Newbie Tramming an X2

[Chuck in E. TN]

I have just purchased a used X2 HF mill. it was mounted on a 12" x 16" x1/2" alum. plate and had a 4" vise installed on the table. The seller took the column off and helped me load the 2 pieces into my truck.
Obviously, I will need to tram it when I set it up.
I have only a couple of dissimilar Dial Indicators. No Dial Test indicator yet. I'm looking for ways to make a mount to put the DI in the drill chuck or collets for tramming.
I have read many posts here and on other boards about tramming the X2, and have the basic idea of how to go about it.
To aid in deciding how to proceed, I have a few questions... Does the DTI, or DI need to be perfectly perpendicular to the axis of the spindle? What effect does it have? I understand that the wider sweep you can make with the indicator, the more pronounced the error will be presented.
What about a 2" piece of 3/8 round, bolted to a piece of angle, with another 2" piece of round, drilled and tapped or threaded to attach to the clamp on the indicator?
Any and all suggested will be considered.

Chuck in E. TN (currently freezing my a** off in upstate NY)

[andyf]

Hi Chuck, and congrats on the new toy.

I have never bothered about getting the indicator perfectly perpendicular to the table. After all, you are initially just checking if readings, whatever they are, are the same or different. Unless you are very lucky, they will be different. But to find out how big the difference is, it will need to be reasonably perpendicular in the sense of being parallel to the spindle. Eyeballing it against a square sitting on the table will be good enough.

If you have an articulated holder for the indicator, you may be able to use parts of that to give you a decent circle.  Arrange things for as big a sweep as you can without the plunger coming off the front or back of the table. For the LH and RH ends, you could use a bigger sweep.

Slip a bit of thin metal or card under the plunger while you are turning the spindle to move the indicator from one position to the other, so it doesn't drop down into the T slots as it goes over them and get bent as you, all oblivious, carry on turning.

Andy

[Bernd]

Chuck,

Without seeing what you available in indicators and holders it's hard to say how to set it up. Simplest is a drill chuck in the spindle with a small bar to attach the indicator to.

The larger the arc you swing the better. Remeber the indicator is used more as a comparator than a measuring tool in this set up. An example would be if you zero the indicator on one side of the table and then swing it to the other side and you read a .010" difference. Then you would make an ajustment so it will read .005". Then rezero the indicator and swing back to orginal postion to check the reading. If it reads less the .001" I would consider the the column trued.

Here's a thread on making a mill tramming tool. May help some. http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=822.0

Bernd

[tumutbound]

Chuck,
I can sympathise with you on this, I'm also in the process of tramming an X2 mill and it's proving to be a pain!

I took the column off and performed the alignment as per this http://homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=6007.0 thread on HMEM. Fiddly but I think I nailed it.
Fitting shims to the base of the column to align the Y axis is proving more difficult and involves lots of trial and, mostly, error. There a fair bit of swearing as well  
If I can pick up some shims today, I'll hopefully get it finished

  What sort of accuracy should I settle for when tramming the X2? To date I've been aiming for .05mm in a 150mm to 200mm circle of the DTI. Am I expecting too much?

[sbwhart]

If your getting that result I'd bee happy, the bigger the swing the more accurate you're getting it, most cutters are less than that, when you try the mill with a cutter look out for the cutter marks this will give you a good clue as to the tram of your mill, what you want is a nice chris cross pattern.

Hope this helps

Stew

[tumutbound]

Note I said aiming for, I haven't yet hit the target 

I couldn't find any suitable size shims today so it's going to be new year before I get this finished.

[raynerd]

If you have an articulated holder for the indicator, you may be able to use parts of that to give you a decent circle.

This is what I use to do and I dare say it works as well as my current setup which I built for the job!

Chris

[Chuck in E. TN]

It's not as easy as some make out it is... Here is the setup I'm trying to use: http://s571.photobucket.com/albums/ss157/chucketn/Machining/tram%20tool/

I get flex in the mill head trying to lock it down, flex in the jig I have the DTI in. I'm using the drill chuck in the pic's. I think I'll go back out and try the 3/8 collet to see if it's any easier, or try a DI instead of the DTI.
Any comments/suggestions welcome.

Chuck in E. TN

[sbwhart]

Chuck

I've used a similar method to tram a mill up and it was always a pain, this is by far the easyist method I've found,

 http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1077.0

It one of the first things I made when I got my new mill, but it is really is quite simple, and it makes tramming very quick and easy.

Hope this helps

Stew

[Chuck in E. TN]

I went back to the shop and changed the drill chuck for a 3/8" collet. I also attempted to use the one DI that had a 3/8 shaft on top. Some how I managed to drop the DI while getting ready to mount it. I launched it in the air trying to grab it and it went to the floor. Scratch one Dial indicator. The plunger is now sticking. 
After wiping the tears from my eyes, and the blue air cleared, I went back to the DTI.
There is an obvious 1/8" difference from left to right. The head leans to the left. I zeroed the DTI at about 1/2 of its travel on the front left corner of the table and it was high and dry on the right. I made several attempts at adjusting the column by loosening the big nut and tapping the column with a brass faced hammer. I seem to be getting no where. Decided I'd better stop before I really lost my temper. I'll try again tomorrow. Time for an adult beverage and clearing my mind…
I think I’ll call Joe, my new machinist/fly fishing buddy and cajole him into helping me!

Chuck in E. TN

[75Plus]

Chuck,

You have probably already done this but if not, make sure the Z axis gib lock is nice and tight. In fact I lock ALL the gibs during tramming.

One other thing that might help. when you turn the spindle to move from one side to the other first slip a thin card under the DTI pointer and use the drawbar wrench to rotate the spindle. Do not touch the DTI supporting bits. Be sure slip the card back under the pointer as you approach the other end. I had many of the same problems you are having when I got my mill. These items caused most of them.

Joe