# Lathe Attachment for Mill



## majorm (Jan 1, 2013)

I know some of you have been in the same boat as me and dont have a lathe but do have a mill.  So who has some ideas on how to make a toolholder that can move in and out as well as up and down so i can turn some small stuff on the mill?  Something like the milling table the mill uses turned on its side was my first thought.  I hate that i cant thread but thats going to be how it is for right now.


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## kvom (Jan 1, 2013)

Clamp a lathe tool in the vise, stock in the spindle, and use the Z axis for turning and the X or Y for facing.

Without a tailstock you'll be limited to fairly short parts.

You can also do some turning type work on the mill using a H/V rotab.


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## lensman57 (Jan 1, 2013)

majorm said:


> I know some of you have been in the same boat as me and dont have a lathe but do have a mill.  So who has some ideas on how to make a toolholder that can move in and out as well as up and down so i can turn some small stuff on the mill?  Something like the milling table the mill uses turned on its side was my first thought.  I hate that i cant thread but thats going to be how it is for right now.



Hi ,

What kind of milling machine do you have?

Regards,

A.G


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## majorm (Jan 1, 2013)

I have a small Grizzly G0619 mill.  I have
A good many collets and have a rotary table with a 3 jaw on top of it.  I also have a tailstock foe it but need to make something smaller.  My idea was to make a center for larger work and mount that to the mills table.  Then use that contraption I mentioned in the first post to move the cutting tool. 

For a short piece mounting the tool in the vice is a great idea.  The head will tilt up to 90deg so I may can do a light taper if the quill is stiff enough.  It would have to be a really light cut though I would think.  I thought about using the rotary table but don't think the surface finish will be as good as spinning it in the spindle as you suggested too.  

I do have a boring head I could use on some cuts but it would be slow going.


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## Tin Falcon (Jan 2, 2013)

you should be able to uses a boring head for turning fly wheel ID and OD. be careful keep tool stick out short. 

you should not need special tools . just a good selection of mill accessories. 
and an added measure of creativity and patience. It can be done SShire built an entire engine with jut a mill . A complete novice   and IIRC in a month or two of spare time. 
tin


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