[Jim Dawson]

Of course you need one at work.


But if that is not in the cards, then building your own on a smaller scale would make a great test bed and proof of concept

Another option for a mill-turn machine is to use a 4th axis on a mill as the lathe spindle. I've seen a guy on YouTube with a kit that he builds that does turning on a mill using something like a 4th axis. Uses the mill spindle as the tool holder for the turning tools and just locks the mill spindle to operate with the lathe function. There are all kinds of configurations that I can think of that would use anything from a small benchtop mill to a big VMC as the base machine. Then it's just a matter of getting creative to make it all work together and produce the desired result.

[StrawberryBoi]

Of course you need one at work.


But if that is not in the cards, then building your own on a smaller scale would make a great test bed and proof of concept

Another option for a mill-turn machine is to use a 4th axis on a mill as the lathe spindle. I've seen a guy on YouTube with a kit that he builds that does turning on a mill using something like a 4th axis. Uses the mill spindle as the tool holder for the turning tools and just locks the mill spindle to operate with the lathe function. There are all kinds of configurations that I can think of that would use anything from a small benchtop mill to a big VMC as the base machine. Then it's just a matter of getting creative to make it all work together and produce the desired result.

I have to admit those little Chinese bench top mills are a tempting test bed...