Ignoramus23461 wrote:

On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 19:50:15 +0400, Gil HASH wrote:
'lo
Xcuze me for the newbie's strange question of the day :
Can a lathe be replaced by a milling machine for quite all metalworking?
In another terms, a milling machine is more universal than a lathe or not?
(It's for me : buying first lathe or milling machine?)

You cannot do threading on a mill... Difficult to make conical things
also... (unless I am missing something)

i

You're missing quite a bit.

Threading is definitely possible on a mill, just not with a single point
tool like on a lathe. Tapping heads for mills are a common item and many
CNC mills support rigid tapping. That takes care of internal threading,
external threading is less common on a mill, but can be done to a
limited extent for smaller parts using a suitable die stock, or on a CNC
mill via thread milling.

Conical parts can be done on a mill with a tilting rotary table although
it's far from an ideal way to do it.

Generally a mill is a more versatile machine than a lathe although it
will not fully replace one. If I had to decide which to buy first I'd go
for the mill and try to add the lathe ASAP.

Pete C.