Newbie Questions Re X2 Mini Mill

Welcome to the forum.
I no longer have my Grizzly mini mill---but the belt drive (shop made) and x axis power feed( also shop made) were my favorite upgrades.
You can do a lot with the mini mill, just have to respect its limits and get creative sometimes:grin:
 
MeredithJL said:
It came with the air spring already, luckily. Today after work I finished getting the X axis DRO installed. The Y is next. Belt drive kit should arrive Wednesday. Not sure how to upload photos on here. I copied the link to the picture I posted on FB but it doesn't show up in preview....hmmmm
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the button next to post reply "Upload a file" is what you use. Hit the button select the picture from the folder and upload!
 
Thanks for the photo tip ! So far, I've gotten the X and Y DRO's mounted and working, as well as a power feed. The belt drive kit arrived this week, and that will go in next week. I also bought a DRO for the Z axis.

I have the mill set up in my metal shop at work, so I've been staying late to get this stuff done. Long days, but worth it. I'm going to put a guard over the Y axis DRO, but tonight I ran out of time. I need to shim the Y bracket attached to the table as well--it's a bit out of plumb. But I'm very pleased so far.

Thanks for all the tips and advice so far :)

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Welcome to the HM! You will find the mill will be a tool you wonder how you did without!
If you dont have a lathe yet, make room, you will be looking for one sooner than you think.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas by Jake Parker!
 
Hello Meredith, and welcome to the HM! Love what you've done with the mill so far. :)

You are getting started in a hobby that can be fun, expensive, and never ending in the things you can accomplish. I'll second jpfabricator's comment on the lathe: you will want one sooner than you think. When I had my mini-mill, I also had a 7x16 mini-lathe that complemented the capabilities of the mill perfectly. I have since grown out of those machines, but did a bunch of good stuff on them. You are only limited by the work envelope of the machines and your imagination. Have fun. :D
 
MeredithJL said:
Hello everyone,
Wanted to introduce myself and also had a couple of questions re setting up the Seig X2 mini mill I just bought. Sorry in advance, but this ended up being a little long.

I'm a welder fabricator in the entertainment industry, and I run the metal shop for a scenery and staging company here in Orlando. I do a lot of tig on a lot of aluminum, and I've been itching to learn how to machine stuff for myself--thus, the mini mill. I am also a competitive amateur BMX racer, so I've been practicing welding scrap bicycle tubing as I have an interest in trying to build a frame for the experience of it, and it occurred to me that I could make fixtures to hold down the tubing if I had a mill--thus the REAL reason for the mill, LOL.

I have gotten it unpacked, I made a nice 1-1/2" MDF base for it to bolt to, and that's currently clamped down to a new welding bench I made for the shop. So it's rock solid. I cleaned all the packing grease off it, and wiped down the machined surfaces with mineral spirits as suggested by the operator manual, and then I oiled those surfaces with Mobil 1 synthetic oil, which they also suggested as a good alternative.

I adjusted all the gibs as well, and the next thing I want to do is tram it. Remember, I'm starting from zero experience here with this type of machine, so I want to stumble through every step!

I'm looking for suggestions and recommendations on a few more items, listed below:

1) A decent dial indicator set up that I can mount in the arbor--as well as links to any tutorials on how to do this, LOL. I have never used one before and I understand the theory but am not sure about how to set it up to get the proper reference point, ie, zero
2) A decent set of calipers that won't break the bank
3) Any and all suggestions for keeping this machine rust free that don't include Mobil 1 Oil, lol. As I said, we are in Orlando, and there's humidity in the air even when it doesn't feel like it. Are there any spray lubricants out there, or should I just keep using oil? I was thinking of using paste wax on the table, but obviously can't use that on the column very easily.

I think that's it for now -- I'm very excited by this purchase, and I'm very glad I found this forum. I've been lurking here for a few days, LOL Thanks in advance, and glad to be here!
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On of the first things you will want is to change the 16 thread per inch leadscrews to 20 thread per inch... You'll find out why when you use it as is. Currently I am looking to make a set of 10 thread per inch units for mine as well as going to at least 6 inch hand wheels and using Bridgeport dials made for 10 turn leadscrews. It will make the X2 seem like a real machine.

Most of what you are looking for can be scored on eBay or LittleMachineShop.com
 
Welcome to the forums! What others have said about the lathe is true. I bought a PM932 mill a couple years ago and some tooling since then but now I cant wait to add a lathe in my shop. After a while you realize that having only the mill or just the lathe is a limiting factor. They just go together!
For now, I do my lathe operations after work hours at my day job. About a year ago people started to bring me stuff to repair or things they want to make. Since then I am saving the money I make from these small projects to buy new tools, and now its gonna be a nice lathe (around 14x40). Soon, soon this will happen!:D
 
Any chance you can post a link to the power feed you bought off of ebay?
 
I buy stuff from eBay with problems fixable with a lathe. I use the 8x12 Harbor Freight lathe. It's a bit smaller than I want but so far has served me well.

Among my fixes is a Green Engraver which goes back to the 1920s, while the machine wasn't broken the engraving bit with a #1 Brown and Sharp are no longer available so I made a spindle using a salvaged Snap-On .25 inch collet from worn out die grinder and used a collet adaptor to go from .25 inch to .125 inch bits making it a more versatile than it was when it left the factory. A lathe and a mill are both required for a worthy shop. Other nice things to have are a metal shear and a box and pan brake.(I don't have them yet and have some things I need them for.)

The original bits used a drawbar, I gave turning the #1 taper on the air motor a try but the slots for the vanes were too deep to drill and thread the end of the shaft for a drawbar... So I made a new spindle from scratch and eliminated the drawbar... Sometimes the repairs you make will take a turn you didn't anticipate and give you a better result. By eliminating the drawbar and using a shaft made for the collet I was much closer to the original overall length.
With this I took a power tool with no hope and gave it a much prolonged useful life.
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