Axminster SX2 vs SX2.7 mill

Wondered if anyone had a perspective on these two mills, For reference - here are the two links.

2.7 mill vs SX2

I called Axminster to ask (mindful of the fact that one is nearly twice the price of the other) - and they told me that the 2.7 mill is "Engineer Grade" whereas the SX2 mill is "Hobby" grade, which means that the castings and other moving parts are of a much higher quality.

I was interested to see if anyone had direct experience.

Many thanks, ace

I have the Seig SX2.7L which is I believe (I think!) the same model but from Arc Eurortrade but with a bigger bed. Have a chat to Ketan at Arc Eurotrade, I've found their advice to be invaluable; they are selling a product but they seem very aware of how much the hobbyists talk to each other and therefore don't lead you up the garden path!

Wow - and the Sieg mill is quite a lot cheaper than the axminster one - like by nearly £500!

are you happy with it?

There are differences. ‘Free delivery’ and an extra year of warranty costs you that extra.🙂 Question is whether that extra cost is actually worth it. I don’t think so....

Its not quality that is the main difference but beefyness, the 2.7 is a beast in comparison, so capable of much heavier cuts or greater accuracy at a given cut size. The bed size and traverse is usefully bigger too.

Both 2.7 variants are very useful machines. Although I chose an alternative it is this size and I am very pleased with my choice so far.

The SX2 is a much smaller machine 50kg vs 111kg.

I've recently purchased a Axminster SX2.7 mill. Axminster have introduced a v2 model which has a rotary dial for the speed control but basically looks the same as mine if a little more expensive.

I paid about £1,500 for it and the 3 year warranty drove the decision to by the Axminster version.

The SX2.7 fits nicely on the bench and has been cutting metal straight out of the box.

Thanks very much everyone, really appreciate the details. - I think I'll be getting the 2.7 from Arc.

Definitely go for the 2.7 from Arc, I got mine from there a couple of years ago. At present I am machining 10mm slots in 25mm aluminium, not sure my old Axminster SX2 would be up to it. The only thing I miss on the 2.7 is the ability to angle the column. After I bought my SX2.7 I was a bit loathe to sell the SX2, and after consulting management kept it, very fortunate as I had a stroke last year, and in now resides inside in the mini-workshop come office. (Ex youngest son's bedroom!)

I think the next batch of SX2.7 machines in to ARC will also have the knob to alter speed, similar control panel to the larger SX3,5 machine.

Sorry to be late replying, in answer to your question I am utterly delighted with it. I thought long and hard about which to buy, with spreadsheets galore, and I am glad I chose the one I did. Service from Arc was top notch.