Milling machine capabilities

[epilot]

I'm starting up a business on a very tight budget but I really need a milling machine and have been looking at the Sieg SX2:

http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catal...ies/Milling-Machines/Model-Super-X2-Plus-Mill

I want to make sure it is capable of doing what I need. I will mainly be milling brass and the heaviest milling I can think of I will be doing is using a 10mm ball nose mill to make a groove in a backplate for an oscillating cylinder. Does anyone have experience with this mill and knows if it is up to the job?

TIA,

Michael

 

[briggszz]

Hi,
There are several types of brass, and some don't machine very well in my opinion. but the mill you mentioned will do the job but it may be slow going. A big plus is it looks to have a brushless motor and a solid column. I had the littlemachineshop.com version for a while and it had a weak tilting column that would flex in a slight breeze. other then that it worked fine.

 

[epilot]

I had the older version as well some years ago but never used it very much and when I did it was mostly for drilling (too much runout on my drill press). I agree the tilting colum was a pain and I found the gears quite noisy so the belt drive is a nice update.

 

[narrowgauger]

Michael

we use 2 Sieg SX2's in daily production for our model locomotive business and find that they provide excellent service over the 24 months that they have been in use. In my view they represent excellent value for money and will perform flawlessly once correctly set up.

the SX2 will handel the sizes you have indicated without undue stress.

we also use 2 small German mills and found that when value for money is taken into account the SX2 is actually better.

by the way the Sieg lathe with the same motor is also a great value for money machine and bettet than our Proxxon 360's

hope this helps
have fun
Bernard