----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Wilkins"
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Sent: Friday, January 06, 2017 1:42 PM
Subject: Tail Post Turret
"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
news
So, for a manual lathe who has found a tailpost turret to be really
useful?
I know for some folks it would be useless. On the lathe I am thinking
baout getting one for I mostly use one single tool 90% of the time to
radius pins. I still have a QCTP on it, because its easier to set tools
at the right height, and when I do change tools it seconds. Not even
tens of seconds.
I recently setup a job where I had to make several parts where I had to
use 4 tools in the tail post. It was no big deal for one part, but for
several I started to begrudge the time spent changing tools. I think with
as few as half dozen parts the time setting up a turret for the job would
have been less than the time spent changing tools.
I think automating them every time I make multiple parts. I rarely make
over a dozen of each and for that a 5C collet with a work stop is good
enough. I run all the parts through each setup.
Do you have a tool or surface grinder to make custom form tools to combine
operations?
CNC and tail post turret are two different things. Sorry if I failed to
delineate that better. Sure as I indicated (no pun intended) automating in
the future would be better, but when I am in the shop I am busy. If I can
improve speed now it might be an immediate benefit.
Tool post turret on a manual lathe would mostly be used like this. Center
drill, drill, tap. For one part its no big deal. For a half dozen parts
that gets a little tedious with a Jacobs chuck.
I do have a 3C (not 5C) collet closer on that little lathe. In fact I
installed the 3C closer so I could support soft stock like teflon rod, but
it has also turned out to be faster for my regular operation of radiusing
pins as well. I was really surprised how much faster it was to open, pull,
insert, close, cut, open, pull... than the 3 jaw chuck was. For one thing I
am releasing the collet before the lathe finishes spinning down. I am also
never searching for the chuck key or a hole to put it in. If I put a little
3phase motor and control with a braking resister on it to improve stopping
speed it would be even faster. Not sure a 30+ year old HF small lathe is
worth that, but then I never thought I'd keep it when I bought. I just
planned to flip it.
Here's a (way too long) video of installing the collet closer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbnLAngZV8 I was after support of soft
stock and maybe speed, but it turned out to be better than I expected too.
Now that I have the bigger 14x40 lathe I doubt I'll ever put a chuck back on
that little lathe anyway. At about 12 minutes it shows me totally amazed at
the low runout of the spindle bore of the lathe. I haven't tried the
finished installation with a precicion pin yet, but my dowel pins show just
between .0005 upto just less than .001 on the indicator. Way better than is
needed for the application. I've got a video I'll probably process next
week showing the teflon pin project and their application in a mold. I just
got permission from the customer yesterday to show his mold in that video.
Not sure about the tool grinder comments. I actually recently acquired one
(as a project for free) that I am fixing up. I haven't decided if I paid to
much for it yet or not, but I've gotten decent at grinding tool bits by hand
with the bench grinder, finishing on the belt sander, and touching up with a
hone. My current radius bit that I use all the time was hand ground. I'm
no great tool grinder, but if I take my time and take steps to due it right
they come out ok. After I slowed down and did a few properly it started
getting faster too.
P.S. Sorry if you got this in your inbox Jim. I accidently hit reply
instead of reply to group the first time.