SX3 Milling Machine Modifications and Tooling

I bought my milling machine much more recently (August 2014) than my mini-lathe. I'd found I was reaching the limits of the capabilities of the mini-lathe relatively often, so I waited until I could afford a more powerful milling machine before diving in. The milling machine is a Sieg SX3 with an R8 taper, bought from arceurotrade when they had one of their periodic offers on (lots of free tools thrown in).

I've been very impressed with the capability of the milling machine, although it can only take fairly shallow cuts in steel. I was a little disappointed that the pin that engages with the keyway in the R8 tools fell out within the first month or two, so the positive engagement that this offers is no longer available. I contacted arceurotrade about this, but apparently it's a relatively common occurrence and it's very expensive to fix as the pin is pressed into the spindle and can only be fitted with the spindle completely dismantled. They assure me that the operation of the machine won't be affected by not having this pin present, but I instinctively tighten the drawbar more than I would have previously done just to be on the safe side. The most significant impact of this missing pin is that it completely precludes the use of R8 collets for directly holding cutters in the spindle.

Mill Pages

  1. Spindle Lock: a much simpler method of locking the spindle for tool changes.
  2. X-Axis Power Feed: smoother cuts with less arm work.
  3. X-Axis Power Feed Mk2: a better power feed.
  4. Spindle Depth Stop: a depth stop for repeatable drilling.
  5. High Profile Clamps: some extremely useful work clamps.
  6. Tangential Fly Cutter: an interesting fly cutter design.
  7. Table Protection: a simple way to save effort cleaning the mill.
  8. DTI Mount: a handy mill-mounted DTI arm.
  9. Spindle DRO: a replacement for the useless spindle DRO that came with the mill.
  10. End Stop: a stop for repeatable placement of parts in the vice.
  11. Fly Wheel Cutter: a cross between a fly wheel and a fly cutter.
  12. Pantograph: a handy tool for engraving text.
  13. Machinist's Jack: a simple tool for supporting work being milled.
  14. Z-Axis Locking Screw: a replacement screw for locking the Z-axis travel.

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