Hi Phil

If you can post a few of those pics it will help, take a look here:

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=103028&p=2

Neil

Make sure your lathe saddle is clamped solid when working, lifting of the saddle is a big problem. Ridgidity is a big problem when using the lathe for milling. Invest in a collet set if you are going to do a lot of work.

Clive

Very similar to my setup.

I made a raising block so I could use the full travel of the slide without it hitting.

I also made an extra block with two 2BA hex screws that slide in the t-slots (fairly close fit). This lets me have a 'vice' with two jaws rather than the jacking screws pushing direct on the work.

Vice:

RAISING BLOCK:

Raising block on rotating base – the fence on the back of the slide aligns it with the raising block, the edges of the cross-slide are accurate enough that you can align block (and therefore vertical slide) using a protractor (for an angle) or a square

Finally, in action with a home-made FC3 cutter holder:

When you have the end mill held in the chuck jaws you have hardened steel against hardened steel so grip can be a problem and the cutter might move. Wrap a piece of paper around the shank or use bits of aluminium can interposed to provide grip.

If you have a faceplate you can make a flycutter by mounting a tool in a small square block bolted to a slot at the desired radius and a balancing weight on the other side,

I did a forum search and came upon this thread. Very useful for me as my needs and resources are along the lines of the OP. Some useful tips there.

I have a couple of questions that I'm sure people could clear up for me. Firstly, compatibility. It looks as though the slide in the pictures uses the same circular plate mounting as the compound. (Warco super mini lathe) would I be right that any vertical slide would do, as long as it tells me it's for mini lathe? Also should it rotate? There seems to be a strange lack of dimension drawings in the advert I read. Even a photo if the underside of a slide would give me a clue about how it's fixed to the cross slide.

Secondly, there are vertical slides for Myford etc that have their own 'tilt and turn' adjustments. These are more expensive but, If I went for one, am I correct in thinking that I should need to make up my own fixing plate?

And, as, i'm here, I may as well ask for opinions about collet chucks and milling tools. I will need minimal range of sizes – enough for small dovetails and shallow slots. Buying one at a time can be perceived as bad value but so is buying a large set with bits that are never used. It's such a shame that the corner shop with useful tools has disappeared. I can't locate a single one in Essex, where we moved recently.

PS "Why don't you buy a proper mill?" is a likely response. If I find that I cannot get by without one then the finances and space may appear for it and I can always sell any slide that I buy initially.

Edited By andrew lyner on 01/10/2018 10:16:09

Hi Andrew,

Quite interesting to read back these old threads sometimes. I'm afraid I don't have a Warco (e.g. Sieg) lathe – so cannot answer that part of your question directly. However – unless the vertical slide has been made specifically for use on the lathe you are fitting it to – then you will probably find that some form of adaptor plate will be required (simply to match the holes in the vertical slide to the cross-slide). In fact it can sometimes be useful to make an adaptor plate anyway – to avoid needing to tighten a couple of T-nuts too much on the cross-slide for instance (by using more nuts & spreading that load) or to lift the vertical slide so that more movement is available when a vice is fitted.

My Chinese Vertical slide had a swivel base (single axis) but I cannot immediately recall ever using it – usually bolting the slide directly to my myford (S7) adaptor plate. Nor would I be very keen of those (Myford type) slides that rotate in several axis. The vertical slide mounted on the cross-slide is already fairly flexible in nature without introducing other flex points/joints (others may disagree with me on this though).

I might also mention that before I had a vertical slide, I used to do quite a bit with a simple DIY angle plate bolted to my (original Lorch lathe) cross-slide – which became peppered with bolt holes – with various thickness of packing pieces to set the work piece height or adjust it by a known amount. Sounds crude but it worked pretty well.

You ask about collet chucks – and I am a very firm fan of ER collets (I have both ER 16 & 32 sets) but always advise folk to fit the back-plate type ER chuck (as opposed to an MT mounted type). This will let you pass work through the chuck & spindle if you are work holding with it (which I often do) as well as adjust it for absolute truth (just in case it isn't true as it comes) and moving it to another machine – should that machine have a different MT tapered spindle for instance.

If you intend to use the ER chuck just for milling – the above is still good advice but you may only require a few collets that will take the cutters you need to use – so buy them as required I think…. I still have a few still in their wrappers after some years…

And yes – it's very common to expect everybody own a mill these days but much wonderful work was done before their ownership by home machinists was common. It may not always be as convenient to use a lathe-only approach but sometimes space & money will determine this for some folk (and in practice you might not really use or need it that often either – everyone has different needs).

Anyway – coffee break/lunch is just about over – so I'd better get on with something "really useful" before my Manager gets upset.

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 01/10/2018 13:11:10

That's probably my fault Ian. I've posted the same picture twice today in reply to different threads!

Steve