Why not just use a collet?
I have a Taig CNC Mill (w/ the 3/4-16 spindle nose). I need to turn some round stock to a particular diameter, make some grooves for e-clips and cut them to a particular length. Clearly, this is lathe work. I don't have a lathe. Can I mount the Taig 3 Jaw Chuck to my mill spindle and do some basic lathe-type of work like this by clamping lathe tools to my mill table? (The stock, while not huge, is too big to fit in my 1/4" jacobs chuck, though I suppose I could buy the 1/2" Jacobs chuck, which is ~1/3 the price of the 3-jaw lathe chuck...)
Anyway, before I drop $60 on a 3-jaw chuck, can someone tell me if this is feasible? Alternatively, would the 1/2" jacobs chuck provide sufficient centering capability and side-loading stability for turning 1/2" or smaller round stock?
Thanks!
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Why not just use a collet?
Nick Carter
Largest resource on the web about Taig lathes and mills
www.cartertools.com
Don't use the 3 jaw at any but the slowest speed, it doesn't like high rpms.
Very light cuts.
The 1/2" chuck might work. Feed towards the headstock in both cases, rather than away.
Nick Carter
Largest resource on the web about Taig lathes and mills
www.cartertools.com
Holy Cow! That video is awesome!! :-) That's sort of what I'd been thinking, though my plan wasn't nearly that complex or advanced. I was just going to jog the stock up against a cutting tool, turn it as needed by G01-ing the Z axis, unmount the bit and switch to a cut-off tool, etc. That's a great idea of placing different tools at different places on the table and just doing it all in one operation. I wonder what that guy was using to hold the stock? Looks like a big honkin' endmill holder or something.
Doax - the stock that I want to turn (1/2-3/4" dia to start with) exceeds any collet or endmill holder size that I either have or have access to, plus I'd also be pretty limited in the range of sizes and shapes that I could potentially turn - thus my thoughts about an actual lathe chuck.
I'm going to try it based on Nick's advice. Anybody have a used 3 jaw chuck they want to sell?? Nick, you have any of those lying around?
Thanks!
I don't have any used chucks right now, although you might check the taigtools group as see if anyone else does.
That video is really awesome...there's another where one of the guys uses the Taig as a pick&place robot. Type Taig into the youtube search...
Nick Carter
Largest resource on the web about Taig lathes and mills
www.cartertools.com
Were you able to get a three jaw chuck to mount on your mill?
Chris, this thread is over 10 years old, so I am not sure if you will get an answer. 8^) I do know that Taig now sells chucks with ER-16 threads, so that should make it really easy to attach a chuck to your Taig mill.
Personally, I would look for any option available before attaching a chuck to that spindle nose. Spin that rascal VERY SLOW if you decide to do that. Anything that might go wrong will be greatly enhanced by the weight of the chuck....and the fact it has no stabilization from a back plate. Could be a bad wreck.