Another extended (sorta)X2 base idea

[Farasien]

Hey all-

I was thinking about Hoss's extended base for the X2 freak the other day and I think I have another idea I'm hoping I could get some feedback on- one that might get you up to another 2+ inches of Y travel beyond even the legendary Freak...

What if you were to take 2 super x1 bases (the ones with the extended Y travel), square off the ends, mill out some clearence through the column block on one of them for the y axis screw and bolt them togather similar to the X2 freak's base? From what I've been reading online, the super X1 base seems superior in design to the X2's to begin with, and the travel of 1 super X1 base is 7 inches, meaning 2 bases would mean about 14 before trying to message out a bit more by grinding down supports or screw mounts. The size of the mounting block for the tippable column angle plate looks similar to the one for the X2- if not, a bolt/spacer plate would be a quick fab job, I would think.

Has anyone ever tried an X1/X2 hybrid on here before? Does anyone have any opinions on this or am I just talkin' crazy?

-F

[escott76]

It's more of a personal opinion than anything else, but I guess I really just don't "get" this need for crazy travel on smaller machines. Yes, I understand the desire to cut larger workpieces, that's all well and good to want to do larger stuff, but to me that's always meant either figure a way around your travels by breaking cuts up, or using (or paying to have used) a larger machine.
I'd personally rather have 6" of solid travel that I can count on, and not have to watch constantly for deflection in the table or head mounting. Y is particularly concerning since you really need to keep inching the spindle out further to gain actual travel. More moment load, and more potential for stuff to go wrong during a cut.
It just seems that people get carried away in trying to see who can get the most, without regard for the impact it has on their work.

[Farasien]

As far as a need for more Y travel goes, I am a hobbyest machinist- I like to tinker and mess with things in order to see how far I can push things. I would bet many other people on here are the same way, too. There are plenty of reasons I can see buying the next larger size machine, as many people who see as you do suggest, but for me, I can't afford the machines that would be of this size (a decent CNC setup can run $10K or so if you're at all serious), machines this size wouldn't fit in my house (no garage, no basement exterior access) and I genuinely enjoy seeing how far I can mod something. This is not a business for me, its a hobby. I personally don't get why many people do the things that they do for fun, but so long as they aren't hurting anyone, se la ve. Given my constraints, I have to work with what I have, and if by engineering the tools I have to do things beyond their original designs, great. For me it serves a purpose, and I'm not working for you or anyone else. If you have the space, time and money to upgrade to a half-million turning center, congratulations, but that's you. If you don't agree with what I've done, that's fine too, but I'm not asking for your permission or your blessing; I was just askiing a question for the other folks who do a little tinkering themselves. If you have any thoughts about my inquiry, I'm happy to hear them. If not, why waste your time responding?

-F

[hoss2006]

Originally Posted by Farasien As far as a need for more Y travel goes, I am a hobbyest machinist- I like to tinker and mess with things in order to see how far I can push things. I would bet many other people on here are the same way, too. There are plenty of reasons I can see buying the next larger size machine, as many people who see as you do suggest, but for me, I can't afford the machines that would be of this size (a decent CNC setup can run $10K or so if you're at all serious), machines this size wouldn't fit in my house (no garage, no basement exterior access) and I genuinely enjoy seeing how far I can mod something. This is not a business for me, its a hobby. I personally don't get why many people do the things that they do for fun, but so long as they aren't hurting anyone, se la ve. Given my constraints, I have to work with what I have, and if by engineering the tools I have to do things beyond their original designs, great. For me it serves a purpose, and I'm not working for you or anyone else. If you have the space, time and money to upgrade to a half-million turning center, congratulations, but that's you. If you don't agree with what I've done, that's fine too, but I'm not asking for your permission or your blessing; I was just askiing a question for the other folks who do a little tinkering themselves. If you have any thoughts about my inquiry, I'm happy to hear them. If not, why waste your time responding? -F

I couldn't agree more!
Why would someone build a mill completely from scratch when they could just buy one? Same difference.
It's my mill, I'll do whatever I want.
The X1 hybrid sounds good.
Hoss

[escott76]

Originally Posted by Farasien As far as a need for more Y travel goes, I am a hobbyest machinist- I like to tinker and mess with things in order to see how far I can push things. I would bet many other people on here are the same way, too. There are plenty of reasons I can see buying the next larger size machine, as many people who see as you do suggest, but for me, I can't afford the machines that would be of this size (a decent CNC setup can run $10K or so if you're at all serious), machines this size wouldn't fit in my house (no garage, no basement exterior access) and I genuinely enjoy seeing how far I can mod something. This is not a business for me, its a hobby. I personally don't get why many people do the things that they do for fun, but so long as they aren't hurting anyone, se la ve. Given my constraints, I have to work with what I have, and if by engineering the tools I have to do things beyond their original designs, great. For me it serves a purpose, and I'm not working for you or anyone else. If you have the space, time and money to upgrade to a half-million turning center, congratulations, but that's you. If you don't agree with what I've done, that's fine too, but I'm not asking for your permission or your blessing; I was just askiing a question for the other folks who do a little tinkering themselves. If you have any thoughts about my inquiry, I'm happy to hear them. If not, why waste your time responding? -F

It's pretty much the response I expected, from now on I'll just keep out of your thread. My comment was not to deride you for your choices, but as a general point of discussion, and to present another point of view. You don't want to even entertain it, that's cool.
I work with what I have too. I just have a different way of getting the results I need.

[sansbury]

Originally Posted by Farasien From what I've been reading online, the super X1 base seems superior in design to the X2's to begin with

Not sure where this idea came from...

Unless the SX1 has a totally different base design than the long-base/non-tilting X1, I'm pretty sure it would be a much more complex project than the X2 Freak. The X1 base has a female dovetail that the saddle goes into, which is the opposite of the X2. So, you'd need to machine new dovetails on the base, assuming there's even enough material there to begin with.

[Farasien]

It seems you believe I'm planning on mating an X1 base to an X2 base... not my intent- that would be way too much work with not nearly enough payoff, and if I were planning on going that route, I'd probably put more time into finding someone who could supply me with a honkin' big chunk of cast iron and start totally from scratch (I started a thread on that idea about a month or so ago- I'm having BIG problems finding c. iron suppliers who don't either want a grand for the piece I'm looking for (roughly 12X24X4 inches) or who will supply me with only 1 piece instead of several tons at once... argh!). While that option is still under (back-burner) exploration, I was saying to take 2 Sx1 bases and mate them in a similar manner Hoss did with the X2 freak. My thought is that the travel in the sX1 base is supposed to have about 7 inches in travel (according to a friend with one and several websites who mention it) as-is. If I could take 2 bases, bolt them togather and do a little machining on them, I could possibly get 14 inches total travel before machining everything else (screw mounts, saddle, etc.). With all of that, I might even get more than 14 total. With Hoss's articulating head spacer (plus a little more) and the super-rigid back brace I made for the column I have already, it could be a fully usable 14+ inch Y machine.

-F

[sansbury]

Let me try this again...


The X2 saddle looks like this:

|||||||||||||||||||||
||\\ ...............//||

X2 Base:

......\\.........//......
|||||||||||||||||||||

On the X1, the saddle looks like:

|||||||||||||||||||||
.....//...........\\.....

While the base looks like:

||//................\\||
|||||||||||||||||||||

You can't mate an X2 saddle to an X1 base without modifying one or the other, as you'd have two sets of the same kind of dovetails. Won't work, even in Vermont or Massachusetts. You could just use the entire X1 X/Y assembly, but that would mean smaller dovetails with less contact surface. There are some things I like about the X1 base design better, but not that much better.

[SSfab]

if you guys are looking for an X2 base. Give harbor freight a call. They have a seperate number for parts. Your local store should be able to give you the number. I got an X2 base imported and shipped to my door for $23.27

Beat that price.

[mkenney]

Originally Posted by SSfab if you guys are looking for an X2 base. Give harbor freight a call. They have a seperate number for parts. Your local store should be able to give you the number. I got an X2 base imported and shipped to my door for $23.27 Beat that price.

Sounds like you are lucky enough to have a local harbor freight store, I'm jealous Any chance you could find the part number and/or phone number? Sounds like a heck of a deal and I want one

Mark [mkenney]

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by sansbury You can't mate an X2 saddle to an X1 base without modifying one or the other, as you'd have two sets of the same kind of dovetails. Won't work, even in Vermont or Massachusetts. You could just use the entire X1 X/Y assembly, but that would mean smaller dovetails with less contact surface. There are some things I like about the X1 base design better, but not that much better.

Surely he means to use the longer, wider X1 extended table and saddle with the modded X1 Base.

http://littlemachineshop.com/product...2642&category=

http://littlemachineshop.com/product...2297&category=

CR.

[Crevice Reamer]

Originally Posted by mkenney Sounds like you are lucky enough to have a local harbor freight store, I'm jealous Any chance you could find the part number and/or phone number? Sounds like a heck of a deal and I want one Mark [mkenney]

You can probably order it online:

http://harborfreight.com/

Here's the manual. Parts lists are at the end:

http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals...4999/44991.PDF

CR.