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View Full Version : larger home made milling spindles - NMTB/ R8 taper?



jonnydeen
10-09-2012, 10:27 PM
I am thinking about a vertical spindle for my centec 2

after a quick search through the forum i found many great threads on small home made spindles (most of which featuring ER type tooling) but little to nothing to do with beefier designs

my questions are...

1) has anyone tried transposing the same techniques to machining a larger spindle featuring a NMTB or R8 taper?

2) should i even bother with a home made spindle or should i hold out and just shoe-horn a bridgeport type head on to it (that certainly would be interesting)

the machine would be primarily for cutting aluminium but it needs to be capable of machining steel

any ideas or recommendations are very welcome



cheers everyone.
Jonny

John S
10-09-2012, 10:32 PM
How can you mention beefier design and R8 in the same post ? :friendly_wink:

I would have though that the Centec was a more limiting factor than say Er32

jonnydeen
10-09-2012, 10:43 PM
How can you mention beefier design and R8 in the same post ? :friendly_wink:

I would have though that the Centec was a more limiting factor than say Er32

ok, maby R8 is not a perfect choice but it is an affordable option

the reason i dont want an ER only spindle is that i would possibly like to add an atc somewhere on down the line (did i forget to mention the CNC bit?)

the centec may seem limiting by is very design but i have figured out a few ways to 'correct this'
:wink:

m_c
11-09-2012, 12:46 AM
BT/CAT/INT/Whatever in 30 or 40 would be my choice.
R8 is just a glorified collet system.

30 is a nice size for smaller machines, however 40 stuff is more common.
One of my pet hates with my Harrison mill is it's only an INT30, as finding suitable arbors can be a problem, and some of what I've got I had to import from over the pond as no UK supplier could supply them at a reasonable price.

jonnydeen
11-09-2012, 01:32 PM
BT/CAT/INT/Whatever in 30 or 40 would be my choice.
R8 is just a glorified collet system.

30 is a nice size for smaller machines, however 40 stuff is more common.
One of my pet hates with my Harrison mill is it's only an INT30, as finding suitable arbors can be a problem, and some of what I've got I had to import from over the pond as no UK supplier could supply them at a reasonable price.

lets try to steer this away from becoming another 'R8 is inferior' thread, there are plenty of them about!

I know a 40 taper spindle would be somewhat overkill but it could well be implemented and the abundance of tooling certainly backs its cause



what if i was to machine the outer profile of the spindle (between centers) and use a TP grinder on the bearing surfaces, then machine the interior taper etc once in situ
does this sound like a plan or a waste of time?

onecut
12-09-2012, 07:33 PM
Jonny just looking at your miller what with lathe,mill,drill press and new job you dont do things in half mate:-one cut

jonnydeen
13-09-2012, 11:17 AM
Jonny just looking at your miller what with lathe,mill,drill press and new job you dont do things in half mate:-one cut

I certainly don't make it easy on myself!, sometimes i think i should slow down and focus on one project but then i just go feuter with something else
:wink: