Lathe/Mill Combo`s & Milling Attachments

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Ok, Ive gone through old threads, used the search function, done a bit of research.

What Im wondering is other than Busey Bee Lathe/Mill combo`, are there any other Lathe/ Mill combo`s on the Market...BB always seems to be the one thats referenced.

Milling attachments...are they really any good. Id like to here from someone that uses one and get their opinions, also what what type of work are you able to complete with it.

Just Curious.
 
There are other combination machines available. Do a Google search for "Smithy", or the "Grizzly" line of tools. Some of the these machines are a conventional lathe with a T-slotted cross slide table and with a vertical column added. In another thread, I mentionned the book "Precision Rifle Rebarrelling and Case Preparation on a Home Shop Lathe", by John Stranahan (Google). Gives an excellent overview of the sort of lathe work that can be done using a combination machine.
I have a milling attachment for my 13" lathe - a Palmgren 400. You can certainly do light milling with one. Light cuts are the rule. If any amount of material is to be removed, you will need to make a lot of cuts. Depending on what you want to do, a milling attachment might be just fine. It does not turn your lathe into a real milling machine. It can also be useful for precision drilling, gives you Z axis location, as well as angles. The amount of travel is obviously limited.
 
I have used a small milling attachment on my Myford lathe. It worked after a fashion but was not as rigid as I would have liked. It attached to the cross feed and of course can be no more rigid than the cross feed. I think the limitation of combination machines is that most are quite short and while good for short projects, would be fairly limited for projects like rebarreling a rifle

cheers mooncoon
 
If you're going to be doing a lot of milling,the busy bee combo machine is gonna get frustrating.
It's only meant for the odd milling job as the table will not go up and down,you have to lower the spindle into position.
The lower you go,the more chatter you get,so it takes forever to get a job done due to the hair cuts you have to make
 
Shoptask.

(Ronin) said:
If you're going to be doing a lot of milling,the busy bee combo machine is gonna get frustrating.
It's only meant for the odd milling job as the table will not go up and down,you have to lower the spindle into position.
The lower you go,the more chatter you get,so it takes forever to get a job done due to the hair cuts you have to make
Click to expand...

I own an original Shoptask, the machine all the other combo machines have copied. I'm glad I own it but it is often slow awkward to set up. I have a 6" riser that attaches to the milling table/cross slide to reduce the distance between spindle and milling vice.
 
I have a Sherline 4400 lathe/Mill combo, and while it's flexible and easy to use, it's also LIGHT DUTY.

I'm thinking that my next step up will be a used lathe of some sort for the shop in the back yard, and I'll follow that up with a knee mill at some point.

That's my 5-year plan. Might get shorter if I do a big deployment and get some $$$....

For now, I satisfy myself with the Sherline, and taking 3-5 thou passes when milling Steel, and 2-5 thou passes when turning steel on the lathe. Working Brass is easier (softer material) but still, care and patience is required.

What I can do on my Sherline in 4 hours can probably be done on a real machine in 1.

NS
 
I think fundy grinding and machining carries some lines just to give you an idea. I have a Taig lathe and would really like a 9-10 inch lathe. As for a milling machine, I have heard the Taig milling machines are pretty nice, you even can get them set up for cnc, which I don't have a clue about. The Taig milling machine can come with a larger milling table area if you know what I'm talking about. I would not turn down a Taig Milling machine if someone gave me one. I'm still thinking about getting one myself regardless. from what I have seen online it seems difficult to get a 9-10 inch asian lathe with a low threading gear, the ones I have seen are around 120 rpm which is about 60 too high. Grizzly has some nice stuff, I don't know if they ship up to Canada, did someone check this out? because from my standpoint, they have the basement machinist in mind.
 
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Apparently Grizzly and Busy Bee have some sort of understanding, and Grizzly doesn't market in Canada in competition with BB. If you want a Grizzly product, you will have to go and get it, or arrange for a freighting company to collect and deliver it. You don't need the services of an agent like Questar for importation.
A factor in buying machine tools is moving the suckers. Decent sized ones are heavy. A 9" SB or 10" Atlas or light SB can be shifted by hand by a couple of husky guys, particularly if readily removable components are detached. Anything bigger, and the fun starts. I have a mill in two pieces in a trailer in my yard right now, and getting it into the shop and reassembled is going to be fun. It is a smaller one, 220kg acording to the manual, plus a rather substantial stand. I had my 1600 lb. Standard Modern lathe moved commercially. Went smoothly, never got scary. Had to have a 16" SB with an 8' bed moved down a flight of stairs once. Professional movers did the job, after I had disassembled it. It was still scary.
I've never used a Taig, only know what I've read in HSM magazine. They work. They are small.
 
Grizzly and Busy Bee are owned by brothers---hence the non competition.I own both a lathe and a milling machine from Busy Bee (along with a lot of their woodworking equip.).I have been very satisfied with their products and especially their "after sale" customer support in Calgary.
 
josquin said:
This is good to know. I was thinking of the BB machine (or similar) but I think I will mostly be doing milling.

:) Stuart
Click to expand...
BUT it is the only 115 volt machine that is capable of decent size jobs.
You'll need a 220volt hook-up to get into any other milling machine they offer
 
BB does have this mini-mill.

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?&NETID=1456440106081697980&NTITEM=CT129

CT129.jpg


Of course there will be workpiece size limitations, but it does run on 110/120V house wiring.:)

Nice DRO setup too.
 
(Ronin) said:
BUT it is the only 115 volt machine that is capable of decent size jobs.
You'll need a 220volt hook-up to get into any other milling machine they offer
Click to expand...

I'm building a new house and am planning to put a 220v outlet in the workshop anyway.

Halger: that unit looks interesting.

Fortunately I'm not in any rush.

:) Stuart
 
If you are building new, plan ahead for extra circuits, including heavy 220v. In addition to power tools, there are things like air compressors or welders to consider. Also, consider access. A garage type door at grade level into a shop is an asset. A standard door, coupled with a flight of stairs is at best inconvenient.
There are motors that can run on either 110 or 220, sometimes you have a choice.
If I had my druthers, I'd have 3 phase in my shop. But there isn't any here in rural Haliburton County.
 
I own a lathe like this http://www.billstoolcrib.com/Lathbir1120.htm and built this milling attachment http://www.sc-c.com/metallathe/MLA-5.html . The previous comments about requiring lighter cuts than a real mill are true depending on the lathe and attachment.Also you are limited to work that will fit in the envelope of your cross slide travel and your vertical slide travel combined with the need to enter and exit the work with the cutter. As a example my lathe has seven inches of cross slide travel. If I was using a 3/4 end mill I could cut a swath about 5 3/8 long depending on the type of cut. My slide has about 3 1/2 inch of travel so using that same 3/4 end mill I could face a work item about 5 3/8 by 3 3/4. So there is a distinct limitation when it comes to size. It all depends on what kind of work you will be attempting.
Also when you are milling, it ties up your lathe. That can be a disadvantage depending on your needs.
However it allows you to get more use from your lathe and allows your little machine shop to have a smaller footprint in your work area. Depending on your situation that can be a real plus.
I hope that this helps
 
tiriaq said:
If you are building new, plan ahead for extra circuits, including heavy 220v.
Click to expand...

A small welder is a possibility. I've already addressed the access issue with a 36" wide door (on BB hinges) that is straight in under a covered entrance. No schlepping anything up or down a flight of stairs for me!

Meanwhile there are 22,350 (at last count) other details to attend to- one reason I've barely opened the gun cabinet in the last few months.

:) Stuart
 
Honestly, keep an eye on kijiji and see if there's anything that pops up. There's two southbends for under 2K right now in the Halifax area that would be real tempting except for the Christmas bills and the fact that I'm sailing on Tuesday.

NS
 
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