05-11-2015, 08:56 AM
Horizontals - I love 'em. My dialup isn't letting me see the details, but you indicated that a universal dividing head was available for the universal mill. Get it if you can. They can be more expensive than the mill, but spend most of their days on a shelf unused. Hard to justify down the road.
Slow spindles are their nature. What can you spin fast in a horizontal with their limited cross feed? These things are not drill presses and even endmills won't feel right. They are built for large diameter (and expensive) cutting tools. Mine goes down to 15 RPM.
I have a vertical head that is also seldom used. It's actually been years, but just the other day I had to boltcircle something so tall it wouldn't fit in the drill press. With a chuck on the dividing head, set at 45 degrees, and the vertical head also set at 45 I was able to get the job done.
Face mills, side mills, flycutters and form tools will be right at home. Some of these you can make yourself. A flycutter is simple and within reason, mine is like 10". You can mount a chuck and do some lathe turning; the swing is quite large.
I think it might be safe to say that horizontals and shapers belong in the same crowd of obsolete machines. A big draw to some, a complete turnoff to others.
Slow spindles are their nature. What can you spin fast in a horizontal with their limited cross feed? These things are not drill presses and even endmills won't feel right. They are built for large diameter (and expensive) cutting tools. Mine goes down to 15 RPM.
I have a vertical head that is also seldom used. It's actually been years, but just the other day I had to boltcircle something so tall it wouldn't fit in the drill press. With a chuck on the dividing head, set at 45 degrees, and the vertical head also set at 45 I was able to get the job done.
Face mills, side mills, flycutters and form tools will be right at home. Some of these you can make yourself. A flycutter is simple and within reason, mine is like 10". You can mount a chuck and do some lathe turning; the swing is quite large.
I think it might be safe to say that horizontals and shapers belong in the same crowd of obsolete machines. A big draw to some, a complete turnoff to others.