"Artemia Salina" wrote in message
news snip----

I had to make a gib screw for my lathe. It was basically a 1/4-20 SHCS
with a very large head (I think it was 1/2" OD by 1/2" long).

How would you make that on a milling machine (and you can't use
attachments, or else I can use a milling attachment on a lathe to
make the framework for my hypothetical machine)?

It can be done using a boring head to make the turns, and a die for the
thread. No special tools in this case, and no big deal, really, but I
agree with you------there's no substitute for the proper machine for the
job.

The best training that a machinist can receive is to work in a job shop that
is fairly well equipped, and accepts *good* work, something like from the
aero-space industry, where slop work isn't acceptable. Given the proper
attitude, a machinist comes away from such work with exceptional setup and
manufacturing skills. I can say with total honesty that the 18 months I
spent in just such a shop taught me more than my apprenticeship did. You
get very good at doing the job with the equipment at hand.

Harold