Howdy,

Yes, this is sort of what I was thinking of doing to get the initial angle close.

Out of curiosity, if I can only get but so close to the angle, is it better for the male taper to be more conical or less conical than the female for the best fit?

Dan

On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 12:46:46 PM UTC-4, Jim Wilkins wrote:
wrote in message
...
HI All,

Thanks a ton for the great suggestions. I am still interested in
learning how to cut tapers, so I will try on some scrap pieces.
...and aluminum first.

But it's really hard to beat China inc.! For the price of that
e-bay MT2 to 3/4" tool holder, I just don't know how I could do
better. Even at minimum wage, I would have to cut a taper in under 2
hours to beat it. So I think I will try the tool holder for starters
and see how it goes. If there is too much slop in my tail stock and
it proves to be pointless, I can still use the tool holder and I
haven't altered the shaft of the boring head.

Yes, the boring head shaft is most certainly part of the head. I
looked under a microscope to be absolutely sure there wasn't a seam
hidden away.

As for the Logan, it's a nice lathe. I know the son of the guy who
bought it and started a business with in in 1952, so I know it's whole
history. It survived a fire and 3 moves and all that was missing was
one of the chuck jaws. I've fully restored it and it works nicely.
The cross feed is a bit tapered, as it tends to bind as it feeds in,
but the bed is in decent shape. The compound is new as the original
one was broken. I used parts of the original compound and a new cross
feed to mount a vertical carriage and vice for milling, so I just
slide the cross feed off the end to switch between the two. I *wish*
I had a Bridgeport, but the lathe works fine to mill small things.

Thanks again for the advice! I'm glad this group is still alive and
thriving.

Dan

==================

Mount something with a Morse #2 shank in the lathe, put a dial
indicator in the tool holder and see how well you can adjust the
compound angle to follow the Morse taper.
-jsw








On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 5:35:33 PM UTC-4, Daniel Koller wrote:
Hi folks,

I have a machining question for the group. I have acquired a
nice boring head for a lathe tail stock. It has a smooth adjustment
motion with a big dial calibrated in mils and it would be a really
nice accessory for my 1952 Montgomery Ward / Logan 200 10" lathe.

However, the integral shaft of the head is 3/4" in diameter and
will not fit the Morse #2 taper of my tail stock. So, what can I do
about it?

I was thinking I should cut a Morse taper into the shaft. There
is plenty of diameter and length to do that, and it would allow for
quick swap-outs when I need it. I read through "How to Run a Lathe"
and browsed the various ways to cut a taper:
A) turn the compound to the desired angle and cut at an angle.
B) Offset the tail stock and hold the part between centers. Cut
straight.
C) Use a taper attachment.

I don't have a taper attachment, so C) is out. B) seems a little
iffy and I'd need to grind down a center to clear parts of the
dovetail integrated into the head. Also I don't trust how securely
the part can be held at the necessary offset to get the taper.

So, A) seems to be the best option. I can set the angle to
better than a degree by putting a micrometer on my compound and
running it along the side of a known good MT2 taper held in the
lathe chuck. ...actually, I just calculated, if I get the compound
parallel to the desired taper by 0.5 mils over a 2" length, that's
within 0.15 degrees of the correct angle.

QUESTION 1: How accurate does this angle have to be to have a
good Morse taper? How smooth does the cut have to be? What are
the pitfalls to cutting a taper by rotating the compound?

And it appears that my boring head shaft is soft enough to
scratch with a hard steel cutting tool, so...

QUESTION 2: Do I have to grind the taper or can I cut it with a
carbide tipped turning tool?

I've never cut a taper before, and I need to get this one right
to make sure I don't screw up my boring head, so advice would be
appreciated!

Thanks,

Dan