Is milling a morse 3 taper difficult?

[tony ennis]

I'm looking at ebay and I see a 7" long tailstock ram for a common-as-dirt lathe selling for $60. It has a morse 3 taper (female) on one end and a left-handed acme thread on the other.

I could see this if the morse taper is hard to mill. Is it?

[wierdscience]

It's not hard,but it does take time and if your lucky a couple MT3 reamers.From having made a couple tailstock barrels I say $60 is more than fair.Last one I made was a replacement for a lost one,2-1/4" od chrome rod,reamed the taper and bored the back for a lh acme bronze nut.It took me nearly 9 hours to gen that one out.

[lazlo]

But to put that in perspective Weird, you probably made a much nicer tailstock ram than came on your lathe: hard chromed, with a bronze acme nut.

My Clausing 5914, which is considered a low-end toolroom lathe, has an unhardened cast iron ram with an integral, non-adjustable acme nut.
I bought my lathe from a VoEd school, so it had very low mileage, but you know a cast iron sleeve is going to wear, as well as the integral acme nut.

[IOWOLF]

Hard to mill? Yes ,It would be much easier to turn on a lathe.

[Alistair Hosie]

Wolfie !Wolfie! naughty! naughty! Alistair

[IOWOLF]

Hell, I thought I was being nice,Scottie.

I could have said....Oh, nevermind.

[tony ennis]

nice ........

[Carld]

Personally I would like to see someone MILL a female 3MT taper. That may be very interesting and educational.

[gary hart]

Lathe would be easier. But could be bored in mill and shrink or loctite in a #3 morse taper socket, comes with tang socket and hardened.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT...MT4NO=32176430

[lane]

Stand vertical in 8 inch super spacer . Drill center hole step drill a few sizes and ream to size. A mill is just a lathe stood on end.