Article on profile tooling for a lathe?

I've just had an elderly gentleman on the phone looking for directions to an article on how to make a 'copying device' in a lathe. I think he means a profile tool, but he was struggling to describe what he wants to achieve. It sounds as though he wants to make some matching bronze cnadlesticks. He was sure there has been an article on how to make the tooling in either ME or MEW but he doesn't have an author's name.

He lives in rural Cornwall (near St Austell) with no family or 'Workshop' friends or club near by but is a magazine subscriber. He's a jeweller/silversmith to trade, not an engineer.

Can anyone remember any articles on profile tooling? I don't recall anything in my time at ME, but it's possibly been in MEW. Any ideas I'll pass on.

Many thanks
Diane

Should have said ... he has no computer.

I ,ve seen things like that for wood lathes but never for metal lathes.

Sounds like a set up with a number of stops, not sure how it might work.

Sounds like a template and follower rather than a form tool as that would be rather large unless his candlesticks are for a dolls house.

Andrew J did one on his hydraulic attachment but there are simpler ones that just use a DTI or sprung follower.

EDIT MEW107 has a sprung loaded one.

Edited By JasonB on 23/11/2020 18:27:04

Search hydraulic copy in threads for some information.

Martin C

It might be possible to modify a taper turning attachment fitted to a lathe for copying. At very least, the cross slide leadscrew would have to be disengaged.

I've never used one, but this seems an ideal job for the Turnado system using a pattern to be copied.



Bill

Edited By peak4 on 23/11/2020 19:35:50

Maybe this will help. I profile turned my connecting rods using a former. My video shows how I did it.

Profile turning Lion connecting rods

Nigel

Hi Diane

In MEW 157 there was an article on flycutting profiles by Mick Knights page 44 "flycutting of radial forms"

John

Old Mart is correct there have been a couple of articles using the taper turning attachment with a profile template, if my memory is good one was making a fusee. I feel sure it was in MEW ???

Edit fusee link

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=136166

Edited By JohnF on 23/11/2020 20:26:03

Thinking allowed-- maybe using this principle with a template tied to the TT or a suitable bracket if the TTA is not available then a spring load applied to the cross slide as Jason suggests and a suitable follower with maybe a small roller following the template. 

Edited By JohnF on 23/11/2020 20:30:46

Diane

I think the following thread on here might be the one that you're after - https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=110851.

Particularly the postings by "Nobby" where he shows how he uses a template.

Thanks for those useful posts. I might have difficulty referring him to anything on this forum as he doesn't seem to have access to anything online ... but it's whiled away most of my evening!.
Thanks for the MEW reference, Jason. That sounds a similar method to that shown by Nigel for his Lion con rods.

I found this here also of iterest.

Thanks again
Diane

.

Nice bit of form-tool work there

... but doing that with bronze could be ‘challenging’

MichaelG.

A spring tool setup is what I remember, but it was a really old article from about 1940

The spring moved the cross slide

Edited By Ady1 on 24/11/2020 10:21:28