Milling attachment

[azamiryou]

So LMS has their "milling attachment" to convert a mini metal lathe into a mini mill on sale this week. I like the idea of having a mill for low cost and without having to find space for another machine in the studio, but is this a satisfactory solution? Does it do a good job of milling? Does it cause excess wear on the lathe?

 

[GoatRider]

I have something like that for my taig lathe: Taig Tools - Desktop Milling Machines and Lathes.

I think it works pretty good, but I've never used a real mill so I don't have anything to compare to. I use it mostly to hold pen blanks with the drill bit in the head stock.

 

[mredburn]

I have seen several users that make excellent parts on this type of accessory. It should not cause excessive wear but you will have a limit to the work you can do on it travel wise. If its a quality accessory and not a piece of junk it will be as good as you are.

 

[jd99]

I'd have to see what you talking about, but I don't think it would cause any axtra wear and tear on your lathe.

And as stated above, as long as it is a well constructed tool it should be fine.

It should work, a Lathe is the only machine tool that can reproduce it's self. You can build another lathe with a lathe, you can't do that with a mill, or any other machine tool.

Sure it would be a lot of work, a lot of fixturing, and indicating, etc, but it is possible. :wink:

 

[azamiryou]

I'd have to see what you talking about, but I don't think it would cause any axtra wear and tear on your lathe.

Milling Attachment Package, Mini Lathe - LittleMachineShop.com

The extra wear I'm concerned about would be from the greater lateral force on the headstock. For example, I've heard that metal spinning is really rough on wood lathes' bearings. I guess it depends whether milling creates greater lateral forces than regular cutting on the lathe.

 

[BRobbins629]

Before I got my mill, I used to use my lathe with QCTP as a mill. Mounted the piece in a tool holder and a bit in the headstock. Only had one moveable axis but thats usually all I needed. Was able to postiion with the height adjustment on the tool rest.

 

[bluwolf]

I'd have to see what you talking about, but I don't think it would cause any axtra wear and tear on your lathe.

Milling Attachment Package, Mini Lathe - LittleMachineShop.com

The extra wear I'm concerned about would be from the greater lateral force on the headstock. For example, I've heard that metal spinning is really rough on wood lathes' bearings. I guess it depends whether milling creates greater lateral forces than regular cutting on the lathe.

I don't think it would be that big a deal. Metal spinning is a lot of bending and prying so I can see the problem. As long as you don't try to hog off a ton of metal at one time I think you'd be fine.

I agree with Mike though, I think the biggest problem would be the work envelope. It would get you out of a jam if you had to mill a small part. But, after seeing what can be done with a little milling, it wouldn't be long before you'd be looking at a mill. And it doesn't take up that much space

$200 for that setup, $600 for a mini mill from Grizzly, you're already a third of the way there. Okay, I'm stretching to make a point here. But I think it's a valid point. I know it wasn't long after I got my mini lathe that I had to get a mini mill.

Mike

 

[azamiryou]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I'll pass on it for now, but count this as a viable option if/when I'm ready to do some milling. And thanks for the tip, Bruce - that may well get me out of a tough spot occasionally!

 

[jd99]

I Agree with bluwolf, if you do get something like that eventually you are going to find it's limitations fairly quickly, and wish you had a regular mill.

My shop at home I have a combo machine (Smithy 1324) basically because I didn't have space for two dedicated machines (20 x 20 garage), and at that time I didn't have the production machine shop so small was in :wink:
Maybe down the road you might want to consider something like that to get the both worlds in a smaller footprint.

I been able to machine most everything i could think up on this little smithy machine with no problems.

 

[palmermethod]

I added a milling column to my Sherline. I faced some acrylic stock and it is easy. Alum is easy but harder stuff will work, just take longer. The machine will bog down if too much pressure is used. Lots of passes in small increments.

But I love it so far. You will need a set of milling cutters, milling head, vise etc to hold the work.

The cost can add up but it's sure cheaper than a regular mill.
PM

 

[plantman]

Mat: Have you ever thought of using your drill press or a large router mounted into a stand, and a two axis cross slide vise to do your milling? I have had one from Sears for about 35 years. I use it to make reproduction parts for antiques in both wood and metals. Sears still offers several, and Harbor Freight has a 6" for $99.99. Seems to me the last time I was at HF they had a 2 axis cross slide vice with a 360 rotating head. When I am done using my vice, I hang it on the pegboard. If you were using a large milling machine this is the type of vice you would use only smaller, unless you have a CNC machine that a PC controls. Jim S

 

[frank123]

You'll probably find the size limitations as well as the difficulty of using it for anything other than cutting a slot or flat spot on something small make it disappointing after a short while.

Save your money up and buy a mini mill (HF, Grizly,, etc, they're all pretty much the same from what I've seen) and you will end up much happier in the longer run. They're not all that large and are light enough to move around pretty much as needed if space is a major problem.

Or, if you have the extra money and some space, bigger is usually better with machine tools since your projects frequently grow in size to meet the capacity of the machine you have.

A mill also gives you the option of doing very precision drilling in addition to milling.