wm460 2nd June 2015, 07:01 PM How far should you strip a new Seig SX3 mill to clean all the crap and grease off.
I have read ArcEuro Trade PDF Booklet, they strip it completely down, electrics and all. Do I have to go this far or is it an over kill?
What oil and grease should I lubricate it with.
simonl 2nd June 2015, 07:08 PM Oh come on, it shouldn't be a chore to strip down a new mill to clean! :D
I don't know much about Seig stuff but I have heard and read that their stuff is pretty good for Chinese so maybe you don't need to be so extreme. However, if in doubt, strip and clean it out!
I did this with my mill from new, which I'm glad I did. My lathe on the other hand had a few hours of use before I realised all the crud in the headstock. Too late by then, the spindle bearings were worn out. Like I said though, these were not a known brand like Seig that has built a sort of reputation for "better than average quality" for a Chinese machine.
How does it look, how does it feel?
Congratulations on your new machine! :D
.RC. 2nd June 2015, 07:15 PM I would only dismantle as far as I would feel comfortable in doing so... You start removing leadscrews and such, sometimes they can be difficult to realign upon assembly if they have not been doweled in position... Then you will have tight spots in them...
wm460 2nd June 2015, 08:17 PM The link to ArcEuro Trade Booklet,
http://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/machineguides/Super-X3-Mill-Dismantling-and-Reassembly-Guide.pdf
pipeclay 2nd June 2015, 09:04 PM Probably best to use the grease and oil that you read about.There strip down guide appears to be a guide to maintaining rather than cleaning.If you can trust what is shown and written that one appears to be very clean straight out of the box.
KBs PensNmore 2nd June 2015, 10:45 PM Hi Mark,
If it were me, I'd mechanically strip it down, that is everything but the electrics, I''d go into the electric boxes just to make sure that all the terminals are tight, I have found some loose on mine. Strip it down and you'll need a diamond file to clean up any nicks etc that you'll find. A book I read on the Sieg machines, said that the machining is pretty good for China, but assembly is a production line, no one takes much notice of the quality of the parts, over tightened, or loose, etc. Parts should be cleaned then checked for scoring, lubricated and assembled and adjusted to specifications. Some parts might need machining Gib screws to a blunt point for example. You'll get to know the machine inside out, and understand the workings of the various components.
Kryn
pipeclay 2nd June 2015, 11:31 PM Little difference of opinion already regarding what to do with the Gib screws and you haven't started pulling it down yet,just be careful how far you go.
wm460 3rd June 2015, 09:37 AM Thanks for your replies,:2tsup:
The mill looks great, very well made, bigger than I expected.
My project today is to start to clean it, So probably have mobs of questions later.
Steamwhisperer 3rd June 2015, 01:30 PM Little difference of opinion already regarding what to do with the Gibs and you haven't started pulling it down yet,just be careful how far you go.
I think Kryn was talking about re-machining the gib screws and not the actual gibs.
Phil
simonl 3rd June 2015, 01:47 PM Thanks for your replies,:2tsup:
The mill looks great, very well made, bigger than I expected.
My project today is to start to clean it, So probably have mobs of questions later.
Remember, we like photos here! :D
Simon
wm460 3rd June 2015, 03:32 PM Photos coming Simon.:2tsup:
got it striped down and cleaned ready to re assemble.:D
What sort of grease do I use on the lead screw?
.RC. 3rd June 2015, 03:49 PM no grease.... you use oil. pretty much any oil will do...
pipeclay 3rd June 2015, 04:17 PM Read that PDF again.
cba_melbourne 3rd June 2015, 08:57 PM How far should you strip a new Seig SX3 mill to clean all the crap and grease off.
I have read ArcEuro Trade PDF Booklet, they strip it completely down, electrics and all. Do I have to go this far or is it an over kill?
What oil and grease should I lubricate it with.
Congratulations to your new mill.
When I got my new Sieg X3 10 yers ago, I initially only wanted to strip it partially. But I found so many burrs and leftover chips, I felt that I had no choice than going all the way to the very last bit. And in hindsight I am very very happy that I did. Many adjustments will not be lost, as Sieg uses taper pins in many places to ensure parts will fit together again as they should (the emty thread in the taper pin head is to help in taking them out with the help of a screw that you can use as a handle). I did wash all the gears and ball bearings, then deburr with swiss files. By the amount of metal dust and chips in the washing, the bearings would not have lasted for long.... I found places, like the tapered gib for the vertical dovetail, that had been "adjusted" with a blunt farrier rasp and needed much attention. They used the same old rasp to tram the vertical column to the bed casting. Go ahead, do the whole treatment, these low cost machines need that to become good machines. Some owners say its a materials kit, just put together to prove its all there and it fundamentally works. I also changed most (probably all) fasteners - they are stamped 8.8, but are soft like soup can iron. Replace them, before they stretch too much and strip the threads in the castings. Be careful with the spindle, the bearings are a very tight fit, you may have to correct that. And do not overfill the bottom taper rooller bearing with grease - by design excess grease has nowhere to go, and the spindle will get too hot when preloaded. After 10 years (actually I just checked, I bought it in 2004) I am still very happy with it, it was good value for what it cost. The only thing that turned out to be absolute sub standard crap was the DC motor and its drive to the spindle - I changed that to a VFD. But yours is the Super X3 with a completely new and much improved brushless motor and drive. I think you will like it. Chris
Edit: I replaced most oil ports with zerk fittings. If you punch out the brass oil ports, you can tap them for M6. I use gease on the handwheel axial ball bearings and leadscrews, I recommend oil for anything else. To tram the column you may do some scraping, I used thin metal shims. The interface between the base and the column is the weak spot for overall rigidity. But even with the shims, tramming is stable such that I can see the whole circle of the cutter on a very light finishing cut, and this has not changed in 10 years of use. Whilst at it, replace the die cast ratchet angle levers by quality items, they strip off before half a year use is over.
Oldneweng 5th June 2015, 11:08 PM Congratulations to your new mill.
Many adjustments will not be lost, as Sieg uses taper pins in many places to ensure parts will fit together again as they should (the emty thread in the taper pin head is to help in taking them out with the help of a screw that you can use as a handle).
Or with the help of a screw as an extractor. Heap of washers that will fit over the pin, then one that wont. Bung the screw in, and keep turning and and out comes the pin.
Dean
Hornetb 7th June 2015, 10:04 PM I've done it. Worth it for piece of mind IMO. It's a bit of a chore but wasn't that big a deal. I was most concerned with the chance of grit/sand in the gear box and bearings. There was loose sand in there, whether it would have migrated it debatable, but I was glad to have it out of there. They use a yellow paint to try and lock the sand down and in place :o. I also replaced the bearings with better units while I was doing it.
But I've still never used the mill :roll: I have MT2 tooling for my other mill that has issues and the X3 is MT3. Haven't bothered to ever tool up for it but I will one day.
I did have to do some work on the electricals as the brushes on the motor were not good and it would arc terribly and blow the fuse. I cleaned the brushes up and made sure they move freely and I also disassembled the motor and turned and trued the communicator between centres on my lathe. The motor ran better afterwards.
http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h215/HornetB/1531837_10151845623217539_802211284_o_zpsrkjhbmha.jpg (http://s65.photobucket.com/user/HornetB/media/1531837_10151845623217539_802211284_o_zpsrkjhbmha.jpg.html)
Michael G 7th June 2015, 10:20 PM On the kitchen table too - extra points for bravery!
Michael
Oldneweng 8th June 2015, 12:08 AM Its cold down there! :rolleyes:
Dean
cba_melbourne 8th June 2015, 04:55 PM Yes, they do not clean the casting sand off very well, then just spray over it with that yellow paint. But to be fair and honest, SIEG do clean off their sand and grit much better than most other low cost Chinese machine tool makers do, where the said sand is mixed into the bearing grease... I think it is overall getting better, Chinese factories are getting cleaner floors, and Chinese workers are getting used to working cleaner. It is evolution in progress. Its like when I was a kid, Japanese products were coarse and low quality. Then in the 70's their cameras and bikes started getting better. In the 80's their quality had become the benchmark, in the 90's they sent western makers to the wall, and now they are pricing themselves out of the markets. The same is happening in China right now, albeit a bit slower.
Hornetb 9th June 2015, 10:58 AM Yeah agreed.
I don't know if the sand would have been an issue, it isn't an oil bath in the head just the greased gears living up there in space. I did what I could to wash it out and I'm happy with the outcome and that I don't think it will be any issue or any more would come free. FWIW the X3 seems like a reasonable machine. You've actually given me the kick up the bum to make a metric threaded draw bar (I forgot I do actually have an MT3 ER32 collet holder that I use on the hercus lathe but my draw bar isn't long enough for the X3) so that I can try it out and do some work on it.
cba_melbourne 9th June 2015, 04:25 PM Yeah agreed.
I don't know if the sand would have been an issue, it isn't an oil bath in the head just the greased gears living up there in space. I did what I could to wash it out and I'm happy with the outcome and that I don't think it will be any issue or any more would come free. FWIW the X3 seems like a reasonable machine. You've actually given me the kick up the bum to make a metric threaded draw bar (I forgot I do actually have an MT3 ER32 collet holder that I use on the hercus lathe but my draw bar isn't long enough for the X3) so that I can try it out and do some work on it.
My X3 actually came with an M12 draw bar that should suit any MT3-M12 tools and collets (I thought its a standard accessory with SIEG?). I just use allthread as draw bar for some few MT3 tooling that I have which still have imperial threads.
Hornetb 10th June 2015, 12:53 AM My X3 actually came with an M12 draw bar that should suit any MT3-M12 tools and collets (I thought its a standard accessory with SIEG?). I just use allthread as draw bar for some few MT3 tooling that I have which still have imperial threads.
Yeah it did come with one (Metric) but my ER32 MT3 chuck is imperial :doh: , I made a draw bar previously to suit the hercus lathe headstock, which is too short for the X3. It's not a big deal to make another one, will be a fairly quick job, it's just been well down the project list especially given how cold it is out in the shed at the moment :oo:
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