Member postings for Margaret Trelawny

Thanks everyone. Things are not going well!!!

Jason B - in my eagerness to get this sorted out - I took the advice given and used an impact driver. Just a gentle tap and both heads of the stuck screws sheared off! Your post hadn't come in about not having to remove this part - and now I am in a mess - big time!

I can't get the round scale part off to even attempt to get to the now broken screws - the circular part won't wind off - is it that little pin device stopping it? How do I get that out?

Also, I cannot budget that big stud. I have tried the two nut method, nothing. It seems to be threaded into the cross slide - is that correct? - it just will not budge.

Oh dear - I am so stuck! Help!

Hi George

All the bolts fitted to it that I have worked on are metric. The lathe is about 12 years old so presuming metric? I don't have any equipment to find out threads per inch or pitch unfortunately.

Margaret.

Hello gentlemen

I find I am in need of your help again! I decided, on balance, to fit a quick change tool post to my chinese lathe. However, what started out as a good idea has lapsed into a nightmare!

I cannot budge the fitted standard tool post screw from the cross slide, so thought if I popped the cross slide out - I could access it from the back- but, thanks to rubbish Chinese hardware, the screws won’t come out and now the heads are stripped. So to Amazon to buy a damaged head screw remover kit. No problem. Annoying but it is chinese!

So I will need to replace these screws - but haven’t a clue what thread size to order! Please see attached photos. Any help or advice most gratefully received.

Thank you

Thanks all. Great information as always and plenty for me to digest!

Best wishes

Margaret

Oooh, another thing I wanted to ask... a couple of the tools I have (the 8mm boring bar recommended last week) are slightly lower than centre when mounted in the tool post. I can't find a way of changing the height of the tool post - is shimming the tool the only way around this?

Thank you all.

Thanks not-done-it-yet (great name btw!) - that's very interesting. I never considered the rigidity issue. I also never considered having an identical 4-way toolpost. That would work.

Mike - you are right, it doesn't get much use, but I saw Mr Swash using the quick change set up and thought it was a great idea - although his lathe (Myford M7 I think?) is a lot bigger and more robust than mine I assume.

I would like to avoid potential disasters!

Thank you both.

Hello gents,

Thanks for the replies. Ches, you are welcome, Mr Swash has some great content - I have learned a lot from watching his channel.

The lathe is a Chinese type from Amadeal (Dad bought it about 12 years ago). It hasn't had a great deal of use.

This is the tool post currently fitted (see pic). I'd like to upgrade because setting up the tool each time and turning down the allen keys gets very tiring and time consuming.

Is a piston-type or wedge-type a better option?

Thanks all

Margaret

Hello gentlemen,

I am considering converting my lathe tool post to one of the quick-change types. There are plenty on ebay of the cheap Chinese type - I wonder, has anyone had any experience with them? Are they any good? Do they last longer than a lettuce? 😊 I’d love a Myford or similar but can’t afford such luxuries at the moment.

Ball cutting: I’d like to make a simple ball cutter and wondered if anyone had done this using a boring head? Mr Ade Swash made a lovely example (on YouTube) but I don’t have his range of skills or milling machine - so mine would need to be fairly simply made.

Any suggestions or advice most welcome.

Thank you

Edited By Margaret Trelawny on 23/07/2023 23:03:09

Martin - thanks for the tip re the paper - I will remember that.

Duncan - I will have to learn how to make tools out of a bench grinder for sure. 👍

Thanks Martin. I don't have an ER32 collett, and looking at prices of them, they are as expensive as buying a new chuck.

I'll try turning down the workpiece and mounting that in the chuck I have and see how it goes.

Thanks for your advice though, it is much appreciated.

Thank you Jason, great advice as always. I really do appreciate your help.

Hello again gentlemen, me again!

I need to use a 19mm ball end cutter to cut a half sphere into a piece of 25mm brass. However, now looking at the drill chuck on dad's lathe, it only takes a 13mm shank - the shank on the ball cutter is 20mm.

So, do I buy another chuck for a one off use? Or is there another way? Is there an adapter (I doubt it but might be worth asking) that would fit into the 13mm chuck and accept a 20mm shank?

Another option, could I turn part of the piece of 25mm brass bar stock I have down to 13mm and mount that in the drill chuck, then mount the ball cutter in the lathe chuck - would that work or could you see disaster looming on the horizon?

If I need to buy another chuck - how can I tell what taper - 2MT or 3MT etc the lathe takes? All I know is, it is a (Chinese I think?) lathe from Harry UK about 12 years ago.

Thanks in advance.... again!

Margaret

Ah, ok, I see what one is now. Thank you Ramon.

and thank you for your kind wishes - I am having a great time learning new things every day from

people like you and all the kind contributors to my posts. Having a resource like this is invaluable.

take care

Margaret

Thanks everyone-

Andrew - I don’t yet have the expertise to grind anything but it’s something I can learn for sure. Certainly be more cost effective I guess than buying new tools. Yes it is brass - I have taken Jason’s suggestion and purchased the boring tool and tip - I’ll do it that way for now until I learn about the grinding skills.

Ramon - thank you. I have no idea what a off hand grinder is? But it sounds scarey and fun and likely to damage my nail varnish! 🤪

Duncan - that sounds like a very logical and good method but I am not yet confident enough to make my own tools nor do I have stock of soare drills etc.

thank you eveyone

Thanks for all your replies. After much thought, I am going to drill 6, 8, 10mm then use a boring bar to size - the posts about the parts grabbing the slot drill/end mill worried me a little!

appreciate all your input everyone.

thanks Ramon for the pic of the old slot drill bore. I am not confident enough yet to make one of those!

Would I be better using a smaller slot drill - then using an HSS boring bar to get it to 9/16? Rather than using the 9/16 slot drill?

Thank you gentlemen for your suggestions.

Andrew - could you post a link to the right short HSS boring bar I could use pleaee? Sorry if that’s stupid question - I am very new to this.

Many thanks

Margaret

Would you gentlemen recommend I drill pilot holes before going in with the 9/16 slot drill? I guess these would have to be drilled with smaller slot drills?

Thanks Bill. I have purchased it 👍🍻

Would this be no good Andrew? Not sure of the difference between and end mill and slot drill!?