Vertical milling slide for lathe

I keep coming across projects that need a small amount of milling. I have read a lot of peoples comments on how they are junk. For someone without a drill press or any other means of milling I am starting to consider adding a 4"x5" vertical mill table to my lathe.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LATHE-VERT...893189&hash=item4b475b555c:g:9QoAAOSwxBtbbSAa

It looks like I would also need some sort of clamping set up to hold my work.....
https://www.harborfreight.com/42-piece-machinist-clamping-kit-90752.html

I know you all have way more in sight on this than I do having never used a mill.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Combo-of-R...922244?hash=item4b4b014784:g:6REAAOSwstJZOrR3

I was wanting to make a ball turning tool for my lathe and see that it requires a slot milled out.

Let me know your thoughts on this.

 

I keep coming across projects that need a small amount of milling. I have read a lot of peoples comments on how they are junk. For someone without a drill press or any other means of milling I am starting to consider adding a 4"x5" vertical mill table to my lathe.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LATHE-VERT...893189&hash=item4b475b555c:g:9QoAAOSwxBtbbSAa

It looks like I would also need some sort of clamping set up to hold my work.....
https://www.harborfreight.com/42-piece-machinist-clamping-kit-90752.html

I know you all have way more in sight on this than I do having never used a mill.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Combo-of-R...922244?hash=item4b4b014784:g:6REAAOSwstJZOrR3

I was wanting to make a ball turning tool for my lathe and see that it requires a slot milled out.

Let me know your thoughts on this.

You can make a ball turner without a mill.
google Jim sehr ball turner to see how it cuts.

 

1) If you have never done milling before, the single best piece of advice I can give is to learn the difference between climb and normal milling. In a low rigidity situation such as this you want to be using normal milling in almost all situations. The design of the table you linked to on ebay looks about as rigid as you are likely to get. Stay away from the ones that can be angled in two different directions. They are less rigid and set up will be a royal pain.

2) The T-nuts of the clamping set you linked to may not fit the T-slots on the milling table you linked to. Of course you could mill new T-nuts, but better to get it right the first time. Check out the clamping sets sold by LittleMachineShop.com

https://littlemachineshop.com/products/search.php?tabName=Products&term=clamping+set

I would like to add this as to what I was told long ago by my tool and die maker uncle Vincent. Climbing produces a better finish then scooping. proper set up (clamping) is absolutely crucial. I also know from experience that mill feed backlash will be a problem that in some cases means you might not be able to climb cut on an older mill with more the .20 play at the handle. Thanks.

 

(Old thread alert!)

The warning about climb milling has to do with the minimal rigidity of a milling setup on a lathe.

I'm developing that capability myself, because I don't have a mill. My milling attachment was made for a South Bend 16" lathe and it is very heavy and heavily constructed. It mounts on the cross slide in place of the compound, not on top of the compound. (That means it can be rotated like the compound.) It's far heavier at 70 pounds and therefore far stiffer than the usual ebay offerings.

But by milling standards it has very limited range of motion and is only minimally stiff. South Bend called it a "keyway attachment", and cutting keyways is one of the things it does well. It's also quite good for milling operations on the end of long parts, which are difficult to set up in a vertical mill.

Rick "first chip-making project: turning the round dovetail for the cross-slide compound mount to install the milling attachment" Denney