[heycorey]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the CNCzone (and benchtop milling) and wanted to ask for some advise, if I could. I recently acquired a Harbor Freight 47158 (Sieg X1) in exchange for some carpentry work. My plan is to convert the mill to cnc in the next few months. But before that, I wanted to upgrade and/or improve upon some of the mechanicals first.

Based on research/reading previous posts, I've already ordered/installed the belt-drive conversion kit from the Little Machine Shop. It made a HUGE difference in noise (much quieter) and spindle speed (much faster). Now, in addition to converting to a belt-drive, the prevailing wisdom seems to suggest I should also get a long table kit (x-axis) as well as the extended y-axis upgrade. But there are two different upgrades available for the y-axis, one of which includes a tilting spindle option. I'm wondering if that's a worthwhile option to get or if I should just go with the standard kit.

Does anyone have experience with the tilting option? Is it worth the extra money; ie, is it useful and/or would it be useful once I've switched to cnc?

I'm kind of a green horn with milling in general (I've got a little bit of experience on a lathe and knee mill, but it's limited) ... so any and all advice will be gladly received.

Thanks - Corey

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi Corey. Welcome to the Zone!

First of all, this is a TINY mill. Whether it is worth CNCing or not depends on what you need it to do. Now that it has an 8K spindle speed, it may be ok for light duty work like drilling PCBs, but for Steel or even aluminum it can only take light cuts.

Tilting columns can be a PITA--Once you move the angle, you have to tram it all over again. Of course, with the tilting column you don't have to use shims.

It is not very rigid now, with a tilting column it may become even LESS rigid. Most who want to angle drill use a tilting vise or angle table.

Even WITH the increased table size and travel, it is still not very rigid. Many people who spend the money to CNC these are dissatisfied and move up to something else.

All in all, this may not be your best candidate for CNC. You could sell it on ebay and get a CNC ready to go Taig/Gecko for $1700 that can do some real work:

http://deepgroove1.com/cncmill.htm

Or, of course, if you just want to mess around and have the money to pimp up your X1 you can do so.

CR.

[hoss2006]

The Taig's NOT a TINY mill? gimme a break.
A taig isn't going to cut steel or aluminum and better.
The X2's have tilting columns and most are never used for milling.
You can just clamp the part at an angle instead of tilting the head.
Tilting helps with tramming a little but you can shim under the column mount for that instead.
Sansbury has good advice for the X1 as in this thread.

[chalky]

I have a sieg X1 which I use for small work and trying out ideas - mistakes are less expensive. Its a great little machine to learn on. I got mine with the tilting column and extended xy as standard - I've just converted it back to a fixed column! As CR says the tilting column is a pita and less rigid than the fixed column. You can do a lot of good stuff with an X1, including steel and aluminium, but its very slow because you have to take small cuts. CNC would take the tedium out of this.

[heycorey]

Thanks for the input! I was thinking that the tilting spindle would be more trouble than not, so that's out. Since I got the X1 for free, I figured I'd spend a little bit and learn a lot. The main purpose for this machine will be ...

a) to learn/practice some basic machining skills, as well as CNC programming,
b) prototyping some small parts for a gunsmith (the guy who gave me the mill),
c) have some fun figuring out all the stuff that will go along with fixing up the mill and then converting it to CNC.

Once I've got the programming down, and if we come up with some viable prototypes, we'll likely move up to a CNC'd X3 (or better) for light production work. He'll buy the equipment ... and I'll get to use it. Kind of a win/win for me.

I spent the past 15+ years running instrumentation/calibration departments for different biotech companies. Got laid-off a few months ago for the 3rd time in my career. At this point, I'm wanting to move in a different direction. So I thought I'd try learning something new while I burn through my severance package.

Thanks again for your help! Corey

[heycorey]

I hope it's okay to ressurect an older post with a newer question ... just didn't want to clog up the que with additional threads.

After posting my first message, I've come across an opportunity to use my X1 for some light-duty work as an engraver (award & recognition plaques). In my research, I came across a company that had converted an X1 to cnc and then installed a Proxxon for use doing some engraving. This seems to be something common enough that the LittleMachineShop has a retro-kit to convert an X2. I know there are other machines better suited for engraving, but they're fairly pricey for the amount of engraving I'd be doing. And since I've already got the X1, I'd like to see if it will work for this application.

Does anyone here have experience using a Proxxon? I know that the X1 has some drawbacks in terms of backlash. I guess I'm wondering if you guys think a converted X1 could handle some simple engraving if it's set up correctly.

By the way, I discovered the thread about the Gecko G540 overrun deal and managed to get one (I think it was the last one they had). This forum is a wonderful resource for information!