[MikeAber]

I lapped the ways on my IH mill last month and it really runs smooth under power feed with a lot less power needed. The difference is amazing. I recommend anyone lapping the ways to take your time and leave the dovetails alone except for maybe a little 600 or 800 grit. Locate and follow the directions EXACTLY for lapping the ways on the Industrial Hobbies website. If Aaron says 50 strokes, 60 strokes is not better!

I also made the Y axis mod to increase Y axis travel. I did the Y axis mod on my HF gearhead mill a couple of years ago and was supprised at how often I used the extra travel. If you own one of the gearhead mills this mod is worth the effort.

Aaron really knows his machine! I was impressed with the amount of good information available on the Industrial Hobbies website. Really good articles on how to use offsets, fixtures, clamping methods, building a wet bench, using flood coolant, setting up tooling, what kind of oil to use in a gearhead mill and why. There are lots of pictures of the various mods and step by step instructions on how to do them.

I recommend Industrial Hobbies and appreciate the extra effort Aaron has taken to keep us informed. There are many companies out there selling CNC technology and IH is one of the better ones.

[Andy Fritz]

How much is the IH stepper kit for the X3? Any reason for not using servos instead?

[dammachines]

I also made the Y axis mod to increase Y axis travel. I did the Y axis mod on my HF gearhead mill a couple of years ago and was supprised at how often I used the extra travel. If you own one of the gearhead mills this mod is worth the effort.

So how much Y travel do you have now? If I remember correctly it comes stock with 12 inches. I'm hoping to have the need to buy one of their machines in the very near future. Not sure where I'm going to put it though. Don't think it will fit in the space of my Taig!

[MikeAber]

So how much Y travel do you have now? If I remember correctly it comes stock with 12 inches. I'm hoping to have the need to buy one of their machines in the very near future. Not sure where I'm going to put it though. Don't think it will fit in the space of my Taig!

Read the how-to article on the Industrial Hobbies website concerning the Y axis mod to see if it is right for you. I didn't measure the amount of additional travel, I just use it. I would guess 1-1/2" to 2" more. There are pictures here:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11788