press doesn't make a very good milling machine. The bearings are designed for thrust loads, not side loads. However, you CAN do some milling on a drill press if the job is pretty light duty and you aren't expecting the utmost in precision. But in general, not a good idea.
I apologise for using this forum but I could not find your email address...........................Hi and a great video on your new Mill by the way it has given me a lot of information on what Seig Mill I should be looking at getting. I don't know if you have as yet bought yourself a better vise but I have a 6" Vevor Mill vice that is just far too big for my needs as I ended up buying a smaller one, I have not used it and it is just taking up space in my workshop. From your accent you sound you may be an Australian and if so and you are living in Australia, would you want my 6" Mill Vise ???. It's a freebie so if you would like it then get back to me and we can discuss getting it to you.
It's so much fun wasting time online trying to discover the names used for tools, fixtures and fasteners in Australia after watching people build stuff OS. I reckon the only thing better is finding out you can't get it in Aus or it's only available from a trade supplier.
I was very lucky to snag this mill and vise as an end of financial year sale deal. The mill usually retails for $1900 aud. The brushless DC motor version tends to run around the $2300 mark. Cheers
Gezzz...put some lubricant on those cuts...If the aluminum sticks to the cutter it needs lubricant, if your steel chips come off blue you need lubricant...it will make your cuts nicer and save your tooling(Heat)..for general milling I recommend a water-soluble oil
The camera shots probably doesn't show it well but there was a nice coating of wd 40 on the cuts. I've since switched to a high sulphur kerosene alternative. Cheers
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The Seig 2.7 is infinitely better than the seig X2. I'd say you dodged a bullet. Congrats on the new mill!
Why there is no replies here for the genius!
Was there any freight charged on getting it shipped to a major city in Australia?
@@tcratius1748 no
Enjoy. Just want to say you don't want to get into the habit of completely undoing the drawbar before breaking the taper as you can end up damaging the thread on the end over time. Just loosen it then tap it to break the taper.
Antonmursid🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🇲🇨
Right. Leave it engaged a thread or two before hammering it. Your draw bar and collet holders will thank you for that.
I’ve been on the fence about these for a while. I have a mini lathe and while it’s always broken, when it works, I find it quite useful. These mini mills are expensive and for just a bit more, I could have an old ‘real’ mill. But those are heavy, hard to move, and take up a lot of space. Oh, and use 3-phase power. So there’s the fence. Good video. You might have me leaning a bit.
Cheers, I think the value proposition for these mills also depends on what can be found on the used market too. That market is very limited where I live so these mini mills are the only option at their price point. Cheers
They work good for the size and power. It doesn’t come with many accessories. I ordered a hold down kit from Amazon for 50 USD. It is also really good quality for the price.
Nice! I got a mill this year too and installed a DRO pretty much straight away. I love it, makes it so much easier to do repeatable things.
I quite agree.....a DRO make the mill much more usable, once fitted you'll never want to be without it.....anyone going into that field is advised NOT to go to the cheapies that are little better than the digital caliper type scales.
I have a Shereline and it serves all of the needs I have as an hobby gunsmith-it does a lot of work
As someone who went the cheapest route and bought the X2 I congratulate your decision. That being said, I learned a lot in the last few weeks, trying to tram in an "untrammable" machine, and adding all the rigidity it doesn't have right from the factory.
Hey ! Just a quick tip for when you remove the tool older, instead of unscrewing the drawbar entirely and then tap it with a hammer, just unscrew it like one turn, tap it and then unscrew it completely to remove the tool holder, like you're doing right now you could damage the thread on the drawbar or on the tool holder ! Nice work tho keep it up and have fun !
I'll do it the same way. Also the toolholder wont fall to the table or the vice or to the ground.
@@BLECHHAUS Yes I have the SX3L with the same system. Unfortunately when you loosen the drawbar with collets you need 3 hands, 1 to hold the tool/spanner on the underside of the spindle, 1 to loosen & tap the drawbar & 1 to hold the end mill. I made up a spindle lock negating the need for the under the spindle stupid spanner. It also uses the micro switch for the safety shield so you cannot start the mill with the lock engaged. Cheers Peter from Oz
@@petermurphy3354 Yep - three hands ;-)
I always put a block of wood under the cutter so it can't fall out. For this purpose I have a couple of different sizes. Now I only need two hands.
I dismantled the protective shield and removed and short-circuited the microswitch, now it works without a protective shield.
That is extremely important when removing the tooling.........NEVER unscrew the drawbar more than a turn or you could burr the threads when you tap the end to release the tool.......Morse tapers are the pain and I always preferred the R8 over a Morse any day.
It's also something to mull over about the table length.....how many people actually need to have that long a table travel when most of their work is done in a vice of at most 100mm wide for these small mills......but you might want to co-ordinate drill some long plates so it's as you need but the once in a blue moon syndrome will get expensive if it never happens., and the same will apply to the Z axis height, nice to have but will make the machine more costly.
Thankyou for the advise, any is always welcome. I will admit that I probably shot taking the tool holder out of the taper about 3 times, so for the shot you saw the chuck was very loosely held in. Cheers
hey, hey - a grinder and a lick of paint can make any weld look beautiful!
A grinder, filler, paint and keeping the welds out of well lit areas too.
A grinder and some paint makes you the welder you aint
@@davidwillard7334 Your keyboard is broken. Seems like the "shout"(shift/caps lock) key and the 1/! key are kinda broken.
Looks like fun! These machines are surely capable of making a good variety of parts as long as you take your time.
Man, I dunno. I asked about getting a mill a couple weeks ago to see your first impressions, and now the man has a mini mill. I dunno if my comment had something to do with this decision, but I'm happy to hear your feelings on the mill. Thanks man
Funnily enough I do remember your comment :)
@@artisanmakes awww, that made my day. Hope you get plenty good use out of the mill. I can tell with the quality level of your content, and your way of explaining, that I'll be a fan of yours for a long time 😀
Try to hold the end mills shorter, right above where the spiral ends. Rigidity is very important. Also, short spindle, don't lower it to much, rather bring down the head more. For steel, I would use carbide end mills.
Bugger me with a broomstick, @ 11:34 I thought "Dickey Knee had made a comeback, for anyone out of Australia he was a regular character on an Aussie kids show here.
Good luck with the mill, I am just about to put my toe into the minefield that is buying a mini mill/lathe, your timing is great.
Time to rename this channel Hey Hey Its Saturday
Hey mate! Can I please get a link to where you brought the mill and the collet set Australia?! Thank you!! Loved this video.
It was 3 years ago so I don’t have a link anymore, but from memory it was the cheapest listing I could find on eBay. I think it was the ausee machine store I bought it from, and during a sale
@@artisanmakes no worries mate :) fully understand! Thanks
I just came upon this video and am glad I did as I live in the US and this is not easy to get but various clones are available locally. I was looking for a similar mill and found one by WEN Industries in the US that offered a similar mill with a brushless 1 HP motor with the same elongated bed as the one you have for about $1200. I am not sure if you are planning to add an auto-feed at least for the X-travel which would be a very useful addition. I definitely will look for your other videos on this mill before I will finalize my purchase, Thanks for sharing such detailed reviews about your shop tools and projects. Rama
so Impressive your Milling Machine
Just spent $240 at my local mc shop getting 4 pins machined up out of stainless! Got no beef with paying for quality! Makes me wonder how much I could save by investing in a $600 lathe!
@@davidwillard7334
38mm 316ss x 160mm long gate hinges.
900mm 38mm round stock (offcut), 76 x 8 flat bar (316 off cut) $10. $70 in material so far
240 divided by 4 = $60 each for machining
Weld myself.......
Galvo ones on the net work out about the same $$ but I need SS
Congratulations on the new machine!! I have had a small mill for a few years now and really enjoy it. You are going to have some fun.
My mini mill is the "XJ12-300 (RO8)" from Amadeal in the UK. The motor power is half way between the 350 and the 750 watt versions you quoted, coming in at 550 watts. Yes, it has the tilting head, which will likely be a sod to tram in each time I move it, but I see it as a necessary evil for some of the work I intend to do on building or maintaining miniature working steam engines.
Since it only came 2 days ago, I'm still in the process of clearing space on (and extending) the workbench where I intend to fix it; straight across the width of the workshop from the similarly sourced 7" X 14" mini lathe. Like you, I will be 'getting to know it' for a while before I add a DRO. I can't see a future in which a full motor drive and CNC doesn't come to pass ... one day!
Meanwhile I've already taken delivery of a set of ER32 (2mm - 20mm) collets, with the R8 collet holder to follow. Somewhere I have a small selection of end mills, with a further _full(?)_ set to come as well as a small mill vice. Of course a set of decent quality parallels will soon be required. I think my first order of business, once everything arrives, will be to take some my existing steel stock and make a few more T nuts and hold down clamps.
Good luck with yours!
I got a set of parallels from amadeal for my cnc and they are great for the price. Its all imported from china but no complaints
I enjoyed your video. I will be interested to see what you make with it in the next few months.
Thankyou, Cheers
Thank you for your review.
I'm getting the SX2L (500W brushless, belt drive - no plastic gears) though. I'm pretty certain it will be more than enough for my needs .
I'm forced to order from Germany to Sweden though, the SX2L is AU$ 600 cheaper in Germany than the SX2 (with the smaller table) is in Sweden. Yours is AU$ 3700 over here btw....
Unfortunately there are no models with a rigid column over here except the really big ones.
Cheers
Glad to hear it, hope you enjoy it when it arrives. I have seen lots of mods to help improve the column, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue. Cheers
You need a 2 flute endmill to mill aluminum effectively. The large spacing between the flutes will help keep the aluminum from galling in the flute.
This
Thanks for the feedback. The 4 flute cutter was all I had on hand, I have several 2 flute cutters still in shipping. Cheers
That’s great. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.
Cooling is imperative with steel cutting
When doing aluminium use paraffin to lube and cool prevents the swarf sticking to cutter and gives great finish
End mills are generally not used for facing a surface, use a tipped cutter or turn up a fly cutter on your lathe,
At the price i think is great for small jobs especially ally work
What was table and head vibration like while cutting steel
Early days with the mill and I was pretty unprepared with cutters. Mostly use kerosene nowadays, sometimes a blend of that and parrafin which works great. Cheers
Wow dude, trammed at the factory? Hell haw
I always use Diesel Oil for washing off the sealant.
Does diesel effect painted surfaces?
Or is their something to remove diesel soon after application on painted surfaces.
@@mrillis9259 depends of the kind / type of paint.
The paint on my lathe or mill was not effected. At least I did'nt notice it.
But when I remove the diesel oil from the paint with acetone, the paint will be dissolved.
Well - not that much, just a tiny little bit.
So I just wipe the diesel off with a clean rag.
Very happy for you! Looking forward to follow-up videos.
I am sure you will learn a lot with the new tool. I was wondering if it would be easier on the end mill with some cutting fluid (ex. wd-40 on aluminum and vegetable-oil/bacon-grease on steel) ?
Old hands do not use a lube or cutting fluid on aluminium and others with tungsten bits eschew them even on steel. I use cutting paste on all cuts, even brass and copper. Load the cutter grooves with some paste and as it heats up, it melts and feeds into the cut. The paste keeps the heat down, lengthening it’s life, but more importantly, it smoothies the cutting, allowing faster cuts.
@@achmadosman9807 Thank you for sharing the secrets of "Old Hands", I'll try this out!
Well you gotta admit the grease comes off a hell of a lot easier than rust does !!! So be thankful they took the time and money to put it on the machine !
That is a fair response. Cheers.
Cheap d.r.o.: Take apart a couple of cheap digital calipers and glue them on temporarily. Or screw hole within bracketing reach. Just for when you need it. That's 150mm's/2 to play with until a proper setup goes on sale at least. Cheers.
I think watching you learn will be great fun! 👍
I think so too! Cheers
Excellent review dude thank you
Hi, I have a question: You mentioned that the reason a drill press can't be used to mill is because the side/radial loading will cause the Morse 3 taper tooling to pop out. Your milling machine has a Morse 3 taper spindle- is there something that the milling machine has that a drill press doesn't that keeps the Morse-tapered tooling from popping out?
Never mind- I didn't realise that pillar drills don't have a drawbar to secure the chuck during radial loading.
@@chrismorgan200 Pretty much the draw bar, I have seen some people on youtube use drill presses as mills, using those mill tables, but you have to be very conservative with the feed or the taper tends to pop out.
Looks good to me. 👍🏻 Grab some mineral oil for that harder stock.
YOU WILL LOVE IT IV CONVERTED MINE VERY HAPPY IV GOT THE SX3
Don't completely undo the drawbar when you take the tool out. When I was an apprentice, doing that smashed the bone on one finger when got it caught between a 6" milling cutter and the table. The worst part was the doctor taking an 8 mm long chip out that went through my finger nail. This was 32 years ago and my finger still looks squashed.
Very cool
Regards comparison on the X2L vs X2.7L and rotating column, people should know the SX2LF has a fixed column and a considerably better motor than the X2L and for 'only' AU$200 more, which leaves it at AU$670 cheaper than the X2.7L . As an aside, the brushless DC motor on the SX2LF despite being 500W, vs the X2.7L at 750W, could have better torque at lower speeds due to the far superior brushless technology. Table size and overall solidity of the machines the 2.7 is way ahead of course. For AU$700 more you can have the far superior SX3L but it's a heavy and big beast to get into the workshop. I think the only wrong answer is the X2L.
A mill is next on my wish list, so keen to see how you go. I have looked at the Sieg range, (Lets face it, there isn't much else in my price range available here in Oz!) with no real idea of what I might want - so will be good to see how you go.
Hi Jack, have you considered the second hand market, dont know what the availability of used small industrial machines is like in Oz, In the UK we are spoiled rotten with machines from our industrial past. If possible I always buy 2nd hand industrial machines, just far superior to the new stuff from China. Regards Del.
As a fellow Australian, check out Ausee, bought my mill from them, excellent service.
Cheers Jack, I feel ya, seeing the American machinists and their wide range of brands can make a bit envious at times, but I am glad we have the sieg stuff available to us. They all need a little work done to them, especially on the lower end machines, but I am amazed at what they offer for the price. cheers
I can attest to this, I bought my mill, lathe and various tooling from Ausee and I have never had an issue with them.
I think you will find many will suggest getting a rigid column version as opposed to the tilting column version. And I would agree. I would shop only among the rigid column choices.
Generally speaking looks like a very nice mill. It is very similar to the Grizzly 0704 mill I use and may be simply a knock off. To me the down side of this mill is not having a R8 spindle which is pretty standard in vertical mills of Bridgeport size and smaller. I had an early X2 with MT3 spindle and it was nothing but trouble and tooling was pretty limited and crude. Interchanging tooling with a lathe isn't important to me because I consider them different machines for totally different purposes. Do yourself a favor and buy some mist coolant and a squirt bottle. Squirting your workpiece with coolant will make for better tool life and give you a better finish.
Thanks for letting me know. I knew that getting the MT3 spindle was going to be a compromise, but having interchangeable tooling was enough to convince me to get the MT3 over the r8. Plus R8 spindles were a more difficult to find in stock when I was buying my mill so I would have probably chosen this model anyway, rather than wait for them to get a shipment in from china. Cheers
MUCH better value than the X2, for sure.
I’m Liking this channel more and more.
After a few months with this mill what are your thoughts? Would you recommend it, buy it again etc? thanks.
For a small Mill that's a loud motor. I can hear some vibration in the Milling cutter.
Most things were improved by small adjustments to the gibs and adding dampening material to the mill table
check out Bearing Collet Nut for your tool holder. maybe something....
Looks very good!!
I'm excited for you, but your lathe is either relieved or heartbroken.
I think the little lathes deserves a good rest. And maybe some new bearings too. Cheers
Neither.
Lathe is happy caz he can use mill to fix lathe problems and mill will need lathe to fix mill problems.
I bought both for that very reason.
@@tonycstech Or when one of them breaks, you use weird setups on the other machine until they're both broken.
@@tonycstech you bring out the question of what comes first: the chicken or the egg
Looks like a good bench top mill. I’ve just bought my first mill and getting to grips with it all, especially trying to get my head around conventional and climb milling.
Stainless steel should be cut by climb milling, especially the work hardening varieties...
Cheers Joe, I have seen your milling videos, I'm subscribed on one of my other accounts. I really enjoyed seeing you make t Nuts on it. Cheers
@@artisanmakes cheers dude yeah slowly getting use to it now. Love what you do on your channel and thank you for being a subscriber on mine. Keep up the good work 👍
Every time I buy a large Chinese power tool, it performs so poorly that it just becomes a matter of getting rid of it and replacing it with a "real" tool. So I spend more than if I had just started with something decent. Been a few years now though, maybe the Chinese stuff has improved.
I guess it depends on what you buy and expectations. The mill is purely a hobby thing and it works perfectly as a hobby mill.
Some coolant on that steel could help too. Looks fun though!
Cheers. I used a little WD 40 but probably not enough.
@@artisanmakes Consider getting a mist cooler if heat is an issue. It not only works well, but blow chips out of the way to some extent. I've operated machines in a shop that used flood coolant. But also some not equipped for that and we would rig up a mist cooler. Also have one for my mini-lathe at home, and also floor model knee mill I have at home. I never much cared for WD 40 on machinery. It tends to get gummy after awhile if you don't get it all off.
G’day, where do you buy your sieg machines? Do you buy them locally? Im also in Australia.
I bought mine off eBay from a shop called aussee. They do sales every now and then and I got mine for about $200 cheaper or so
i was lucky got aClausing lathe and Bridgeport Mill for $4k
lathe was from trade school and mil was in very good shape
used them 6 years and sold for same price
Correct me if am wrong, this thing cost 2500+?
Varies depending on where you are, but I picked this up for $1,800 AUD. There is a more expensive brushless DC motor version of this and it sells for around $2,400 AUD.
you gotta get a good (not kurt good, but chinese good) milling vise, a set of parallels, and some surfacing bits, maybe a boring bar/head too, and you'll have a good time
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately kurt vises are not easy to come buy in my part of the world. I have a fair amount of tooling in the mail, that has still yet top arrive. I'll certainly be in the market for a boring head in the future though. Cheers
I know these were "test cut's", but on real parts, you might want to brush a cutting fluid on the part/end mill. ATF or wd-40 are great for aluminum. Used motor oil will work, in a pinch for steel. (cheap, but not as good as a "high sulfur cutting oil")
Thanks for the feedback, I used a little bit of wd in the shots bit it looks like it didnt show up well in the camera shots. I'm actually testing out high sulphur kerosene as a cutting fluid, as I have been recommended it. Cheers
LOL! Cleaning the sealant off! That stuff looks ALMOST as bad as the Cosmoline we had to deal with in the service. That stuff would only come off with soap and water, and not easily at that.
It has become clear to me that grease sealant what have you can only be wiped off on a cloth one finger space at a time.
Very time consuming.
No circular motion.
Just wipe off.
I need more mini content!!!
Basically you will have to take the entire machine apart and put it together again.
I also bought a mini mill, I replaced all the leadscrews with ballscrews (=no relevant backlash anymore), replaced all the bearings with japanese ones (=the machine doesn't run hot anymore).
And of course added some motors to have a mini CNC.
Thanks for the feedback. I can already tell that in time I will probably have to replace the spindle bearings. As for the cnc part, I hope you enjoy your cnc upgrade. I have worked with quite a few cnc mills over the years, but i'm planning on keeping this one as a manual mill. Cheers.
Im thinking of buying this machine (or similar) to mill copper ingots. Would this machine be able to do that?
Yes
Sorry, this might be my own ignorance as there are lots of machine shops in my area, but why not buy a used full size knee mill for around the same price or a new one for 5k USD or so?
A few factors for this. Mostly because this is a hobby so budget is a big limiting factor. Plus I don't simply have the space for a knee mill, and it would probably be impossible to transport a big mill into my workshop. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a bigger mill, but it just isn't practical for me.
A grinder and paint make me the welder I ain't.
don't forget filler bog
I've had my SX2.7 (same as yours but came with a DRO) for 3 years and it's been a joy to use. Only made two mods: removed the dog clutch spring because it gets annoying real quick, and replaced the rubber Y-axis way cover (which perished after a year) with a 200mm wide non-rubber bellows from AliExpress. In hindsight 250mm would be better as It would also cover the DRO position sensor.
I was not aware that they come with DRO's from the factory, but I am sure mine will end up having one installed in time. I can also see myself removing the clutch too, an auto feed is not too high on my list and the cutch it a hinderance at times. Cheers
@@artisanmakes Oops, you are right. I remember now that it was some kind of anniversary deal by the Australian dealership (they added a DRO + green & yellow paint job)
The x2.7 and SX2.7 should auto eject the tool so don't need a tap from a hammer to release the taper. Leave the metal cover screwed in place and then undo the drawbar after a couple of turns it will tighten up and then pop the taper apart as the flange around the hex socket pushes against the underside of the metal cap. Amount it needs to turn will vary slightly depending on length of tooling.
if considering purchasing a mill like this, I think an R8 spindle is a far better choice than the Morse. You give up a little in vertical work space, but it is a better method for milling machines with a vast amount of tooling available. My larger milling machine at home is an R8. (And larger lathe is Morse #5 in the spindle) When I bought a Chinese mini-lathe and mini-mill, sort of just for the fun of it, I got illogical and bought the Morse taper mill version since that is what the lathe had and I could share the same collet set. So not only did I get a mini-mill that doesn't hold cutters as well and is more difficult to release, but the R8 tooling for my larger mill won't work. So I made the wrong choice for two reasons.
As an x2 owner yea those complaints are true. Also I've had the head come lose on me twice major rigidity problems.
Nice mill! Thanks for the review.
loved the vid good work
where did you purchase this mill
Great Review, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching! Cheers
Very informative video i have a question what website did you use to buy the milling machine?
I bought my mill off a vendor on eBay, most of my tooling is from eBay and I have always gotten good prices.
@@artisanmakes thank you for the help
Never worked with a machine that works exclusively with the quill, only machines that feed with table height.
Fair enough, it's a bit more common on smaller vertical mills than on larger knee mills. Cheers
Always put a block of wood under the chuck when removing it. If you drop the chuck you don't want to chip the bed.
Thankyou for the heads up. I will admit that I filmed knocking the collet chuck out about 3 times so it was never too tightly seated in the spindle. Cheers
TH-cam's auto-captioning keeps interpreting your mill's noise as applause
Hey can these produce curved cuts?
Like rainbow shaped cuts.
If you want to do a lot of that you might be better off looking at a CNC mill or router
Yes, you need a rotary table, something decent not the kind from India. Its beautiful for making round things or soft corners
1:40 Ah, convenient, they included a handy measurements chart, so you know what size "T-solt" you have.
I love the Chinese interpretation of English! This Old Tony has a humorous episode on the “Chinese Minilathe” (not mini lathe!) that pokes fun at several of these mistakes!
@@tomt9543 I love the manila! :D
Got the X2P a year ago. Fine Machine for my kind of work.
First thing you should build with your Mill is a Fly Cutter It is so a handy piece of tooling and easy to make. Oh, and you schould inverst in Collet Blocks in Hex-shape and Rectangle. they make some jobs so much faster and easy. Like Milling Hex-Heads on round stock.
Is a DIY Power Feed for the mill a potential future project?
Enjoying your videos. Keep em coming .
I made the mistake of buying a stig X1 . No where in all the advertising on ebay does it say that the gears are all plastic and are not covered in the warranty , I found out after telephoning the company that sold it to read the fine print on their web site . I am in the process of making metal gears to replace these planed obsolescent parts .
I am not as familiar with the x1 as I am with the larger x2 and x2.7 mill. I am a bit surprised about the fact that is uses gears. They are probably the same as the acetal gears that are in the sieg lathe that I own. I have never had issues with the acetal gears, but metal gears are the way to go or a belt drive conversion. Cheers.
Are these too noisy for an apt? Even with a noise enclosure?
I guess it would depend what you cut, but it's certainly not unheard of to put one of these in an apartment. If you look at the early NYC CNC videos you'll see it's all set up in an apartment. Usually for an enclosure you would want to go CNC. I know they are small but sherline, proxxon and taig machines are quiet and should be fine for apartments. Cheers
@@artisanmakes Thanks for the help. Yes enclosure would probably make manual machining inaccessible. I've been considering the Taig CNC mill and lathe but believe manual might be more rewarding. And that you might get more bang for your buck with manual machines. I'd buy an old used bridgeport or similar mill and large lathe if I had a garage but guess we'll see where the future takes me.
No worries, if you want to go manual, a sherline or taig should be quiet enough without an enclosure. And I agree with you, manual is a lot more fun and rewarding.
hi, i have just bought a mill of the simlilar kind, i went for a paulimut f307-v. it stood between the sieg 2,7 and that one. the issue i am having with it isa high pitch sound from the motor, the paulimut support are saying that it is normal and as it should be. i have asked if the sieg has the same horrible sound and they say it has, but watching your videos i cant hear any of the noice similar to mine. whats your opinion on the sound level of the sieg 2,7 machine?
Don’t know too much about your mill but would it be possible if they have different motor types. That might explain the difference. The is a brushed dc.
@@artisanmakes yes, mine has a three phase motor with some kind of converter that makes it go on ordinary 220v wall socket. they say it is a very high torque motor, but to me it does not matter if you cant work with it due to the noice it makes. you should consider yourself lucky with your machine and motor 😀
Well done enjoy the new toy. DRO here I come?
A DRO is certainly on my list to get in the future, cheers
Hello 👋 friend. I'm not sure if you said, that the drive motor was brush or brushless?? Still waiting for my Lathe. Because of my general background, 40yrs involved with machinery. I wanted something specific. Good luck 👍 and hopefully I'll see you milling.
I think I mentioned that this mill has a brushed DC motor, however they do sell them with brushless, but the brushless models are an extra $300-400
Picked up yet another clone.
One thing I hate, just one.
Quill.
Z axis from is practically useless attaching it to the head. And you cannot attach it to the quill 😥
I wonder how they can make mini lathe for 600-900€.
But mini mills are like 1800-2000€.
I dont understand their pricing system. I have a mini lathe from Amadeal.
Now looking for a mill but Im unable to find any such mini mill for less than 1800€
Lathes are just cheaper to make I guess. Less parts and one less axis to worry about.
I can't find this Brand online, where did you buy it?
I bought it off eBay. This is the sieg model, but there are other brands that sell this under different names (harbour fright, grizzly). Generally they will have x2.7 mill in the name though. Cheers
@@artisanmakes this size and price of this X2.7 is exactly the one I am looking for, but those selling on eBay or Amazon, either bigger, heavier, cost more and run on 110V, or smaller ones with only 350 watts output
If I remember correctly, two flutes are better with low RPM machines, and the bit you used on the mild steel looked like a four flute which requires higher RPM. Just for the life of me, I can't remember why. The bed size seems like a fairly significant improvement over the SX2P and the locked head; I think you have won me over on the 2.7L Cheers for the video on it.
Maybe one day ill have a properly stocked set tools but at the moment I made do with what I have on hand. From memory i though 4 flutes were better suited for steel and 2 flute for aluminum (had a quick look in the black book but I can't seem to find anything on the topic), but the 4 flute end mills I have seem to machine aluminum just fine. And having used the mill for a while now, i can say the extra bed length has really come in handy on several occasions.
@@artisanmakes The brain loves playing tricks on us all. I have only been taught by youtube, so good chance I remembered it wrong. And I guess there is only one way to find out, and that is to buy a mill.
What made you decide on this model as opposed to similar models?
I'm currently looking at the Precision Matthews 727, which seems to be one step up from this one, for about the same price as a Sieg x2.7 - which is the primary US importer of your same model
Deciding which mill to get was a pretty difficult process, but here in Australia, the range of bench top mills is much more limited than other countries. So I was left to decide between the Sieg X2, x2.7 and X3. I can't comment on any precision Matthews mills since I can not get them here. With that said I would always edge towards a solid column mill. Past that I just made sure that the table was large enough and ensured that I wouldn't be limited by work area. Cheers
Around here, that's a lot of money for a toy😮
I would say that brush needs replacing.
it has been the lost ark of the covernet I would have been disappointed ! :)
Everyone uses aluminum for these demonstrations need to see how it handles steel
He milled a bar of black iron after the alu-block. Semes to Work fine. 😉
look up climb cutting and why you don't do it on a non ballscrew machine
Thanks for the feedback, I am aware and I was not climb milling, apart from finishing cuts. Cheers
Hold the tool further in the collet only have what you need sticking out
Thanks for the feedback. I have run into this problem a few times, if I stick the tool in more it won't show up on camera with the angle I'm filming at. Too much stick out and I loose rigidity. Always a difficult balance to find for filming. Cheers
1:40 But can you get T Solt nuts for it ??????
yes, these are standard m12 t slot nuts, and they come in almost any clampdown kit. However I have made my own and they work just fine.
also, the boards on the basic X2 burn out, maybe due to underpower/lack of power? I've seen sev. youtubers having to order new board from harbor freight....that table on the x2.71 looks as huge as the rong fu mill drill clones which are over 600lbs.
That does not surprise me, if I am right in thinking the X2 shares the same motor and board as the Sieg c3 that I own, and incidentally I that board burnt out too. Cheers
There is another important reason why a drill press doesn't make a very good milling machine. The bearings are designed for thrust loads, not side loads. However, you CAN do some milling on a drill press if the job is pretty light duty and you aren't expecting the utmost in precision. But in general, not a good idea.
I apologise for using this forum but I could not find your email address...........................Hi and a great video on your new Mill by the way it has given me a lot of information on what Seig Mill I should be looking at getting. I don't know if you have as yet bought yourself a better vise but I have a 6" Vevor Mill vice that is just far too big for my needs as I ended up buying a smaller one, I have not used it and it is just taking up space in my workshop. From your accent you sound you may be an Australian and if so and you are living in Australia, would you want my 6" Mill Vise ???. It's a freebie so if you would like it then get back to me and we can discuss getting it to you.
When did Australians start using wrenches instead of spanners?;-)
It's so much fun wasting time online trying to discover the names used for tools, fixtures and fasteners in Australia after watching people build stuff OS. I reckon the only thing better is finding out you can't get it in Aus or it's only available from a trade supplier.
Was this on sale when you bought it? Seems like they are $2350 now, which is a bloody huge hike from $1500!
I was very lucky to snag this mill and vise as an end of financial year sale deal. The mill usually retails for $1900 aud. The brushless DC motor version tends to run around the $2300 mark. Cheers
Gezzz...put some lubricant on those cuts...If the aluminum sticks to the cutter it needs lubricant, if your steel chips come off blue you need lubricant...it will make your cuts nicer and save your tooling(Heat)..for general milling I recommend a water-soluble oil
The camera shots probably doesn't show it well but there was a nice coating of wd 40 on the cuts. I've since switched to a high sulphur kerosene alternative. Cheers
Some polycarbonate shielding a cheap mill coolant/lubrication pump and things will be great
Legally, buying a mini mill means that this individual must buy a much bigger mill in the next 2 years.
facts