wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On 8 Jan 2006 08:43:21 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm,
quickly quoth:


Larry Jaques wrote:
On 5 Jan 2006 21:23:03 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm,
quickly quoth:

The Seig X2 mini mill (HF item 44991) is a remarkable well made little
machine (I just CNC'd one), certainly no Bridgeport, but a solid little
machine with a convenient R8 spindle. I got this for $359 between a sale
and a 20% coupon, regular $500.

Can anyone give me he specifics on what this 20% e-mail is all about. I
get e-mails from Harbor Freight all the time but nothing like that.

I wrote this to Roy last month:

--snip--
How did you get the 20% off coupon?

On their funky, priceless promo sote, Roy. Sign up for free email ads
at www.harborfreightusa.com .

Top right link says:

FREE
Receive: discounts,
coupons, specials
Click Here

I am not a company, so that doesn't work.(Funny how they still send me
e-mails everyday on discounted stuff I don't need.

I didn't sign up as a company. BTW, the last mailer I got from them
had a 20% off coupon on the top right side of the front page. No
email necessary.


I've been looking at the mini-mills(or Mill/drills) that are all
supposed to come from the same factory in China, and noticed slight
differences the posted images/claims of these machines even though they
are supposed to be the same.

http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,1485.htm
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44991
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=82573

Can I get recommendations from anyone that has had experience with
these?

I'm in the same boat as you are. Wanting, but haven't bought one yet.
Since the HF store is within driving range, I'm strongly leaning
toward their model. The Cummins model is $100 cheaper but comes with a
$109 shipping fee, and I don't really trust the company having seen
their tent sales fly through town. There would be no support at all.
In the higher price range, the Minilux starts closing in on its larger
brother, Grizzly's G0463. That looks fascinating for a grand (which I
don't have.)

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet, clean us some room in the shop, save
up some gas money, and wander on down to Gunners for that old Gorton
mill and a REAL drill press some day soon.

I really had no intention of going over $450 with shipping, and was
thinking that a used machine from eBay was my best shot, but now I
wonder if I should save up some more and as a result have to wait a
while, or continue to look for a used(cheap) one so I can get started
on my projects which are way overdue. Anything approaching 200lbs would
have to be broken down and carried up a lot of stairs by one person,
piece by piece and then put back together. Is this plausible with
something like the Grizzly G0463?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Most any machine can be broken into smaller sections to move, but for
almost anything in a smaller benchtop class there should be a way to
move it intact, even with one person, with some ingenuity.

The X2 at about 110# can be carried whole by one person of moderate
strength, and can very easily be broken down to two sections that are
easy to carry by just separating the column/head from the table/base
with the single large column tilt bolt.

The X3 at about 364# could probably be handled with a rented appliance
type hand truck with two people, or one person if broken down to two
sections. The X3 does not appear to be as easy to breakdown as the X2
since it has the column leadscrew drive connecting through to the base.
364# is not a big deal to rig with an appropriate winch though if the
setting allows for it.

Something like a Bridgeport at 2,000#+ is a bit more work to rig
although they come apart into three sections pretty easily. Of course
with a Bridgeport you have to worry about structural issues if you want
to put them on an upper floor since typical construction isn't designed
for the concentrated 400#+/sq ft loading of a full sized mill.

Pete C.