Thread: Milling attachment -Drilling

I like your rubber band chuck jaw retainer - very engineering!

Jordan

That is a nice looking mill , NANTONG ..where did you buy it ?

Mike

Hi Jordan , Those jaw retainers are good stuff.Easy to fit.It is a nice little vice but needs some work done there to remedy that.It also has an annoying radius at the intersection of the fixed jaw and the bed.It will go into the mill soon for adjustment.
Mike , I bought the mill second hand but genuine one owner in Brisbane.Great mill with gear box drives on both X&Y tables.Added the DRO from Hong Kong and it makes life easy.It is a bit ridiculous to work in .005 of a mm but when it is there to be read I can't ignore it.

Originally Posted by localele

My mill is no baby but these parts were too tall to fit under the chuck to be drilled.The milling attachment is new to me but it has already earned it's place by being able to handle this job.Quick to setup and I just rotate the parts around in the vice.Much more accurate than me drilling them all freehand.
I just love having the Hercus 260 in the shed.Should have bought on 20 years ago.

Micheal
I am particularly interested in the milling attachment fitted to the rear of the extended cross slide.Could I get a bit more detail on the fitting that holds it in position.

My Hercus mill attach fits onto the front of the slide only, where the compound fits. It has its limitations with sufficient movement.
regards
Bruce

Hi Bruce, It is actually a Myford milling attachment.I'll take a few photos tomorrow to show it off.Can be mounted all over the extended cross slide in the T-slots.

Micheal
Thanks for that, I guessed it was a Myford Attach.
However I think I may be able to adapt my Hercus Attach the same way.
I have been away for a few days. Regarding the Taper Turn Dwgs will post the page your requesting.
regards
Bruce
Ps Been visiting Bungendore NSW Wood Gallery near Canberra & staring at many pieces of beautiful woodwork.

Your woodie side tugging at you Bruce?

I have a Myford slide, the older 2 bolt version, and to be honest, it has a better feel than the Hercus slide. The ability to be able to mount it in the compound tee slot and retain the compound's micrometer feed is an advantage over the original. The Hercus vise is bigger than the Myford's and the Myford has piddly tee slots.

Having a mill means both slides are seldom used but as Localele's set up shows, there is stuff you can mill on a lathe that you can't on a mill.

You could knock up a simple base like the one in the attached photo.

BT

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

Your woodie side tugging at you Bruce?

I have a Myford slide, the older 2 bolt version, and to be honest, it has a better feel than the Hercus slide. The ability to be able to mount it in the compound tee slot and retain the compound's micrometer feed is an advantage over the original. The Hercus vise is bigger than the Myford's and the Myford has piddly tee slots.

Having a mill means both slides are seldom used but as Localele's set up shows, there is stuff you can mill on a lathe that you can't on a mill.

You could knock up a simple base like the one in the attached photo.

BT

Great idea Bob.
I was giong to make an extension out over the cross feed handle as I had noticed a bloke in the USA (Practical Machinist) had done just that.
However this approach makes more sense.
I think a piece of cast iron would be nice to machine.it out of.

Been down Canberra way for a few days, Went to the Mint today & saw a beautiful air cond Toolroom, with a number of Jones & Shipman Cylindrical & Surface grinders. Its amazing when money is no objection, as to the quality & cleanliness of the operations in this place. I was aware that Coining dies, require a lot of tonnage to do their job, but 140 tonnes per coin is a lot !
Got some photos of an early Pantograph machine built in France for machining the dies.
Yes & saw some breathtaking woodwork at Bungendore NSW Wood Gallery. I mention this because I know you & Ray G & others do crossover from metal to wood.from time to time.
regards
Bruce

That is a very nice solution Bob.Having just gotten my lathe attachment I hadn't thought of using it on the mill as a tilting vise.Funny how much you learn from a peek into someone else's shed.
Tooling up will be easier if you got a boot-full from the Mint, Bruce.Most people don't get it direct but I could see some advantages.I am lucky if the bank sends me a new cheque book.
The base has 2 dowel pins and 2 T-nuts to both hold down and for the rotation of the base, 2 nuts for the next rotation for the slide. Crank-handle for the "Z' axis movement.The vise on it I think is home made but it also came with a 40mm wide Myford vise for small jobs.There is also a Boring Table to go on the cross slide but I haven't found a use for it yet.It was easier to just turn a plug to stop the swarf from going down the compound attaching hole on the extended slide.

A concern that I have with both the Hercus slide and my Myford version is lack of rigidity. A single bolt locking the slide to it's base is optimistic. Myford must have thought this when they introduced the paired fixings on the newer slide. Too ambitious a cut can result in tears. I've shed my share. I will post some photos of South Bend's milling attachment. Definitely not possessing the grace of the Australian, but certainly a more rigid arrangement.

The cast iron base I made was for a Hercus tool and cutter grinder vise casting I had purchased from F W Hercus' ebay store. It just so happened that they used the same dovetail spigot dimensions on the vise as they did on the lathe compound. Whilst I haven't tried it, the same base could facilitate turning on the mill.

BT

Clunky but secure.

Another accessory offered to increase the flexibility of the milling attachment.

One plus for that arrangement is maintaining the feed of the compound slide. I am getting used to using a micrometer bed stop for the saddle to measure and part off repetitive cuts.My stop is not marked with graduations though so it is a bit hit and miss.
Can you use the offset base out to the front of the lathe Bob?