# Lathe Copier Attachment



## JorgensenSteam (Aug 21, 2010)

Do they make a lathe copier attachment?, similar to a cam lobe grinder but without the grinder.


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## marcel (Aug 21, 2010)

here is the engine
The James Beggs Bottle Engine kit has been featured in a series of articles written by Mr Anthony Mount in the Model Engineer Magazine starting in Vol. 197, No. 4287, 24th Nov - 7th Dec 2008 and offers an illustrated guide to assist machining and building the model. 

http://www.modelsteamenginesuk.com/acatalog/James_Beggs_Bottle_Engine_Kit_to_Machine.html







marcel


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## djc (Aug 22, 2010)

JorgensenSteam  said:
			
		

> Do they make a lathe copier attachment?



Yes. Names to look for are Hepworth (UK), Mimik. Search for 'hydraulic copier' or 'hydraulic tracer'. There is an article in the latest UK Model Engineer's Workshop (No. 167, September 2010). Have a look on lathes.co.uk in the Bridgeport mill section as there is one shown in use on a mill. Also on CNCcookbook as there is another mill one. The principle is the same.

You could make a manually controlled one by using a ball-bearing follower between two patterns. This is attached to the cross-slide with the leadscrew disconnected. Depth of cut is put on with the topslide oriented parallel to the crosslide.


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## kf2qd (Aug 22, 2010)

Replace the taper attachment with a bearing and a cam. The attach a stout spring to keep the roller against the cam. the cross slide would be used to select the depth of cut. Might not be real great for production work but would perform well in the home shop.


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## Bernd (Aug 22, 2010)

Hi Pat,

That kit is from P.M. Research, Wellsville, New York.

I still need to do a lot of work on that. I don't believe they still sell the cast bronze kit. It seems they changed the to cast iron and aluminum.

Here's the link to the engine. http://www.pmresearchinc.com/store/product.php?productid=3090&cat=4&page=1

Enjoy,
Bernd
Kingstone Model Engineering


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## Bernd (Aug 23, 2010)

Pat,

I use 6061 aluminum for anything on a print that calls for aluminum. I try to use brass more than alunimum if possible. 1018 steel is nice to machine. Haven't used cast iron on any of my projects.

I use a metal outlet in my area to buy the brass and aluminum. I do have a couple to choose from too. 

Bernd


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## Bernd (Aug 23, 2010)

Pat,

Here's a web source you can check out. http://www.mcmaster.com/#iron/=8j8iq3

Bog's had a great idea of using cast iron from scrapped machines. I had a distressed milling machine given to me just for the hauling away. I kept some of the smaller chunks for projects. That has worked quite nicely for me.

Bernd


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## SmithDoor (Jul 19, 2014)

Yes They did about 100 years ago before tracers. work great I am planning on building one from my 9" south bend for making parts for old engines 

 Dave



JorgensenSteam said:


> Do they make a lathe copier attachment?, similar to a cam lobe grinder but without the grinder.


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 19, 2014)

You do realize this is a 4 year old thread and the original poster is long gone?
Tin


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## SmithDoor (Jul 26, 2014)

did see it was 2010 I am planning to build one and was hopping others have made one

 Dave


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## Tin Falcon (Jul 26, 2014)

OK I see now I see where you plan on building one but do not see you asking for help. No harm  I have no problem with people digging up old threads for a reason. Hope you get the help you need.
Tin


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## lomaxmotorsports (Jul 30, 2014)

Found this thought I wood share
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371101964141


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## kquiggle (Jul 31, 2014)

Don't know if this will help, but for what it's worth, some links I found a while back:

Click on the link and scroll down to Tracer/duplicator:

https://sites.google.com/site/lagadoacademy/useful-links#lathetools


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## oldplaneman (Jul 31, 2014)

Rick Sparber has an article on his site with some info as well; http://rick.sparber.org/pfpc.pdf


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## geoff p (Aug 1, 2014)

About thirty years ago I had an hydraulic copier on a very modest 6-inch (12" swing) lathe.  It replaced the topslide and carried its own toolpost.  The large-end of the stepped hydraulic piston supplied a high-force pushing the tool towards the work, and a lower force pushing "out" to retract the tool.  A "finger" followed a pattern at the front of the lathe, which operated a valve to balance the flow/pressure to each side of the piston.
The unit would hold tolerances of just a few thou, and saved/made me a lot of money.  I have no photos - this was in the days before photos were saved to a computer.


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