Lathe conversion from stock to CNC

Thanks Andy, you do very nice work! I suppose I often do not have exactly the right tools, so there is some compromise, but I always appreciate good work by other people. Your work station also looks very much like mine tends to look! I will check where the slop in my lead screw is, and see what the best solutions are to tighten it up.

I had a second look at the Mayor and Burger link you posted earlier and that has given me a very good idea to have a cross slide like a mill bed and then another bed that can slide in vertically as they do it. I must then fabricate some form of pivoting table to take a QCTP and I can be in business with some milling ability, even though it does render the lathe to CNC only as I think manual would be a little bit difficult, which I believe is not the greatest problem out there.

Regards
Peet

I have just had an insight to my mill table adaptation. I have taken off my tool holder with swivel base and there is actually quite a long flat steel base for the cross slide. If I can find a mill table top and mount it on some extremely sturdy 90degree brackets I can then drill and tap into my existing cross slide base and bolt the brackets down, - that would give me the option of a vertical mill table I can clamp a piece of work to and do a bit of milling.

Does this sound like a reasonable idea?

Regards
Peet

Hi Andy, Glad to know it's not too bad quality! I have a 4 jaw chuck, for which I have started turning an adaptor plate, but stopped when I realised I need highest precision possible for the recesses, as the plate needs to fit my lathe's faceplate snugly, and the chuck needs to snug in as well. I had 2 dial gauges mounted, to try and get X & Z travel, but it was all too rickety for the precision I need! Hence my contemplation of DRO, or CNC!

I am keen to know how you think I can mount the compound vertically, I suppose I could try to copy the mounting circular slot onto some 10mm steel plate I have, then make a rod of some sort in the centre, mount that on a 90 deg bracket? If I then fashion some sort of clamp onto the slide I can then have XYZ movement.

I suddenly realise I may have my terms crossed! Is the compound slide the X2, or the Z axis? (I am yet to remember all the terms and jargon!).

Thanks
Peet

Hi John, we were posting at the same time! That clarifies things for me a lot! I have about a 120mm drill press vice, which I will size up shortly, I suppose there is no real need to rotate in the vertical axis. I can make the tool holder removable, anyway want to get a QCTP, so can do things there. So far I think the main advise is if I go CNC drop the compound altogether? I must then just space the QCTP up a bit, and make it removable, the compound can then stay permanently on the angle bracket for milling.
Regards
Peet

OK, scratching around I found some rather thick C channel, wide enough to take the compound, the vice is a bit big for the compound, but it fits fine on my 10mm plate. My only concern becomes strength. If I use only existing holes in the compound I will be bolting it down with 2 6mm bolts, I do think I will duplicate the 25mm centre pin, probably bolting that down with a 10mm bolt. There is currently one hole to mount the tool holder, though I can add more holes, there is also a raised platform for the tool holder, so a logical place for another hole would require a wide shim. I hopefully attach a picture of what I have in mind. I am not looking forward to cutting the channel iron though, I think it may take a while.
Regards
Peet