# milling the base plate on a cdco QCTP on a grizzly g0602   possible?



## upTheHill (Dec 5, 2012)

i bought a QCTP from CDCO not realizing that the base needs to be milled to fit into the g0602.and i don't have a milling machine I was thinking of ordering some end mills, clamping the  base into the existing tool post, and putting the end mill into the lathes chuck and shimming for what little vertical I need.

am i asking for trouble? or is this doable?

TIA, Dave


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## joe_m (Dec 5, 2012)

Are you asking if you can clamp the new base to your slide somehow and just mill on the lathe? If you can get it secure enough and go slow then yes, but by the time you order/receive endmills and find a way to clamp it securely it will be 2013. It might be easier to just put an ad on CL asking to visit someone with a mill, mill/drill, or lathe with milling attachment and maybe pay a 6-pack for 10 minute of shop time.

EDIT: I'd let you use mine but that's a heckuva drive for 10 minutes of work. But my workshop is always open to anyone who finds themselves lost in the southern AZ desert.


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## Charley Davidson (Dec 5, 2012)

You should post some pics of what you need to mill & why (pic of tool post & lathe compound) then we can better advise on how to proceed. The tool post may be hardened I'm not sure


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## 8ntsane (Dec 5, 2012)

Sounds like he needs to remachine the T-nut to fit the compound. The QCTP probably is hardend and not be easy to trim down.


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## Charley Davidson (Dec 5, 2012)

8ntsane said:


> Sounds like he needs to remachine the T-nut to fit the compound. The QCTP probably is hardend and not be easy to trim down.



I was thinking the same thing, it would be a fairly easy setup to mill it on the lathe or he could just turn one with the base dia. a fair bit larger than needed then just cut 2 sides off flat.


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## Charley Davidson (Dec 5, 2012)

Something like this one


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## joe_m (Dec 5, 2012)

8ntsane said:


> Sounds like he needs to remachine the T-nut to fit the compound.



That was my assumption. I bought the same thing from a different company. They tell you the T-Nut will need milled to fit. In my case it just meant taking a bit off each side until it slide in easily. Mine was not hardened and milled with no problem.


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## upTheHill (Dec 6, 2012)

I'll post pics tomorrow (friday), but yes, i need to make a chunk of metal fit into my compound.


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## billr (Jan 5, 2016)

I bought the qctp from CDCO .
I drilled and tapped the nut that came with the 4 way Grizzly tool post in the four jaw chuck on the lathe.
I centered the 10mm hole in the tee nut plate with a live center in the tailstock, clamped it tight in the 4 jaw and drilled with the 12.5 mm tap drill for the M14x 1.5 threads, then tapped.
Since I don't have a mill this seemed the easiest method.
Bill


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## tmarks11 (Jan 6, 2016)

No reason you can't mill it on your lathe.  Figure out a way to clamp it into the toolholder.  It doesn't require very precise milling to make it fit.

Alternatively, there is an eBay seller who sells pre-milled nuts for a number of lathes.  You could contact him and see if one of the size he has will fit your machine, or if he will mill one to custom dimensions:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/prater_35x/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=


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## 6mmBR (Jan 9, 2016)

Grizzly will sell you the plate you need for about $7.00 I think. Then you just drill and tap it to match the QCTP. I did it that way on my 752 after somebody suggested it. Doing it this way you still have the original plate if you wanted to use the turret tool holder in the future. 

It was an M14 x 1.5mm tap that matched the bolt on the QCTP. Mine is a Bostar from somebody on EBay.


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## Brain Coral (Jan 10, 2016)

Charley Davidson said:


> Something like this one
> 
> View attachment 43368



If you look closely at Charlie's picture, the base is turned in a lathe, and not milled. We sometimes get stuck on an idea, but facing it in a chuck until the post has a sliding fit in the t-slot, as well as the base is small enough to fit under the sides of the t-slot will work just as well as milling it.

Brian 

Oh.... I just realized that the width of the base might have to be milled.... hmmmm...


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## kwoodhands (Jan 13, 2016)

upTheHill said:


> i bought a QCTP from CDCO not realizing that the base needs to be milled to fit into the g0602.and i don't have a milling machine I was thinking of ordering some end mills, clamping the  base into the existing tool post, and putting the end mill into the lathes chuck and shimming for what little vertical I need.
> 
> am i asking for trouble? or is this doable?
> 
> TIA, Dave




Dave ,I'm in Mays landing NJ.About 2-1/2 hrs from Washington DC.I can mill it for you.Actually you can file the Tee-nut because it is not hardened.If you have a drill press you can mill the tee-nut if you take light cuts.The drill press must have a way to lock the quill and fine feed would help a lot. You would need a cross slide vise or milling table to do this easily.Bear in mind the chuck and spindle are not made for lateral pressure like milling. Lacking these tools you could just file it to size.I have the same lathe and QCTP,do not recall how much I needed to remove from the tee-nut.I had a small milling machine and recall it went quickly.
As far as your idea to mount the tee-nut in the tool holder and the mill in the chuck, might work. Try it only if you are sure the tee-nut is very secure. 
mike


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## tcarrington (Jan 13, 2016)

I recently put a Shars AXA on my G0602. It is easy to machine, but I used a PM-25 milling machine. I would consider taking someone up on their offer to machine it for you.


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## upTheHill (Feb 4, 2016)

thanks guys, but this is an OLD post.  it was resolved.


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