Author Topic: Help on Mini mill Makeover  (Read 8975 times)

Offline klank

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
  • Sunny East Devon
Help on Mini mill Makeover
« on: June 20, 2009, 06:17:18 AM »
My X2 was starting to exhibit mis-alignment signs and generally "felt" wrong when in use.

I followed Craynerd's (Chris) thread re. buttressing the column of the X2 mini-mill and made a "tombstone" plate as per the plan given on the topic link to Harrisson's site.

http://www.harrisson.biz/backplate/rigid.htm

I decided to dis-assemble the mill completely and fettle everything before reassembly with the tombstone plate on the back.
The worst feature I uncovered was the state of the surface of the main bed casting where the column right angle plate bolts to it at the rear (three M10 socket head bolts). The bed surface here looked as though someone had part machined it with a blunt fly cutter and part attacked it with a tame hand-held woodpecker. There was no way that the column could be properly aligned to the bed.
Briefly - I took the bed to a mate's workshop, who kindly machined the surface true, and I then blued it to check with the column base casting - just a little scraping and honing to finish.
The (Harrisson's) tombstone plate and slightly angled taper "wedge" were fitted to the column and then the column to bed (with head fitted) and then head to column all trammed up in two operations.
The tombstone plate fitted beautifully - no trouble in tramming the column in the Y axis - did not need to shim fortunately - maybe the machining and scraping paid off!!
I ground in the X/Y dovetails and jib-strips with coarse and then fine grinding paste and everything is now re-assembled. The action of the mill has been transformed - everything seems much more solid and the action is silky smooth.

However - I realise that the mill is much more user-friendly without those horrible folding rubber accordian type leadscrew/bedway protectors. (anyone else cut their wrists/fingers on the pesky steel strips that hold them?)

Has anyone come up with a better way of protecting the Y axis leadscrew and bedway?


I can see a way of protecting the exposed leadscrew - there is just enough room to press fit a thin strip of polycarbonate material into the rough rectangular "hole" in the main bed casting, above the Y leadscrew but below the bed surface.
That leaves some means of protecting the surface of the bed that the Y axis casting slides on.

Has anybody done a mod. for this - or is it still the best way to "live" with the rubber accordian thingys!

Offline Brass_Machine

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5504
  • Country: us
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2009, 10:46:45 AM »
So that plate works then? I want to do that along side of the CNC conversion. Maybe. I have a couple of ideas floating about my head. I saw where one guy has done some to add more range to the axes.

Eric
Science is fun.

We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.

Offline Brass_Machine

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5504
  • Country: us
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2009, 01:47:10 PM »
Hey Klank... You have the drawings available as the Harrison site is down.

Eric
Science is fun.

We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.

Offline CrewCab

  • Madmodder Committee
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 851
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2009, 01:57:28 PM »
Has anybody done a mod. for this - or is it still the best way to "live" with the rubber accordian thingys! 

They are a real PITA aren't they  :hammer: ............... but no, I've not come up with a better alternative, I just Vac out the chips regularly.

CC

Offline NorthOf40

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 44
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2009, 03:32:22 PM »
Hey Klank... You have the drawings available as the Harrison site is down.

Eric

Hi Eric,

I had saved the page.  Let me know if you would like a copy and what format you'd prefer.
Jim
Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it. – Mark Twain

Offline Stilldrillin

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4972
  • Country: gb
  • Staveley, Derbyshire. England.
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2009, 08:19:11 AM »
Has anybody done a mod. for this - or is it still the best way to "live" with the rubber accordian thingys! 

They are a real PITA aren't they  :hammer: ............... but no, I've not come up with a better alternative, I just Vac out the chips regularly.

CC

Wot he said.......  ::)

David D
David.

Still drilling holes... Sometimes, in the right place!

Still modifying bits of metal... Occasionally, making an improvement!

Offline klank

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
  • Sunny East Devon
Re: Help on Mini mill Makeover
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2009, 10:00:27 AM »
Eric, David, CC, Jim - a thousand apologies for not replying to you sooner - I had given up on getting any reply on this question and have not looked at it for ages.
Thank you all for the comments and for taking the trouble to post a kind reply.

Still stuck with the bellows then!!!

I have sent the "page/plan" for that tombstone plate seperately Eric.

My X2 mill may be a slight up-grade on the one shown in the plan. The big central bolt on mine is 24mm dia. - not as shown in the plan. I had to bore it out very slowly from a sheet of black steel I had scrounged.
The "wedges" at the back/bottom are also of a different dimension to fit mine.

It has transformed the cutting "feel" now - much cleaner finish when milling and it seems rock solid.
I bolted it up all the way round after checking the tram - I never intend to use the "tilt" feature.
Hope this helps.