It isn’t too difficult to remove the table. If you wind the screw anticlockwise until the table stops moving then you can slide the whole lot out by hand. You will be left with the gib strip which will be loose. You can see the gib strip it’s the thin piece of metal that the alan screws on the front of the table bear on. There is another to the right that is associated with the Y axis. The assembly on the left hand side of the column is as you guessed a spring for counter weighting the head.
Regards David.

Hi to quote and old mentor of mine "If a man can build a machine then men can dismantle it".

Reasonably easy to stip and clean an X2 mill be careful and lock the head at the top of it's travel.

with block of wood under the head casting to stop it crashing down.

The carefully remove the "Gubbins" by releasing the tension spring first.

Remember RTFMF and study the exploded parts diagram as to what goes where.

The head should be resting on the wood block

Remove the stop from the column and remove the clamp screw and the gib adjustment screws and the gib strip will fall out.

You can now lift the head up and off the column.

DO NOT seperate the the two castings that make up the spindle head.

Have fun with your new mill

Eric

There's a good pictorial guide to dismantling and reassembling the X1L mill here . The table is almost identical to that on the X2P.

Yes, "the gubbins at the left hand side with the slotted bar" is to take some of the weight of the head. It makes using it as a drill easier.

Russell.