Yup I have the arc euro sx2 as well and I'm impressed for the money, it also has a rigid pillar instead of the swivel mount.

dunc

Yep, same here…..metric R8 . There are some photos in one of my albums of my mill and DROs recently fitted

I'd give a lot of weight (pun?) to table size in your decision making.

With these smaller machines, if you're using the mill for general purposes you will frequently find that the table or table-travel is just not quite big enough for the job you want to do.

(Of course, the price goes up with table size).

John (DMB) your choice of spindle is interesting. I agree with you as-written but a local vendor changed the spec on the small mill that I bought (after I had bought it) from MT2 up to MT3. When I asked why, they told me it was by popular demand because " there is more tooling available – to hobbyists – in MT3" . I disputed that and felt it was the other way round …. even in their own catalogue.

The nice thing was, they also came up with an R8 conversion kit which I've much preferred to my MT2.

I would agree with that. I have two small mills – Centec 2A and a Seig KX1 – and the limitations of table size and X axis travel are a constant problem even though I model in smaller scales. In a lot of cases, it can be the lack of room available on the table to clamp items. I would go for as big a table and table movements as you can accommodate/afford.

Jim.

I have a Warco WM 16 bought at last years Harrogate exhibition, together with the WM 250 V-F lathe as a package deal after I had trawled around the other major suppliers. The cabinets/stands are very flimsy for what they are expected to support (inc as part of the deal) so I would ensure that a solid bench/frame is a better preference. I did have some issues with the first lathe which was remedied by a simple tel. call so the support from Warco was very satisfactory in that respect.

The mill is virtually the same as the Amadeal 16V & other clones from china albeit in a different colour & they are all made by a couple of factories in Southern China just badged as different manufacturers/models ( in the US it is badged as the Grizzly G0704 / BF20L). the price you pay depends on the distributor & what he decides is a profitable mark up taking into account shipping & overheads etc, (as with all businesses) so it comes back to the old adages ..'you get what you pay for' … 'don't expect a Rolls for mini price' I would have prefered the WM 18 but this was another £350 which was really stretching my budget at the time.

Saying that I am getting good results so far from my mill after tweaking it here & there (& 'straight out of the box&#39, I have given it a d.o.c. of 1-1.5 mm on cast iron, up to 1mm d.o.c. in mild steel with a 4 point face mill & similar with 4 flute HSS end mills so I have not asked it to do too much, so far, so good. At the end of the day, as you correctly surmise ..'what is my budget, what available space do I have, what do I want to do with it 'etc, etc. .. & don't forget about the cost of tooling either, e.g. rotary table,parallels, cutters, etc, can tot up to as much as the cost of the mill if not more over time. There are a couple of pics of my machines in 'my album' if you want to have a gander.

Happy hunting.

George

R8 is a mounting system for tooling in the mill (or other machine) spindle. It has a more obtuse taper then MT and therefore releases (much) more easily. It also has a keyway to prevent rotation.

You can use R8 collets, and many people do, which will give you maximum height availability. Personally I use an ER (32 or 25) collet-holder in an R8 mounting. This loses a very little bit of height but gives you more diameter tolerance and is arguably quicker changing collets.

Depending on just how small a machine you get, don't rule out using drill chucks. I have enough height to use a chuck in many cases and I have fitted some with 1/2" parallel arbors which slip into a collet very quickly. In any case you won't be able to conveniently hold a full range of drill bits in collets (especially R8 collets which have limited gripping range).

Steve

'One company I spoke to disputes the thinking that these machines are made by a couple of factories in China, if they were then there would be less differences in wattage motors for example from one make/model to another. Also other related parts may well not fit what appears to be a 'twin' machine'

I can only offer my opinion, take a look for yourself at :

http://www.realbull-machine.com/en/

http://www.mini-lathe.com/Mini_lathe/Sieg/Sieg.htm

On the Seig site, quote.. "This is the factory that makes many of the versions of the mini-lathe, mini-mill and many other machine tools that so many of us enjoy using."

Take a good look through & you will see many versions of what we ME guys buy; have also taken a comment from the mini-lathe forum site ..

Mini-Lathe Product & Book Reviews.

‘The great majority of mini-lathes sold in the U.S. and worldwide are made by Sieg in Shanghai, China. They are re-branded by several vendors, painted in a variety of colors and sold with various combinations of accessories and with four bed lengths: 8", 12", 14" and 16", but all are basically the same lathe (Well, ok, the Micro-Mark version is kinda unique…). A very similar lathe, made by Real Bull in China, makes up the rest of the market’.

By reference to the above the following are made by the same co.

Lathes:

Big Dog 7×14

Grizzly 7×12

Harbor Freight 7×10

Homier 7×12 (old style)

Homier 7×12 (new style)

Homier 7×12 (comparison)

Micro-Mark 7×16 with brushless DC motor

Sieg SC2 7×12 Lathe with brushless DC motor

Sieg SC4 8×17 Lathe with brushless DC motor

Sieg C6 10×22 Lathe

So in the same context I can dispute the dealers comments, again only offering my opinion, make of it what you will, at the end of the day you will purchase whatever make, size etc, you decide suits your needs & budget. Happy hunting & enjoy what you get.

Cheers

George

Slow down! Please don't be offended but I think your level of knowledge is not yet enough to wisely commit on a major budget item unless you are well into the 'no child allowance' income bracket. More time to read the umpteen threads on just this forum will save you money and give more satisfaction in the long run.
Which day are you at the show? There are lots of club stands plus SMEE who can give you face to face advice which may help or be as conflicting as above but you can cover much more in minutes in a conversation.
On day one you only need one half inch collet and one half inch (or metric equivalent) slot drill (more vesatile than end mill). So don't cut the machine budget to pay for tooling which can wait. You often get bundled tooling with it but don't let that sway you. Remember like the supermarket offers it's there to dull your judgement.

(China production. many many parts factories supply fewer but multiple integrators. Just like cars and you know all hatchbacks look nearly the same and all use the same brakes etc.)

Andrew J well you learn something every day Thanks

Steve it may be worth a look at the Arc Euro website they have a deal on the X2 if no more than a bargaining point.

Olly