Slotting Attachment for the Bridgeport Mill

This Video shows the operation of my home designed/built slotting head for the Bridgeport Milling Machine.
To see a strip down of the assembly check out -
• Milling Machine Slotte...

[@homemadetools]

Great build. We shared this video in our homemade tools forum this week :)

[@camatbattler2233]

Thankyou for the shout out. Cam

[@AaronEngineering]

What an amazing attachment you’ve made Cam. It’s a true testament of your skill as a tradesman mate. Very bloody impressed buddy. Cheers 🍻. Aaron

[@camatbattler2233]

Thanks Aaron, I must admit I enjoy modelling up tools/machines like this and then executing the build. Very satisfying. Cam

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday Cam, this is a great attachment for the mill, i looking at upgrading the mill drill to a Bridgeport style mill in the future, I think it would be more rigid then the mill drill, you really have done a great job at designing the slotting attachment, wish my brain worked as good as yours, Cheers

[@camatbattler2233]

Thanks Matty, everything on this design was a compact tight fit to try and house all the elements I wanted in the slotting head especially the infinitely variable stoke arrangement. We all think differently Matty and how we tackle jobs, I certainly think much of your work is right up there and enjoy watching the way you think it out. Cam

[@EverettsWorkshop]

Very slick attachment, and it obviously works well. I seem to remember someone saying that a slotter option was available on BP-style mills for the back side of the ram but have never seen one in the flesh. 8 minutes is very respectable for machining time too, I've only done a couple keyways so far on an actual shaper and they took me longer.

[@bostedtap8399]

Nicely built unit.

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

Great for small jobs & does not take up heaps of space . I have the full size one that mounts on the rear but my current shop is too small to set it up ! Cheers .

[@willemvantsant5105]

Hi Max, the biggest slotter I have seen was in the Midland railway workshop, definately would not fit in your new workshop, monster for doing steam train rails. All gone now.

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

@@willemvantsant5105 There was some massive planer machines there last time i wandered around there .

[@camatbattler2233]

G'Day Max, that was the number one reason I built it that way, lack of room. The mill is pushed hard up into the corner and I couldn't swing the head with a slotting attachment on the tang of the ram. Besides, they cost as much as the mill and only get used very occasionally so even if I could fit it into place I couldn't justify a spend like that. Cam

[@patelkartik5091]

Nice video sir

[@TheKnacklersWorkshop]

It really does work a treat...

[@OmeMachining]

Very nice build and thoughts behind it 👍🙂 subscribed 😁

[@TrPrecisionMachining]

good video

[@ChirpysTinkerings]

cool attachment cam, I never really considered the usefulness of those slotting heads even tho I had seen them for years and years till I found your channel and you were using the slotting head to cut the cog grooves profile for your qctp ages ago, lol.

[@camatbattler2233]

G'Day Chirp, yep note used very often but very handy to have for certain jobs. Cam

[@robertoswalt319]

That looks like an affordable way to broach multiple sizes of slots. No need to purchase sets of metric and decimal broaches when you can fabricate those .

[@willemvantsant5105]

Hi Cam, my home made slotter bolts to the side of my mill drill and driven from the mill motor, had to cut a blind keyway the other day, can't do that with a broach.

[@camatbattler2233]

They are a handy piece of kit. Not used very often but nice to have it there when needed. Cam

[@jameswalker8338]

Out of interest what material did you make of the cutter shaft from? I have an Alba 1A shaper and trying to figure out what material to make a slotting tool from that will minimse deflection issues. Cheers.

[@camatbattler2233]

G'Day James, I used a piece of 4140. I need to make another holder with a bigger diameter for more rigidity. Cam

[@audreymeschkuleit3466]

Man that Looks SO CLOSE to that Clamp.

[@camatbattler2233]

Yeah I've had a few comments stating that but I did do a dry run to make sure everything cleared. Cam