Shop Made Tools

[Dan Krager]

Thank you, Bob. Here is a Rube Goldberg setup I used to make the aluminum base for a wood lathe Longworth chuck. (not pictured because it's wood!). I have it set up on a vintage Fox Supershop. The chuck on the indexer wouldn't open far enough and the jaws don't seem to be reversible, hence the double chuck routine. This was for me a milestone transition project....my first (relatively) precise venture into machining in spite of having much of the tooling. My "training" consists of 3 years of watching expert machinists where I worked as a computer programmer. There wasn't room for the X-Y table so positioning was the "loose bolt" method. Only one position was needed for the ring of holes. I loved using that old indexer...the math is intriguing to a math major. The plate itself and the dovetail mounting step (for a Nova woodturners chuck) on the back was done with (ahem) woodworking tools. The fun part of being this ignorant is not knowing it can't be done this way.

[Bob Engelhardt]

... Do I have to be logged in to see the "missing" photos? ...

Yes

[Dan Krager]

New to this site and have learned greatly from this thread. Thank you to all for sharing. Lifelong woodworker venturing into metal with a fairly well equipped metal shop for small stuff. Question: some posts refer to photos but they do not seem to be present. I wasn't logged in at the time. Do I have to be logged in to see the "missing" photos? I see all the Photobucket stuff and many that are not. Thanks in advance for guidance. I have a few things to share here as I get better at this site.

[Bruno Mueller]

Size comparison with the original lathe chuck.




Lathe chuck fitted on the Bosch lathe.

[Bruno Mueller]

I purchased another Bosch lathe last year.
The problem with the machines is that there are no more original lathe chucks. The manufacturer of the chucks, the company "Röhm-Spannmittel" still produces this small size, but not for direct mounting to the Bosch lathe.
A good and inexpensive alternative are the small lathe chucks from the company "Sanou". Especially the version K01 -80B. However, you also need an intermediate flange.
I have made a mounting flange for such a lathe chuck for the Bosch lathe.
Here I show some pictures of it.





This is the lathe chuck.


The back side with the centering receptacle of the lathe chuck.


The lathe chuck has a very small overall height.


This is the mounting flange to mount the lathe chuck on the Bosch lathe. The mounting thread of the lathe is M14 x 1.5mm. The centering shoulder has Ø 16mm.
The flange was turned to fit the machine side. The mount for the lathe chuck was pre-turned and only finish-turned on the Bosch lathe.
This ensures absolute concentricity of the lathe chuck.


Flange attached to the lathe chuck.

[754]

The long vertical part that holds the Renzetti part... if you mod it .. might have to move hole up.. you can make it clamp with plastic element on either side.. Then, with the right drag on it , it has swingaway capacity... if the indicator body runs into anything..

[ATW]

A solution to angling the indicator was within arms reach - just needed the light bulb moment to realise it - the ball joint from my Robin Renzetti indicator stand can be utilised to provide an extra degree of freedom to the indicator:


754 yes the indicator is likely to be the weakest link, so got to be careful.

[754]

I got very used to the Indicol holder. I think one advantage it may have is if you set up wrong and run into something, its not so stiff... it will move out of the way and fold up, or swing sideways... might save your indicator.
this type looks like very little give if you crash it?.

[Cenedd]

ATW Ah, I see them there in the picture now.
Was thinking it could be done off one of these cotter's but it's drilled off-centre and would need to be expanded to an oval shape to handle both....and then realised I was (yet again) over-thinking and over-complicating it! How about a longer needle for the DTI when you inevitably end up with clearance issues? Yes it may through the scale of the DTI off but ultimately you're looking for relative difference rather than absolute measurement so it shouldn't be a problem.

[ATW]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Cenedd it clamps using a cotter (Think that is the UK term, not sure what the US term is) pointed at in the section shown below, note the CAD model doesn't show the necessary clamping relief in the center between the cotter and the square bar. The blue stud is Loctited into the brass cotter and the thumb screw when tightened pulls the cutter onto the shaft clamping it. The DTI dovetail to round shank clamp/adapter fits into the hole that gets clamped by the cotter.



Yeah a 45° would have been a nice touch, although I can still mount the DTI vertically on its bottom dovetail for best clearance but losing the ability to see its face on a full sweep.

Andy

[nickel-city-fab]

oooo nice! i'm liking the twin beams (stiff design)

[Cenedd]

ATW Very nice. I can't really see from the pictures how the thumbscrew clamps the indicator lug - thought it might compress the hole but can't see a slit through that piece. Anyway, if you drilled a hole above that one but at around 45° and ideally so that it also clamps with the same thumbscrew (for simplicity of use) you'd be able to angle the DTI for clearance but still retain the fine adjust you've built. Was trying to think of some sort of more infinitely adjustable pivot so you could choose the angle and then lock it....but that's maybe over the top and definitely a design problem for someone with more of a clue than I!

[ATW]

My take on a "Zero It" indicator holder:

The "kit" of parts for anyone interested in the finer details:

In action:


Over the cheap import indicol and C style holders the fine radial adjust and the vertical alignment make it a real pleasure to use, although one possible downside is with the indicator sitting flat clearance around clamps may be tight (as in the last photo).

[Cenedd]

My single one just slides out (sideways) on a shelf.....I feel quite inadequate now!

[BCRider]

Sounds like thinking and design time well spent. And deserving of even more kudos.

As the old line goes "I love it when a plan comes together"