Thread: Cleaning a new Mill?

On the kitchen table too - extra points for bravery!

Michael

Its cold down there!

Dean

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.

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.

Originally Posted by Hornetb

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.

Originally Posted by cba_melbourne

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 , 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