Seig X3 Spindle lock

[Rustkolector]

When I purchased my X3 mill drill 10 years ago I was unhappy with the lack of a spindle lock. I came up this spindle lock idea and it has worked well through a lot of use. It really speeds up tool changes. It involves a simple spring loaded brass locking pin held in by palm pressure to lock the spindle. It seats into a tooth slot on the top gear. It is installed in the front of the cast iron top cover. The photos should be self explanatory.
Jeff

 

[Hopper]

Simple but effective.
I was looking at an X3 at a new friend's workshop the other day and been thinking 'bout buying one ever since.
As a 10-year X3 owner, how have you found the machine? Any problems? Any advice?

The X2 is too small for the motorbike work I do but it seems the X3 is a much more substantial machine that will do more than just small brass model work etc.

 

[Blogwitch]

Hopper,

"The X2 is too small for the motorbike work I do but it seems the X3 is a much more substantial machine that will do more than just small brass model work etc."

It is all in the mind. Almost all machines can be persuaded to do something it wasn't intended to do.

I used to have one of the real crappy Rong Fu mill/drills, but it worked wonders for me because I wouldn't let it dictate what it could or couldn't achieve. I made real tiny high quality parts for a model locomotive manufacturer who required 0.0002" accuracy, to one of the last jobs I did on it.
This is a 7ft long motorcycle chopper frame being converted from shaft drive to belt drive, complete with a rare piccy of 'uncle' John before losing a lot of his body mass. This frame had been dragged around all of the local engineering shops before landing at my feet, they had all said it was too big to get on their machines. My machine did it with 1" clearance to spare.
The chap who owned it was a landscape gardener, and he did a wonderful job of building me a garden wall in payment.

So please, don't think that something is too small without actually doing a lot of research first. It could save you a lot of pennies in the long run.
I am not saying your choice of the X3 was wrong, everyone to his own, but don't discount smaller machines as sort of 'playthings'.
I now run a small bridgy clone (Chester 836), and that can't do half of what I did on that old RF machine, purely because it was a lot more versatile in doing what shouldn't have been done on it, or maybe it is me, not being able to problem solve so readily nowadays.

John

 

[Rustkolector]

Hopper,
My X3 has been an excellent small-medium sized mill drill for my needs. I have a small shop and it fits nicely, yet it has been a very capable mill for my model engine hobby work. So far, I have had no problems with the X3. I have seldom had need of a larger mill for anything I have attempted to date. But, I don't work on motorbikes so I would not want to suggest that it could be adequate for that kind of work.

Jeff

 

[Hopper]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.
John, yes, I have some experience of doing "owt wi' nowt" or close to it on my old Drummond 3-1/2 inch lathe, milling and boring 1" thick plate etc so I know how that goes. But sometimes I just get tired of always pushing the proverbial up hill on jobs anything bigger than a matchbox.

Rustkolector, that is what appealed to me about the X3, it does not take up as much room in the shed as say a Bridgy clone yet would allow that one size bigger job to be accommodated without strain. (Or with strain would allow one size bigger again, eg John's chopper frame etc!)

 

[ShopShoe]

Hopper,

I was where you are once and decided on the X3 and have not been sorry. My experience with it (and without trying something smaller first) is more adequate work envelope, Rigidness and stability, and ability to use larger tooling and accommodate more tricky setups. (Some of these stretch the capacity a bit, more in the spirit of what John says above.) Of course, there are now some slightly bigger "Mill-Drills" that I might have been looking at but were not available at the time.

I'm sure you know, but don't forget that you'll need to buy tooling and accessories and that will also affect what your choice will be. Bigger machines tend to require bigger and more expensive additions to get them working (At least if you come close to exploiting their potential.)

 

[rodw]

I have really enjoyed my upgrade from a 3 in 1 to a lathe and SX3. The mill is a delight to use and I have since added a DRO.
Rustkolector, I've seen that photo before and I made a similar mod. Some details towards the end of my shed thread.