Better title might have been tool post multi-tool- whatever. On a whim I went into the shop and found a trim router that I purchased a couple years ago. This is a Ridgid brand, not that it matters for this. Setting it on the cross slide, I found that it would have to clear the cross slide by 1-1/2 inches to put the spindle on center height with the lathe spindle. This makes me think you could fit it to a much smaller lathe than my 8x18. This router has a speed control- slowest speed is 10,000 rpm. Doesn't give much hope of spinning wheels or discs rated for slower speeds. However-
This is where my idea comes in. You would obviously need a mount of some kind to hold the router in position above the cross slide. What if you added a second spindle on the same mount parallel to the router and drove it with a belt with about 3 to 1 reduction from the router spindle. Now you have a 3 to 10k slow spindle, plus the 10 to 30k router spindle. A tool post tool with two spindles. Use whichever one suits.
My lathe has the cross slide with two parallel T slots in it. This makes it very easy to position an accessory fore and aft to suit. The body of this router is just the right length to span the width of the cross slide- a pair of identical saddles to hold both the router and the second spindle would be fairly easy to make. You could bore both saddles on the lathe using a tool mounted in the chuck- this would put the center axis of both spindles at a perfect height.
Just throwing a few ideas around.
Something else about this router- it's a permanent magnet motor. This probably makes it more efficient than the typical series wound motors used in routers. This could mean less heat build-up if you're running such an accessory for say tens of minutes at a time. I think it's a great start for a tool post machine.
This is where my idea comes in. You would obviously need a mount of some kind to hold the router in position above the cross slide. What if you added a second spindle on the same mount parallel to the router and drove it with a belt with about 3 to 1 reduction from the router spindle. Now you have a 3 to 10k slow spindle, plus the 10 to 30k router spindle. A tool post tool with two spindles. Use whichever one suits.
My lathe has the cross slide with two parallel T slots in it. This makes it very easy to position an accessory fore and aft to suit. The body of this router is just the right length to span the width of the cross slide- a pair of identical saddles to hold both the router and the second spindle would be fairly easy to make. You could bore both saddles on the lathe using a tool mounted in the chuck- this would put the center axis of both spindles at a perfect height.
Just throwing a few ideas around.
Something else about this router- it's a permanent magnet motor. This probably makes it more efficient than the typical series wound motors used in routers. This could mean less heat build-up if you're running such an accessory for say tens of minutes at a time. I think it's a great start for a tool post machine.
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