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Poor mans milling

F

fireguyfire

Member
I’m fairly new to machining, and I have a good working Atlas 9” lathe.
As you all know, you fairly quickly realize the need to be able to do some milling, and eventually I’d love to add a Bridgeport to my shop, if I can find a good used one I can afford.

In the near future, for the small things I’m doing I was thinking of either setting up my large drill press for milling, or finding an Atlas milling attachment for my lathe.
I realize that neither really replace a proper milling machine, but I’m curious on your opinions on which would be the better temporary option; drill press or lathe attachment milling?

Thanks for any opinions.
 
the Atlas lathe can be use for a lot of milling....facing creates flat surfaces for example and you can add a vertical slide. Don't use a drill pre3ss for milling...it can be dangerous. Morse tapers can easily let go with sideways force is applied potentially sending a spinning cutter across the table like a Dee Snider styled battling top. Mills that use MT's have a drawbar.
 
Do you have a specific operation that you need to do? If so, maybe we can suggest a workable approach.

BTW, if you look at old articles and books, guys in the 1930's to the 1970's (??) were doing a lot of really fine work without milling machines. Creative setups with a faceplate can do some amazing stuff.

Craig
 
Ok; I guess ill start the hunt for an Atlas milling attachment.
I think I read somewhere that it’s not wise to hold a milling bit in a 3 jaw chuck because they can loosen, so you should use a collect.
Is that correct?
 
I agree with the others comments above. I too had only a lathe (but smaller) and wanted to do some milling. I tried milling with my large 20" drill press and it was pretty much a wreck. First of all it didn't take much chatter to make the chuck come loose from the spindle. I also found that the drill press table had too little rigidity which added to the chatter.

I made my own little milling attachment for my lathe and while it was slow and certainly less than ideal it was much better than my attempts on the drill press and I it allowed me to do some actual milling.

I did end up buying myself a small milling machine eventually.

I think a lathe milling attachment is a very reasonable solution for those that have limited funds, space and milling to do. Just know that there are alot of compromises.
 
fireguyfire said:
Ok; I guess ill start the hunt for an Atlas milling attachment.
I think I read somewhere that it’s not wise to hold a milling bit in a 3 jaw chuck because they can loosen, so you should use a collect.
Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Some people seem to get away with using a chuck. I bought a couple of end mill holders (USD 25 +/-) that fit the morse taper in my spindle:

1632.480.jpg

littlemachineshop.com

End Mill Holder, 3MT, 3/8" 1632

Mill Tooling 1632 3/8" Hole Diameter; 3 Morse Taper Shank; Uses a 3/8"-16 NC Drawbar; Compatible with Mills with 3 Morse Taper Spindle; Adapter for 3/...
littlemachineshop.com littlemachineshop.com

The above is just an example; I don't know your spindle taper or the size of end mill you want to use.

Craig
 
Yes the MTend mill holders eliminates the cutter coming loose from the chuck which is a problem but keeping the end mill holder in the drill spindle is a problem without a drawbar.

If you are referring to using the end mill holder in the tailstock of a lathe...yes that is the way to go for lathe milling. And they are cheap to buy also.
 
gerritv said:
Yes, until you add USD55 from LMS to ship 4 of MT2 1/2" end mill holders. :-( Do you have a Canadian source by chance?

Gerrit
Click to expand...
I believe I bought some from BusyBee for a reasonable prize or possibly Amazon.ca. I know pretty much everything has gone up significantly the last couple of years, some of my cheap purchases now cost double what I paid 2-3 years ago.
 
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You can pick up milling attachment for myford for like 120 CAD off amazon - so I am sure you can fine something for your Atlas or quickly make a riser block.

To convert drill press into a milling machine - even very light one - is not easy.

Problem 1 - retention of the end mill holder - method 1 is a draw bar - but it may not be possible to either drill your spindle (at least accurately) for size reasons. Method 2 is a collar - i.e. you just adapt the end of your spindle to have a lock there with say a locking screw, or a screw on collar or something - probably easier. Method 3 is some kind of contraption that prevents chuck from side loading.

Problem 2 - bearing side loading. Here I think either you just don't care or replace the bearings.

There is also the problem of mass - etc. but above two should be the bigger issue. Would it out preform a lathe such as yours with a milling attachment? Probably not - but I do not know.
 
Well, I get what everyone is saying. But I did successfully use a drill press as a crude mill for prolly 20 years. Mine was a beaver floor model. I didn't even try to use tapered milling Cutter holders. I bought 1/2 or smaller end mills or I used straight shaft tools that fit my drill chuck. I also added a Taiwanese x-y table with T-Slots to the platform.

The old Beaver drill presses have side bearings that can handle a fairly significant side load. The chuck is on a taper, but it is also held on with a threaded collar and a lock key. I was never concerned about it coming off or creating an imaginary horror movie. The biggest issue it had was a shortage of power.

All that said, used bench top column mills are available from time-to-time and might be a better option than a milling attachment for your lathe.

If I had my life to live over again though, I would have bought a used Bridgeport or a BP clone 30 years ago and fixed it up right away instead of taking three intermediate steps to get there. I'm getting on in years now and I would have enjoyed it so much more in my 40s and 50s. Too soon old - too late smart.
 
Susquatch said:
Well, I get what everyone is saying. But I did successfully use a drill press as a crude mill for prolly 20 years. Mine was a beaver floor model. I didn't even try to use tapered milling Cutter holders. I bought 1/2 or smaller end mills or I used straight shaft tools that fit my drill chuck. I also added a Taiwanese x-y table with T-Slots to the platform.

The old Beaver drill presses have side bearings that can handle a fairly significant side load. The chuck is on a taper, but it is also held on with a threaded collar and a lock key. I was never concerned about it coming off or creating an imaginary horror movie. The biggest issue it had was a shortage of power.

All that said, used bench top column mills are available from time-to-time and might be a better option than a milling attachment for your lathe.

If I had my life to live over again though, I would have bought a used Bridgeport or a BP clone 30 years ago and fixed it up right away instead of taking three intermediate steps to get there. I'm getting on in years now and I would have enjoyed it so much more in my 40s and 50s. Too soon old - too late smart.
Click to expand...

Yeah but your drill press was already modified to handle light milling - most DP are not even close. It has a collar I was talking about and it has bearings to handle side loading. Essentially it is factory modified DP to handle light milling. One could say it was a grand father of a mill-drill.
 
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