Thee Mill Debate Continues

[david pierce]

Jan,
I and Tom bought the mills from a company in the U.S.A. called Harbor Freight. As far as I can tell the company that makes the machine is called CENTRAL MACHINERY. They supply a number of lathes and mills that are sold by various companies such as Enco and Harbor Freight. While I cannot speak for everybodys machines purchased from this company, mine ran fine out of the crate and still runs fine. I also have a 9″ swing lathe made by the same company and it also has given me great service. I checked the mill out with dial indicators when I purchased it and the spindle runout, and accuracy of the X and Y were all good. The motor is linked to the spindle with plastic gears but these provide a safety factor that protects the machine if it is pushed too hard. If desired, metal gears can be purchased and installed by the owner but I kept the original gears in place. Since I only use the mill for its intended purpose, which is accurate small work, I have had no problems with it. If I have a job that will overload the machine I have a larger mill that I use. For clock and watch size parts the mill does a good job. Problems usually come in when people put in large cutters, particularly fly cutters, and try to hog out a lot of metal with each pass. If used properly the mill should give many years of great accurate service.
There are numerous videos on Youtube showing this mill so it might interest you to watch them.
david

[daryn]

The company that manufacturers these machines and markets them under various names is sieg, have a look at http://www.bowsports.Co.uk.siegind.com

[daryn]

Darn you you auto correct!
http://www.siegind.com

[daryn]

Arceurotrade in the UK are an agent for these machines, they have a lot of info and useful links on thier site, interestingly they offer two prices, one straight out of the crate and another for them to strip clean prepare and adjust the machines, it puts a fair bit on the price but a lot of people go for this option,

[chris mabbott]

I can attest to the fact that they do need stripping down, cleaning, refinishing, properly lubricating and in my case, I decided to replace the original bearings with better quality ones. The whole bearing replacement cost was around 45 euros and I also did a few mods to get the backlash to the bare minimum, but it was well worth the time as I became intimately acquainted with the machine, as you only can from stripping something naked 😆

You could do it in 20 hrs, but it was new and I took my time, plus ordering bearings etc.
I show my progress on a thread here.. But now the mill is fine and spot on very smooth and quiet. I would definitely recommend the DC brushless motor, it’s so quiet..

[daryn]

I have one of thier lathes (or very similar, I also stripped it, changed bearings etc.,its been converted into a full time wheel cutter, the same as the mills, overall the quality is there just needs a bit of input to get the best from, time well spent
Lovely explanation of your rebuild!
One thing I’ve never understood is given the small cost of good bearings why they don’t put them in to start with?????

[chris mabbott]

Thanks Daryn

It’s a fun project if you can remember how it goes back together 😆

I agree, the construction was the main reason I FINALLY after months of deciding, i chose the Seig.. It’s as solid as a brick outhouse.

I would say that the reason for the none finishing is that it increases the end cost tof the distributor and they then have to increase their final cost to reflect the extra work required.
You can see this on the optimum lathes that are made in China but finished in Germany. The price is obviously higher.
The optimum mill I saw that came out the box was perfect, nicely greased and oiled, smooth etc..

That being said, I would still go with the Seig, I know that whatever attachments I get that are from the supplier, I will have to strip, clean, adjust, tweak a little & lubricate properly. The vice and rotary tables were the same..

It’s a big decision & a good chunk of cash, it’s not like you can simply pack it up and send it back if you’re not happy.
In the end though, at least for me, I got tired of researching and comparing…. I just wanted a machine..

[daryn]

Definitely with you there, after a while researching you start not seeing the forest for the trees! And as you say, for most of us its a BIG investment, in a way it’s good you have to strip them down, you get to know it properly, I should think even the expensive high end stuff would benefit from the same treatment, everything in the end has to be done to a price, whatever that price may be. . .
I like the sound of a brushless motor, quiet running is definitely a factor when doing small work, even if a noisy motor gives a smooth output by the time it reaches the cutter it’s still very off putting on tiny work!
Daryn

[gerene]

Thanks guys for the information. I had a look at Arc Euro Trade and I suppose that you are referring to their Sieg Super X1LP milling machine. It sure looks quite attractive. Now I have to find the funding

[chris mabbott]

It was referring to the super X3 Jan but the X1-2 are basically the same just smaller…
The X3 had the digital readout that was integrated which is a nice feature but you can also add it as a side mount for a reasonable price.

[daryn]

The mill I have is similar to the X2 sieg but has a separate quill for either drilling or fine feed, has a built in dro for the quill, speed dro, tapered gibs, very nicely made good on tolerance etc., its made by Wiess which is another big name in Chinese small machine tools, very happy with it,would’ve perhaps preferred a larger model but wanted something small on the bench next to me for primarily drilling, though to be fair when I have demanded milling operations from it it’s surprisingly capable for its size,
Just thought I’d throw that in to muddy the waters and acknowledge that sieg isn’t the only option!
Daryn

[chris mabbott]

@Daryn wrote:

Just thought I’d throw that in to muddy the waters and acknowledge that sieg isn’t the only option!
Daryn

And herein lies the problem, if there were only two or three model, it would be a lot more simple to decide but there are DOZENS 😆 and i’ll add a

[gerene]

It certainly is confusing since there are so many choices. Anyhow, the X3 is probably out of the question, due its size and weight. My workshop is upstairs, under the roof and has a wooden floor and space is a consideration.
So I guess that something the size of the X2 would be more convenient.
I will have a look at the Wiess as well.
I am not buying immediately but starting to look into it and realizing that the more I read and compare, the more I am confused.

Jan

[chris mabbott]

Jan, I thought you might be interested in this..

I made a trip to the local tooling supply paradise and they just received two of the optimum lathes and the BF20 vario mill, short table model. In fact it was still on the pallet waiting to go on display…

Very nicely made rig, even out the box, all is smooth. There is quite a bit of backlash but like all new machines, it needs to be tweaked and set up.. I tried to get a size reference for you in the photo, if you notice the shoe on the right side that should give you a comparison

The only thing I don’t like, and many small mills have it, which is one of the reasons why I went with the Sieg…. Is the Z axis hand wheel is located at the top, rear of the column, for me this is very awkward and difficult to turn, kinda unnatural in its positioning as you have to lean over the table to reach it, or walk around to the side. Reaching is it if you have it on a long bench..

It’s fine if you ever decide to add a power feed..

[gerene]

This looks fine, at least on the picture .
I will try to find some info about it.

Thanks for posting this Chris

Jan

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