Making Spheres
 

Can anyone tell if if it is possible to make 2-1/4" to 4-1/2" diameter
spheres on a lathe starting with cylindrical stock? And if so, what
king of jig and tooling would be needed?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Isalnd, New York.

Making Spheres
 

Yep, it is possible to make balls of that size on a lathe. You need to be
able to get the slide under the ball in order to do so.

--
Why do penguins walk so far to get to their nesting grounds?

Making Spheres
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can anyone tell if if it is possible to make 2-1/4" to 4-1/2" diameter
spheres on a lathe starting with cylindrical stock? And if so, what
king of jig and tooling would be needed?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Isalnd, New York.


there was a discussion recently here about it. i'm sorry though i can not
remember what the subject line is/was. i vaguely remember there were a few
ways do to it, there was some computer program that would tell you where and
how deep to make slots, etc. maybe there's a applet in the dropbox? i
assumed someone would've already replied to your post. maybe try to do a
search here.

b.w.

Making Spheres
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
Can anyone tell if it is possible to make 2-1/4" to 4-1/2" diameter
spheres on a lathe starting with cylindrical stock? And if so, what
king of jig and tooling would be needed?

You need a "ball turning attachment", something like
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=1970
but probably larger.

Regards,
Bob Headrick

Making Spheres
 

There's special fixtures you can buy just for this.

For occasional use, I mount a tool bit right over the center of the
compound. Then slightly loosen the compound holding bolts. Attach a lever
arm to the compound, I just use a Kant Twist clamp. Radius of your ball is
set by adjusting the compound screw. Turn in the amount of your cut and grab
the lever to rotate your cut around. Both concave and convex shapes can be
done this way.

--
(©¿©) An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Two apples a day gets the doctor's OK.
Five a day makes you a fruit grower like me.

Making Spheres
 

wrote in news:1146886808.953327.262280
@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Can anyone tell if if it is possible to make 2-1/4" to 4-1/2" diameter
spheres on a lathe starting with cylindrical stock? And if so, what
king of jig and tooling would be needed?

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Isalnd, New York.



On Marv's site:

http://www.myvirtualnetwork.com/mklotz/

find Ballcut.zip

Lots of other good programs there too.

Making Spheres
 

Lots of ways to do this, Guy Lautard had an explanation of how to
calculate X-Y coordinates so you can sort of do a manual CNC type of
thing on a lathe in one of the Machinist's Bedside readers. Most
ball-cutting attachments will have a pivoted cutter, one sort just has
a simple lever attached to the cross-slide or compound. The cutter
distance is adjusted from the center of the pivot to give the required
radius. Usually the pivot has a centered hole for a spud so that the
radius can be accurately set. Another sort has a semi-circular
gimballed cutter holder, some I've seen had a worm and wheel at the top
for tracking the cutter around, some just had a lever attached. This
is a little fancier, you can get commercial versions, not cheap, and
I'm not sure it works any better than the simpler units. A lot depends
on what you expect to do with the final product. If all you're turning
is handle balls, Lautard's X-Y tables will do. If you're doing ball
and socket joints, you're going to need something that will give you a
good finish. Back issues of hobby publications like Model Engineer or
Home Shop Machinist would have drawings of ball turning attachments.

Here's one of the latter sort you can buy:
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=2568
Not large enough for what you want, but it gives you the general idea.


Stan

Making Spheres
 

http://home.pacbell.net/oldtree/index.html

The picture in the news letter 2 is flaky (dim) - if you want to see a better one - let me know.

This is my OLD web site - really surprised it is still there - really.
But it sticks around - has some stuff.

I used a 2" boring head with a 1/2 bar with a triangle cut lying flat on the end -
so it, a point, pointed straight down on the metal. The Head was attached to a shaft
and the end of the shaft to a wheel. The turning wheel is a little small for steel
but for brass and Al - easy.

Mine used an iron slab that was in a step holder - stepped since my milling vice that
plugs into the tool post on my lathe - holds this - :-)

I can do 'balls' that are 4" from center - e.g. do a round on a turning wheel! Not just balls.

So if you can elevate the turner - it opens up more - do outside lips on cylinders....

Martin

Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member


wrote:
Lots of ways to do this, Guy Lautard had an explanation of how to
calculate X-Y coordinates so you can sort of do a manual CNC type of
thing on a lathe in one of the Machinist's Bedside readers. Most
ball-cutting attachments will have a pivoted cutter, one sort just has
a simple lever attached to the cross-slide or compound. The cutter
distance is adjusted from the center of the pivot to give the required
radius. Usually the pivot has a centered hole for a spud so that the
radius can be accurately set. Another sort has a semi-circular
gimballed cutter holder, some I've seen had a worm and wheel at the top
for tracking the cutter around, some just had a lever attached. This
is a little fancier, you can get commercial versions, not cheap, and
I'm not sure it works any better than the simpler units. A lot depends
on what you expect to do with the final product. If all you're turning
is handle balls, Lautard's X-Y tables will do. If you're doing ball
and socket joints, you're going to need something that will give you a
good finish. Back issues of hobby publications like Model Engineer or
Home Shop Machinist would have drawings of ball turning attachments.

Here's one of the latter sort you can buy:
http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=2568
Not large enough for what you want, but it gives you the general idea.


Stan


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