Coming back in from the cold

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

Hi everyone, I'm Ken

I'm returning to the hobby after 40 years absence – I hope!

I have a couple of unfinished projects that were started in the 1970s and 1980s so plenty to do but first job is to rebuild the workshop and find a society to join, I'm on theSurrey/Hant's border so let me know if you can recommend a friendly local group.

I already have an aged Boxford that I've used on car restorations that's in quite good nick so that's a start but I need a small bench milling machine so does anyone have any recommendations as to which ones are a good buy?

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

For the Surrey / Hants border I would think Guildford would be the nearest, then Basingstoke followed by Andover and Reading but they may be a bit too far away.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The Sieg SX3 milling machine is a good one and suited in size to small to moderate sized car restoration jobs too. ArcEurotrade sell them and have a good reputation for quality and customer service.

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

Posted by Baz on 04/01/2023 08:51:39:

For the Surrey / Hants border I would think Guildford would be the nearest, then Basingstoke followed by Andover and Reading but they may be a bit too far away.

Hi Baz

Yes they seem to be the local choices, just looking for some personal recommendations from you guys. I don't want to travel too far and there don't seem to be any others nearby.

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

Posted by Hopper on 04/01/2023 08:52:11:

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The Sieg SX3 milling machine is a good one and suited in size to small to moderate sized car restoration jobs too.

Thanks for the welcome Hopper.

I'll take a look at that one but the car restoration isn't a factor any more, I got too many aches & pains these days to crawl around under cars.

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

Hi welcome back to the hobby. If you are looking for something small for occasional use any of the small Sieg based machines will all work to a reasonable standard depending on the operator. There is a small Sieg in the ads on this page cheap if you want to try one out.

regards

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

Posted by Oldiron on 04/01/2023 09:46:01:

Hi welcome back to the hobby. If you are looking for something small for occasional use any of the small Sieg based machines will all work to a reasonable standard depending on the operator. There is a small Sieg in the ads on this page cheap if you want to try one out.

regards

Thanks for that tip Oldiron, I've just sent that seller a message.

Seems like Sieg machines are popular?

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

My first mill was a Sieg SX3 and used to mill most of the parts for a 6" Ruston Proctor traction engine. (refer my previous posts). It was a great machine but it starting having problems with the variable speed motor control board which I replaced. The replacement board also starting to have problems.

Our local supplier in Sydney no longer stocked Sieg machines and I sold it and bought a slightly bigger RF-46 type mill with a single speed motor and gearbox drive. Replacement control boards are expensive. Make sure that they will be available if you should need one.

Paul

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

YOu could always replace the whole motor unit with one of those industrial sewing machine motor and controller packages. Cheap as chips on t'interweb.

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Hi Ken,

There is a club at Ascot, as well.

John

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Posted by DMB on 04/01/2023 11:31:50:

Hi Ken,

There is a club at Ascot, as well.

John

Forgot that one! Also forgot to mention Bracknell Club, must be an age thing.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Welcome back!

Don't worry about not being CNC. Handle twirlers still survive and prosper.

Some othe accessories that you nhad to make can be bought now. But for really bespoke stuff it is still DIY.

In any case there is a lot of job satisfaction in something that you made. It doesn't even have to exactly follow some one else's drawings.

You can up or down scale and use equivalent threads that suit you and your facilities.

Enjoy yourself!

Howard

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

You are not far from Warco, they are about 12 miles south of Guildford, and 3 miles east of Haslemere.

Edited By old mart on 04/01/2023 20:54:42

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

( YOu could always replace the whole motor unit with one of those industrial sewing machine motor and controller packages. Cheap as chips on t'interweb.)

This may be an option IF you could find one that is flange mounted and similar size. The Sieg uses a 1000W brushless DC motor.

A quick search found ones that are foot mounted and costing more than $500, not a cheap option. https://www.sewingmachinesaustralia.com.au/shop/buy-accessories/motors

 

Edited By Paul Lousick on 04/01/2023 21:22:17

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Paul Lousick on 04/01/2023 21:10:48:

( YOu could always replace the whole motor unit with one of those industrial sewing machine motor and controller packages. Cheap as chips on t'interweb.)

This may be an option IF you could find one that is flange mounted and similar size. The Sieg uses a 1000W brushless DC motor.

A quick search found ones that are foot mounted and costing more than $500, not a cheap option. **LINK**

Edited By Paul Lousick on 04/01/2023 21:22:17

Only if you buy from the official Australian sewing machine extortionists. Same looking unit on Aliexpress by Vevor is $150 with free shipping. But to adapt to flange mount etc would take some ingenuity for sure.

[Ketan SwaliParticipant @ketanswali79440]

Posted by Paul Lousick on 04/01/2023 10:40:34:

My first mill was a Sieg SX3 and used to mill most of the parts for a 6" Ruston Proctor traction engine. (refer my previous posts). It was a great machine but it starting having problems with the variable speed motor control board which I replaced. The replacement board also starting to have problems.

Our local supplier in Sydney no longer stocked Sieg machines and I sold it and bought a slightly bigger RF-46 type mill with a single speed motor and gearbox drive. Replacement control boards are expensive. Make sure that they will be available if you should need one.

Paul

Just to balance your observations, I believe that at the time you did say that you pushed the machine to its limits… which I would suggest you really meant that you pushed the SX3 to beyond its limits. Perhaps some of the pictures in your albums speak for themselves? I cannot say for sure. At the time, in response to one of your posts, I had said that the original SX3s had control board issues which were rectified, after which dealers like ARC added the machine to our range. This was a clear and long explanation at the time. So I am surprised to read that you continue to make this one sided comment on a regular basis. Whilst I respect your opinion based on your experience, my and thousands of hobby and ‘light industrial’ small workshop as well as ‘blue chip’ industrial users opinion defer from yours… if the machine is used within its limitations.

With regards to your local supplier in Sydney, I believe that they no longer sell SIEG machines based on commercial reasons rather than technical. This is a topic which no distributor will openly discuss… as they wish to protect their profit margins (interpreted in many different ways)

In the U.K., SIEG machines have a good reputation. They are well represented by Axminster and ARC who carry a good stock of spares. For SIEG brushless motor series machines, control board and motor issues are very few, and in most cases are due to user related issues…. And yes… I would say that wouldn’t I ?

It is wrong for you to continuously make the same comment over the years without balance. New users form opinions based on what they read, and it is only correct to present a balanced picture. Ken can read your post as well as mine and many other positive and negative posts about SIEG and any other machines and form his own opinion about suitability of a machine for his purpose.

Ketan at ARC.

[KenLParticipant @kenl]

Thanks for the advice evryone, much appreciated and keep it coming.

Posted by Ketan Swali on 05/01/2023 16:23:09:

Ken can read your post as well as mine and many other positive and negative posts about SIEG and any other machines and form his own opinion about suitability of a machine for his purpose.

Ketan at ARC.

Indeed I can Ketan – and I will.

The SX3 looks a nice machine (as do many others) and I don't really need too many "bells and whistles" at this stage, just a nice sturdy handle twiddler will do fine as a starter. I'm looking at the used market first and not finding a lot on offer as yet. I have a couple worth looking at so maybe I'll get out and about to suss them out next week.

PS: The last mill I owned was an old ex lease-lend horizontal jobbie that I spent weeks on end making a vertical drive for – I won't be doing that again!

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Hi Ketan,

I did say that the SX3 was a great machine and replaced it because I could not get replacement parts, otherwise I may have kept it. And yes, I did push it to the limits but not over it. If it is not capable of achieving these, then the specified limits should be reduced. If the latest machines have been upgraded and you can supply spares, well and good. I can only speak about my experience.

Paul

[Author]

Posts