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Lathe Spindle

Add camlock chuck mounting system to a custom made spindle

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Zal Kahn26/03/2011 08:59:35
4 forum posts
11 photos
Hi
 
I purchased a lathe bed without the headstock assembly. Mainly to gain experience in machine design and construction hands-on rather than on paper.
Slowly as time and other commitments permitted, I have built the lathe up - Parts from ebay etc etc. I decided to make the headstock and spindle from scratch.
The spindle was machined from a solid cylindrical block of high tensile steel
- I forget the exact specifications - used in the manufacture of JCB bucket
pivot pins.
I purchased several chucks 3 & 4 jaw - of unknown origin/manfc. I would like to mount these onto the spindle based on the D 1-3 or 4 camlock type system. My spindle face has a large boss left un-machined just to allow for various mounting options. Lacking any guidance or examples of the spindle system I am on hold
and can't make any headway. Any help/guidance would be most appreciated.

 
Gray6226/03/2011 09:52:35
1058 forum posts
16 photos
This page http://www.lathes.co.uk/latheparts/page12.html gives details of the majority of lathe spindle nose fittings.
I have a D1-4 Spindle on my machine so if you have any specific questions I may be able to help.
 
Graeme
Zal Kahn26/03/2011 10:03:11
4 forum posts
11 photos
Many thanks Graeme.
 
I will try and upload some photos of the spindle onto my photos page once i get a feel for the system and i find the actual photos - i haven't deleted them!
Anthony Rhodes12/05/2011 02:49:18
21 forum posts
31 photos
Zal,
 
This thread is almost 2 months old. Have you done anything about the propsed camlock spindle?
 
While we're at it, can you give us more info about the entire design-and-build-your-own-lathe process? What bed and why? What elements did you buy already made? Why that choice for each item? How much adaption or bringing up to specs was required? Did the design morph over time, and why?
 
I've always thought it would be interesting to build a machine tool from scratch. Amongst other considerations it would provide the opportunity to include favorite features from multiple choices of other machines which may not all be available on a machine which you have or could acquire, whether due to rarity or price.
 
Anthony
Zal Kahn12/05/2011 08:29:27
4 forum posts
11 photos
Hi Anthony,

The lathe is a long term project (started in 2006).
I started by buying the
bed as seen in the photos on my page. I
started with a Smart & Brown Model A lathe bed because it
looked very robust.
The bed was in very good condition under the
crud considering its age (1960 I think).
I searched various sites and
haunted ebay for ages looking for the missing bits i required.
I
found all the best parts like the apron, the lead screw retainer and
the linear rack all from
one chap on ebay.=A0 I wanted to be
able to use a 12" 4 jaw chuck and seeing that the spindle and its
associated housing was not going to turn up anytime soon, I
decided to
make the parts and keep my hand in, as they say.
It was
never my intention to restore the lathe to its original condition, that
was way out of my capabilities and pocket book. I wanted to convert it
to CNC at some stage and then i had a flash of perspiration - I
decided to use it as part of a 5-axis machining center.
Most
of the parts for that have now been collected and are waiting for me to
find the time to collate them.
The Camlock design will be
modeled up at some stage. And when i can find the
perfect master
craftsmen to perform the operation - it will be done.
Unless you
are a very rich man with a stack of time on your hands its going to
take you ages to get that most desirable beast that you have always
yearned for.
With me its just part of a thousand other projects
going on in my head, I don't think it will ever be completed and my
wife will scrap it ten nano-seconds after i am gone on to that perfect workshop in
Valhalla - but who cares - not me.

Regards

zal
Zal Kahn12/05/2011 08:31:48
4 forum posts
11 photos
sorry for the way that posting turned out, i think the formatting from yahoos email site is not
compatible with this one. I pasted it in from my email inbox and its gone to bits.
ady12/05/2011 10:22:30
612 forum posts
50 photos
I would say that your efforts should be focussed on finding the correct headstock, and you can do what the heck you want with the rest of the lathe.
 
Post around on MB sites, beg borrow and steal if needed but a proper headstock will make a huge difference to your project, especially on a high quality bit of kit like a S&B model A.
Lathejack12/05/2011 12:58:01
339 forum posts
337 photos
Hello Zal.
 
The trouble with using a Model 'A' headstock, despite later ones having a D1-3 Camlock, is that the centre hight is only 4 1/2 inches. But because it is a genuine toolroom class lathe built to the correct proportions, the width of the bed across the very large slideways is more than twice the centre hight at 9 1/2 inches, so it will cope with a centre hight of around 6 1/2 - 7 inches to swing your 12 inch chuck. Most workshop type lathes of around 6 1/2 inch centre hight have beds that are only around 7 1/2 - 8 inches wide with much smaller slideways, so you were right to choose the Model 'A' bed.
 
A simpler but just as effective as a Camlock type spindle nose is a design used on some German machines such as Wieller and also Prazimat's DLZ, and even on a few cheap Chinese bench lathes such as the Sieg C6 and Chester's belt change DB 10 G.
 
This looks at first like a thick plane flange type fitting but behind the flange is a thin knurled collar. The nuts behind the collar that secure the chuck are just loosened, no need to remove them, and then the collar is rotated a few degrees to align the larger holes machined in it which allows the chuck to be withdrawn complete with the mounting nuts.
 
The backplates look a bit like a Camlock type. They have at least 3 large diameter pins with a smaller thread and nut on the end. This system is safe to start and run in reverse and to use a spindle brake in both directions, and is almost as quick to remove and replace as a camlock but would be simpler and quicker to make, as well as the backplates.
 
The short locating register or spiggot on the front of the spindle nose does not have to be tapered. it could be a parrallel type. After all, threaded spindle noses use a parrallel register and a shoulder to very accurately locate chucks and other fittings, the thread does nothing more than pull the fitting on and hold it there. Many lathes currently on the market that use a plain flange type fitting also use a short parrallel register.
 
Hope this helps.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Edited By Lathejack on 12/05/2011 13:08:29

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