Lathe tool rack

I would like to make a tool rack that sits on the splash guard.

Anyone have any photos of drawings?

Sir

Go to your local double glazing window making and fitting shop and blag a piece of plastic window ledge, If you measure your tool tapers you can drill the top hole to stop the tool going in too far and the bottom hole to stop it leaning, thats what I did and the company gave it to me for free, If you dont ask you dont get but if you ask politely you will be surprised at the generosity of some companies.

ps get the end pices to make it look pretty.

Dick

Does it have to go on the splash guard? I have this screwed to the head of my Boxford, reach up grab the new toolholder swap over and done with no reaching over the work.

I have used some old shelving support brackets (the slot in type) screwed to the shelving behind & to one side of my lathe & simply hooking my qc holders onto it.. easy access to all I need..

George.

Some great ideas, keep em coming

I'm inspered by Tracey Island. I bet Brains selects the toolhoder needed, it comes along a conveyor to Thunderbird 2 that brings it to the workshop and conveniently lowers it into postion. Unfortunately the Hood has sabotaged the screwcutting gearbox workshop explodes, just as everyone gets safely outside...

Neil

<I'll get my coat>

Slightly OT but until recently I was using someof those slot in shelf brackets for a stand alone shelf set. The brackets will slot in upside down so I used two big ones at the bottom as feet - it looked like a kangaroo.

i built my collet rack (like bogstandard2's) out of 20 mm thick plastic facia boarding (UPVC) found in a skip, Drills like a dream

Frank

Thanks guys, I now have an idea what I need to do

Stub Mandrel, or tool tip reaches end of preprogrammed life, is removed from the carousel & replaced by a sister tool, original raised to rail at top of tool storage on machine, returned to tool presetting area, tip changed, measured, & its precise tool offset stored on a small ultra violet sensitive sticker on the toolholder to be entered into the control system the first time it is replaced in the carousel on its ( automatic ) return,all without drama. For I have seen the future & it works, visit japanese machine tool factory in Worcester for details, nearly as elaborate as some of the pictures on this thread.

robjon44

Before you attach a tool rack to the splash guard, have a look at this **LINK**

5C collet racks made from 6mm MDF and sprayed with touch up paint left over from my mg project car

I used to have quick change tool holders on a rack fixed to the splash guard but found they rattled too much when taking interrupted cuts so moved them to a shelf above and behind the lathe, a few holes drilled in the shelf take care of all the taper tooling

Possibly not what you had in mind Petrolhead but this simple wooden "Tidy" keeps a few useful things within reach on the front of my trusty old Super 7. As I use individual tool-holders (made from the iron castings that CES used to sell) which were made before the cheap Chinese QCTHs were available - I just have a simple peg-board at the back where they sit.

As I'm afraid you might guess from the photo (and clearly unlike some others here) I live on the edge of chaos and need all the help I can get to maintain some semblance of order.

Regards,

IanT

Jason, yes indeed M***k, but wot about 3 internal & 1 external CCTV cameras, iris recognition for operators to keep meddlers at bay, & ringing you on your mobile to tell you its finished ? I thought £1500 was a lot of money for a training course BUT it wasnt my money & the food was good !

robjon44

Hi all, with regard to John Sheperds post regarding a serious accident caused by reaching over a rotating machine tool to get a toolholder, I realise that other factors were involved but as described it was an accident looking for a place to happen, I would not advocate a toolblock storage any nearer than the RH end of the machine for this reason, then your worst case scenario is it landing on your foot, as opposed to trying to brain you.

I once worked behind what I considered to be the most accident prone man the world had ever seen & have a vast collection of stories of his efforts to remove himself from the human gene pool, this is one, picture a very large CNC lathe with a 26 inch chuck surmounted by three & a half hundredweight of fixture extending another 8 inches on diameter rotating at a low speed to keep machine warm at tea break, come back, pick up swarf rake & reach up to push top guard up to allow jib access to remove component, throw in being left handed & he now has his left side within 2 inches of sudden death, enter small bespectacled man stage right, "you do realise that one day your going to end up wrapped round that thing like pretzel knot dont you? " the reply " I suppose your right", now I dont suppose you will find yourselves in that position, but just consider that any machine bigger than a Unimat 1 might do it & you wont go far wrong.

robjon 44

Yes, my too tray is at the stock end, I would never concider putting something behind the chuck and