I'm making D reamers on a ML8 please help me get a proper lathe!

Sam,

Now that you've posted a picture to clarify what you are trying to acheive, I'll throw in my suggestion. Wouldn't something like this be a solution:

Spindle

mounted horizontally to the cross slide or topslide at centre height and traversed longitudinally with the carriage leadscrew or even manually using the cross slide handwheel?

I think you mentioned 3mm slots, so it should easily cope with that and the advertised speed would be ideal for use on wood at those dimensions. You would of course end up with round-ended slots, but that 's not to say they couldn't be squared off, if that is what is required?

John

Sam thanks for that info, good to hear of a CS working for its living and doing what it was designed for, dreamt of going off grid, have solar and limited battery capacity but senior management vetoed the idea of a generator being included in the mix, working on the idea of a wind generator, we live in a coastal area so plenty of wind. Objective of totally off grid is probably unrealistic but was seemed a good idea, anyway we are certainly saving money with our solar setup.
Dave W

Similar to John Hinkley's comment above, but with most of the engineering already done.

Do a search for Bosch PFF500a router. There was also a slightly smaller blue model, 350??

The router body/motor has a standard collar size and will also fit drill stands.

I made a flat plate to fit in the toolpost of my Myford to take the router body, so I could use it as a basic toolpost grinder, but there's nothing to stop you using a normal woodworking router bit.

Bill

John - I can't find any stats for the chuck max-min on that, wonder if it would take a 4mm cutter (I occasionally use 4mm) but otherwise it looks ideal. My problem with that sort of thing is that it has to get the cut EXACTLY right, I'm sometimes letting in 3mm sheet which must be a good fit, slightly interfering until I polish the key. If a rotary cutter cuts slightly baggy slots, or wanders on entry, that is a big no no.

If there was a way of winding it up and down that'd be ideal as I could cut at 2.5mm and then finish.

I have thought about a fast spinning metal thing method but I'm concerned that the slots would be less accurate.

Oh and Google is not my friend for the bosch router, no results

Edited By Sam Lawrence on 25/02/2020 12:46:07

Like this?

In view of your limited needs you could consider a Boxford CUD or TUD. The TUD (Training....) has no screwcutting as it is a basic training lathe and very cheap (2-300 max) as few want them but a CUD is the equivalent of an ML7 on steroids but half the price.

You don't need a milling machine. A Dremel or equivalent mounted on the slide is the equivalent of a mill for your work. Have you tried it as you said other makers do it that way? A Dremel is a bit feeble for this and a small router would be better.

Back gear and disconnecting the chuck. Won't work for you as the chuck has to be turning with the mandrel for the feed to connect to the leadscrew to do the movement.

Also the slidey thing suggested by Hopper is a good idea for finishing after you have removed most material with a smaller router bit.

Edited By Bazyle on 25/02/2020 12:56:15

I'm not seeing this price difference. CUD have sold for 700-1000, TUD 500-750, ML7 550-750.

Maybe I should just argue with the ML8 until it cuts level, and commission reamers and bore tuning tools to be made for me...

No, I deffo want a proper lathe.

Btw I make these things http://hunterpipes.co.uk/gallery/

Edited By Sam Lawrence on 25/02/2020 13:42:41

Sam,

The spindle that I linked to on eBay comes with an ER11 collet system. This will grip cutters from 1.0 to 7.0 mm diameter in steps of 0.5 mm. If the mounting is rigid enough, it should cut a slot accurately enough and to a close tolerance.

John

If you want to cut a slot (keyway ) you could make up a hand operated slotting tool. College engineering used to sell the base casting, but no longer do, I suspect. It was designed for use on a Myford 7 Series such as the ML7. Mine now sits on a riser block, to suit a lathe with a greater centre height.

There is no reason why you could not make / fabricate one to suit whatever lathe you decide to purchase, whether a secondhand Myford, Boxford or WHY. or a far eastern equivalent.

As long as the power is off, you could prevent the mandrel from turning by engaging backgear. With high and low ration engaged the mandrel will not turn very far, if at all.

For lathes where you cannot do this, you will need to devise some means of locking the mandrel. Not impossible , by any means, but another job to do to achieve your end result!

Howard

Sam, Google is your friend if you know the name of what you are looking for.

morse lathe socket

Martin C

Sorry Sam, feeling slightly off colour and failed to spot my own typo POF500a not PFF500a

There was a whole different range of similar models over the years, all with detachable motors.
I've a POF50 and a POF52, which is green and a slightly higher wattage

This one's the POF50 in normal config.

And shown on the lathe (Warco 720 Super 7 copy)
Just a quick lashup to illustrate the idea, seen here with a 5mm router bit.

The mounting plate is simple enough, just an alloy sheet with a tenon to fit the tool holder.
It was originally made to fit a different toolholder before I got the Dickson type one, which is why it looks a bit clumsy on here, but you get the idea.

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 25/02/2020 20:31:36

Thanks John, I might well try one of those then. Or maybe one of the Bosch routers, though it wouldn't work on the ML8.

Are you all telling me that you can't lock the headstock on a Super 7 / ML7 etc in the same way as you can on the ML8? Madness... that renders the whole thing impossible and I'll have to stick to the ML8.

You've been super helpful, thank you.

Sam, in the example I lashed up above, with the router, it would be normal to advance the router along the bed using the handwheel/rack for parallel slots, or the topslide for slots which aren't parallel to the axis of the chanter.

The headstock can be locked by various means, but for most of them, the carriage couldn't be advanced under power from the motor.

It's possible to fit various forms of dividing or indexing heads to the main spindle to both lock and position it, but the carriage advance would need to be by hand, which shouldn't really cause a problem. e.g. The Hemmingway attachment

The only way I can think to drive the carriage with the chuck (as opposed to whole spindle) locked, is to disengage both the backgear and the backgear driver crescent. This would allow the main spindle to spin, but disengaged from the chuck. The chuck can then be indexed on a jaw, and a block of alloy resting on the bed. This would give 3 way indexing on a 3 jaw or 4 way on a 4 jaw.. With a bit of thought you could probably double that up to 6 way with a 3 jaw.

Alternatively, if your chuck is on a backplate, a series of holes in it's periphery and a peg to engage them, should provide lots of other options.

Bill

I see you a re making Uilleann pipe chanters. I made quite a few when i was making bagpipes and flutes. I used to cut the slots using a router mounted on the carriage of my metal turning lathe. It dies the job very quickly and neatly. For taper reamers I used old planer blades that I scrounged from the people who sharpen these cutters. They are solid HSS. i used to cut the approx shape with an angle grinder and finish grind it with a grinder cutter head mounted above a travelling slide I rigged up. I don't have any of these now because I stopped pipe making a few years ago and got rid of all the stuff. These taper reamers cut very accurate holes . I held them by hand with the chanter revolving in the headstock. It's a great advantage to have a lathe with a big headstock bore.

I'm another bagpipe maker emerging from the background! Here is a link to a video showing how I turn a chanter using the router instead of an ordinary tool. I wouldn't hesitate to use this setup to cut slots if I needed to. In back gear, there is no need for a spindle lock on my Boxford, but that depends how tight the headstock bearings are.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl_VAnmd931N5BLKVvLF5tg