Woodworking Lathe with an XY table

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I want to do a higher degree of precision machining of wood, plastic, phenolic and maybe some aluminum using my woodworking lathe. So, I'd like to have a small carriage and cross slide like a machinist lathe as to hold small tooling that's available for small benchtop metal lathes.

I'm not interested in doing any steel work. Nor do I want to purchase a small metal lathe.

I was thinking of using a small XY milling/drilling table from which I can attach a tool holder. 8" x 4" (X x Y) would provide sufficient movement.

However, the stuff on Amazon/Ebay (Amyamy) and Harbor Freight get inconsistent reviews.

I'm looking at the cast iron XY tables offered by Grizzly for around $140. I'm also looking at a very small one offered by MicroMark for $120 which is aluminum.

Does anyone have any suggestions for sources? Has anyone rigged their woodworking lathe to perform with more precision when turning, boring and facing?

thanks, Jeff :)

[Dick Mahany]

I don't know if this will help with ideas, but I used an inexpensive X-Y vise to build a threading jig about 10 years ago. The X-Y vise/table was advertised for 2-d milling and had a Bitmore label. It is a really crude device yet works fine within it's limitations. I think Bitmore is long gone but I've seen the same under the Harbor Frieght label.

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[Brice Rogers]

I acquired an Atlas 12 x 36" metal lathe years before I got hooked on woodturning.

For doing small parts of aluminum, brass, and yes, even steel, you could use your wood lathe along with an x-y slide and a tool post and a tool post holder. It won't be as rigid as a real metal lathe but there are things that you can do with it. My preference for the tool post holder is a quick change AXA (style) holder. Don't spend the big bucks on the name brand tool post holders. For what you are doing the knock offs will do fine. BTW, you may also want to get a metal turning chuck, especially for small diameter pieces.

On most x-y tables, there are gib screws to take up some of the slop. They typically arrive pretty loose. One thing that you'll learn when machining is your xy table handles/wheels will have a little backlash So, if you advance the tool by, say, 0.020" and then back it up by, say, 0.005, it is likely that the tool won't move. So all good machinists will back it off by a much larger amount and then take up the back lash and re-advance it by some lesser amount, say, 0.015.

One thing that you'll probably tire doing is advancing and backing up the cutting from right to left. The xy table will give you a fine rate of feed and you are likely to be turning that handle a lot. On my Atlas lathe the lateral manual feed is more coarse.

BTW, using my G0766, I removed about 3/8" of cast iron from the original tool post so that it would sit lower. I used a carbide cutter on the end of a 1/2" square steel bar, had minimal overhang, put a collar on the tool to limit the "feed" and took light cuts. I was doing a scraping cut. It worked fine but it was scary with the 14" wide tool post spinning just an inch from my hand.

If you are interested in turning aluminum, just give it a try using regular tools (and light cuts). You may be surprised how easy it is (even without the xy table).

[Marvin Hasenak]

Look for an old Delta 1460 lathe, better check, not sure on the model number. It was a combination metal wood lathe made about 60 years ago. Expect to pay a premium, the cross slides by themselves sell for over $250. Or look for the cross slide, then hope and pray you can adapt it to your lathe. It uses the lantern post style cutting bit holder. The problem is that it does not have a lead screw to move it. The cross slide will probably need to be shimmed to correct the height differences in your lathe and the cutting bit.

[John K Jordan]

I don't know if this is heavy enough for your use. I bought one and it feels well made:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S81MHY

I have a mill and metal lathe but I've still turned quite a bit of aluminum and brass (and some steel) on the wood lathe with woodturning tools. Depends on how much precision you need.

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JKJ

[Jeffrey Makiel]

That Proxxon looks like the MicroMark one. Except it's about $40 cheaper than MicroMark (with shipping). Good suggestion.

I've done some aluminum turning with hand chisels and it worked out OK. I thought the addition of an XY table would be more fun and provide more options and accuracy when needed. I can also use it on the drill press for more precise alignment when boring. Milling...probably not.

I've looked for old carriage/cross slide/compound assemblies off of old machinist's lathes, but I fear them impossible to find. And, I would have to adapt it to my lathe. So, an XY table seems to be the easy answer. And, from what I hearing from you all, not a bad idea.

Jeff :)

[Dwight Rutherford]

A friend and I used this for an eccentric chuck one our rose engines. They work well.
Ogrmar Milling Drill Worktable Milling Working Table Multifunction Milling Machine Bench Drill (BG6300) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071QXJPYJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_in1JBbBM9DKNH

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I bought a harbor freight cross slide drill press vise and mount it to my old Delta wood lathe. It is a very crude makeshift way of doing things, but I can duplicate piercings, drill holes at regular intervals using the indexing wheel on the lathe, etc. My old drill motor has a bench mount that I can clamp into the vice. I can make designs, etc, but it is horribly time consuming. I have an 1890's screw cutting metal lathe for that sort of work. But i have machined some soft brass. I really dont want the hassle of metal dust and shavings on the wood lathe to clean up. For the very light machining, it is easier to do on a drill press which I do regularly for very small things.

[Dale Winburn]

I have a Rockwell-Delta compound cross slide, I used it on my old Rockwell-Delta wood lathe then adapted it to my Oneway Lathe. the top slide will rotate 360 degrees. This works great.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockwell-Delta-wood-lathe-metal-working-compound-cross-slide/202426129721?hash=item2f21899d39:g:ht0AAOSw~ztbPSY C

[JohnC Lucas]

You can buy XY tables from MSC which now absorbed Enco. I purchased mine from Enco and really like it. I rigged mine up to hold a router for playing on the lathe but that was a while ago before a move and now it's just a table again. I may try to rig it up again. I want to put a rotary table underneath it so I have that function also.
https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn/Clamping-Workholding-Positioning/Stationary-Fixturing-Stands-Mounts/Machining-Tables/Slide-Machining-Tables?navid=12108212

[Ted Reischl]

I have the cross slide on my Delta 1460. One thing to understand is that there is no saddle. Most metal working lathes have a saddle, a cross slide and a compound. The saddle always move parallel to the axis of the lathe spindly.

The Delta rig can be finicky to set up because you have to get that compound running parallel to the spindle centerline. I use mine all the time and to get it lined up I made a tool holder for a dial indicator and use a precision test bar that I very carefully turned up.

There is no problem mounting an AXA QCTP on the Delta rig. Just the usual machining of the nut to fit the compound.

The rig is not all that rigid, especially on facing cuts. Turning works well for the most part especially if the tail stock can be used. It pays to take it easy, it is not a full blown metal working lathe.

I would highly recommend using HSS tools whenever possible, much better cuts than carbide.

[Ken Krause]

I really appreciate your input on using the cross slide for Metal working. There are not a lot of posts of people with actual experiences of using it. I’m only thinking I’d use it for very small projects, so I’m not too concerned with a long linear parallel travel. But it would be a limiting factor.
Ken

[Richard Coers]

Backlash in the thread system on those cheap tables will drive you nuts. You need to go for old iron for any real quality at all. A vintage Mastercraft or Palmgren will be much better than the new cheap imports. Going to cost you around $250, but worth it if you really want precision.

[Reed Gray]

This is a topic I am interested in. I just filmed a video about using the Baxter threading jig. I think it would be really handy to have an x/y cutter jig as well to make sure the tenon and recess are spot on parallel. Most of these appear to be fine, except it looks like you have to supply your own cutter mounts.

robo hippy

[Doug Rasmussen]

I would highly recommend using HSS tools whenever possible, much better cuts than carbide.

The ultimate cutter for woodturning with an X-Y table is an high positive diamond, 30 degree carbide insert. They're razor sharp. Search youtube for "CNC woodturning", you'll see them in use for production woodturning. EBay sellers have them cheap.

[Richard Coers]

The ultimate cutter for woodturning with an X-Y table is an high positive diamond, 30 degree carbide insert. They're razor sharp. Search youtube for "CNC woodturning", you'll see them in use for production woodturning. EBay sellers have them cheap.
In my opinion, here is the ultimate cutter. I use them on my HAPFO Copy Lathe. These V cutters are like using a skew. The carbide inserts need super fast rpms on the lathe, and the surface quality is not as good as the V cutter. https://www.profiledesigntooling.com/store/p24/Hapfo_Square_Pointed_V_Cutter___Wedge.html

[Robert Hayward]

This is a topic I am interested in. I just filmed a video about using the Baxter threading jig.
Have you posted the video? YouTube? Link please. The Baxter jig really interests me.