Gang Lathing on mini mill

[nolage]

I've seen it done here and there, but I have a question on mounting the work piece. Is it totally unviable to try and mount a 1.5" copper round? Obviously finding an R8 collet that large is proving hard...
I recently acquired an X2 that works well and has a belt drive conversion on it for $210. Seemed good, works well, and seems fairly close to parallel and perpendicular.

So how might I go about mounting the round onto the spindle so that I can do some damage

[doorknob]

I haven't actually done this, but can't you find a 3-jaw chuck with an R8 spindle mount, and hold the workpiece in the chuck?

Something like this:

3" 3 JAW PRECISION CHUCK WITH R8 SHANK NEW 02/28/12 | eBay

[nolage]

Thank you tremendously, I knew it had to exist, just couldnt seem to find it. Kept using collet in search term instead of chuck.

Now I'm fairly new to machining. I get the principle, and the math especially, the depths of cut and speed. However I'm still a bit off on what tooling bits to buy for what applications.

Additionally, the dang thing has a keyed drill chuck on it, and I'm not sure how to get it off. Seems rather intently "on". Any thoughts on this?

Any other mods, changes, or general application zip-zags I should do before using the X2 mill?

[doorknob]

I haven't completed setting up my own X2 mini mill yet (I've only had it for about a year!), so this is just a guess.

The R8 system uses a drawbar bolt to secure tooling in the spindle (for example, see: LittleMachineShop.com - Drawbar, R8 1-Piece, Mini Mill)

What I've done with the drawbar on a Bridgeport when I had "reluctant" R8 collets was to completely unscrew the drawbar bolt, rest it on top of the collet (where it sits when you have unscrewed it), and then tap the head of the drawbar bolt with a soft mallet to convince the collet to drop free.

But YMMV on the X2.

[nolage]

I notice alot of linking to the LittleMachineShop, is this the communitys "trusted source" over ebay on things? Is the quality there?

I've read my brains out on this, but incase I missed it are there any "before you start making chip" guides for the X2 or mills in general? And what is a normal package of tools for the mill? This came with the belt drive systems, which I see LMS also seems to sell (or possibly makes?), but a horrible little vice that wouldn't be suitable for anything I can imagine.

[rowbare]

Copper is gummy and is notoriously unfriendly to machine. Keep that in mind if you aren't getting the results you want. I suggest practicing on some easier to machine (and cheaper) material to get your process down pat, then adjusting it for copper.

bob

[nolage]

Thanks bob.



Is what I'm effectively looking to make. 1/8" cuts into round, and a 3/8" hole down the center halfway, creating a refrigerant evaporation chamber for face mounting to laser diodes and other systems.

Hopefully that passes on my intention. And the LMS guides are quite nice actually, seems like a solid starter kit they offer as well.

[Arich0908]

I have a three jaw chuck . Im always throwing 6061 round in it and turning parts.

[doorknob]

I notice alot of linking to the LittleMachineShop, is this the communitys "trusted source" over ebay on things? Is the quality there?

I've had good service from Little Machine Shop, and the owner has actual experience using many or most of the things that he sells, and so it's usually a good "go-to" source. However since I'm a cheapskate at heart, I sometimes find better deals from places such as CDCO, Shars (or their eBay store whose name I forget, something like Discount Machine Tools), or ENCO or MSC when there's a good sale coupon and/or free shipping deal going on, or other eBay vendors as well.

If you do a google search of this site, you will find some good threads that discuss "starter" tooling for benchtop mills that will give good tips on buying a milling vise, tooling, and other accessories. When I put together my starter set for the X2, I considered getting one of the value sets from Little Machine Shop, but I decided that while I liked some of the items in that kit, I could get better or less-expensive replacements from other vendors, and so I ended up buying the items individually, both from LMS and from others.

[doorknob]

Also, have you read this X2 guide from LMS:

http://littlemachineshop.com/Info/Mi...UsersGuide.pdf

[nolage]

Arich, so the r8 shanked 3jaw is a good way to go? Is any bigger too big? I do 2.5" copper at the most, but I might need to make mounts for that, might be a bit bigger and wouldn't want to find myself stuck too small, or am I at the limits of the X2 for that kind of work?

Thanks for the read, that's very good. I need to get a dial indicator it would seem as the first tool on the list.

[DonKes]

Thanks bob.



Is what I'm effectively looking to make. 1/8" cuts into round, and a 3/8" hole down the center halfway, creating a refrigerant evaporation chamber for face mounting to laser diodes and other systems.

Hopefully that passes on my intention. And the LMS guides are quite nice actually, seems like a solid starter kit they offer as well.

That is a tough way to make pennies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don