Member postings for Ron Laden

This morning just as a quick test I put up a piece of 8mm gauge plate on my SX2P and tried a 0.5 mm deep edge cut using a 10 mm 3 flute HSS TIAIN cutter from the ARC premium range.

No issues at all the mill sounded and felt fine which is something I always go by. I went with 1250 rpm and a steady not too fast feed. I tried it at slower speeds but it was best at 1250. A picture below of the finish which I can't detect with my finger nail so good enough I think.

p. s. I forgot to say going by the hanwheels my machine has 0.2 mm backlash which never gives me any problems and with the DRO, s I am lazy and tend to ignore it. Also I sometimes climb mill for a better finish but nothing too heavy. I guess I really should try to reduce the backlash before it catches me out. 

Edited By Ron Laden on 12/05/2020 05:58:51

Edited By Ron Laden on 12/05/2020 05:59:52

With the columns finished I assembled some of the parts to see how things were looking, seems to be going together well enough, pleased with it so far.

Columns assembled, just waiting for the adhesive to dry and then back on the lathe to all be faced to length. The squares are a mix of brass and aluminium, I used material from the ends/offcut box and the columns are painted so they will be fine.

Edited By Ron Laden on 11/05/2020 09:50:41

Hi Bob,

I tend to get most of my material from M-machine, great service, pricing is good and they cut to what size you want. Its priced either per foot or for larger sizes or more expensive material priced per inch. They have a vast range of material and sizes so for instance the base plate in the photo is from a 12 inch length of 4 inch x 1/2inch alu and the entablature plate is from a 12 inch of 100mm x 6mm alu which I reduced to 5mm thickness.

I also tend to buy smaller sizes of ground rod, free cutting steel, brass etc from GLR Kennions, they also offer good service though they are a bit more expensive than M-machine but they were the first supplier I used when I started and like the thought that you may be helping keep the smaller suppliers in business.

Ron

Some more done.

Edited By Ron Laden on 10/05/2020 10:58:35

Edited By Ron Laden on 10/05/2020 11:03:01

Hi Roger,

The table is doing fine, to be honest I dont really give it much thought, its accurate and doesnt give any issues it just became part of the mill tooling so I guess that says it all.

The table is 5 inch which is as large as I would want to go on the SX2P but just wondering if a 6 inch table would be more suited to the larger SX2.7 mill, Jason will know and I,m sure he will respond when he reads this.

Ron

I have the Femi SN105, small but 105mm capacity which is great for a small saw.

They are not the cheapest out there but the quality is excellent.

No I didn't try moving the head so to answer your question I set the DTI up, centered the table and measured 100mm each side of centre in X. Pressing hard down on each end of the table I had movement of 0.0012" one side and 0.0015" on the other.

I then centered the DTI on the front edge of the table and whilst pressing down on the table I pushed the top of the head back as hard as I was comfortable with. The reading lifted 0.0025" and it was similar dropping 0.0027" when I pulled the head.

I expected there would be movement as it is a small hobby mill but it was better than I thought it would be. Am I worried about it? not at all the machine produces parts to the dimensions I am aiming for and gives a good finish.

Your machine is now trammed just use it, with some half decent tooling it will be fine..

Ron

Yes sorry, its the R8 one Ketan added a link for above.

Ron

Well I had a pleasant surprise, reading above the tramming of the SX2P I thought I would check mine as is quite some time since I did it last and the mill has done a lot of work since.

Y reading across table edge to edge 5.5" = 0.0002" X reading across 4.2." each side of table centre = 0.0008". I don't think I will complain about those readings.

GMJN, one tool I would recommend for your SX2 is the ARC 25mm 2 insert end mill. It takes coated inserts for steel and uncoated for alu etc, it really is excellent I use mine all the time on parts large and small. Great for facing and reducing thickness and the finish it leaves is excellent. Its about the perfect size for the SX2 and the mill doesn't have any issues driving it, very good price to.

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 08/05/2020 10:04:47

Thanks Geoff, how far are you on with your engine, it is certainly a nice build, enjoying mine.

Ron

Added the decorative edge to the base plate which is now finished, the edge didnt turn out too bad and I,m quite happy with it considering. Its maybe a tad heavy (3mm rad) but I had to go that size to get over my failed attempt at creating the form that Jason shows on the drawing, I think it will look ok once painted.

Its coming along the base is almost done, I have gone with a 12mm thick base though I have made a couple of mistakes. You can see a chamfered top edge along the right hand side, I had to machine away my attempt at the decorative edge which didnt go too well. I ground a blunt end mill into a form tool but couldnt get it right so I have a round ended cutter on the way and I am going to put a 3mm radius around the top edge which should look ok.

The M6 tapped hole in the cylinder side and the 8mm hole in the base are the exhaust, they are shown on the left on the drawing mine are on the right..

Anyway quite pleased with the radiused seat for the cylinder that has gone well on the rotary.

Hi MC,

I wont try and recommend a machine as that is a personal choice at the end of the day but you asked for our experience of particular models of small mills so here,s mine.

I bought a Sieg SX2P second hand from a forum member (originally supplied by ARC) it was 12 months old, hardly used and in excellent condition so as new really.

I have had the mill for 18 months and was a complete beginner when I bought it, I am about to move up to a larger mill but that in no way aims anything detrimental at the SX2, its just a size thing and I now want a mill with larger capacity.

So what can I say about the SX2P, well its been 100% reliable and never let me down and it has done all I asked of it. Having said that I dont treat it with kid gloves but at the same time I dont push it to where its not happy. It is a 500 watt variable speed brushless motor and at times it has surprised me with what its capable of. It is not perfect it has its faults but you learn to live with those and appreciate its good points and thats the same with all small hobby mills.

With most of the hobby machines you can make some improvements and add some mods which improve the performance and make them more user friendly. I changed the head balance spring to a gas strut, added a switch to give it reverse, fitted a budget spindle speed indicator and fitted a 3 axis DRO set, but you dont have to do any of that, its a quite a usable machine straight out of the box.

So that is my experience of the SX2P, hopefully others will give you their thoughts on other small mills.

Ron

Roger, seeing as you are buying from ARC they list a R8 to MT2 adaptor, two types one for tanged tools and one for non tanged.

Ron

I managed to fit the base onto the 5 inch rotary to cut the cylinder seat, a bit unconventional way of using the packing pieces. I thought I may have to knock up a mounting plate but just managed to squeeze it on.

I dont have a 2 flute 8mm alu cutter so had to go with a 3 flute TiAIN coated HSS but 1750 rpm, 1.0mm cuts and some lubrication and it cut very cleanly.

A few months ago I up-sized from the mini lathe to a 9 x 20 and I am about to do the same with the mill and move up from the SX2P to the SX3. I have been looking at the SX3 for some time and from what I,ve seen and read it is generally considered a good mill by those that have them.

Size is a serious consideration for me as my shop is quite small so it has to be a bench top mill and I cant afford to just sit it anywhere and lose a lot of bench space. The lathe will have to move plus the bench where the mill will sit will need beefing up as the SX3 is 3 times the weight of the SX2.

I spoke with Ian at ARC today and they have stock, should be placing an order with him on Wednesday when he,s back in the office. If the mill is as good as the SX2 has been I will be well pleased it has been 100% reliable, never let me down and done everything I have asked of it. The reason for the change is size, I just feel its time for a machine with more capacity.

Thats a good price Paul, I paid a fiver for 2 off.

Will have to remember that in case I build any more of Jasons 24mm engines..

Ron

Hi Geoff, good morning yes this is about the time I am in the workshop as I have got older my body clock has changed, to bed at 9.00 up at 4.00.

Ron

They are not elusive Paul I got mine from Simply Bearings £4.29 for a pack of 2, maybe cheaper elsewhere I don't know, Jason will know. I have seen them on Ebay but went with Simply as I trust what they supply is the genuine item. 

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 04/05/2020 04:35:12