# A small pile of X2 mods...



## TroyO (May 25, 2010)

In the welcome thread Carl (zeeprogrammer) mentioned I should post some pics of mods, so here ya go...

First up is filling the bottom of the column with epoxy concrete. I used a piece of plumbing pipe to plug the "hole". I sealed the bottom with aluminum tape and filled it with about 50/50 30 minute epoxy and concrete mix. (Only about 6" worth to leave room for the air spring.)


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## TroyO (May 25, 2010)

Next up is the handles. I think the chrome rims will go nice with the racing stripes and flames... Hmmm, maybe I could make spinners? ;D


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## TroyO (May 25, 2010)

Here's a couple of progress pics of the Z Gib.. I didn't do this one out of brass, but I did flatten/clean up and fill in the pips (witness my crap attempt at Mig welding... LOL.) then redrilled in the right place.

Anyway... the effort was rewarded.. notoce the gib now sits flat against the dovetail and the bottom way? It didn't do that before.


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## TroyO (May 25, 2010)

Last of the stuff I have pics of.... making brass gibs.

I made them because:

1) It was just as easy as fixing the stock gibs would have been... filling/redrilling/etc.
2) I had read that the friction between cast and brass was lower. It's supposed to be on an oil film anyway.... so not really sure it helps.

Anyway... pic 1 shows how I managed the clamping, and 2 shows how I did it without having a mill... good old grunt work with a file. I used a bit of 18 Ga stainless to protect the machine space.

Edit: Man, I hope I can run the mill better than a keyboard... typo city


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## zeeprogrammer (May 26, 2010)

Nice mods TroyO.
Reminds me of a few I need to do.
What kind of a difference did you notice from filling the column?


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## TroyO (May 26, 2010)

I'm not sure... I've never used it without it. General consensus is that the column collapses under pressure and allows the column to move fore/aft. By shoring it up you eliminate that flex. I plan on doing a backplate as well.. belt and suspenders, it can't hurt. 

This all has happened "Out of the box" before I ever used it (Or any mill at this point, LOL.) so I don't have a point of reference for how much they helped. I'm just going by the most popular mods out there, and which seems reasonable in terms of cost. It's mostly back together now... some final tweaking and taking some time to make a riser for the base and it will be done. (Well, enough to use it anyway.)

Ones I didn't take pics of:

Split Nut mod
I split the leadscrew nuts and drilled/tapped an extra hole in the saddle on both X and Y so I can adjust the nut backlash externally without removing anything.

Rack spacing
I put a couple layers of aluminum tape under the rack to space it closer to the pinion gear to reduce backlash.

Y axis travel mod
I removed a portion of the front boss to allow more Y travel.. it's almost kissing 5" now. It's so close I have been trying to find a way to sneak in that extra .07 so I can say it has exactly 5 inches, LOL.

Air Spring kit from LMS
Been covered enough.,.. I think everyone knows it, LOL.


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## zeeprogrammer (May 26, 2010)

Oo. Oo. I'm real interested in the split nut mod.
I came across that on some site last year when I started this hobby and got the mill.
When I finish the project I'm working on, I hope to work on the mill.
The table rotates several degrees when cranking X unless the Y is clamped.

There's been a few threads about a backplate. I have the plate to do that.
I also got a a nice piece of angle from...Rick (black85vette) that will help to keep the mill in tram.


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## Chazz (May 26, 2010)

Very nice work. Thm: I am interested in checking out my mill column now  and see just what if any 'mass increasing potential' there is. Bet ya can't wait to make some chips eh? ;D

Cheers, 
Chazz


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## TroyO (May 26, 2010)

Haha, yeah I am getting antsy to make some chips! First up will be a couple of mods to the 8X lathe compound so I can mount my latest toy.. an AXA size Quick Change Tool Post. I got an A2Z one and have been using it a year but the AXA is MUCH bigger/stronger and the 8X has the hutzpah to make use of it.

Note that I didn't fill the whole comumn... just the bottom 6", otherwise the air spring won't fit. 

I may try and do an "epoxy granite" fil and add some mass to whatever nooks and crannies I can find on the mill.

Zee, I wish I could take credit for the split nut mod, or even more so this particular adjustable version but I first saw it over at CNCZone. A gent by the name of Chuckkie posted his take on it, with the extra holes and such for external adjustment. It took some looking at his pics and description and scratching my head to "get it" but it does work wonderfully. 
(Mods, if linking to other forums is a problem I appologize.. please remove if that's the case.) 
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=583342&postcount=43 

Also.. sounds like your Y axis gibs need some tightening. ;D


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## compressor man (May 29, 2010)

Hey Troy, lets see some more of those X2 mods. They are like potato chips to me, I just cant get enough.

btw, love your epoxy/granite fill. I filled the base of my x2 with the stuff


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## upand_at_them (Jun 3, 2010)

Thanks for showing the mods, Troy. For the column fill, did you just combine dry concrete mix with epoxy?

Mike


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## TroyO (Jun 4, 2010)

That's exact what I did. Definitly no magic mix.... for dampening/vibration purposes there IS a special mix of gravel sizes and stuff. (Epoxy granite) 

For just shoring up the column base.. any filler will do. I almost went with using plaster powder.


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## TroyO (Jun 4, 2010)

On to the next... mostly because I happened to run in to them while looking for something unrelated, I got a couple of "Angel Eyes" LED light rings that are usually used to add a ring of lights to a car's headlight.

I got two sets, 60MM and 80MM in hopes that they would fit around the spindle on the X2, and nest to each other for two rings worth of light. Very inexpensive, was around $16 for both sets of 2, shipped. So, I have one for the mill and a spare set to boot... $8 to light up the mill! Very bright as well... even just the 80MM ring alone would be a big improvement. The wiring and solder joints are tiny and weak.. no big deal as I'm doing my own wires anyway. The ring itself is well made and strong. There is a 100mm (About 4 Inch) ring available too... figured I'd wait on that and see if these two were enough.

This is the Ebay store I got them from:

http://stores.ebay.com/Surprising20...12QQ_sidZ883922362QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

Or, just search "Angel Eyes" on Ebay.

I got the 80MM set yesterday... no sign of the 60MM set just yet. I'll post the mods as they go along.


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## winklmj (Jun 4, 2010)

I've got a light made with those ring-shaped LED's. I think I used and 80mm and 100mm (I'd have to check). Anything smaller and it wouldn't fit over the spindle. Works OK except one of them puts out a blue-tint instead of white.


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## TroyO (Jun 4, 2010)

The 60mm ones came in today, so I'll be able to check and see if it makes it around the spindle or not tonight. I didn't measure, just guessed. Risked my $6! ;-) (As if they wouldn't be used for something.... LOL, been meaning to make an Iron Man arc reactor.. ;-)

I also started work on an "Accessory" power supply... took an old PC supply (One of the long flat ones... like two paperbacks top to bottom) and hacked it for a 12V/10A supply for a myriad of mill add ons. DRO power, Drill motor power feed, lights, and whatever else I come up with.. LOL. 3 barrel style jacks and 2 Molex type plugs so up to 5 things. I'll mount it to the back of the column, and wire the AC so it comes on with the main switch.


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## jmshep (Jun 5, 2010)

Another mod to add to the pot:



http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/4OcJTLstL-Gg0KJhPxsEaaZlSqDL1QY0LXX8NHH5Td1WedpsBtrX-sbFJuenDcBUFVlAq3J0R8m1S_yiu6SkcxKKkqJPCxqMHOF6C7k/Sieg%20X2%20X%20Axis%20Alignment%20Aid.pdf


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## TroyO (Jun 5, 2010)

That link wasn't working, but I found the file.... it's in the GrizzHFMinimill group under files...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GrizHFMinimill/files/

And it's called Seig X2 X Axis Alignment Aid.pdf

I'll try a direct link again.. maybe it will work?

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/4MgKTL...xBGLuymMwq2o/Sieg X2 X Axis Alignment Aid.pdf

Anyway.. I do plan something similar. I'm making my own belt drive so I'll extend the back of the drive plate a little and drill and tap for the adjustment bolts.

FYI... the 60MM ring light does make it over the spindle, with about 1/4" (Or 6MM... since the lights are metric, LOL.) clearance. So, about 3MM each side. It also nests inside the 80MM ring just about perfect, again with about a 1/8th gap.

All in all.. looks promising!


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## TroyO (Jun 23, 2010)

First chips.... YAY! :big: :big: :big:

I started on some 1/4 angle pieces to make some vise clamps, and drew "first chips" with the mill. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked... no chatter, nice smooth cut and just plain sounded "right". A far cry from the couple of times I've milled something using my 8x14 lathe... not nearly as scary. 

I also have another mod to add to the pile.... a 12V "Accessory" power supply. I have those 12v ring lights set up and was going to use a wall wart to power it initially, but then I thought about all the other stuff I may add later... power feed, maybe a coolant system.. whatever. 

So, I hijacked a computer power supply. This one was from a "Mini desktop" but most any PC supply will have 12V 
output, and pretty powerfull too. This one is good for 10A, more than enough for a power feed which will probably be the biggest draw. I added some plugs 2 "Molex" style for big stuff and 3 "Barrel plug" style for small stuff... like the lights.

I wired it in to the AC lines that go to the little power supply that runs the fan in the motor controller box, it only goes hot when the mill is on. It's also after the fuse in the circuit.... I'm not sure yet how happy that fuse will be about it. I can maybe bump it a notch if it has trouble, but I suspect the 12V supply won't pull enough to really count much. (180 watt supply, so most it should pull is 1.4 amps @ full load)

Two of the pics shows the ring lights... not mounted yet, but both rings make it around the spindle. You can't really see the one I took without the flash... the light is so bright it kind of washed out, LOL.


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## smarston (Dec 6, 2010)

TroyO said:
			
		

> Ones I didn't take pics of:
> 
> Split Nut mod
> I split the leadscrew nuts and drilled/tapped an extra hole in the saddle on both X and Y so I can adjust the nut backlash externally without removing anything.




Any way I could get a picture of this mod, i.e. where'd you drill the holes?

Thanks in advance,
smarston


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## TroyO (Dec 10, 2010)

I can take some pics, but I'm not sure how to do it so it makes sense... maybe a crap-o-cad drawing would work better. I'll try and get something together this weekend.


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## TroyO (Dec 13, 2010)

OK, it's a little hard to explain but I will gine it a try, with the help of a Crap-O-Cad drawing, LOL. The whole system hinges on the leadnut, which is modified in the following ways:

The nut is sawed "mostly in half" so that it can be squeezed to compress the two sides of the leadnut together and "pinching" the leadscrew, thereby reducing backlash.

Two holes are drilled through only the outside face of the leadnut alowing the bolts that hold the leadnut in place to apply the pressure for retaining them to the INNER face of the split ONLY. The "Inner face" I am talking about is colored blue in my crap-o-cad. That allows the outer face to move when pressure is applied at the X while the leadnut as a whole is firmly pinned in place.

To apply the pressure on that X, you drill and tap an additional hole in the X axis right between the two stock leadnut retaining holes.

On the Y axis, you drill/tap two holes on either side of the existing retaining bolt.

I hope that helps.


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## TroyO (Dec 24, 2010)

More to the pile...

Mod #1, a brace for the column base. I started out planning to use a piece of 1/4" steel I got at Home Depot. But, as I stood there with it in my hands and starting the process of laying it out I looked over at a "Furniture weight" I had scavenged... a 1x4.5x8 or 10 inch hunk of some unknown steel. Hmmm.... if 1/4" is good, 1" is 4 times better right? The price was right... LOL, got about 30 of them for free.

So, I went about making that work. First issue, 1" is too thick to let the nut thread all the way on to the retaining bolt or whatever you call the stub that holds the column to the mill. So, I drilled a 1" hole for the bolt, then set about using a boring bar for the first time. First off... the stinking draw bar doesn't fit. Blarg! So, I drive all over trying to find the right size metric bolt to fit it so I can start boring the hole. After that, it went OK although I broke one boring bar bit in the process. I got a lot of chatter when I reached the bottom, but it eventually cut the flat bottomed recess. So, nut and a hardened washer now sit recessed by about 1/2" in to the plate.

Finally I bolted the heck out of it with 1/4" bolts.... 10 of the suckers, LOL. It's now fixed to the column and aint going anywhere. At the bottom, I drilled/tapped by hand and installed 2 3/8" auto grade studs. Finally, I drilled the holes in the plate to go over the studs, and drilled/tapped 2 holes for 3/8" SHC bolts. That lets me set the fore/aft swing by tightening the two bolts to push the bottom of the column away from the base, or I can tighten the bolts to move the bottom of the column towards the base.

Problem: The new style mini mill base is hollow under the column. The back wall was not up to the pressure, and so it cracked when I tightened the bolts. Ohh no!

Mod #2, fix the base... LOL
So, I flip the base upside down an after cleaning it all out and degreasing I dam up the hollow area with modeling clay then fill it with JB weld and gravel. (IE... redneck "Epoxy granite"). I decided, while I was at it to dam up the rest of the base and gave it a dose of clear epoxy/concrete/gravel mix. So, any available cavity is now filled and shored up with an "Epoxy granite-ish mixture". While not optimal for sure I have to assume it was better than just not doing it. In any case, with the base now repaired and a 1/4" pressure plate under the bolts to spread the load it seems to be holding up just fine.

The difference is HUGE.... I han't gotten much time to use it since but a few test cuts had dramatically less drama involved and I was able to cut deeper/faster than I was before by a big margin. Much much much less vibration and shuddering involved.


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## TroyO (Dec 24, 2010)

But wait, there's more!

I got a misting unit, specifically this one from Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spray-Mist-Unit...896?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ae156fa8

He shipped quick, it arrived in decent shape although there was a small crack in the lid of the bottle. I didn't bother telling the seller since it didn't affect the function at all. You could turn it down failrly low and still get coolant, but my compressor still ran pretty often. 

The block is pretty much just an air valve, and there is no "nozzle" per-se, just a tube that extends through the LocLine and pokes out the LocLine nozzle. It worked pretty well, but in researching info about misters I ran in to Bogs post about making a high effeciency nozzle. 

Hmmm... great idea! Too much work, LOL. I ran in to a post with someone asking about using an air brush instead but no one really responded to the idea. It got my brain working, especially since I had 2 cheap air brushes that haven't been used in years.... I think I got them both at a flea market for like $10.

So, I take a look at them and they way they are made I think I can do something with them. Here are the results.

I took it apart and looked at how it worked... there is an air inlet, a push button air valve and then the sprayer nozzle which usually has a jar of paint hooked to it.

By cutting the barrel at a point just past the air valve I just had an open tube. I drilled that out, threaded it (5/16 NC if I recall correctly.) and then I threaded the LocLine nozzle to the same. Screw the barrel on to the LocLine with some teflon tape, then hook the coolant tube in to the paint coupling. Ohh, and I had to block the hole in the air block where the collant line used to go. I just threaded it and put in a machine screw with a O-Ring on it.

Bingo! Easy, controllable and adjustable low volume misting unit!

It can go from a gentle blow almost like blowing through a straw to a pretty decent little air blast (Plenty for blowing chips) while sucking coolant at a rate anywhere from it taking 30 secs or so to dampen a spot on a piece of paper to downright giving it an instant drenching.

As some of you Brits say..... "It was bodged together but worked a treat".... ;D


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