In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2008-01-04, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2008-01-03, Joseph Gwinn wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2008-01-02, Joseph Gwinn wrote:

But most people who order a *new* Aloris toolpost also have a
milling machine available, so they can prepare the T-nut locally more
quickly than the communications and extra shipping to have Aloris do it.
Even if I were to buy a brand new Aloris toolpost, I think that I would
machine it in house instead of jumping through the extra hoops to have
Aloris do it for me. :-)

I have a mill too. I don't know which approach is more trouble. Turns
out that MSC gives you one more holder in the starter kit than Aloris,
and skips the machining, so the machining costs one holder, call it $75
to $100.

O.K.

By the way, what is the diameter and thread of the hole in the Aloris
T-nut? 5/8-18? (It might be cheaper to get an extra Aloris T-nut than
to buy the 5/8-18 tap needed to make a new T-Nut for the Dickson.)

I honestly don't know. While I have several Aloris tool holders
(some bought new) and the fancy Knurling tool -- I only have a Phase-II
toolpost -- which has a metric thread. But that is pretty close to a
5/8" -- probably 1 16mm, so I would expect 5/8-18 for the Aloris.

But as for "cheaper" -- MSC currently has 5/8 HSS gun taps on
sale in the lastest flyer for as little as ... hmm ... no 5/8" taps in
the flyer except a long-reach (extension) one by OSG which is 5/8-11 and
$41.79. The nearest standard gun tap in plain HSS is 1/2-13, which is
$7.49, with the non sale price at $10.05. So I suspect that the tap
which you want is a lot more affordable than a new T-nut plate from
Aloris. :-)

I think that the blank T-nut is about $40 too. Or was that the machined
T-Nut?

In any event, if one has the tap, then one can make any number of T-Nuts.


Besides which -- at 5/8" -- you should be able to single-point
the threads so you won't need a tap.

But a chunk of hot-rolled steel should suffice -- just get one
big enough to make one or two T-nuts from.

Chicken-and-egg problem. I first have to learn how to make threads on
the lathe.



[ ... ]

Thanks for this list. I'll be thinking this over.

The two above are what I would look for as the first additions
to what comes in the "set". Of course -- if you aren't planning to use
insert tooling, the BXA-16 or BXA-16N would not make sense for you. But
you did ask what *I* would buy and why, so I tried to answer that. And
since you have a lathe of similar manufacture and size to mine, I think
that it is not too bad a selection. The multi-tool holder makes more
sense if you have a bed turret for your machine (as I do), and plan to
occasionally go into small "production" mode. :-)

No apology needed. I asked your personal opinion, based on your
experience with actual use (versus my catalog-reading). I also note
that there is considerable agreement between your list and the various
starter kits on offer as to the four or five most necessary holders.
This is exactly the kind of information I need.

But that was to cover those who may (want to) say "but this
isn't what *I* would suggest (with or without suggesting on their own).
After all -- not everyone is happy with the same tooling.

OK.


Joe Gwinn