Is there any use for a Morse Taper adapter that goes in an end mill holder?

[JRaut]

Large MT drill bits are really used on two* machines:

1) Big lathe
2) Radial arm drill press

* I suppose you could toss --- 3) Horizontal boring mill --- on that list, but those are large, high-dollar machines that typically perform the more high-dollar boring / facing operations that are well outside the realm of hobby machining.

I've got R8-MT2 and R8-MT3 adapters for use with some old boring heads that I've got. But using those adapters to drive an MT drill bit has never even crossed my mind. Save'em for your lathe and follow what everyone else is saying re: boring/rotabroaching/hole-sawing.

EDIT: That's a bit of a tangential response to your original question. So to answer your original question: No, not really.

 

[erikmannie]

Large MT drill bits are really used on two* machines:

1) Big lathe
2) Radial arm drill press

* I suppose you could toss --- 3) Horizontal boring mill --- on that list, but those are large, high-dollar machines that typically perform the more high-dollar boring / facing operations that are well outside the realm of hobby machining.

I've got R8-MT2 and R8-MT3 adapters for use with some old boring heads that I've got. But using those adapters to drive an MT drill bit has never even crossed my mind. Save'em for your lathe and follow what everyone else is saying re: boring/rotabroaching/hole-sawing.

EDIT: That's a bit of a tangential response to your original question. So to answer your original question: No, not really.

Finally, I found a use for these 3 adapter sleeves that I just bought.

Now all I need to do is find 3 old boring heads, one of each in Morse Tapers 2,3 & 4!

Example:

 

[erikmannie]

You can find a lot of tapping heads with a Morse Taper. Of course, I’m sure these are designed for use on a lathe.



I actually have floating die holder sets in MT4 and MT2 that I bought for my lathes. I sure hope that I can use these inserted into an adapter sleeve, with that sleeve in a 1-1/2” R8 end mill holder!

Mine look like this:



On a milling machine, it seems like centering the tool on the work would be challenging for the tools pictured above.

 

[erikmannie]

I bought this. I like a tang, & there is a chance that it is made in the UK.

To look at the picture, it does not have an integral shank.

The head is only 1.063” in diameter. This couldn’t possibly hurt the spindle in the milling machine; I think the tool bit would be the weak link.

 

[JRaut]

I bought this. I like a tang, & there is a chance that it is made in the UK.

To look at the picture, it does not have an integral shank.

The head is only 1.063” in diameter. This couldn’t possibly hurt the spindle in the milling machine; I think the tool bit would be the weak link.

I'm not sure I understand the obsession with using those MT-straight adapters....

Why not just use a fly cutter with a straight shank and put that directly in a collet? Avoid all those unnecessary adapters altogether.

 

[erikmannie]

I'm not sure I understand the obsession with using those MT-straight adapters....

Why not just use a fly cutter with a straight shank and put that directly in a collet? Avoid all those unnecessary adapters altogether.

I bought these adapter sleeves thinking that I could use them for taper shank drills. That is not a good plan for safety reasons.

I hate to spend $100 on adapter sleeves & then have no use for them!

I do have a 3/4” straight shank indexable 3” fly cutter.

At this point, I am just trying to find a safe use for the MT3 and MT4 adapter sleeves.

I will probably find a cheap MT3 boring head that I can use for aluminum, brass or light cuts on carbon steel.

The stickout of the MT4 adapter sleeve in an end mill holder does not inspire confidence that I will ever find a safe use for it, at least not in an EMH. In the EMH, the adapter sleeve sticks out almost 2”! That is too bad because the MT4 adapter sleeve is USA made, and I paid $40 for it.

 

[erikmannie]

I finally completed this project which was “to find a use for these 3 straight shank MT adapters”.

I did the best I could (quality parts & trying to maximize rigidity working under the constraints), but I have to say that I am disappointed with the results which seem to lack rigidity. At least I now have a use for the 3 adapters.

To me, all 3 setups shown below look to be lacking in rigidity.

First setup:

(Chinese or UK) MT2 shank in a (Chinese or UK) 1” fly cutter equipped with quality 1/4” shank, brazed carbide tip LH cutter.

The MT2 inside/1-1/2” outside adapter is from India. The 1-1/2” EMH is from Israel.

 

[erikmannie]

Next up is an MT3 inside/1-1/2” straight shank outside adapter made in India, the same EMH, Criterion 2” square boring head, Criterion MT3 shank, & a 1/2” shank quality brazed carbide boring bar.

 

[erikmannie]

Finally, a USA made MT4 inside/1-1/2” straight shank outside adapter, same EMH, Criterion 2” square boring head, Yuasa MT4 shank, & a quality 1” shank brazed carbide stubby boring bar.

 

[erikmannie]

I will see how the above 3 setups perform, but I think the takeaway here is to mount the shank of the tool up in the spindle!

For example, a 3/4” straight shank tool in an R8 collet, *or* a boring head with an R8 shank with the shank directly connected to the drawbar.

I love buying tools, but the 1-1/2” EMH & all 3 MT adapters were not good tooling choices, in my opinion.

One more point is that I bought all 3 of these MT adapters for use with taper shank drills (I have these on hand as lathe tooling). That idea was quickly shown to be a potential hazard to the operator and/or milling machine.

As such, the fly cutter & boring heads shown above are a replacement for the “taper shank drill in a milling machine” idea. Having said all of this, I wonder if the setups shown above are a potential hazard.