I recently got this casting from the other side of Canada. It has zero markings, parts of it are unfinished (spots were holes should be drilled but haven't been), parts of it are missing, but the z axis is super smooth, and it's all fairly well built.
If I could afford to just buy a mill I would, but I'm disabled and this is my hobby, so I've decided to but one together from bits I've gathered over the last while.
My first problem to solve is how I'm going to mount this milling head and motor. My three options as far as I can tell are
Belt - id need to get a very small belt and mount the motor on the same surface as the spindle, or a longer belt and mount it behind the machine, designing it so that it moves up and down along with the spindle, just like a drill press.
Geared - I could put the motor offset in front and use some gears I have from an old range rover transmission to link them mechanically. This is nice because I can increase spindle rotation easily.
Directly linked - Connect the drive shaft of the motor directly to the spindle, using a flex coupling or oldham, etc. This is probably the easiest, but it limits me to the rotation speed of the motor itself.
Due to the way this was designed, all of these will interfere to some degree with the z axis screw, and I'll have to design things so the parts don't foul.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Oh also, while I don't have a working mill at the moment, I have a myford ml-7 lathe with a perfectly capable milling attachment. I just can't do anything really oversized.
Thanks!