Getting Ready for Mill Delivery - Advice Appreciated

Hi all. I'm trying to get as ready as possible to hit the ground running when my NM-200 S2 gets here. Since I've only used my tiny Sieg machine I've got a lot of things to learn. All the posts of mill teardowns and the like have been hugely useful to me. Thanks for that! I've still got a few questions though and would love some help.

1) What coolant should I use? I'm in an enclosed space and I plan on cutting aluminum primarily with some mild steel on the side. I've played around with SynCool and saw some rust spotting with it - do I need to manually dry everything off when done to prevent that in the future? I thought I mixed it pretty rich but not enough I guess. Is there a better coolant to avoid these issues with my new mill?

2) What lube should I use for the one-shot-oiler? I'd been using synthetic motor oil on the X2 but I want to do this properly and I've heard several people on the forum mention Vacta(?). Is that something you pros recommend?

3) Dumb one (worse than the others):
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...PARTPG=INLMK32
These t-slot nuts work - they look like they will but I want to double check as they seem pretty small?

I've also snagged my 2-ton rated engine hoist, got the 10 gauge wire to handle the 20 foot run from the 220 outlet, all the angle iron to make the 30" tall splash guards, etc. Really trying to do this right from the get go. Thanks much for all the help!

Mike

Hi,
1. You do want to dry as soon as possible. If you're sensitive to chemicalsmlike me you want to pay more for something labelled "organic" or whatnot.
2. Vactra 2 is typical for this application. Enco sells it by the gallon. Other options are typically only available by the 5 gallon lot. Motor oil doesn't contain the tackifiers necessary to reliably stayo in place. Chainsaw chain lube used to be ok temporarily as a makeshift option but everyone in that arena has switched to reselling used engine oil which may containcmetal particals and few/no tackifiers.
3.Yes, they'll work.

Also, 10 guage is overkidll. You only need a 20A circuit, which calls for 12/2. But if you've got it it won't hurt.

Make sure your pigtail from the outlet to the machine is 14gauge min. (15A is what they say typical draw will be, the 20A is more to act as a time delay for the motors). I'd suggest heavy extension cord or cabtire if you have elec supsplies available to you. Also note that if you were planning on foregoing an outlet all the wire will have to be 12gauge min, you'll need a disconnect switch rated for 20A 240v near the machine, and you'll need armored cable from the switch to the machine, and it will have to be hard-wired inside the machine (ie. drill a hole and use a BX box adapter to enter). The plug on the machine is not a suitable disconnect and is not rated for 20A. Otherwise if you have a fire your up the creek.

So the cheaper option is a plug & receptacle near the machine.

Thanks Joe - that helps a lot.

I have a 20amp 220 circuit in the garage currently but it's on the far wall. I need about a 20 foot run from there to my new machine. So the 10 gauge wire is what came out because it's what I had handy. It's pretty flexible stuff too so it's pretty convenient as a giant extension cord. Since I have an outlet, it sounds like I should be able to keep it simple and just wire it directly up to the machine?

Thanks!

Mike

SO cord is typically what is used for extension cords.

I use Vactra way oil on my BP. So far I've been using the oil Novakon supplied with the mill w/o any issues, but once it's empty I'll use Vactra.

Making your own t-nuts is pretty easy, and not a bad 1st project to "break in" the mill. You can never have too many.

One of the main things to get used to is the power difference vs. a small manual mill. It's much easier to break tools and ruin parts, as there is more power and no "feel". A few accidents I've had include:

1) hitting the wrong jog key/jog mode when doing manual jog milling

2) typing g0 instead of g1 (#1)

3) Plunge cutting with a non-center cutting endmill

A good plan when starting a new part includes:

1) Dry run with tools 1" above the part, visually inspecting the path
2) Single step a lot

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by webgeek

Thanks Joe - that helps a lot.

I have a 20amp 220 circuit in the garage currently but it's on the far wall. I need about a 20 foot run from there to my new machine. So the 10 gauge wire is what came out because it's what I had handy. It's pretty flexible stuff too so it's pretty convenient as a giant extension cord. Since I have an outlet, it sounds like I should be able to keep it simple and just wire it directly up to the machine?

Thanks!

Mike

---

That makes sense now. Yes, that should work fine for you. The wire's overkill but as long as it's at least big enough for the application you're set. ie. Overkill is fine.

Offtopic, but FWIW what I think they're implying with the wiring size/etc is that the machine should be rated for 20A intermittent load, like a welder, where you could have a 30A breaker on 12gauge wire (even to the outlet if it's dedicated to the welder & your inspector is up on the code, whereas normally a 30A breaker would require 10gauge) due to the fact that the >20A draw would be sparse for the machine in use.

And yes, this is in both the CEC and NEC somewhere or other. There was a big debate over this some time back at one of Miller's forums, and it was shown that a) Miller specs it this way, and they quote the appropriate codes b) the NEC OKs it, and c) the CEC OKs it. However, getting that to fly with the local inspector is another matter...