BAZMAK a second Lathe

[goldstar31]

Baz,

Several ;points arise.
The first was a 'plastic' Vernier which I found in my late wife's orthodontic tool kit. It probably had been sterilised too many times and is rock solid.

As for a tail turret, I have yet to sort out a 6 station one that probably fits the saddle. One of those round tuits! However there is a Ken Metcalf one that he fitted to a Myford ML7. Maybe you have it in your download.

However, Sparey made drawings for his and that appears in his Amateurs Lathe book. Otherwise, Myford DID make a capstan attachment to fit on a ML7 lathe bed. I came across it whilst doing a sort out- probably when the turret affair finally materialised.

Does this help, please. I am in the midst( mist?) of sorting tax and estate problems but drop me an e-mail and I'll try to find something amongst my stuff.

Off hand, I think that JohnB has raised this matter too.

Regards

Norman

As a sort of addendum, I have traced TWO Myford ones from a French site. Unfortunately, I think that they are too poor to copy but both are really for collets which is where you came in.

There is the Cleeve one which was rack operated but I'll have to rack( ouch) to find the French site all this stuff was printed.

 

[bazmak]

Thank you Blogwitch for pointing me towards a better system.Likr the more compact setup but didn't like the pins.You know me always looking to further improve.I cut 20 no pieces of 25x3 alum angle and filed a small chamfer to obtain a nice sling fit .Screwed to a piece of timber and then to the wall
Works a treat

 

[bazmak]

For those reading my threads will know I am currently making a capstan/turret
I have reached a certain stage and wanted to drop back to this thread so I was
familiar with what is required to return to normal.Simple,just remove the leadscrew bracket (2 screws) and wind/slide off the capstan I 1 or 2 assys
Slide back on the main carriage ,refit the leadscrew brkt and tailstock and good to go.Next mod was the carriage handwheel.The 80mm dia plastic one had split next to the grubscrew and was wobbly.My new 100mm cast iron one had arrived so proceeded to fit as photos show.Looks much better and silky smooth.When I used the lathe to make thumbscrews the 16mm keyless chuck was way too big so I ordered a new 10mm one.I machined 12mm off the quill feed screw,cut of the tang from the chuck and gained an extra 40mm
Photos tell the tale.Dont know whats next for lathe mods but will fluctuate between this thread and the capstan/turret mod

 

[bazmak]

I plan to do some single point threading on this lathe.2 no er16 collet chucks
for the turret,and from my memories long long ago whats threading without
trying to hit line with a dial.Bought one awhile ago local off ebay only $25
Decided to fit it,and although its standard for the 7" mini lathe its not just bolt on.had to drill and tap the apron 2 posns for fixings and mill a rebate to
clear the gibb screws.This one has some design changes,i noted the addition
of 2 ball races for the carriage drive.No big deal, anyway works great and fun

 

[bazmak]

I have mentioned on my other thread that the only thing stopping the
capstan assy winding straight off the lathe was the top part of the leadscrew
brkt and it was no problem.I decided it was simple to fix,i milled off the top section of the brkt and drilled/tapped for a secondary fixing.Now the capstan
winds off without removing the brkt and the tailstock drops on.
The power cable came out of the rear of the back cover and with my limited
space was in danger of damage so I bored a new conduit hole and took the lead out of the top.Much better.I have also started single point screw cutting
with this lathe which I will post on the capstan thread.Looking good so far
The thread indicator works well but instead of trying to catch a line,i approach the work using the carriage handwheel and the lathe off,engage the leadscrew in the correct position and start the lathe.I an only cutting 6 or 7 threads in length,the slow speed bogs down and the lowest I can use is just a bit too fast
so I am reverting to the safe method and turning the chuck by hand.I have cut under powerbut still not confident enough to do everything by the book

 

[bazmak]

I have just spent over half a day screwcutting 2 collet chucks M22x1.5
Had some fun changing the plastic gears,they don't come off easily
Then proceeded screwcutting.Got much easier as I got more familiar
Got down to the last 3 thou on the second one when the carriage started playing up.I had not done the final bedding in on the gibs and they were
slopping about.Reoved the chuck and job and decided to strip down the lathe
Knew I would have to at some time.Could not get a decent adjustment due
to problems with the bed.The tailstock and headsock ends were about 3 thou
bigger than the middle.With the lathe totally stripped I spent a couple of hours with a 4" angle grinder,files emery paper etc to remove the excess from the underside of the ways.Got it down to about a thou then reset the gibs
Much improved so put it all back together and finished the last few thou
on the threading.Satisfying but very frustrating.I should have finished everything off the first time.Screwcutting very successful and the thread dial
made it much easier

 

[bazmak]

I finished the T slot sub table which is designed to be changed quickly
and can be used with or without the capstan/turret.Also made a front mounting block for the QCTP and hallway thru making a rear parting off toolpost

 

[bazmak]

I made the rear parting off tool post.Started with a 65mm length of 50mm MSt
Tenoned the underside to fit the T slot with a single M8 fixing.Ready for overall
video now before I strip down and start tidying loose ends ,add some bling etc
and start using it.I have in my head ideas for a tapping head and a self
release die box to fit the turrets.Will post what I do as I do it etc
I have shot a video and will post it on the capstan thread

 

[JCSteam]

A possibly stupid question, how do you work out what height to cut the slot for the cut off tool? Is it just the height of the centre of the lathe, then 5mm or 4mm above and below the centre line?

 

[bazmak]

I simply measured the tool and cut to suit lathe centre height
With this parting off tool,the top of the blabe was level with the
top face of the clamping flange.A parting off tool needs to be dead on centre height.I sometimes mount the blade at 5o to produce top rake and avoid having to grind top rake.In this case it was level so any grinding of the tool will
change the height and I will have to pack.Easy enough to do

 

[goldstar31]

Mine is one with the blade inverted and with a built in rake of 7 degrees. Ideally, it was suggested that a 140 degree internal vee be ground so as to peel off the swarf in nice curls. Instead of screwing up one of my abrasive disks for what was a grind of only an inch, I did a round curve rather than a vee. In this case, the disk was a worn out one from an angle grinder.

It means that rare re grinds do not alter the inverted tool top. Not original but works admirably.

Norm

 

[bazmak]

I agree Norm,i have a no of parting off tools with a couple of homemade
ones with the blade set at 5/7o.With this rear tool post I just fitted a commercial one I had spare with a tool ground down for cutting circlip grooves
I just fitted it inverted for the rear tool post.What I have in mind at a later
date is to machine the other side to fit a blade at 7o rake as the toolpost can be turned 180o and both sides used.. No getting past us Yorkshire folk

 

[bazmak]

With all the major parts made and fitted its time to go back over everthing
reworking minor niggles and fine tuning the mods.When I bought the lathe
phase 1 was to make carriage gibs and adjust to a couple of thou.I did not touch the bed.After screwcutting,excess play became apparent so phase 2
The bed was 2/3 thou big at the headstock and tailstock ends so I ground and polished the underside of the ways to within 1 thou.Much better but still not happy.This was the reason for buying the lathe ,so to theNth degree was phase3.I had not touched the top of the ways as they looked to be a quality ground finish,however the regular bedding in of the carriages had highlighted
high spots on the V only 10ths of a thou but like a ploughed field
I purchased some lapping paste from the local auto store and purely for the
exercise spent half a day lapping in the ways and fitting the main carriage
to my mind a perfect sliding fit.Smooth,just what I was looking for.Then spent the other half day fitting the turret carriage.Beautiful,i must say its a lot easier
when the bed is correct

 

[bazmak]

I made a die head for the capstan.A knurled holder to fit the capstan and a knurled head to hold 25mm dies.A 5mm silver steel pin acts as a drive and set to length.The die is pushed on to the job and pulls away from the holder
when the end of the pin is reached the drive stops and the head rotates on the job.The lathe is stopped and the knurled head is unscrewed.Looks good in theory but when I set up I found that the lathe does not have enough uummff at slow speed and rather than risk damage to the plastic gears I stopped for a rethink.Will next try alum and then brass but for steel I need to think again.
The plastic change gears are not being used with the leadscrew disconnected
only the tumbler gears so have in mind to make new ones in brass or steel
The lathe will bog down before any damage,so that is my next exercise
Also will look at an adaptor so I can use the diehead in the bigger lathe






Also have seen a neat mechanism in MEW for a small 4 jaw self centering tap holder.Lots to go at.

 

[bazmak]

When browsing thru a model eng workshop issue I saw an interesting little
mechanism for holding a tap.A self centering 4 jaw chuck,purely out of interest
I decided to make one to interchange with the die head.Taps can be held in chucks or collets and the slip helps prevent too much torque being applied
and tap breakage occurring,but thought I would give it a try anyway
2 no 2 MT reamers arrived from china so I fine tuned the 2 housings
Also machined the 2nd side of the rear tool post at 7o for a parting blade
Then it was time to set up and use the lathe capstan to do a full set of ops
and make a brass thumb screw.All worked well with a few minor niggles tosort out.The tapping head did M6 in brass ok but not enough uumff for the M6 diehead.Will need a rethink and play about.Turning,knurling and parting off
worked well with the compound removed and table fitted.Capstan worked well
used 3 stations for centre drill,drill and tap.Need a little more leverage for the
3 spoke handwheel,will probably make slightly larger spokes.Everything is a little congested but will get used to it with a few minor mods

 

[bazmak]

I have now started to look for areas to improve,sorry no photos due
to photo bucket being greedy,so will just have to post better descriptions
When i did the single point screwcutting the lever at the back jumped out
repeatedly which i have experience previosly and someone mentioned in a thread and jammed a piece of timber under the lever.This i had also done
just to get me past the operation.Decided to look at the whole drive and changegear end.The detent lever is machined to a centre point and locates
in centre pops.Machined down the detent pin to 4mm dia,drilled the housing
to suit and fitted a stronger spring.Much improved,works a treatAlso i wasnt happy with the plastic gears so decided to make the 3 gears in the tumbler reverse.I made a 20t and a 25t from brass and a 45t from steel.Used my
newly purchased set of mod 1 cutters,and the modified R8 holder.Brilliant,
cut the teeth easily at full depth in 1 pass.Also used my indexer for the first
time with the worm and wheel drive.Works superb,far more accurate and rigid
than with the detent pin and index plate.Only 2 mistakes which i will mention
I thought that the wheel i made was 90t but after a few teeth were cut and
did not look right i realized the wheel i made was 120t,so had to remake the 45 t gear.The 2 brass gears were no problem although i did forget to change the cutter for the 25t gear.Changed the cutter for the 20t gear and you cant
really tell the difference.All 3 mesh well.Better than the plastic ones which were approx half a mm down on the OD.Now to put it all back together and try everything out.Will leave the plastic gear train for now and see how it all goes

 

[goldstar31]

Keep posting please. My promised sort of unknown - but cheep, cheep metric lathe seems to still be available but living under a tarpaulin in the depths of Sunderland.

I assume that it will have plastic gears which I would have changed as you have done. However, I have finally spent the children's and grandchildren's inheritance on new and effective hearing aids. The racket of metal Myford gears is now appreciated!


Cheers

Norm

 

[bazmak]

Thanks Norm,will see how much noisier it is with metal gears.Not much i assume,silent plastic gears are just a sales pitch to the unwary i think
But with the tumbler reverse its a big benefit to disengage the gear train
for most turning ops.Myford do sell Tufnol tumbler reverse gears for noise
and as failsafe for a jam up.But a Myford can produce a lot of torque with backgears engaged,the chinese mini lathe just bogs down the motor
I did not really need to do it but heck thats what i got the lathe for,just to play about.Next i will try to make a MT3 test bar for the headstock by taper
turning off setting the tailstock.If i can get it to a couple of thou i can make use of it in both lathes.Also may look at a taper turning attachment.Im not in the
mood for anymore engines.Would like to make another steam loco but dont
know if i have enough years left in me,or the finances.I have plans for a 5"
simplex ?

 

[goldstar31]

Thanks Norm,will see how much noisier it is with metal gears.Not much i assume,silent plastic gears are just a sales pitch to the unwary i think
But with the tumbler reverse its a big benefit to disengage the gear train
for most turning ops.Myford do sell Tufnol tumbler reverse gears for noise
and as failsafe for a jam up.But a Myford can produce a lot of torque with backgears engaged,the chinese mini lathe just bogs down the motor
I did not really need to do it but heck thats what i got the lathe for,just to play about.Next i will try to make a MT3 test bar for the headstock by taper
turning off setting the tailstock.If i can get it to a couple of thou i can make use of it in both lathes.Also may look at a taper turning attachment.Im not in the
mood for anymore engines.Would like to make another steam loco but dont
know if i have enough years left in me,or the finances.I have plans for a 5"
simplex ?

Sort of Deja Vu! I bought the Super7B with a 'few' things wrong but for the encouragement of others, it had been run on a lubrication of mahogany dust:wall:. Well, that was in the gear box! So it had a massive jam up in previous hands so I replaced most of the stripped cogs.I phoned RDG( Myford) this AM for Oilite bushes to replace the noisy ones. New hearing aids and that!

As for taper turning, one of my old mateys- who designed the first fibre glass racing kayak and a DIY hover craft wrote about making a taper turning device utilising the classic 10" sine bar rod and the 1/4" offset- to do 2MT's. He kept his ML7 under the bed- happy days!
So my Morse taper affair is a set over with tailstock poppet. Mine is an Arrand but Hemingwaykits do a kit but I've probably sent you a download. Let me know if you fancy the idea.

As for the Simplex, my 90 year old associate is still on with his.
Years ago, I was teaching him how to oxy/Acetylene weld the boiler and things were going =hot- and he had a heart attack which meant getting the nitro- glycerine tablets out before rushing him into A&E.:hDe:

Sometime, I'll get a start again with the Acute tool grinder but we had a monsoon and I'm sealing the shed roof yet again.


Should you really be having a go at a 5" Simplex?

N

 

[bazmak]

Hi Norm,no i am NOT having a go with the simplex i only said i had the plans(drawings)Too long and too expensive at my age.I am just looking for things to do with some of the tools i have made.Thats why i cut the gears
Used my new invalute cutters and the indexer with worm and wheel
Tell me can you offset the tailstock far enough to cut a MT ?. Will have to use a centre and driving dog in the headstock