Mounting of the Versa-Mil.

Lathe Operations
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utilizes the carriage and feed controls of the lathe to move the milling

head in the horizontal direction.

An indexing head is supplied with the

versa-mil and is installed on the headstock spindle of the lathe to permit

indexing the workpiece. Although the workpiece is mounted in a conventional

manner in the lathe, the headstock spindle is never rotated by power for

milling functions (figure 36 on the following page). Cutting is done by the

milling head of the versa-mil and is driven by the self-contained motor of

the attachment.

Mounting of the Versa-Mil.

(1) General. The versa-mil is rigidly constructed and is designed to take

heavy cuts without chatter.

However, no tool can be more rigid than the

base on which it is mounted.

Care should be taken to ensure that the

carriage, compound rest, ram or tool arm on which the versa-mil is mounted

is solid, and that the mounting bolts in the base plate are pulled up tight.

NOTE

The versa-mil can be mounted on the milling machine,

shapers, planers, boring mills, and various other

types of machine tools. However, for this task, only

those areas concerning mounting the versa-mil on the

lathe will be covered.

(a) Gibs should be as snug as possible and still allow the necessary

movement.

Those gibs governing movements not necessary for the operation

being done should be tight to prevent movement and chatter.

(b) It is important that the workpiece be solidly supported to prevent

vibration and chatter.

If the workpiece is held between centers, they

should be tight against the work. Long pieces should be supported at the

point where the work is being done.