I have a 7X14 lathe and wondering what do I require if I have to do milling on that lathe? The project I am working on said I need a milling attachment for the lathe. Besides milling attachment what else do I need to hold the end mills in the chuck?
Milling on lathe
- Thread starter coolgoose
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You are doing the correct thing by asking.
Just a couple of pointers.
It is not really safe to hold hardened shank milling cutters in a hardened jaw chuck, they are just as likely slide against each other rather than grip, plus the chuck will most probably have some runout which will make cutting accurately very hit or miss.
If it was me, I would take the chuck off and mount an ER collet chuck directly into the spindle taper. That way you should get minimum runout and also good cutter holding.
Your milling attachment is called a vertical slide BTW.
Bogs
Just a couple of pointers.
It is not really safe to hold hardened shank milling cutters in a hardened jaw chuck, they are just as likely slide against each other rather than grip, plus the chuck will most probably have some runout which will make cutting accurately very hit or miss.
If it was me, I would take the chuck off and mount an ER collet chuck directly into the spindle taper. That way you should get minimum runout and also good cutter holding.
Your milling attachment is called a vertical slide BTW.
Bogs
I bought a collet and a milling attachment for my 7x12. I was not satisfied with it as the cross slide only has a few inches of movement. I ended up buying a micro mill. had I not bought the attachment and collet I would have had enough money to buy the mini mill. on a larger lathe where you have more cross slide movement an attachment could be very useful. john
Milling attachments for lathes tend to be at best a lash-up. Unless you have a monster lathe and a comparable milling attachment there will be lots of flex, forcing you to take only very light cuts. The size of work is limited. It's not a very satisfactory setup. I'd encourage you to save your money until you can afford a milling machine.
If you still want to give it a try, do NOT get a milling attachment that goes on the compound. With that setup, rigidity goes totally out the window. Get something that mounts on the cross slide in place of the compound.
If you still want to give it a try, do NOT get a milling attachment that goes on the compound. With that setup, rigidity goes totally out the window. Get something that mounts on the cross slide in place of the compound.
