Making quick change tool post holders (picture heavy)

[Davo J]

Hi,
I have had 6 Dickson style holders for many years but didn't want to buy any more at $80 each over here, so I decided to make my own. I did consider buying a wedge style from the US, but I would loose money on this one as it cost me $500 8 years ago.
I made these up last year but am just getting around to posting them now because of the house move. I am still yet to decide what finish is going on them.
My mate gave me a piece of plate (column base of a large shed) a few years back and I have kept it for this purpose. It was 550 x 350 x 32mm thick and the tool holders are 31.75 deep so close enough to the thickness of the factory ones.
I had to cut it up but it wouldn't fit in the bandsaw so I put 2 cuts in it outside with the 9inch grinder.
After that it was about 4-5 hours sitting by the saw cutting it into little blocks.The bandsaw was clean before I started and the carbon blade did a good job.
This is the Dickson style tool post, it has 2 V's and a slot where it is pulled back onto the V's via a cam action in the tool post, very simple really.

Once they where all cut up I faced the sides and the ends with the horizontal spindle and a carbide end mill.

The slot was then roughed out.

One side of the V roughed out

The other side of the V roughed out.

The pile roughed out to get rid of most of the waist metal.You can see a red and blue one there, I colored these because they came off the saw a little thin so I marked them like this as they where not the same as the others. It was only something small like 0.25-0.5mm but it makes a difference in setting them up in a jig.

This is the jig I used for the roughing angle for the V's.

Here I am roughing the slot wider with a hoging end mill, it was easier to widen the slot with the vertical spindle than the horizontal spindle.

The finish left from the roughing end mill.

Finishing the slot

Cutting the slot with a key seat cutter. It was a bit blunt so I sharpened it using the lathe, it then did the whole job.

You can see how the swarf filled the vice, so I cut up some ice cream container to help out.

The little key cutter moved so metal

Facing them all

Knocking the corners off with a 45 degree end mill

Finishing the V's

machining a flat on top of the V's

Drilling all the holes with a temporary shield

This is the tap set up I used, the coolant flushed out the chips so things went quicker. I had to tap 230 M8 holes.

I cut up the 25mm bar for the adjusters, drilled and taped them, then mad up this arbour to thread them on for all there operations.

Making the adjusters

I stole the wheels off the push knurler and made a clamp knurler

Knurling the adjusters

My temporary coolant set up run off the mill.

All knurled

Most of the shaving that where caught after knurling.

I set up these tools in 2 tool holders to do all the operations in one go

Machined the outside diameter

Taking of the sharp corner

Taking off the bottom edge.

All done, I made 60 odd for spares as I never want to make these again,LOL

All of them heated up and dunked in oil

What a repetitious job

Finished

The one stuff up when I was roughing them, oh well it will get used for something like an indicator holder.

I picked up 1500 odd grub screws from the UK for just over $100, a lot cheap than buying them here for $50 odd dollar a box of 100.There is more than in the picture they are just the M8 ones need for the tool holders.
I have different lengths so I will be able to custom fit the grub screws to different size tooling I put in them
holders and will be changing my factory holders over to grub screws as well. The square he bolts where just to expensive and I would rather they didn't stick up above the holder.

Wow that was a lot of work.
Dave

 

[Tin Falcon]

Looks like you made yourself a thousand dollars worth of tooling and will never have to buy another one.
Tin

 

[Davo J]

Looks like you made yourself a thousand dollars worth of tooling and will never have to buy another one.
Tin

To buy these over here would cost around $3500 from Hare and Forbes, not that I would pay that.

I paid $500 for the tool post and 4 holders many years ago, so it was either try to sell it and buy a wedge style from the US of make my own, it was cheaper making my own.

Dave

 

[jixxerbill]

That is great work, but I actually needed the wedge type !! So if you could make me 10 or 15 It would be great thanks... Seriously though that is a great job ! Like Tin said your set for life on tool holders...Bill

 

[Davo J]

That is great work, but I actually needed the wedge type !! So if you could make me 10 or 15 It would be great thanks... Seriously though that is a great job ! Like Tin said your set for life on tool holders...Bill

Thanks, I left 10 holders blank for special holders like dial indicator, knurl etc.

Dave

 

[Tin Falcon]

Bill :
in the USA it barely pays to make our own wedge style. Yes you can . If you are retired and have the time and the steel it may make sense.

but for those of us that still work for a living do not have lots of shop time and we have a few bucks in our pocket cdco and shars sells axa holders for just over $10 each and they will ship USPS flat rate so another ten buck shipping I think they can get ten in a box. they may not last as long as Aloris but they work.
Tin

 

[Davo J]

This tool post I can not fault it, it's beautifully rock hard ground finished and shows no signs of wear after many years or regular use, it's just the price of the holders.
I bought this before my internet days, but if I was to buy one today I would buy one from CDCO. I almost did a few years back and was going to sell this one. Even with postage to Aus it's cheap to buy through them.

Dave

 

[Davo J]

Here are some detailed shots of how the tool post works for those that are not familiar with it. I think it simpler than the wedge style and also think the tool holders are easier to make than the dovetail ones.
It would not be hard to make up a tool post in the home work shop.

Sorry about the crappy pictures they are off my phone.

Dave

 

[ausdier]

I'm with you Dave,
I am about one third through making a few of these myself.
Not quite as many as you though.
With the 4 on the left being oversize as custom holders.
Cheers and thanks for the great photos.

 

[Davo J]

Nice, it must be something in the water down here, or it might be the price why we make our own, LOL

12 plus the 4 original you probably have will give a much wider selection of tools, without holders they are not quick change as you know.

I did sent a few inquires over to China a few years back but they where still expensive over there, not sure how they can sell dovetail ones in the US for $9-10 when these are so expensive

Mine is a QA150, is your the same? If so mine are 60mm center of V to center of V which makes it a nice round number. I measured with rods and all sorts as I couldn't believe my luck for it to fall on a round number.

If you haven't slotted them yet John from over in New Zealand made a holder that had a slot for the tool at an angle, this gave the HSS back rake. Also having a few longer nose ones is great for small HSS bits as it gives you the reach away from the tool post.

Dave

 

[gus]

Hi Dave,
I bought two sets od Dickson QCTP way back in the 1980s for the Leblonde Precision Lathes and got hooked on for life.
Using the standard turret tool post was just unproductive. Every new cutter has to be reshimmed.

For my home machineshop,I did think of making my very own Dickson but backed off due to the limitation of my mini vertical mill. Found drawings from Harold Hall to make a simple cam lack QCTP.. Gus will soon catch with Dave in tool holder population if I keep growing cutting tools. The bandsaw was very handy to cut the bar stocks.

Here is my humble QCTP.

Gus Teng

 

[Davo J]

I would not say humble, it does the job and you shop made it, really nice work.

You can never have to many in my opinion, I have lived with 6 for 9 years and it's frustrating changing them all the time.

Dave

 

[gus]

Hi Dave,
You are right , the dovetails can be scary to cut for the first timer. Will try making the Dickson QCTP some later when my feet warms up. The dovetail QCTP looks easy to cut but as you go further into the job,it can get complicated.DoveTail End Mills seems to have their own mind.I busted two endmills.

Gus Teng

 

[ausdier]

Hey Dave,
Yeah somthing in the water alright, called value for money. lol
I only have 4 that I havn't put a slot in and these are yet to be decided on.
Yes mine are 60 between the V's as well.
Most if not all of these will have tipped tools put into them as soon as they are finished and then a rack to hold them all.
Then I was thinking of making some sort of jig to hold them so I can put the tools in and set them all to the same distance so I can change tools without having to change my DRO's X axis.
Just another job or two to do, the list is getting longer.:wall:

 

[Davo J]

I tried that feature on my DRO 6-7 years ago and then it all went out the window when I moved the tool post. It''s alright if you have a tool for ever operation, but I find I constantly turn my tool post depending on the job.

A rack will be easy as you can use bits of flat bar vertical to hold them.
I find my tools with get rust in the winter so all my lathe and mill tooling lives in cupboards and draws.

I just bought some new metal cupboards for a good price and one of those 1 meter long supercheap tool boxes for $500 when their on special. The draw runners in them are pretty good and hold the weight.
With the metal cupboards they where $199 each (900x450x1800 hight) and I made melamine shelves with a timber edge on the front to save sagging the shelves and to make them look finished.

When you got your tool post set did you get a V one for a boring bar? I am asking because when I bought mine it was advertised with one but never came with one. I contacted them about my mill and mentioned it and they said they no longer made the V one, I replied it was in there currant catalog so he sent me one but didn't want the other back as I had used it.

It's a shame your so far away we could meet up and talk tools. I am thinking of heading up to friends in Brisbane latter in the year, I might give you a yell when I am going and see what your up to at the time.

Last time I was up there I asked around for tooling places and got blank stares and sent to supercheap, LOL
Dave

 

[ausdier]

Hi Dave,
Yes I got one that had a V in the bottom of it but all my boring bars have a flat on the bottom of them so not a great use to me for that.
I just have a regular tool in that one.
By all means drop in for a coffee if you are up this way, might even get Metalmad over as well. Thm:
Cheers,
Darren.