Comparing Size & Rigidity of Palmgren Lathe Milling Attachments

[HiltzVW]

I know there’s a fair amount of interest in lathe milling attachments, especially in hobby and home machine shops. I’ve always had a fascination with them, but never had the chance until recently to use one. As discussed in other threads, a lathe milling attachment is truly no substitute for an actual Milling Machine. It does, however, allow the lathe operator to perform light duty milling, and in some cases they are very handy and worthwhile.

For years I had hoped to find one, and I recently came across not just one, but TWO milling attachments. I decided to buy them since I could use one on my Logan 922 11’ swing lathe and the larger one on my Logan 6560 14” swing lathe.

I ended up with the Palmgren 250 and the Palmgren 400.
The 250 and 400 designations are because of the respective jaw widths - 2.5” and 4"

The overall size difference between the 250 and 400 is enormous. The 400 is more than double the overall size, and is far more rigid. The 250 has only one lock for the graduations allowing the milling attachment to cut angles. The 400 has two. The 400 has nearly double the material at every point, and is in my opinion truly a capable milling attachment, whereas the 250 is extremely limited.

I decided to film a comparison video showing the differences in more detail, and also showing each one installed on a machine and taking a light cut.

I hope its helpful to anyone thinking about purchasing a milling attachment.

I’m very interested in the Atlas Lathe Milling Attachments as well. I no longer have an Atlas, but I believe the Atlas proprietary milling attachment is much better designed than the Palmgren, because the Atlas mounts directly to the cross slide, whereas the Palmgren requires the compound. There are a few advantages and disadvantages to each, but I think I like the Atlas design better.

If you have a milling attachment, do you use it often? What are your thoughts?

 

[Ulma Doctor]

my thoughts after using a milling attachment on an Atlas TH42,
i didn't use it more than half a dozen times and sold the attachment for more than the lathe was worth:

lathe milling is light duty at best
the lack of rigidity creates lots of fun for the operator
work scope is diminished due to relative size
the milling attachments will work, if no other means are available

 

[HiltzVW]

my thoughts after using a milling attachment on an Atlas TH42,
i didn't use it more than half a dozen times and sold the attachment for more than the lathe was worth:

lathe milling is light duty at best
the lack of rigidity creates lots of fun for the operator
work scope is diminished due to relative size
the milling attachments will work, if no other means are available

That’s definitely a fair assessment and I would agree. A last choice in most situations. There are only a few scenarios where I’d see myself using them. One being if I had a repeat job cutting a woodruff keyseat or slot into short shafts.

Still faster on a Bridgeport, I’m sure, but it wouldn’t be too bad of a setup on the milling attachment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pdentrem]

Cannot compare to Bridgeport sized machines. I had the Palmgren 250 with the Atlas and the ridgidity was lacking even with the gibs locked down. I moved up to a Jet BDB1340A clone and now the Palmgren works much better as the whole machine is stiffer. I do have the use of a BP at work if needed and have on many occasions.

 

[wachuko]

I want one for my 820… I was going to buy the kit from Andy… but I have not heard from him for a few months now…

His MLA-5 kit…

 

[pdentrem]

I want one for my 820… I was going to buy the kit from Andy… but I have not heard from him for a few months now…

His MLA-5 kit…

Nice looking unit!

 

[kndroy]

Currently this is all I use until I find a cheap milling machine. A few years ago I picked up a very clean grizzly g9249 with a bunch of tooling a few blocks away and it has a nice flat cross slide to mount it on top. I then found a brand new 400 on craigslist near home. I only have a drill press to accompany it, so I had to make the adapter plate using that and the lathe. I squared up the plate on the lathe. Doing interrupted cuts, it took all day on slow rotation with a steep front angle cutting bit. The plate is about a foot long by an inch thick and barely fit into my 4 jaw for squaring. A blacksmith/welder in town flame cut the block from a big plate he had. The plate is held using the existing compound mounting points and an added c-clamp on back. I chose not to drill the cross slide and I will eventually make a custom clamp to replace the c-clamp. Easy to square up using this method. I luckily had the correct drill and tap already and purchased the large bolt from True Value. Drilling and tapping was done on my vintage Delta-Rockwell drill press.

The milling attachment itself is decent quality but nothing special. It is fairly rigid and heavy at about 20-30 pounds. I made a new hand wheel and use an indicator dial on the y and z axis. The new hand wheel is tall as to clear the vise handle. I made the indicator mount sitting on the bedway shown in the picture using the new milling attachment. The included hand wheel was absolutely terrible. It would literally chew your hand up milling in the y direction and was graduated in metric. Not enough torque to effectively mill in y direction. I will eventually replace the top cap with a design that incorporates a bearing which looks very easy. I'm not happy that Palmgren didn't use a precision screw and bronze bushing for the y axis. Again, a dial indicator is mandatory. It's my impression Palmgren didn't intend on someone using this to mill in the y direction, rather, set the y position and mill in the x and z (like milling a keyway). With the new handle and dial indicator I can get acceptable results milling in the y direction.

This setup is really all I need for parts I deal with. Again, this is about as minimal as I would go and anything less would not be rigid enough for me to feel confident. I don't see how it would ever work well on the tool post of a small lathe like this.

Hope this helps someone out.

 

[rwdenney]

Thanks for the video--that helps me get started. I have acquired a South Bend milling attachment that I am reasonably sure was made for the 16" lathe. These are as big and heavy as that Palmgren 400. It's missing the jaws, the slide crank, and the mounting dovetail base, and I'm sure I paid too much for it.



It will be a while before I can get things set up to try it out, but I think I can make it work for the little things I need to do. One way to increase rigidity would be to mount it in place of the compound instead of on the compound, but that will require some figuring out.

My main application will be drilling and reaming precise holes in parts that can't be chucked in the four-jaw, and making small things. It's first job will be milling the t-nut for my new toolpost to fit the lathe.

Rick "no mill here and no money left" Denney

 

[kndroy]

"no mill here and no money left"

I can relate. Also, these milling attachments are not worth the cost plus shipping (IMO). I waited a few years until one popped up locally. If a mill pops up locally for cheap then I'll upgrade from the milling attachment.

One way to increase rigidity would be to mount it in place of the compound instead of on the compound, but that will require some figuring out.

That's what I did. If you have a flat surface on top of your cross slide you could do something like I did (see above post). If it's curved, you will have to machine a circular base on your adapter to fit in the existing compound.

My main application will be drilling and reaming precise holes in parts that can't be chucked in the four-jaw, and making small things. It's first job will be milling the t-nut for my new toolpost to fit the lathe.

I'm very pleased with the drilling capability with a drill chuck mounted in the three jaw. I'm going to make some basic round tool holders with a set screw so I don't have to mount the drill chuck and endmills directly in the chuck jaws. Seems to work for now but I'm reading they can slip in the chuck.

 

[rwdenney]

I'm not worried about what I paid for the milling attachment, even though I know I paid too much. The market loves them and nobody is making them. If I ever get a mill and find this redundant, I know it will sell for more than I paid, because when I list it it will be clean, complete, and fully described. Of course, the time I spend putting it in that condition will be paid at a nickel an hour, but then that's the hobby part.

Rick "hard to lose too much money in the used market for stuff no longer being made" Denney