Looking Back On Past Work....Changes I would Make Now

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Buffalo20

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Today, I was in the basement looking for an box of horizontal mill cutters, when I saw the Atlas horizontal milling machine. I got it from my FIL, before he passed, around 8-10 years ago, I made a vertical head attachment for it, it worked great.

At that time I was doing a lot of work, with Bakelite pieces, I used the head with 1/8" and 3/16" end mills. I made the head using a spindle of a Jet drill press, with a MT#2 taper, drilled out the spindle for the use of a 3/8"-16 draw bar. On the downside, there is no quill so all cut depths, were set with the knee.

Looking back on this, with the time passed, I was think of how I would have changed the design, what I would have done different. Thinking about how to add a quill, maybe go to a MT#3 taper. But as I use the mill about 3 times in the last 4-5 years, the new vertical attachment, is another project, to add to the retirement project list.

I guess hindsight, time and additional experiences and skills learned, will always, change the way you might do a project.


atlas mill 3 002x.jpg atlas mill 3 004x.jpg atlas mill 3 007x.jpg
 
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First thing to ask, If you make those changes or modifications would you use it more than the given amount.
Else it would just be nothing more than à challenge or hobby or somthing in that setting.
For me it's when I use somthing more than 4 times à year at least for à couple of years it's revised or repaired for shure.
Just My 2 ct
Grts.


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Yup, that is why they call it R&D. It is very rare that we get our designs right the first time. And then, there is thing called life, it has a way of making us re-evaluate everything as things change.
 
I look forward to the day when I have enough machinery that I can stumble across a milling machine that I forgot I had :) There was a post on here awhile back of a shop made Atlas head with a quill and power downfeed. As I recall it was an odd, but interesting design.
 
Buffalo20
Not that it matters as long as it works , but is that a cast iron pipe t
 
Yes, a 2" forged socket weld tee fitting, as a basic form and machined bearing supports. Not pretty, but it works very well. There is a high quality double row bearing at the bottom and a single row at the top, for the spindle.

This size Tee fitting seemed right for the use, not too small or too big, for the size of the mill, the scale seemed correct. One with a workable quill, would need to be much larger.
 
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