Tailstock spindle

[lynnl]

I have an old 13" Leblond toolroom lathe that serves me well. But the tailstock spindle (MT#3) has no internal slot to engage the tang of the shanks of drills or drill chucks held in the spindle. I've had to recently ream it to clean up some galls in the taper. I'd like to retrofit some device in the back of the spindle to prevent slippage in the future. Does anyone have any clever ideas?

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Lynn

[JCHannum]

No tailstock (that I know of) has a slot for the tang. To keep drill, etc. from slipping, clamp the shank in a lathe dog, and let the dog ride the compound.

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Jim H.

[lynnl]

To JCHannum: Thnx for that info. That's a surprise to me. But I've only used mine and a handful of lathes in VoTech classes I took, all Leblond or SBend. (Mine is the only one I've stared into.) Wonder why they bother to put the flats on the tool tangs?
Some sort of slot seems like a good idea to me.

[JCHannum]

It doesn't make a lot of sense. drill press, and other spindles are slotted, lathes not???

But that seems to be the way it is. I have seen writeups on putting locking devices in tailstock, but using lathe dog is just as easy.

The important thing is to keep the MT accessories you put in clean and free of burrs so as not to damage spindle or tailstock. This is contributes to galling also.

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Jim H.

[docn8as]

think i drilled a few holes 50+ yrs ago w/dead center in t/stock,center in drill tang & monkey wrench on tang.....have seen old timey ,handled drill holders to use w/ tang aligned & pushed w/ dead center, to prevent t/stock damage......problem been around a long time!
best wishes
docn8s

[docn8as]

oooops ...forgot to nention ,that u need to drag the carriage to prevent a wreck as drill breaks its way thru hole......works real well w/ flat drills

docn8as

[spope14]

My Clausing Colchesters - 1989 - have tang slots in the tailstock quill. Also my very old J&L and the South Bend 10 inch lathes I used to have in my shop.

QUESTION - WHO CAN TELL ME WHERE TO GET A MORSE TAPER 3 REAMER!!!!!!

[George Hodge]

Hey,do a little measuring and determine where the tang is in the tailstock ram.Drill and tap a hole for a flat ended setscrew,through the ram where the flat of the drill bit,live center,adaptor,or whatever is.On my lathe,I had to grind a small flat on a drill chuck arbor that wanted to ocasionally turn. Didn't want to ream the ram! Works great! Make sure the setscrew is sunk below the surface of the ram.

[lynnl]

(to spope14) I got the Mt3 reamer on Ebay.
Kind of an odd one... flutes were spiral, except for one straight flute. I didn't notice til I finished reaming: the straight flute had a very slight rounded nick, so it left a faint raised ridge that I've had to scrape and sand away. Am now trying to rig up a holder for a die grinder (air) to smooth it out. Ebay has MT?? reamers--but infrequently.

[roberlt]

MSC & Enco both list morse taper reamers.
In the May/June 1998 issue of HSM,in the readers forum, Thomas D. Sharples describes a fix for the lack of tang socket.
Hope this helps,
Rob

[Thrud]

Travers and KBC also have them in both roughing and finish reamers.

Dave

[jcurrell]

I have an old Monarch and had to put a taper sleeve for a turit lathe in the spindle by putting a boring bar in the chuch and winding the spindle into it

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[lynnl]

Thanks roberlt. I think it was before 1998 that I discovered HSM, so I should have that edition. I'll check it out.

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Lynn

[Thrud]

lynnl:
It was mentioned earier to use a big lathe dog to retain the bit from turning. This is the way it has been done for decades. Even if you do change it to tang drive the tang can ofen be twisted off even with a small diameter drill. If you do not have a good sized bent-leg dog to do this - buy one, they are not that expensive and can save you much grief in the long run. Better safe than looking for a new tailstock spindle.

If you have alreaded used the die grinder in the tailstock spindle you have even more reason to use the dog. A properly reamed socket can retain the taper if torque is not exceeded at which point the tang twists off. Because you have damaged the inside of the socket its ability to retain that torque is comprimised increasing the chances of spinning a drill in the socket. I would get your reamer reground and then ream it again.

Dave

[JCHannum]

As I cogitate a little longer on this, I can see why there is no provision for a tang. Most tailstock spindles, due to their small OD, have only a small key to locate them. It is not intended for real work, like drilling.
Several of my older references show use of a drill holder as described by Doc. This would have an additional benefit of some slight float, to compensate if spindle was a bit off, as many are.