Shop Made Tools

[lugnut]

Some place I read that if you hold a stone against the back edge of the blade, rounding it off, it will help the blade flex better and increase it's life a little. I don't think I dreamed it, anyone else read this?

[+ or - Zero]

Some place I read that if you hold a stone against the back edge of the blade, rounding it off, it will help the blade flex better and increase it's life a little. I don't think I dreamed it, anyone else read this?

No you didn't dream it. I have no idea who the originator of the idea is or was, but Louis A. Iturra of Iturra Design is where I first read about it. It and a good many other tips are covered in their catalog --the catalog it's self is more then worthy of a place on the reference book shelf. And, by the way, it is a good idea for several reasons to stone the back of the blade.

[Gary Paine]

Quick Change Tool Post

Dave’s QCTP (http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/thr...Tools/page2060) inspired me. Isn’t SYNERGY great? I have a Phase II AXA size QCTP on my Atlas lathe and have been thinking of another for a different lathe I use a lot. The problem being that the adjustment height would be different and I couldn’t share toolholders between the lathes and I didn’t want to buy or make a lot more holders.

Using Dave’s line of thinking I decided I could make a toolpost that was the exact height such that the holders without adjustment would align the cutters on centerline. I took his plunger/drawbar and rotated it 90 degrees so I could grab both sides of the dovetail for a balanced force. I added a bit of a spring to push the plunger out as the bolt is loosened. The slot through it is clearance for the hold down bolt as well as easing the tapping job in the end. The slide is ½ inch thick steel; the body is a bit less than 2-inch diameter aluminum. The aluminum body is only in compression, so it should hold up fine. The height as mentioned is set to suit my lathe, and all bolts are 3/8-16. The locking bold requires only ¼ turn from lock to loose. It only took a day and I can switch tools between lathes easily.

I may change the shcs to a fancier fastener some day, but for now they’ll work fine.

[goodscrap]

I have a quantity of items to make in plastic with a non-critical recess, whilst i could turn them in the lathe i felt the mill was easier as i can set up the quill stop for depth and use the DRO for position,

after winding the handle for a few of them on a 90:1 ratio i felt the need to automate things. i know you can get adaptors to get to 3/8 drive this sort of thing, but i don't have one, so with little more than a socket, long bolt (threaded to head) and a nut i came up with the item below.





Brian

[John Stevenson]

That looks like a really smart DRO Brian

[MasterMaker]

I have a quantity of items to make in plastic with a non-critical recess, whilst i could turn them in the lathe i felt the mill was easier as i can set up the quill stop for depth and use the DRO for position,

after winding the handle for a few of them on a 90:1 ratio i felt the need to automate things. i know you can get adaptors to get to 3/8 drive this sort of thing, but i don't have one, so with little more than a socket, long bolt (threaded to head) and a nut i came up with the item below.

Brian

I do something similar for a power feed on the x axis of my my mill, basically a plate bolted to the crank handle and with a long nut welded to the center, using a skill energy with a socket to drive it.

[BadDog]

And I've got an old Craftsman 1/2" gear reduction drill motor that drives my mill knee z-axis feed. GREAT when going between jobber length drills in a keyless chuck and an EM in a collet!

[iMisspell]

Extended tail-stock quill, thread with pictures here:

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/58943-Made-a-longer-extened-tail-stock-quill

_

[Boostinjdm]

Die set for making a double hose clamp. I had some hydraulic hoses I wanted to stay put...

[EVguru]

And I've got an old Craftsman 1/2" gear reduction drill motor that drives my mill knee z-axis feed. GREAT when going between jobber length drills in a keyless chuck and an EM in a collet!

Try stub length drills in an ER collet!

[Stern]

Did some more work on the QCTP holder I am making for the lathe. Decided to make one that will "bolt on" the existing tool post holder to make it easier. I drilled out a 1/2" hole (finished with a 1/2" end mill) for a plunger, to force the toolholder out against the dovetail joints. I then drilled a vertical hole to the plunger hole and tapped it for a 1/2"-13 bolt for good torque.



I used some 1/2" rod to make a "plunger" and a "press rod" (for lack of a better description) to move the plunger out. Plunger has a 60 deg angle on it and the press rod has a 30 deg cone end. The rod will be forced against the plunger by a 1/2"-13 bolt, which worked rather well when i tested it out.



Here is the bits so far, but unable to cut the dovetail yet as I cant afford the R8 ER-40 collet set yet, and the R8 endmill holder I have is 1/2". Going to pick up a 3/8" R8 end mill holder probably tomorrow so I can continue. Here is how it will eventually go together, with the 1/2" plate bit welded to the post so I can clamp it in my existing holder.

[whateg01]

Did some more work on the QCTP holder I am making for the lathe. Decided to make one that will "bolt on" the existing tool post holder to make it easier. I drilled out a 1/2" hole (finished with a 1/2" end mill) for a plunger, to force the toolholder out against the dovetail joints. I then drilled a vertical hole to the plunger hole and tapped it for a 1/2"-13 bolt for good torque.

...

I used some 1/2" rod to make a "plunger" and a "press rod" (for lack of a better description) to move the plunger out. Plunger has a 60 deg angle on it and the press rod has a 30 deg cone end. The rod will be forced against the plunger by a 1/2"-13 bolt, which worked rather well when i tested it out.

...

Here is the bits so far, but unable to cut the dovetail yet as I cant afford the R8 ER-40 collet set yet, and the R8 endmill holder I have is 1/2". Going to pick up a 3/8" R8 end mill holder probably tomorrow so I can continue. Here is how it will eventually go together, with the 1/2" plate bit welded to the post so I can clamp it in my existing holder.

...

You can cut the sides of the dovetail with a regular EM if you have to. The bottom won't be flat, but it doesn't look like it should matter in your case.

Why do you want to add this tool post to the existing tool post? What kind of tool post do you have now? It looks like you are extending the tool out quite a ways from the original tool post. Is lack of rigidity a concern here?

Dave

[Stern]

I guess the main reason is to be able to set a tool at center and lock it in for future work, without having to mess with shimming tools up (have a square tool block with a notch on all 4 sides for holding tools, with the notch being about 3/4" high and 1/2" deep). This does set the new holder to overhang a bit to the front of the lathe (towards the chuck) but wont know about the rigidity factor until I try it out. Main reason I didnt just make a stand alone one is I lacked a steel block large enough to make the stand alone tool holder body (now have a 7" square block of steel which once I figure out how to cut it will last me a while lol). If I end up with vibration issues then I may simply make a replacement body, and at least I will now know how to make it since I can use the one I have as a learning example.

I did machine the dovetail yesterday (broke down and figured that my $250.00 collet set was worth the temporary screaming of the wife LMAO) and it cut like a dream using the ER-40 holder going to cut out the dovetail on the holder bit later today and see how it holds up

[tarawa]

Retractable threading tool.

Hi guys,
I am fairly new to the site and enjoy reading the posts. I have been more of a tool collector and my tools have been just collecting dust. Now that I am approaching retirement age, I am starting to use the machines. I am learning more from reading the great posts on this site and several opthers...and of course watching youtube instructional videos. It seems that I have mainly been making tools. Not that I need them, just things that were a chalenge to me. Below are pictures of a retractable threading tool for my lathe. As much as I would like to copy some of the great designs that other guys have come up with, I had to design my own. no drawings were employed, just ideas in my head and machining on the fly.


cutting thread by tarawa1943, on Flickr


testing thread retracted. by tarawa1943, on Flickr


retracted by tarawa1943, on Flickr


underside by tarawa1943, on Flickr

[Stern]

Got some time to finnish (or almost finish) the QCTP. I want to see if it would hold up or cause vibration issues with heavy cuts. So, using my nice new R8 ER-40 collet set (only a little pain from the wife when she found out it was $250.00) and milled the dovetails. Mill did really well with no issues and made a nice clean job




Temporarily put the bolt in (to lock the tool holder height) and took a really nasty cut (from 1/2" bar down to just under 3/8" in one pass), and it did it no problem with no vibration or deflection. May not look pretty but it works well




Next step will be to put a handle on the bolt and fabricate a wheel to set the height
Click image for larger version.