Looking for a small milling machine - Sieg Super X1L Good choice ?

Hi All , I'm looking for advice on a budget small mill. I've looked at Clarke , Arc Euro , Proxxon , and the offerings from Amadeal.

The Proxxon MF70 Seems a little small , I can get a ex-demo Clarke CMD10 for about £260.00 inc vat but the table looks a little small on this model.

It seems to me that the Sieg Super X1L Mill which has 400mm long table looks the best bet , according to the catologue the cost is £ 321.00 inc v.a.t.

Obviously i'm aware that it depends upon the type of work / size you want to make but at the moment i'm interested in Elmers engines and would be interested in trying models such as the 'Popcorn Engine.

I'd appreciate any comments or experiences on any of the above machines or any that i've missed. Any help / advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Chris.

The Seig machine should be adequate for your needs but the advice is always to buy as big a machine as you can afford/house.

There is a reputed weakness in the gears in the head but a friend of mine used one for years with no problem.

Russell.

Hi Chris,

I have had an X1L from Arc for more than 5 years. I have used it to machine mostly mild steel and it has coped well. The mill has only a 150 watt motor so it is relatively easy to stall and this limits the depth of cut. This is not a real limitation since you can always make multiple passes with lighter cuts to achieve the same result. It just takes time.

The basic machine has some minor niggles. The locking screws for the y axis are right underneath the table and are difficult to get at. This can be easily improved. The gears are very noisy (on my machine it was mainly the selectory mechanism rattling). I eventually replace the gears with a belt drive. I also replaced the x and z axis feadscrew bearings and fitted a motor drive to the x axis. Details of these mods can be found here:

http://mikesworkshop.weebly.com/mill-modifications-and-tooling.html

It is a great machine.

Mike

One problem with the X1 is the tilting column. The MachineMart version doesn't have this but only has a short table. You might consider buying the MM version and a long table from ARC to get the best of both worlds. You probably will never use the column tilt just curse having to keep tramming the machine back into alignment.

I use the Chester version of this mill with the Arc Euro long table added - best move I made. I must echo all Mike's comments, I promise I will do some of his mods, probably locking screws first.

I have done all the milling for a Rob Roy on it as well as numerous tooling projects, not broken a gear yet but then I don't try and take big cuts. I like it so much I bought it a full set of er25 collets and collet chuck for Christmas.

As with all machines, mills especially, expect to spend the same again on (absolutely essential) extras.

Andy

Thanks to all that have offered advice - much appreciated. Interesting comment about the tilting column , one thing i didn't want to have to do was keep tramming it.Other than the table difference , is the Clarke machine comparable in usability and quality ? - looking at the Arc catologue , it looks like the Long table set up would be about £ 60.00

Is there any advantage to having the tilting column and whats it used for ? Would the conversion to the larger table be straightforward if the Arc parts were purchased ?

Thanks again all

Chris

I have a CMD10 but cannot comment on the quality difference between it and the Arc Euro mill. I have a feeling the X1L has longer 'Y' travel as well as the longer table which if I was going for a machine would persuade me towards the X1L. If there are differences in engineering quality between the two I suspect the X1L would be the better one anyway.

The downside of the X1L is the tilting column. I doubt I would ever use it and I suspect I would fasten a stiffening bracket or structure of some sort to make the vertical column more rigid so its likely to stay in tram even if you have a cutter jam or whatever.

Unless you do a belt drive conversion make sure you have spare gears, one is bound to break when you are in the middle of an important job. I have seen more robust plastic gears in car windscreen wiper motors!

Ian P

You can buy the non tilting column from Machine Mart as a spare part and add it to the Arc X1L if you want to. I have never tilted column on my X1L and it is bolted up tight and it has never moved since I first trammed the mill.

Mike

I also have the Arc X1L and never had a problem with tramming ... I don't use the tilt so it is locked tight like Michael's. (I did buy a spare get of gears, but they are still in the box unused ... I do only take small cuts)

I also got Arc to prepare it for me, it worked straight out of the box and was correctly set up.

Super little machine and mine is not too noisy.

Dave

I also have the Arc X1L and never had a problem with tramming ... I don't use the tilt so it is locked tight like Michael's. (I did buy a spare get of gears, but they are still in the box unused ... I do only take small cuts)

I also got Arc to prepare it for me, it worked straight out of the box and was correctly set up.

Super little machine and mine is not too noisy.

Dave

I bought the Amadeal XJ12-300. Apart from a couple of easily sorted teething troubles, its taken everything I've thrown at it. It has a reasonably sized table and is significantly cheaper than the other similar models