Need Help!- Manual Mill a ball shape on a rod

[ngwanhoe]

How to manually mill a double ball end (refer to link picture) with a vertical milling machine.

I have a rotary table.

1) What tools needed?
2) Steps?
3) Any picture instructions?

Thanks a lot for advice.

[jalessi]

Ngwanhoe,

There are a lot of YouTube video's that may inspire a idea.

YouTube - Emco pc mill 50 turns into a lathe
Jeff...

[ngwanhoe]

Originally Posted by jalessi Ngwanhoe, There are a lot of YouTube video's that may inspire a idea. YouTube - Emco pc mill 50 turns into a lathe Jeff...

Thanks Jeff,

Unfortunately I don't have the luxuries of a CNC Mill. I only have a benchtop vertical manual milling machine.

[SORCHEROR]

put the rod in the collet of your mill and make a radius tool and put the tool in your mill vise,basically turn your mill into as lathe

[jalessi]

Ngwanhoe,

I completely understand, the idea of using the mill as a lathe was the purpose of the video.

Sorcheror's suggestion is a step further in that direction.

Good luck with your project.

Jeff...

[Geof]

Rotary table and manual vertical mill, making a sphere is dead simple.

Have a look at this thread particularly the first three pictures in Post #10. It should be self explanatory.

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/genera...ere_stick.html

[ngwanhoe]

Thanks Jeff and Sorcherer,

I was having that idea too. I saw some was using a metal pipe to turn the ball into a perfect round. Just checking is there other ideas.

yes I will attach the rod to the collet and attach the tools to the rotary table vertically.

That should work.

[ErnieD]

Hi,

Years ago I read in one of the Practical Ideas in American Machinist mag about a method where by you mount a rotary table at an angle to the table of your mill. Place the stock in the chuck on the rotary table. Mount an adjustable boring head in the spindle of the mill with the cutting edge of the bar to the inside and set to the size of the ball you want. You center everything and feed the spindle down while rotating the table and you will get a ball.

If you can find any archives on Practical Ideas it shows a picture of the setup. I used to tear these out of the magazine and save them. I still have them somewhere. The time frame that I am thing was about was from 1962 to 1980.

ErnieD

[ngwanhoe]

I was thinking setting the rotary table vertically with a lathe cutter facing the center of the rotary table, attahced the rod to the spindle and turn the rotary table so that the tip of the cutter goes up and down on a curve to cut the rod.

Thanks everyone for great ideas

[Geof]

That will work but it is much easier to align things by mounting the part on the rotary table and have the tool in the spindle as ErnieD describes. I have used both ways to make spheres on both mill and lathe and the most accurate way is to generate it with the tool in the spindle and the work on the rotary table.

[SORCHEROR]

i agree with Geof,for accuracy and finish is best that way,i just thought if he had a grinder and made a form tool that would be easiest for him,personally,if i had to make more than a few,i would farm it out to a cnc lathe

[fizzissist]

You'll find how to do this and a ton of other things in The Machinist's Bedside Reader by Guy Lautard. There was 3 in the series last time I looked.

Any serious machinist, hobby or pro should have these..if for no other reason that out of respect for the guys that have done it the hard way, and to keep the craft alive.