End Mills

[bernie weishapl]

Mahlon I just ordered it. Should have when I bought the lathe but didn’t. Have been thinking of several projects and I can see where it will come in handy so I bit the bullet. I ordered it, a milling vise along with the compound slide to do tapers.

[gerene]

I use my milling attachment frequently, not only for milling. I am making an indexing tool which I can attach to the vertical milling attachment to cut gears using a gear cutter or fly cutter in the lathe spindle.

The compound slide is very usefull for tapers but the way it is fixed to the cross slide is not very rigid. I made some clamps to fix it to the cross slide, otherwise it will (slightly) move, which makes it difficult to get a good result.

Jan

[daryn]

Another consideration when deciding on how many flutes is wether you wish to plunge cut , a lot of four fluters don’t cut in the centre . . .
Daryn

[mahlon]

I have question about the adjustment of the cross slide. When I set it up to where it moves freely, it seems to be pushed back the opposite direction when trying to face. If I tighten it up, it’s hard to move. I found a set instruction book on line and down loaded it. Am I missing or just not understanding the set up. How tight should I set it. Mahlon

[daryn]

The normal things they say are tight enough that there’s no play but loose enough to move freely, doesn’t help too much !
If your milling then probably on the tighter side, milling in lathes generally is asking a lot , all the forces are in the wrong directions, usually with lathe work all the forces are going down toward the bed ,, so it absorbs a lot of it , when milling in the lathe thats not the case , hence the need for smaller cutters and lighter cuts ,
Hope that helps . . . .
Daryn

[bernie weishapl]

Helps a lot Daryn. I figured from work I used to do before retirement that would be the case. I have always been one that lighter cuts and more of them was a better way to go anyway especially on a smaller lathe.

Jan could you post a picture of your clamps for the compound slide? I also talked with another gentleman who had the same problem you stated but he said taking light cuts like 10 thousandths instead of 30 or 40 thousandths helped. I had thought about stop blocks to hold it in place or to keep it from moving but will wait till it gets here to see.

[willofiam]

@Daryn wrote:

a lot of four fluters don’t cut in the centre

Thats exactly one thing I learned on that project I just did, a 4 flute straight down onto the piece left a pip in the center, I didnt realize this until I tried to rotate the rotary table 🙄 and it wouldnt as it was stuck over that pip. lighter cuts helped get by that but a 2 flute would have been better for what I was doing. possibly to plunge and move the piece at the same time would also work. William

[daryn]

Three flute mills are a pretty good all-rounder

[gerene]

@mahlon wrote:

I have question about the adjustment of the cross slide. When I set it up to where it moves freely, it seems to be pushed back the opposite direction when trying to face. If I tighten it up, it’s hard to move. I found a set instruction book on line and down loaded it. Am I missing or just not understanding the set up. How tight should I set it. Mahlon

Do you mean adjusting the gib screws with tightening up? I set those screws such that it just moves freely but does not have any play in it. I then use the litlle screw on the back side of the cross slide to fix it in place when facing of (or milling). Hope this helps.

I will take some pictures of the clamps I use to fix the compound slide. You are right, small cuts are a must but even then I prefer to fix the compound slide.

Jan

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks Jan. I appreciate it.

[gerene]

Here is a picture of how I clamp the compound slide to the cross slide. It is very simple but effective. I was planning on making more sofisticated clamps for it, but this works fine. I will make them later… maybe… .

Jan

[bernie weishapl]

Thanks Jan. I like simple especially if it works.

[david pierce]

Jan,
That is an elegant solution to a nagging problem. I believe you solved it.
david

[gerene]

Thanks David. It is indeed a nagging problem. I sometimes spend considerable time in getting the angle right and everything setup correctly to find out that the result is not right because the compound slide has moved a little while turning.

Jan

[david pierce]

Jan,
Setting precision angles can be a real problem especially over a short distances. A couple of techniques you may want to try are:
1) Work out the X – Y components with trigonometry and set up two dial indicators for the axis movements. Then run the carriage back and forth and readjust the compound rest until the numbers comply with your calculation.
2) Purchase a set of angle blocks and attach the proper combination of blocks along the edge of your cross slide. Then run a dial indicator along the side of the angle block and readjust until the dial nulls out.
3) If you have access to a surface grinder, a punch grinder and a sine plate, the angle can be accurately set using gauge blocks. This is the best way that I know but the equipment is very expensive.
david

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