Jewelers X2 mini mill mods.
First I need to thank Mxtras whom I met here on the zone. He is helping a great deal to make what you see below possible.We are working to make the x2 mini mill my jewelers mill. He has given his time well above the call of duty as well as his shop.
Mill at the start before breakdown,cleanup,and deburring all edges with a portable belt sander.Breakdown was easy as you just remove all the screws.
After disassembly this pic shows the setup for milling the x2 mill base flat with a roughing mill.
This shows the alum bars we tapped and screwed to the base.They were 3x1.This was done to give more clamping flexability to the Bridgeport t slots. The clamps would not fit on the existing x2 mill base bolt hole tabs correctly.We then flycut them flat so we could indicate the top of the base.
We then cut the 55 degree dovetail to 60 degrees.This was the only dovetail cutter we had so we went with the 60.The reason we did this is because the dovetail was 15 thousandths out of parallel.Not good for a tight fitting cast bearing surface such as moglice.
This shows yellow modelers clay pressed into the dovetail angle recess.This was done by rolling snakes and then pressing them into the angle recess with the but of a drill bit.This will allow for a nice nice radius and ensure a good moglice release.The the top of the base was then sprayed with a parting spray.
The saddle has been roughed and the gib ground on a bench grinder.This was done to increase the surface area for a great moglice bond.The card stock strips were used behind the gib to allow for later gib adjustment room and to help the gib release from the saddle after the moglice was injected and hardened.
This shows the new holes we drilled in the saddle for the moglice to be able to enter.The holes were indicated and are to be redrilled after the moglice hardens to allow for oil to enter to the new moglice bearing surface at a later date.This also shows the cardstock setup that will get trimmed with a razorblade.The gib is tapped at this point and the srews are pulling the gib towards the saddle with the cardstock firmly sandwiched in the middle.
This shows the plate we built to hold the saddle parallel and stable to the mill base using the already existing holes of the machine.This also shows the weeping hole oozing moglice if you look carefully on the right of the alum plate which allowed for air escape and a good moglice fill.This also shows the M1 moglice injector I bought from the local animal hospital.Sorry the millitary got to me.*snicker*.The weep holes and all seams were blocked with modelers clay for the injection.You can also see the weep hole on the other side has been plugged as that side was done first.You can see the clamp but I will explain that in the next picture.
This shows the indicator that was used to tell us how far to to tighten the clamps as the the front aluminum plate wanted to flex and lift the saddle from the base.The top of the saddle is still to be machined but we wanted it flat as possible.
This is a better shot of the clamp going through the mill base that connects to a cross bar layed across the underneath the mill base.The clamp holds this in place with the tension of the saddle.
In the oven curing till the next day.
There will be more to come.
Lead, follow,or get out of the way!