On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 11:27:01 -0500, "Peter Kiproff"
wrote:

Thank you for the link Gunner, nice looking machine.
Is there a standard tool that can be used on a regular lathe?

or should I try to make a combination drill / boreing bar?

Peter

No. For what you want..you need the whole machine. G

Thats why CNC is so popular. You program the cycle and load the part and
press Start. It does all the cutting and pecking and turning and
whatnot without touching a thing during the cycle.

The closest tool to what you want that can run on a regular lathe is a
CNC retrofit attachment.

Of course this can be done with air logic, or punched tape drives or
microswitches or even cams and clockwork.
But there is no easy way to do it yourself.

Hardinge AHCs are around a $1000 if you want to start out cheap.

Gunner


"Gunner" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 23:06:31 -0500, "Peter Kiproff"
wrote:

There must be a better more automatic way !

I have a lathe, that I love dearly, I have added stepping motors to it so
it's kinda CNC
however one of the tasks I do is to use the dead center & manually drill
a
hole so that a boring bar
can be used to bring it out to the required size.

I want to combine both steps into an automatic cycle, that runs without
me
turning the wheels.

My thought was to mount the drill bit on the carriage, lets call it a
1/2"
drill bit 6" long.
About 1" down from the cutting end, Tig weld a piece of HSS in the flute,
sticking out maybe .050"
as the drill enters the material " usually 2" aluminum 3 to 5 " long."
After the first inch the HSS will also start cutting & opening up the
hole
further. Then pretending this is also a boring bar keep making passes
until
the desired ID is reached.

I assume that a drilling or pecking cycle would be used to get the bit
through & keep the chips out.

What method do you use? Is there a tool for this kind of work?

I'm not concerned about speed, even .010" cuts as long as I can walk away
are fine.

Helpful hints from real machinists are most welcome.

Thanks for listening

Peter

www.omniturn.com

They make good tools for the job. I sell and service them if you need
one.

Gunner

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends
of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli


Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends
of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli