Lathe or mill?

[norty303]

Ok, so the recent round of ribbing got me a'thinkin'...

The closest I've ever got to this sort of machinery is an upright drill press in school.

Having thought about it, the best I can come up with is:
Lathe: turns the piece with a fixed tool
Mill: turns the tool, with a fixed piece (which could be on a moving bed obviously)

Let the ridicule begin!

[LaNeK779]

well, all i know is that a lathe is a form of art, no job for untrained and beginners.

if i had the cash to push towards machinery now, i would def go for a mill.
you can at least get a drill press, that will also be handy, drilling, taping...

in terms of what does what, you got it right on though
a few youtube vids will further enlighten you, as a pic is 1000 words and a vid is 1000 pics (or 1.000.000 words even)

[andy_con]

not sure i understand the question?

[dnar]

I'll keep it simple.

A lathe is only good for spinning up round things.

A mill can do so much more, except for perfectly round things....

Both have their merits and uses, but I am thinking you need/want a mill as the only real need for a lathe in terms of laser parts is to produce round heat sinks/adapters as required to make <wait for it> laser pointers or dangerous Star Wars light sabers.

[LaNeK779]

what i don't get is how people say (and are probably right) that a lathe can do a mill's job but not vice versa
i guess there is no easy explanation for this, unless going deep into a machining course (wish i could find one!)

edit: i think i found it. google can be a friend at times http://www.astronomiainumbria.org/ad...h/tmilling.htm

[dnar]

what i don't get is how people say (and are probably right) that a lathe can do a mill's job but not vice versa
i guess there is no easy explanation for this, unless going deep into a machining course (wish i could find one!)

edit: i think i found it. google can be a friend at times http://www.astronomiainumbria.org/ad...h/tmilling.htm

Try decking a slab of ali billet on a lathe...

[p1t8ull]

Lathe: turns the piece with a fixed tool
Mill: turns the tool, with a fixed piece (which could be on a moving bed obviously)

That is it, very basically.
If you put a dividing head on a mill, then you have a machine that turns the tool, with a rotating piece on a moving bed. All good fun

[logsquared]

what i don't get is how people say (and are probably right) that a lathe can do a mill's job but not vice versa
i guess there is no easy explanation for this, unless going deep into a machining course (wish i could find one!)

edit: i think i found it. google can be a friend at times http://www.astronomiainumbria.org/ad...h/tmilling.htm

Most lathes have an attachment that gives a vertical cross slide on top of the regular cross slide. A vise can be attached to this slide. Then your cutting tool goes in the spindle. Ta da you have a mill. Hard to do the other way around..... mill into lathe.






oops. didn't catch your link.

[LaNeK779]

thanks woody! i added the link a bit later on

[Jem]

I have a small Myford lathe and do quite a bit of milling on it. Basically you just add a vertical slide onto the cross slide and you're away

Having said that, I only mill up small parts as it doesn't really have the required stability for facing off large parts etc. Very useful for just the odd job though.

The ideal combination is one of each

Jem