The other day, I had to adjust my tram before I could start a project. While doing this, I had an epiphany?
I’m curious why I’ve never heard anyone talk about adjusting tram without needing to add shims or running through the constant raising and lowering the spindle in order to reach, loosen, adjust then tighten the spindle mount screws?
Am I the only one thinking about this?
Let me know your thoughts on this 
I guess that by not having heard about this issue before, it may be an indication that not many are fussy enough about the precision of their mill, or they’re not having to adjust it.
There’s plenty of YouTube vidoes describing how to go about measuring the accuracy, then correcting it. I don’t think it’d be a very challenging task, but as you said, it’s going to need fussing around shimming, adjusting shims, moving them around, etc. I don’t believe that any other company provides for adjustable tran screws, so perhaps that should also tell you that you’re better off to adjust the tram using shims.
Marty from Kingston, ON, Canada
I certainly agree. In the absence of a better system, I can see why it might not be worth the trouble to design a better one for a relatively small return, however if there was a simpler way that would cut the adjustment time in half, would it be something the CNC community might be interested in?
There was a day when people did what we do by hand. It’s only after countless hours of work and thought along with uncounted expenses in education that we as common folk can have an incredible machine like we do now in the comfort of our homes to create and continue to improve our operations. Never the less your point is very valid for sure.
Thank you
You are not the only one who thinks about this. I think the lack of tramming options on the Longmill, especially with the spindle, is sort of a missed opportunity in the design. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the mount that is currently on the Longmill for the spindle is subpar and too weak.
I do read on this forum a lot that there are some people who couldn’t care less about a few thousand, and some like me who require accuracy. I am currently looking for an aftermarket mount.
I think if you are looking for accuracy you should look into upgrading to an Altmill. From what I can tell, there is no comparison between a Longmill and an Altmill with the former being strictly made for the hobbyist with accuracy coming way behind cost.
Hey thanks! I was actually just looking into the machine right now.
Is this the place for unpopular opinions? Finaly!
I have a few of those.
I think if the aim of the game is to have a consistant industrial accuratesse (excuse my French), one is betting on the wrong horse. Both the longmill and the altmill are markettet as an affordable cnc machine for hobby and maybe a wee beyond. They are 
at that.
When you look at the machines produced by sienci, you can clearly see their evolution path, going from the crowd funded wooden mill one (simple and cheap) via the longmill (sturdy) to the altmill (speed). There are whispers on a next generation machine that will be more accuracy focussed.
However, whatever sienci is doing, the main focus is on cost reduction while improving on the previous design to end up with a next gen machine waaaay cheaper than anything comparable on the market.
If you want micron accuracy out of a machine, you might wanna look into machines that are designed with thát in mind, or improve on the cheap ass hobbybob you went with.
If those other machines are beyond budget, and/or tinkering too difficult, get a truckload of bloody high end sanding paper.
< /impopular opinion >
I respectfully sort of disagree. The Altmill can go faster than the Longmill but the reason it can go faster is because of it’s improved design. All those improvements, while certainly affecting speed, also affect accuracy. Of course a 5K machine, by necessity, is not likely to outperform a 50K machine in both speed and accuracy. It is however several steps up in speed and accuracy from a Longmill.
I LOVE the closed loop steppers!!! I am quite used to open loop steppers on my 3D printers and it isn’t unusual for them to miss a step because of an obstruction and the resulting model is generally garbage. This doesn’t happen with the Altmill. A side affect is that the effective power of the steppers is much improved. I think the Altmill motors run at a higher voltage so that too helps for speed and power. The gantry is very much improved with extra beefiness, ball screws and linear rails.
Anyhow, I do not believe I would be happy with a Longmill but am thrilled with the Altmill. The Longmill is a hobby machine while the Altmill is an entry level industrial machine.
… my 3 cents anyhow
Uh…ok. /s
What a weird comment.
Thanks for your insight. I have experienced loss steps on the LongMill Mk2, so I always have to dial down lots of peramters for such simple cuts. Are the Altmills steppers that much better?
While I have never had a Longmill, I was blown away with the power of the Altmill steppers!