Saaved
Gunner
fa: atlas and south bend milling attachment for 10/12 inch lathe
Jan 27, 2008
24 Replies
Terry, you can buy a minimill for not much more than these milling attachments usually ebay for. A minimill can do a lot of serious work within a working envelope a little larger than a brick. I have a nice mill-drill now, but I still use the minimill whenever possible.
Soft steel. Make them from dowel, then anneal. You want them softer than the stud they bear against.
And I have seriously considered buying one ... but again it comes down to room . I have way too much stuff in my 8X12 shed already (lathe , two welders , OA torch , shelving , rollaway toolbox , over half of a
1939 Harley (in pieces), and one three foot long cabinet with top - plus several boxes of parts ) . There is literally no place to put another machine , if I do buy one I will have to either move some stuff out or add to the shed . That's one of the biggest reasons I haven't yet ordered a machine . Snag , who has to leave the shed to turn around .
Yes.
A good bronze is almost as hard as mild steel, and a bevel ground on the edge of the dovetail angle will keep any mushrooming from becoming a problem.
Soft steel or a good hard bronze -- and bevel the edges so mushrooming does not restrict removal. I agree that brass is too soft.
My only example of this is in an old Atlas/Craftsman 6x18, and the lathe is old enough (and has been through enough owners) so I would not consider anything which I might find to be authoritative. And I don't *use* this machine anyway (and have not for a large number of years. For most of my work, I use a 12x24" Clausing, and for certain types of work an Emco Maier Compact-5/CNC (5" swing over bed), which is particularly nice in that I can cut metric threads at just the flip of a switch. :-)
Enjoy, DoN.
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