Sieg C6 + General q's

[Glen]

Howdy all, long time 22 year old lurker from Aus. (Hope im putting this in the right section, first posts are always so akward XD)

Had my sieg M2 combo machine for nearly 4 years now, and ive just beat on it constantly making parts for my racing bike and robot wars entries + my little side buisiness (http://grminis.blogspot.com/ if anyones interested), seems ive finally worn out some parts out on the lathe side so its currently stripped bare for cleaning and replacing a couple of parts. My mills also sidelined after i broke the plastic gears in it (whoda thunk it on an X2). So in the mean time ive just started measuring her up for a planned servo CNC conversion that'll convert the lathe and mill sections at once.

However it seems the lathe parts i need are an absolute nightmare to get a hold of. Hare and Forbes where i bought it want astronomical prices (ala $33 for a t-nut) for the bits i need and Grizzly wont ship outside of the USA for under $200. Im hesistant to order through a place like bongo international on account of the online horror stories, sooo... Question is, does anyone know of a supplier that deals in spares for the C6 that would ship internationally? Was a little dissappointed at Littlemachineshops selection in that department. The main part i need is the Shaft shown here - part 815.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0516/parts/4

Another question i have for yah's is oil. Whats the best stuff for the job when it comes to the pulley shafts + gib lubrication. Obviously the stuff im using now isnt working at all, because one of the change gears bushings siezed onto the shaft and snapped it off at the thread despite regular oiling. So i'd like to hear from some experts (armchair or not ;p) on that subject! The machine lives outside under my carport if that changes anything.

This is probably one for the owners if there is any - is the design of the cross slide. Ever since ive got it, this part just seems impossible to adjust in that the nut that holds it all together is always either too tight and binds the assembly up or too loose and allows a ton of movement in it. It seems that this is basically from the plain bushing used. Heres a pic of the assembly. Ive got a nyloc nut on it which has solved it sort of but none the less not well. The parts in question are 420 - 430

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0516/parts/3

I was thinking of jigging part number 423 into the 4 jaw and putting a pair of ball bearings in it so i could put some preload on it to eliminate the slack from the plain bearing it uses now. Has anyone done this or solved it another way?

Last c6 question i have is about QCTPs. I havent seen any specifically for the C6 aside from this one sold by carbatec -

http://www.carbatec.com.au/quick-change-tool-post-to-suit-lathe-c3-or-c6_c2478

I went to have a look at it, and it just looks like complete junk. Its made as rough as guts and doesnt look to be accurate or solid at all. The ones at LMS all look quite small so i held off buying one from there in my last round of purchases. Has anyone got any good suggestions for decent sized QCTPs to fit the C6? id prefer the wedge style versus the piston kind as they seem to be more solid (?) I could probably only throw about $200 at a tool post. Any pointers would be well appreciated.

And last but not least (i swear haha), ive been stashing away my meagre earnings from the side buisiness to buy something alot more substantial on the mill side of things. I dont want to play around with 'toys' anymore after this one, which although its been perfect for learning on im quickly finding i need to do things on it beyond the machines capability. So i was eyeing this off in the abscene of proper 2nd hand bridgeport type mills cheaply in this country.

https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/Products?stockCode=M161D

I think it looks pretty good, although theres almost no info on them online. If anyone has any information/opinions on it or even owns one or knows if they go under a different name in the US like alot of the grizzly stuff seems to id appreciate that ever so much. 

Thanks in advance  Might chuck up a project page somewhere for the CNC and some other things
Glen

[tumutbound]

Hi Glen.
Minitech in Queensland are distributors for the smaller Sieg lathes and mills and can order stuff in for other models such as the C6.

I have a QCTP from  CDCO on my C6. Fairly easy to fit and cheap.

If you're not already a member, then you should join up at the Woodwork Forums. There is a metalwork and a CNC forum and some members have the mill you linked to.