# Metal Lathe Accessories tools



## joeby (Jan 16, 2009)

The thread on collet systems for lathes had mention of Metal Lathe Accessories tools, the Loop Collet Chuck in particular.

 I have made the MLA boring head and have gotten a lot of use out of it. The castings and drawings were very nicely done, and the instructions well written, so in a reasonable amount of time, I had a new boring head for a reasonable price. 

 I was digging through my pictures and found a couple of it and the R-8 shank I made to use it on my mill.












 Also found a photo of the boring head being used to true up the tumbler gear shaft for my old P&W lathe. 






 The only drawback I've run into so far is that if the boring head is offset much from center, I have to run the spindle much slower than I'd like sometimes because of the imbalance. This boring head is heavy!

 Anyway, there are a few more items on MLA's list that I would like to get for my Atlas; but I haven't had the time.

 Has anyone else made any of MLA's tools, what is it, and how does it work for you?
I know Paula has mentioned that she has made the toolpost (on my list) and is working on others. I'd like to see/hear about them.

Kevin


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## steamer (Jan 16, 2009)

I'm working on his Large Steady Rest......Just haven't finished that yet :

NICE iron!

Dave


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## Paula (Jan 17, 2009)

Hi Kevin,

I made one of the boring/facing heads, too. It is a very fine tool, but as you say, a bit on the heavy side. The facing feature is great -- especially useful for spotfacing a hole you just bored out. Here's a picture of the one I made:






Here's a picture of the MLA milling attachment I made, along with the vise and accessory base. I used a South Bend ball handle:






Here's the boring & ball-turning toolpost I made, shown in ball-turning mode. A very robust design:






Here's a link to a narrative of my building the MLA-8 Indicator/Saddle Stop:

http://www.wswells.com/projects/paula/MLA-8_Indicator.html

Since completing the stop, I've gone back and milled a pocket in the bracket to clear the saddle wiper, to allow full travel of the dial indicator:






And lastly, here is the MLA-23 quick-change toolpost I recently completed:






So far, I really like using it (and I will like it even more when I get some more tool holders made for it! :)

I can't say enough good things about Metal Lathe Accessories. Superb quality and service.

Paula


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## jack404 (Jan 17, 2009)

Paula  said:
			
		

> I can't say enough good things about Metal Lathe Accessories. Superb quality and service.
> 
> Paula



Got a link ?

cheers

jack


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## kennyd (Jan 17, 2009)

jack404  said:
			
		

> Got a link ?



Look here: http://www.statecollegecentral.com/metallathe/index.html


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## jack404 (Jan 17, 2009)

kennyd

cheers mate!

i am actually ripping these nice folks off in part of my design of a filing machine..

but maybe not.. i'll decide when i get that far..

i have the link direct the the machine but i've swapped bookmarks now

thanks again eh

cheers

jack


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## joeby (Jan 17, 2009)

Steamer,
 Thanks, and that steady rest should be handy to have. I have the factory steady rests for each of my lathes, and even the one for the 16" P&W is seriously limited in capacity; but certainly not in weight! Cast iron must have been cheap in the late 1800's.

 Paula, 
 Very nice tools you have made! I should consider a ball turner too; but I still do that kind of thing "old school" by figuring individual steps, bluing, and scraping. 

 My question is the numbering on the scales/dials. Did you use stamps, or engrave? I need to do some (boring head has the lines; but no numbers yet), and I bought a good set of stamps; but I'm not sure if I trust myself to get them aligned. I know I could make a fixture; but I decided to take the easy way out and build a little pantograph. ;D

 I would have to agree with your opinion of MLA. I have had the opportunity to meet Andy, there needs to be more people like him! 

Kevin


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## kvom (Jan 17, 2009)

How wide is the base on the large steady rest? I might be interested in making it.


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## Paula (Jan 17, 2009)

joeby  said:
			
		

> My question is the numbering on the scales/dials. Did you use stamps, or engrave? I need to do some (boring head has the lines; but no numbers yet), and I bought a good set of stamps; but I'm not sure if I trust myself to get them aligned.



You are right, Kevin... alignment is the problem here, coupled with the difficulty of delivering a precise, consistent impact to the head of the stamp each time. The alignment issue is further complicated, I have found, by the fact that the stamp's engraved characters are not always aligned with the square shank. Therefore, even if you make a fixture to locate on the shank of the stamp to your workpiece, it is no guarantee that the stamped figure will be aligned. Perhaps this is a matter of finding a set of stamps which are properly aligned. I have found that careful "eyeballing" (and not looking too closely at the finished product ) is the best approach.

Paula

P.S. - Here is a link to a treatise by Mike Burdick on how he approaches the task. Very nice work:

http://www.wswells.com/projects/mike_b/making_graduated_collars.pdf


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## Paula (Jan 17, 2009)

kvom  said:
			
		

> How wide is the base on the large steady rest? I might be interested in making it.



I'm not sure how wide the base is, but even if it's not wide enough to span the ways of your lathe bed, you could always make a sub-base to fit the ways, then attach the steady rest casting to the sub-base.

Over on the Practical Machinist Forum, Jim Benjamin posted a summary of his experience with machining the MLA-9 steady rest:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/showthread.php?t=149588

Unfortunately has since reduced the size of the posted images -- still viewable though.

Paula


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## steamer (Jan 17, 2009)

Paula is spot on there.

It's designed for the SB 9 and 10 directly. I put a riser block under mine ( 12" Logan")

It's really not that far from being done.......Just gotta find a "Roundtoit"

Looking at the prints, it appears to be between 4 and 4 3/16"  (ON EDIT.....more like 3 7/8")wide at the base.

He pads the casting pretty heavily, if your ways are narrow, it could go higher than 10" swing

Dave


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## Mainer (Jan 19, 2009)

I made the T-slot cross slide for my 10K. I've hardly used the T slots, but it was well worth doing just for the MUCH longer gib bearing surface it has compared to the stock cross slide. It feels a lot more solid.


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## Paula (Jan 19, 2009)

You are right about that, Mainer. I'm right now in the process of making one of the T-slotted cross slides for my 9A (worked on it tonight, in fact):






Another good thing about this cross slide is that it provides a place to put a rear-mounted toolpost, like a cut-off tool. Often, you can just leave it in place during normal turning operations, and just feed it in when you are ready to part off.

Paula


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