[ataxy]

this is a neat little way of doing some small lathe operation on a mill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOag3...elated&search=

[tai42]

This method has been around for a while. Particularly useful in large shops where you may need to do a simple lathe operation, but all the lathes are in use. Just put your stock in the spindle, a turning tool in the vice and have at it. Although this is the first time I've seen it done with a CNC mill. Pretty neat!

(It was also described in Machine Shop Trade Secrets.)

[Ron111]

That is slick!!, Gives me a couple of ideas.

Ron

[Newby2]

Perhaps this is known as creative machining, doing something on one machine that was designed to be done on another.
A CNC lathe basically has two axis where a CNC mill has three..can you imagine the mill also acting as a pick, machine, place, and start over again? One can only imagine the possibilities with a little creative programming and a wide open mind!
Steve

[alexccmeister]

That has got to be the neatest way to do milling. Definitely gave me some ideas.

I wonder how the G Code would look like.

[boguski.1]

Has anyone ever used a lathe for drilling/milling square stock?

I don't have a vertical mill, and I would like to drill larger (7/8") holes for my linear bearings in aluminum with greater accuracy than can be achieved with my drill press. I have a metal lathe of substantial capacity. I'm thinking about chucking my bit into the headstock and shimming the workpiece to the right height on the sled, clamping, and then choosing a slow feed to drill the hole.

Just wondering if this is something anyone has done!

Brian

[mactec54]

Hi ataxy

We have been doing Turning in our Mills for more than 20years we have 2 mill set up all the time we also use expanding mandrels which are controlled buy the spindle draw bar if you want to turn large diameter parts you need a good
spindle and at least 7HP to get the job done the tool changer can also be loaded with blanks mounted on tool holders, and if parting parts off in the spindle ( Like in the movie ) you need to have a part catcher or the parts
can get dinged up

[hoss2006]

Has anyone ever used a lathe for drilling/milling square stock?

I don't have a vertical mill, and I would like to drill larger (7/8") holes for my linear bearings in aluminum with greater accuracy than can be achieved with my drill press. I have a metal lathe of substantial capacity. I'm thinking about chucking my bit into the headstock and shimming the workpiece to the right height on the sled, clamping, and then choosing a slow feed to drill the hole.

Just wondering if this is something anyone has done!

Brian

I actually used a lathe to "mill" a 4x3x5 block of aluminum when the bridgeport was tied up.
used a 4 jaw chuck and indicated the part parallel with the x axis for each side before facing it off.
It came out perfectly square.
then bored it out for the spindle and bearings.
it's the first pic on this page.
http://www.hossmachine.com/projects_5.html

[tai42]

I actually used a lathe to "mill" a 4x3x5 block of aluminum when the bridgeport was tied up.
used a 4 jaw chuck and indicated the part parallel with the x axis for each side before facing it off.
It came out perfectly square.
then bored it out for the spindle and bearings.
it's the first pic on this page.
http://www.hossmachine.com/projects_5.html

This is way people used to make "Turner's Cubes" (the little cube within a cube within a cube toys that can be found in many machine shops.) There is little article about it in The Machinist Bedside Reader #3 on page 219. (They also used foot powered lathes!)

-Bob