Help with steering wheel taper

[kev74]

When I brought my mill home last month, the quill handle disappeared on the ride home. I thought a boat steering wheel would make a nice quill handle. The continuous circle on the outside of the wheel should offer more control and convenience than the straight shaft handle that was on there originally.

The wheel I got is supposed to have a "standard 3/4 inch taper". Unfortunately, I can't find a standard specification for a 3/4 inch steering taper.

If possible, I'd like to find a standard spec for this taper to aim for before I start cutting test tapers. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[tom_d]

Taper is often referred to in inches per foot, so in your case that would be a .75 inch reduction in diameter for every foot of length. Fortunately for you this is also the taper used in pipe threads. The angle of taper from shaft center-line would be 1*,47'

[metalfixer]

If the diameter of the wheel is to large, it might get in the way of some setups.
I find myself having to move the handle sometimes when the table travels.

[old mart]

I had thoughts of one of the wheels from HMS Victory.

How about stuffing some playdough in the taper and then eyeing it up.

[Bented]

The taper dimension is just as described, it is the taper itself.
If indeed it is a 3/4" per foot taper it can have a start diameter of 0 up to infinity, choose wisely.

[kev74]

Mission accomplished!

For future reference "standard 3/4 inch taper" when referencing boat steering wheels and shafts is about 2°, which works out to about 0.4 inch per foot if my math is right. So not a 3/4 inch per foot taper.

My tools available for measuring this were lacking (or maybe it was my ability that was lacking ), so I eyed it up and cut on a piece of scrap until I got it right.

[Mike Burch]

I find "standard 3/4" taper" ambiguous. Does it mean "standard taper" (i.e., one in twelve on diameter—or one in ten in lands where they speak metric) on a 3/4" diameter shaft? Or does it indeed mean 3/4" per foot on any any shaft size you happen to have?
As a matter of interest, what is the diameter of the shaft you're fitting the steering wheel to?

[kev74]

I find "standard 3/4" taper" ambiguous. Does it mean "standard taper" (i.e., one in twelve on diameter—or one in ten in lands where they speak metric) on a 3/4" diameter shaft? Or does it indeed mean 3/4" per foot on any any shaft size you happen to have?
As a matter of interest, what is the diameter of the shaft you're fitting the steering wheel to?

I wasn't starting with a shaft. I was starting with a shop made coupling to fit the quill input shaft. The major diameter of the taper I cut was about 3/4".

It seems like the "standard 3/4" taper", at least as far as boat steering wheels are concerned, is a 3/4" shaft cut with an approximately 2 degree taper on the end.

[boslab]

3/4” per foot sounds sensible
mark

[kev74]

3/4” per foot sounds sensible
mark

Yes. Sounds very sensible.

Try telling that to the people who make boat steering wheels, though.

Unfortunately, not correct for this application.