Cast Iron lathe bed to mount taig bed

I bought an Atlas bed that was 54" long to use as a base of a CNC lathe. I was going to mount linear rails onto the bed, and build a new carriage and cross slide on top of the linear rails.

.... Then the project sat for years until I lost interest... lol.
 
Many people have mounted my Mid Size Cue Smith type lathes to the top of an old flat bed wood lathe. Some have used the wood lathe headstock and just used my bed, carriage and tailstock to make tapering machines. Some of those old cast beds are not really perfectly flat and shims are needed to level and square everything. But others are near perfect and make a great base just like they are. Either way they make a very solid base.
 
As Chris says, be carefull that the base is flat .... you can easily twist the bed of a lightweight aluminum lathe if you bolt it tightly to a twisted base.

A simple wooden box filled with concrete can also provide a heavy rigid base.

Dave
 
iusedtoberich said:
I bought an Atlas bed that was 54" long to use as a base of a CNC lathe. I was going to mount linear rails onto the bed, and build a new carriage and cross slide on top of the linear rails.

.... Then the project sat for years until I lost interest... lol.
Click to expand...

Great idea!!! I can't believe that I never thought of it long ago as I'm always adapting tools to other uses. I have an old Atlas metal lathe that I haven't used for years that I had intended to dismantle and sell the parts on e-bay. I can keep the bed and legs to use for a base. I've got everything else to construct a CNC shaft machine. I've just been waiting on getting some 80/20 to use as a base. I've also got a cast iron wood lathe that I don't use that Chris just pointed out would be a good base. It doesn't have stout legs however so I would have to set it up on a unused flat surface which is a rare commodity in my shop. Thanks to both of you,

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Great idea!!! I can't believe that I never thought of it long ago as I'm always adapting tools to other uses. I have an old Atlas metal lathe that I haven't used for years that I had intended to dismantle and sell the parts on e-bay. I can keep the bed and legs to use for a base. I've got everything else to construct a CNC shaft machine. I've just been waiting on getting some 80/20 to use as a base. I've also got a cast iron wood lathe that I don't use that Chris just pointed out would be a good base. It doesn't have stout legs however so I would have to set it up on a unused flat surface which is a rare commodity in my shop. Thanks to both of you,

Dick
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http://www.alignritetool.com/cnc_router_poolcue.htm
Works in that one.
 
Geez Joey you just spoiled it for me. I was thinking of a mounted saw under the slot coming up with taper bars, a W drive and a Y drive but you had ta get all fancy.
 
Thats why you want the Y drive to move the cue or butt over the saw blade as the W drive turns it. It is best to have the bed that long so the rails and gear drive you put on do not exceed by much as the weight would cock it uneven scoring into the taper of your butts or shafts.
 
rhncue said:
Great idea!!! I can't believe that I never thought of it long ago as I'm always adapting tools to other uses. I have an old Atlas metal lathe that I haven't used for years that I had intended to dismantle and sell the parts on e-bay. I can keep the bed and legs to use for a base. I've got everything else to construct a CNC shaft machine. I've just been waiting on getting some 80/20 to use as a base. I've also got a cast iron wood lathe that I don't use that Chris just pointed out would be a good base. It doesn't have stout legs however so I would have to set it up on a unused flat surface which is a rare commodity in my shop. Thanks to both of you,

Dick
Click to expand...

Awesome. I was going to bolt the linear bearing rails directly to the bed top. Then mount a plate of aluminum or steel on top of them as a carriage for the Z axis, and mount 2 more linear bearing rails on the aluminum plate as the X axis. Another plate on top of these rails to form a base for my tooling. This plate would be machined with multiple T-Slots and/or threaded holes in order to mount a toolpost both in front of and behind the work.

The headstock on mine had the motor hanging out the back with the exposed pulley system. I was going to strip the headstock entirely of its gears and pulleys, and then mount new bearings in it, and drive it with a single pulley and VFD. And then use the existing tailstock.

Another option would be to make a new headstock like on the Cuesmith lathes, thats basically a box of aluminum. This way there is more options in its design and height.

Good luck with your project.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Awesome. I was going to bolt the linear bearing rails directly to the bed top. Then mount a plate of aluminum or steel on top of them as a carriage for the Z axis, and mount 2 more linear bearing rails on the aluminum plate as the X axis. Another plate on top of these rails to form a base for my tooling. This plate would be machined with multiple T-Slots and/or threaded holes in order to mount a toolpost both in front of and behind the work.

The headstock on mine had the motor hanging out the back with the exposed pulley system. I was going to strip the headstock entirely of its gears and pulleys, and then mount new bearings in it, and drive it with a single pulley and VFD. And then use the existing tailstock.

Another option would be to make a new headstock like on the Cuesmith lathes, thats basically a box of aluminum. This way there is more options in its design and height.

Good luck with your project.
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I have 2 saw shaft machines that I built 15 yrs. ago that work great but they don't have CNC capabilities which I want as I build so many after market shafts. When I built these I also built the drive spindle and used a spring loaded linear bearing for the tail shaft and these have worked very well over the years so I will probably use them again. I have the linear rails and trucks, .875 ground ball screws, stepper motors, a good power pack and drivers and a computer for it. I still need to get operating software but that's no problem. the main drawback is finding time to machine small parts and assemble.

I started out with the intention of making the machine capable of cutting 4 shafts at once but now I believe I will make it just for one shaft. Much easier to build and tune.

Dick
 
Atlas 101/Taig Lathe

Hey all, just wanted to share. I built a lathe about 4 months ago. Had some extra parts in the shop and found the Atlas at an estate sale for 75.00. Yup the perfect blend IMO. Turns a perfect A-joint and pin installer. Steady rest is the only way to go....:smile:
 

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Sorry for taking a week to chime in, it's been busy. Wanted to share. I do love the real lathe controls.
 
DoubleDCues said:
Hey all, just wanted to share. I built a lathe about 4 months ago. Had some extra parts in the shop and found the Atlas at an estate sale for 75.00. Yup the perfect blend IMO. Turns a perfect A-joint and pin installer. Steady rest is the only way to go....:smile:
Click to expand...

Sweet idea!!!!!!
 
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