I have a bunch of aluminum parts I would like to turn using a lath. All about 2” to 4” in diameter and 2” to 3” long. Lots of copies of each part. This has the potential of being on going product runs for me. Fairly wide tolerances. Surface finish is more important than final size. These may get powder coated or anodized. The only critical tolerances on the parts are some pipe threads and that I will do with a tap or some other thread cutter in a separate operation.

At this point all I have is an SX2 mini mill Mostly converted to CNC. It can do the parts I want but it is VERY slow at it. I have experimented with attaching the parts to the spindle and using the XY table to hold the tools. It works fairly well. I get a good finish but it is still pretty slow going. A thought I had was to use an external spindle belt driven by a 1 or 2+ HP motor. I could mount the mill and aux spindle assembly to a rigid work surface. The spindle would be horizontal to the table. The table would have a few tools mounted to it in a custom holder at the center line of the spindle. I am thinking just a couple of drills and some carbide inserts in boring bars.

I know long term a VMC or other CNC machine may be a better choice. However, I am thinking the machine I have has the precision needed for the parts, just not the horse power. Any thoughts on the idea of a high power spindle using the table of a bench top mill as a tool holder?