# Now I am "really" in trouble ! (many photos: dial-up warning!)



## wquiles (Feb 11, 2007)

Look what I got now to "play" with in my workshop:

































The "stuff" that came with it (of course, not the BM knife!!!):





















The mini-mill comes bolted to the bottom of the wood crate. Looking at the condition of the machine, I think it was packaged great!!!:






 


Will


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## kenster (Feb 11, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Will,



Congratulations!:twothumbs   




Ken


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## Mirage_Man (Feb 11, 2007)

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COOL!

I want one too.


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## sortafast (Feb 11, 2007)

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nice. have fun cleaning all of that packing grease off, I hate that stuff. Let us know how she works. Hopefully i will be able to take posession of one of them in the next few months.


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## gadget_lover (Feb 11, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Congrats Will.

The description says that's an R8 spindle. Now you get to buy all new toys! COOL!

Daniel


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## highorder (Feb 11, 2007)

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nice Benchmade, too!


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## modamag (Feb 12, 2007)

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Congrats will. YOU ARE DEFINITELY IN TROUBLE! (with the wife that is :nana: )

Just couple quicky.

1. Remember to rotate the spindle with your right hand while using your left hand to engage the HI/LO gear change.
2. Always lock the head when milling more than 0.005" deep.
3. Purchase some locknuts or nyloc for the handles.

Have fun my friend,
Jonathan


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## PEU (Feb 12, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

It looks like a Sieg X2 (http://www.siegind.com/Products/br-x2-lathe.htm) very nice machine!!

And you know that it can be converted to CNC right? 

Congrats!


Pablo


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## wquiles (Feb 12, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Thank you guys  . More fun times for sure as now with my mini-lathe I can be even more creative :naughty: 

Yes, that is the exact same Sieg X2, and yes, I have seen the CNC conversions on it. But I first need to learn how to use a mill before I consider a CNC conversion 

Will


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## CM (Feb 12, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

I envy you :nana:


Nice toy


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## Nebula (Feb 13, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Will - That is a very nice additon to your shop. I know that you will master the thing in no time. Kirk


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## gadget_lover (Feb 14, 2007)

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Hey Will? Any chips yet? How do you like it so far?




Daniel (the "pusher" of toys)


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## wquiles (Feb 14, 2007)

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gadget_lover said:


> Hey Will? Any chips yet? How do you like it so far?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes you pusher    

All kidding aside, I "do" appreciate very much the help and assistance with the metal working and tools that you and others here in the forum have provided me :rock: 

As to chips flying, I have not had time to even clean the machine yet  . I will be buying some WD-40 and rags/paper towels to clean it, adjust it, and then take some light cuts to "feel" my way. Unfortunately I am pretty book this weekend with kiddie activities, so it might be almost two weeks more before I get to play with my new toy  

Will


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## PEU (Feb 15, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

use some unleaded fuel and a brush to do the cleaning in a ventilated area, its better than kerosene IMHO, then of course relube everything 


Pablo


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## cy (Feb 15, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

congrats!!


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## ABTOMAT (Feb 15, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

I need to get some kind of small mill again. I had a Benchmaster (circa 1945 production machine), but it didn't fit my needs. Right now I'm hoping to locate a cheap Clausing or Rusnok, or a really cheap deal on a Rong-Fu style mill/drill.


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## wquiles (Feb 16, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

I got a few weeks back an ER40 Collet set for my mini lathe that came with the MT3 collet chuck adapter (that fits my Cummins 7x12), so last night I bought the R8 collet chuck for my new mini-mill - this way I can use the ER40 collets on either machine 

Will


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## wquiles (Feb 24, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

OK, I started the "cleaning" process :rock: 

I first had to make space in my bench to mount both the mini-lathe and the mini-mill (yes, that is why the bench was made so long - I though maybe "someday" I would get a mini-mill):






So I started by disassembling and cleaning the mill:



















































Of course, I will have to re-lube, adjust, and re-assemble at some point, so I am not using the mini-mill just yet!

I am probably going to take advantage of the x-y table being in pieces to lap those surfaces as shown here .

I also went ahead and ordered the following from the LMS:
- Belt Drive Conversion Kit (smooth operation, less noise, no broken gears)
- Air Spring Conversion Kit (gain extra travel on the Z axis and give more support than the factory twist arm thingie)
- Spindle Lock Kit (just for the convenience factor)

Man - I am already spending money and I have not even turn the thing on - is this sad or what? :naughty: 

Will


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## gadget_lover (Feb 25, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

OK, so now you have to report back on how many spare parts are left over when you re-assemble it. 

You make me feel like a slacker. When I got mine I cleaned off the gunk, re-lubed the ways and started making chips. You are doing it RIGHT.


Daniel


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## kenster (Feb 25, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Will, that looks like a messy pain and you must be having a blast!:rock: 

Please let us know what you think of your add ons like the Air Spring Conversion kit. Thanks for keeping us posted and all the pics. 

Ken


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## modamag (Feb 25, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Will, beautiful disassembly job. :twothumbs

While you're at it. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you remove the motor mount and put some heavy duty loctite in those screws. Of the three machines that I've been in contact with two of them the screws worked themselves out.

Busted plastic gear. Snap Crackle Pop. All the good stuff.


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## wquiles (Feb 25, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*



gadget_lover said:


> OK, so now you have to report back on how many spare parts are left over when you re-assemble it.
> 
> You make me feel like a slacker. When I got mine I cleaned off the gunk, re-lubed the ways and started making chips. You are doing it RIGHT.
> 
> Daniel


Well, the one thing I can tell you right now, is that at least my Y-axis definitely needed lapping. I am not done, but I will take some pictures so that you can see the areas where the lapping helped 





kenster said:


> Will, that looks like a messy pain and you must be having a blast!:rock:
> 
> Please let us know what you think of your add ons like the Air Spring Conversion kit. Thanks for keeping us posted and all the pics.
> 
> Ken


Yes, I am actually having fun doing this. Plus, the lapping was really necessary on my unit. I will let you know how the Air Spring kit works out 






modamag said:


> Will, beautiful disassembly job. :twothumbs
> 
> While you're at it. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you remove the motor mount and put some heavy duty loctite in those screws. Of the three machines that I've been in contact with two of them the screws worked themselves out.
> 
> Busted plastic gear. Snap Crackle Pop. All the good stuff.


Thanks 

And thanks for the tip - I will make sure to follow your advice when putting everything back together 

Will


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## Aepoc (Mar 1, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

when are you going to start selling body parts


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## wquiles (Mar 2, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Selling "body" parts? I hope you mean "flashlight" body parts, right? :naughty: 

If you ask anyone that has a lathe/mill to make parts by hand, he/she will tell you that you really can't come close to breaking even unless you charge a "fair" price for those hand-made parts. 

What you will see more often is that he/she will make a prototype and then work with a CNC shop to make the production parts much, much cheaper, and probably with more uniform finish & fit. Don (McGizmo), Pablo (PEU), and others will most likely agree with me here 

So, with that in mind, I will "probably" make some parts/things for sale now and then, but this is mostly for making prototypes, unique lights, adapters, testing ideas/concepts, etc.. => just having fun, mostly  

Having the lathe is incredibly helpful already, but many times I need a precision drill/mill to "make things fit", so now I have one at my disposal :rock: 

Will


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## kenster (Mar 8, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Howdy Will!:wave: 


Just wondering how it`s going and if you have any thoughts or opinions to offer on the belt drive or air spring conversion kits? 

Thank you 
Ken


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## wquiles (Mar 9, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

I got both kits, but I have not had a chance to finish the installation on them yet as I am still spending on/off time cleaning and lapping the was/sliding surfaces. I am done with the "Y" axis, and I am now doing the "X" axis. Maybe this weekend I will be able to spend time on the "Y" axis and then proceed to install the belt drive and air piston kit.

Will


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## Anglepoise (Mar 9, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*



wquiles said:


> I am still spending on/off time cleaning and lapping the was/sliding surfaces. I am done with the "Y" axis, and I am now doing the "X" axis.
> 
> Will



Can you please give us some more details as to what you are up to here.

Are you scraping in the ways, or just sliding them back and forth with a mild abrasive to attempt to knock off the high spots, and if the latter......how is it working??


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## wquiles (Mar 10, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*



Anglepoise said:


> Can you please give us some more details as to what you are up to here.
> 
> Are you scraping in the ways, or just sliding them back and forth with a mild abrasive to attempt to knock off the high spots, and if the latter......how is it working??


David,

I am doing the second: "sliding them back and forth with a mild abrasive to attempt to knock off the high spots".

As to how is it working? In my opinion, great. Definitely worth the effort. It is hard to capture in pictures, but here is what I have been able to achieve 

Here is a couple of photos of the "Y" axis after lapping:






















Here I am in the middle of doing the "X" axis lapping:






You can see here how the polishing paste is only "touching" the friction areas:











In this 3 shots, as I more towards the right, you can fairly clearly see how the middle section was higher than the rest, as it is the area that had the most metal polished away:
















I got done for now, but I think that the "X" axis could use some more polishing in the near future. I am now assembling the hole unit so that I can start doing some polishing on the "Z" axis 

Will


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## Anglepoise (Mar 10, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Thanks for showing us in detail your 'lapping'. From the shiny parts that are clearly visible, its working well. Certainly anything you can do to get the maximum contact in the 'ways' will improve rigidity and surface finish.
Good job.


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## wquiles (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Here is the fully assembled unit:






In this shot, the mill head is at the highest position. It will travel until it hits the stop you see towards the bottom of the column - tons of travel with the new air-piston kit  






Here I have the R8 collet holder for my ER-40 collet kit:






Here is a close-up on the belt drive system, which does run very smooth:
















and here is a close-up on the air-piston support mechanism:
















and here is a shot of my new bench, including the 6" ver/hor rotary table kit (with tailstock and dividing plates):
















I am replacing the Cummins 7x12 by the HF 8x12 heavy duty lathe any day now, so I installed everything knowing I will be using the larger lathe soon. As to the 8x12, I got lucky. The HF stores now do special delivery of these to the store (you have to pre-pay), so I am just waiting for them to be re-stocked to their warehouse. I say I got lucky because the HF manager was able to honor the old special price ($439.99) even though the delivery price is their regular price ($549.99). I will be replacing the good-for-nothing standard engine with a 1HP DC Engine and will use a DC Motor Speed Control to get fully adjustable speeds - that is my next project 

Will


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## TranquillityBase (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*

Damn dial-up... I've been waiting 10 minutes to see the new toys...

Is that a Harbor Freight rotary table? It looks very nice.

What does the air piston do, and is it a HF accessory also?

You're having way too much fun..... 

TB


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## wquiles (Mar 11, 2007)

*Re: Now I am "really" in trouble !*



TranquillityBase said:


> Damn dial-up... I've been waiting 10 minutes to see the new toys...
> 
> Is that a Harbor Freight rotary table? It looks very nice.
> 
> ...


You "need" broadband my friend :naughty: 

Those are only 800x600, and about 60k-100K each. The originals are 2-3Mbytes each 


That is the Grizzly 6" Rottary Table Kit. Seems pretty nice, although I have not used it yet 

Re: Air Piston. These mini-mills used to come with some sort of air piston in years past. The newer units (as mine) come with a torsion spring mechanism instead, which is not only cheaper, but that it does not do a good job in counter-balancing the weight of the mill-head, plus it robs the unit from additional up and down travel in the "Z" axis (i.e., it unnecessarily limits travel). The folks from LMS (Little Machine Shop) sell this upgrade kit with a real piston, which increases the amount of force to counter the weight of the mill head, but also restores up and down travel, so it is a win-win 

I now have to get busy and mill something !!!

Will


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## jch79 (Mar 11, 2007)

Will - although I know absolutely nothing about machining, I find myself really jealous of your setup. Ahhh... to be a guy.


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## gadget_lover (Mar 11, 2007)

Let me take this opportunuty to indulge in my favorite pass-time; encouraging others to take the plunge.

When I bought my lathe, I knew only what I'd read here. I learned from doing and reading and asking questions. I found that I need only about 3 foot of work bench for the lathe, although more is better. The mini-mill takes another 4 feet or so. Space is not the major problem that I expected.

I've spent more than I need to because I had the funds available, but I could have gotten by with $500 for the lathe and tooling, and another 600 for the mill plus basics. The basics will cost you the same as only 5 to 10 premium lights.

While I'm not a master machinist, I find that after only a year and a half or so I can create any part that I can envision. Mastering the skills are often a matter of just understanding what you read. 

You too can learn the basic skills needed to make beautiful flashlights or parts of flashlights. So don't let your jealousy get the better of you. Start reading and poking around the want ads, craigslist and e-bay. By next year you may find people are jealous of YOU!


Daniel


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## kenster (Mar 19, 2007)

Will, thanks for all the great pics and info that has been very much appreciated.:thumbsup: Can I ask one more favor please?  When you get around to replacing the motor on your new HF 8 x 12 with a variable speed, can you post pics and your opinions on that too?  I am extremely intersted in this project. :rock: 


Thank you,
Ken


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## LukeA (Mar 15, 2008)

The HF 8*12 and X2 with CNC conversion kits would be AMAZING for the home shop.


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