End mill holder for lathe?

[parrisw]

I just bought a mill attachment for my 9" Hercus. And now I need a end mill holder for my lathe? Not sure what to get. What are my options.

Thanks

[dalee100]

Hi,

Some don't think it's proper, but since I consider milling in a lathe a light duty operation, I just grip it in the 3-jaw chuck and have at it.

The deepest cuts I can do in mild steel are only .050" with a 3/8" end mill. And most of my cuts are less than that. So I don't fear the end mill slipping and spinning in the chuck jaws.

dalee

[sch]

Assuming a standard MT3/4/5 headstock, an MT collet or endmill holder
designed for mill use (threaded end, no tang) would work. Just run the appropriate threaded rod in the length required through the headstock to fasten in place. MT3 EMH are in the $15-25 range depending on size and a downsize adapter is cheap for MT4->3 or MT5->3. An MT3 collet would be $5-10 cheaper.

[radkins]

When I built my rifle I did all the milling in my 14" lathe, mostly I just used the three jaw chuck but some operations required using the 4 jaw. My biggest problem was clearance and quite often the hold-down clamps would interfere with the chuck jaws so a dedicated end mill holder that mounts in the spindle sure would be a lot better. Also there is a safety factor involved because sometimes milling requires getting fairly close to the spinning chuck, more so than with normal lathe operations. This is a question I myself have been wanting to ask, is there an endmill holder designed for lathe use? Any suggestions for making something?

[radkins]

Assuming a standard MT3/4/5 headstock, an MT collet or endmill holder
designed for mill use (threaded end, no tang) would work. Just run the appropriate threaded rod in the length required through the headstock to fasten in place. MT3 EMH are in the $15-25 range depending on size and a downsize adapter is cheap for MT4->3 or MT5->3.

You and I must have been typing at the same time.

[Chris S.]

I just bought a mill attachment for my 9" Hercus. And now I need a end mill holder for my lathe? Not sure what to get. What are my options.

Thanks

Since yours is a 9" I guess you have a 1-1/2" spindle OD. Some guys with small spindles like yours have made an ER collet chuck.

Chris

[armedandsafe]

Since yours is a 9" I guess you have a 1-1/2" spindle OD. Some guys with small spindles like yours have made an ER collet chuck.

Chris

Since I assume you don't mean E(mergency) R(oom) collet chuck, could you enlighten me as to what that means, please?

Pops

[parrisw]

Hi,

Some don't think it's proper, but since I consider milling in a lathe a light duty operation, I just grip it in the 3-jaw chuck and have at it.

The deepest cuts I can do in mild steel are only .050" with a 3/8" end mill. And most of my cuts are less than that. So I don't fear the end mill slipping and spinning in the chuck jaws.

dalee

Ok, I think I'll try this first.

[parrisw]

Assuming a standard MT3/4/5 headstock, an MT collet or endmill holder
designed for mill use (threaded end, no tang) would work. Just run the appropriate threaded rod in the length required through the headstock to fasten in place. MT3 EMH are in the $15-25 range depending on size and a downsize adapter is cheap for MT4->3 or MT5->3. An MT3 collet would be $5-10 cheaper.

I really don't know what the headstock is. Kinda confused with the rest you said, any links you can give to to look it up?

Many thanks.

[franco]

I just bought a mill attachment for my 9" Hercus. And now I need a end mill holder for my lathe? Not sure what to get. What are my options.

Thanks

Assuming your headstock spindle is 3MT, which it probably is, you have a number of options, including:

1. Use the three jaw chuck (probably the least desirable)

2. Buy 3MT collets in the sizes you need. These mount directly into the spindle taper, and need a drawbar through the spindle to tighten them. This can be made from threaded rod. Buy the correct size and thread of threaded rod after you buy the collets. Different makers use different drawbar threads.

3. Buy a 3MT collet chuck to mount in the spindle taper. This will also require a drawbar. The most versatile collet system for general use uses ER32 collets (ER = extended range, 32 = 32 mm maximum outside diameter). These can be compressed over an extended range compared to most other collet systems and each collet can cover a range of 1 mm in diameter. The collets are available in sets or individually as required, and a full set of 18 metric collets covers all end mills or workpieces from 20 mm to 2 mm and all imperial sizes from 3/4 inch to 3/32 inch.

4. Buy or make an ER32 spindle nose chuck (assuming you have a threaded spindle nose). This has the great advantage that the chuck does not need a drawbar, so the collets can also be used to hold long workpieces which pass through the hollow lathe spindle for normal machining.

If your spindle taper is bigger than 3MT you should have an adapter bush with the spindle taper on the outside and a 3MT taper inside for mounting the headstock center. Alternatives 2 and 3 above can also be used with this bush.

FYI there is a Hercus forum here:

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f189/

Spindle nose chucks for Hercus lathes are discussed and illustrated with photos or drawings in several threads.

Should you want to make a spindle nose ER32 chuck for the Hercus, there is a PDF drawing for one in post #23 here:

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/er...re-buy-135729/

franco