Rear tool post vs front tool post

Bernard beat me to it, the only things I could add are the slot is 5/16" deep, and the grubscrews for holding the tool are centred on the slot and 1/4" in from each end. Central hole from top to bottom for long Allen head capscrew into a T-nut to hold it onto the saddle.

Rob

Unintentionally running in reverse can have damaging consequences. To guard against this when eg screwcutting away from the chuck I use a simple stop or gate on the forward reverse switch on my Willson lathe:

A poor photo; the stop is the shiny thing on the right hand switch; when not in use it lives on the left hand one from where it is readily available.

To answer the original question about Taig Toolposts. The rear toolpost is different. This is a quick shot of three of mine.

Centre height from the cross slide is 31mm

On the right is a standard Taig Toolpost 45mm high, bottom of slot is 25mm from base. Top of 6mm Tool sits on centre height.

In the centre is a Taig Rear Toolpost with the tool mounted upside down. Overall height 51mm, bottom of slot is 31mm up from base - so inverted the tool sits on centre height.

On the left for completeness is a Taig rear mounting parting toolpost that uses a T shaped blade. The holder is inclined so that the blade can be set on centre height.

Hope this helps

The ones I use a lot get the handles as seen on the right. The less commonly used rely on the standard cap screw.

Sorry - didn't see Bernard's response!

Edited By Peter Cook 6 on 23/03/2023 14:37:33

I like the idea of the resetable handles Peter.

Bernard - idea stolen from Taig Micro Lathe Tool Posts, Boring Bars & Locking Levers (micro-machine-shop.com)

In the US you can buy 10-32 handles, but they are unobtanium over here. I use a length of 10-32 studding Loctited into M5 female handles which are easy to get (& cheap) from Ebay.

Thank you all again. Plenty to get my teeth into. Also thanks for carrying out the measurements and the photos of the Taig tool posts. Very useful.
The Taig I have acquired is missing many important parts but that’s a story for a new thread.

kind regards.

simon.

Photos are always helpful if you can manage them. Not obvious how to do it, so the instructions are here. At least the Taig is still in production - not as hard to get spares for as a 1911 Relm!

Looking forward to your next lathe problem - it's always good to get machines working again.

Dave

I'm sure it will have been mentioned, but with a screw threaded spindle type of lathe, it is only safe to use a rear toolpost with inverted cutters unless you can be sure to lock the chuck to the spindle. Collets in the spindle would be ok as they are much less likely to unscrew. I made a rear toolpost which can hold industrial parting off blades inverted, and added a rear saddle lock to maximise the stiffness.