Myford Vertical Slide onto Atlas 10F

[Bellers]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered a hundred time but I can't seem to find the answer on here anyway.

Since an Atlas Milling Attachment would cost a fortune (when you can find one here in the UK) and I can't fit a milling machine in my garage does anyone know how easy it would be to fit a Myford vertical slide to my old Atlas?

I would be looking at buying something like this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MYFORD-LA...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item234a0e2c52

 

[pdentrem]

Sure all you need is an adapter to mount it to your slide. I made one to fit my Palmgren 250 milling vice to the top swivel on the atlas. I posted a picture a while back.
Pierre

 

[pebbleworm]

Either make an adapter, or I think better yet, make a T-slot cross slide for the Atlas. I am seriously planning to do this for my 6". It just seems to be a very handy feature.

 

[pdentrem]

What you need is what Bernard has on his Atlas, pebbleworm is talking about. Watch his video and look at the long slide that he has. One of our members just did a build of a similar item for himself as well. Makes a lot of difference in the smoothness of the cut and cuts down on the chatter. Well worth finding one or building one. Mine came with one and I used it almost all the time vs the top swivel. There used to be a company that sold raw castings for the Southbend lathes, I believe. Might be a good starting point.
Pierre

 

[pebbleworm]

Here is the casting for an Atlas:
http://www.statecollegecentral.com/metallathe/A-11.html
Shipping to the UK could be expensive, so maybe just use the UK equivalent of Durabar. My first idea for my machine was to just level the top of a spare cross slide casting and bolt a Unimat 3 milling table to the top, but my machine work is getting better I think a longer, heavier table made of cast iron is almost possible for me. Heck, selling off the Unimat milling table would pay for the cast iron, T-slot cutter and dovetail cutter! From reading "The Amateur's Lathe" the table would really be a useful addition.

 

[Bellers]

Thanks for all the information and advice!

A T-slot cross slide would certainly be the most rigid solution and I'm sure it would provide a better finish due to the rigidity but I think it's probably more work than I would be able to take on at the moment. I assume the casting that pebbleworm linked to would be machined to replace the lower swivel (10-301)?

I think I'd be looking at something similar to the one pdentrem has made. since I thing I could produce something similar using just lathe and pillar drill (all the machinery I have at the moment).

It's mad out of just a billet of mild steel I assume?

Thanks again!

 

[Dranreb]

You might be in for a long wait finding a slide like the one I have, I was lucky it came with a parts lathe.

I think I'd be looking at something similar to the one pdentrem has made. since I thing I could produce something similar using just lathe and pillar drill

I think that would be a nice project, no drawings needed as you have the compound base at hand to measure and copy, one of the first things I made was a ball turner attachment to fit in place of the compound by that method.

To get the best out of the milling slide all your gibs need to be adjusted really snug especially if there is any wear. Your carriage needs to be adjusted to the ways to stop any front to back and up and down movement.

Although Myfords build quality is usually good, it makes sense to take the milling attachment apart and carefully inspect everything for faults, a tiny ding in the wrong place can make all the difference to rigidity. The milling attachment gibs need to be tight to stop any chatter due to backlash in the screw.

To show you what I mean by that have a look towards the end of this thread, if you haven't seen it already that is:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/show...a-new-apron-gear-case-10F-11-using-lathe-only

Have fun

Bernard