lathe milling attatchment ?

[V 45]

I have a 7x lathe. How many of you use/have a milling attatchment? What size do you use/brand or home made? Does it work very well? I know it would only take small cuts. I really just want to cut aluminum or brass.
Thanx again... V 45

 

[steamer]

Hi V45,

It's good for light cuts on small parts. I'll be using mine for cutting clock wheels by mounting a small live spindle on it.

Lot's of people over the years have used them to make model engines though....but very gingerly.

Dave

 

[V 45]

Dave
Do you have a picture of your setup with live center?
Thanx again

 

[lensman57]

Hi,
I have a Chinese made lathe, C1, and a Taig Micro lathe. I have the relevant milling attachments.
I know that some people have used them to do very light milling even small gear cutting but to me they are a waste of money. Every machinist has them and most never use them. Of my two the Chinese one is a total waste of money, the lathe and the attachment are just not rigid enough to do anything even on the small scale, the Taig attachment is actually not too bad but limited by the size. On top of all this it is very difficult to tram them to do serious work. Save your money and get a proper mill, even a basic Chinese one is better than the attachment.

Regards,

A.G

 

[Don1966]

I agree with lensmen they are not rigid enough to do any serious milling. I also have a milling attachment and a waste of money.

Regards Don

 

[Deanofid]

'

No one asked you how large of a work piece you expect to be working on. It would help to know that.

If you have only a lathe, and no prospects for a milling machine, a milling attachment is infinitely better than nothing. Although I do have a mill, there was a time I didn't, and I used my milling attachment a lot. I made dozens of gears and scores of other parts for engines, clocks, and general shop projects. I still have it, and always will. It's a valuable accessory if you lack a mill, and if you will learn how to use it you can make a LOT more with it than with just the lathe alone.

What do you want to make, and how large is it?

 

[V 45]

My lathe is a 7x16. So I wouldn't consider anything to large. Mostly small parts out of either brass or aluminum for right now. Maybe nothing more then 2 1/2" piece of stock to be milled. Right now I'm only trying to make static models until I learn more about my machine and capabilities !! Below is the start of my 1st project. I made the frame for a motorcycle with brass rod and cold solder (will use silver solder next time). There is a six inch scale and pencil for size. The other pic is the beginning of a cylinder, need to cut some fins in and some how mill a little spot for the carb and pipes. It is 1 in diameter stock. The engine case is what I would want to mill and other small parts. I don't get a lot of time to work on this...slow and steady !! I was looking into a Palmgrem 250V mill attatchment...would that be too big for my machine or would the 150 size be better ? The 250 size looks like it would fit my lathe and would figure out something to mount it to the slide and NOT the compound.
Thanx again...V 45

 

[steamer]

Check here.

http://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/index.php?topic=14436.120

It shows it mounted to a Myford 7" lathe. Mine going on a 9" Southbend, but it's the same one.

It is for VERY light work, and in this case for cutting clock wheels ...or gears to us.

Dave

 

[arnoldb]

Hi V45

Like Dean said, if it's your only option instead of a mill, or you're still saving up to buy a mill, it's great to have.

I built my first five engines with just the lathe milling attachment to do the milling jobs - like Dave said, gingerly. I actually learnt a lot by going through this phase!

Something that people tend to forget - even if you buy such an accessory, it's not necessarily limited to use on the lathe.

Since I've bought my mill, I've never used mine on the lathe, but I've used it on the mill on a couple of occasions - as a way to get an additional straight axis of movement, or just to hold things. This may sound weird at first, but once in a while it can be useful. In this post(about 4 photos down), I used it on the mill both as a way to mount my dividing head on the mill, as well as a method to set a slight angle to pre-slit grooves to make a worm gear.

If worst comes to worst and my mill breaks down, at least I have that bit of kit to temporarily do milling jobs; it might even be needed to fix a broken mill

Many hobbyists also go on to use these attachments on other tools; I've seen ones adapted to tool & cutter grinders and many other tools.

This is just to give you an additional perspective - at the end of the day, you are the only one who can decide what route you'd prefer.

Kind regards, Arnold

 

[crab]

Here is a shop made one using a lathe compound .Going bye what he wants for it he is very proud of it.
Bill

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lathe-Milli...488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item416195e828