Tips for turning parts on manual lathes from CTE Mag.

[Willy]

I subscribe to various trade publications in order to stay abreast of new trends in different industries that are of interest to me.
One of these is Cutting Tool Engineering. While reading the June 2012 issue I noticed an article By Tom Lipton titled "Tips for turning parts on manual lathes".

Although I have been using most of the ideas in the article over the years, one new one surfaced that I had not heard of before. This idea centers around using a spring type tool holder for turning large radius parts in order to reduce chatter. Since I do a lot of this type of work and am constantly employing various technique in order to quell vibration and chatter, this seems like a new type of tool holder I'd like to build in order to better place the odds in my favor.

I'm sure a few here have been using something similar for years, but it's a new one for me so I thought I'd share the idea here for those like me that haven't yet been blessed with this type of tool holder.

Below a link to the article and a couple of photos from Cutting Tool Engineering showing the spring type tool holder.

http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2012/120614-ShopOps.html

[Tait]

That's an interesting idea - I'm so used to thinking of ways of increasing rigidity I would have never thought of it.

Thanks for posting.

[xalky]

I wonder if a similar idea would work for a cutoff/parting tool. That's my biggest pet peave, the chatter that results from parting on my lathe.

[Steve Steven]

Back in the old days, when carbon steel tools were common, machinists would use "spring holders" similiar in construction to the ones shown. I have seen them in a corner of the machine shop at the Navy yard, but never in use. Steve

[sasquatch]

Very interesting info Willy, thanks for posting that.

[adatesman]

Very old idea. More info here: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb...-tools-208588/

[Forestgnome]

I wonder if a similar idea would work for a cutoff/parting tool. That's my biggest pet peave, the chatter that results from parting on my lathe.

You can find spring-type cutoff toolholders (Armstrong) regularly on Ebay.

[Jaakko Fagerlund]

In the pictures scenario you can eliminate chatter by mounting the tool upside down and running in reverse. This way the toolpost and top slide won't dig in to the work while under cutting forces but tends to move away from it, thus no chatter.

[firbikrhd1]

I actually own one of the spring type parting tools which I have used on my 10" Logan before I got my QC Tool Post. By using it with a solid ring instead of the rocker on the lantern tool post I was able to improve my parting ability tremendously. Previously the only way i was successful was to use back geared speeds but with the addition of the spring type holder I was able to use the power cross feed and considerably higher speeds.

The QC holder, for me, is the ultimate as it's increased rigidity negates the need for even the spring holder.

It was a curious thing that rigidity was important enough that using a solid ring instead of the rocker made a marked improvement but a spring holder, which would seem to decrease rigidity, worked so well. It's probably because the frequency of resonance was so different than the resonance of movement from the rocker.