Broken Atlas 10" Lathe Tool Post Slide Replaced With A Modified 12" Slide.

38Bill

38Bill

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The other day I thought I noticed a slight twitch of the compound on my Atlas 10" lathe. I pushed and pulled but didn't see anything wrong at the time. The next time day I was using the lathe the tool post suddenly dropped 1/4" and almost caused a crash. Turned out that front of the tool post slide had broken completely off and only the "T" nut was holding the QCTP on the lathe. I have no idea why caused this to happen. The lathe is new to me so it may have been damaged some time ago and finally let go. No problem I thought and I went to Ebay to look for a replacement only to find that there wasn't a single 10" slide for sale. Apparently that's a weak point in the 10" lathes. Lots of 12" but no 10" so I got an idea. I did some research and it turns out that the 10"compound is the same as the older 12" except for the height of the slide. I was able to pick up a old 12" slide for $25 and I went to work. As I use a QCTP I didn't need the jaws to hold the "T" nut so I cut them off, filed and sanded the top flat and drilled a hole. The QCTP mounted up nicely but I did have to notch the left side so the tool holders would sit low enough to allow the tool to be centered. Even with this notch its a lot beefier than the original slide. It could be my imagination (or it could be that the slide was cracked all along) but it seems like everything is much stiffer now when I run it. PS: All the work was done with a hacksaw, file and sander as I don't have a mill
tool%20post%20slide%20new.jpg

tool%20post%20slide%20new.jpg
 
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Very neat job. Too bad that you didn't have the 10"/12" Nr. 500A Milling Attachment (commonly know to eBay sellers as the 10-501). The compound swivel will mount to it in place of the vise and you could have done the whole job with it, including the hole for the cap screw attaching the QCTP.
 
38 Bill,
I notice that the tool post anchor/centre device is a bolt ... if that is what was on the machine when you got it I can see why the lip broke .....
Perhaps it was a tad too long & grounded on the bottom of the " Tee " slot , then the only way the PO could get the QCTP tight was to keep on tightening the bolt thus shearing one lip to accommodate the too long a bolt ?

(Perhaps see if there are any marks of evidence in the bottom of the " Tee " for this being the case)

Your far better off to my way of thinking by having a home made " Tee " nut or a threaded 10 mm plate in the slot and putting a shouldered stud in it so the shoulder is a precise fit in the the slot than having a bolt that could stretch and press down onto the slide causing breaking of the flanges of the slides " T" groove .

With a stud & " Tee nut " the securing nut is on the top of the QCP so any bolt stretching is away from the slide and is now immaterial .
 
I figured someone would spot the bolt. Its just temporary so I can turn a new post stud. The temporary bolt is not long enough to go past the "T" nut. The broken slide was using a post stud with a shoulder and a "T" nut (metric) that couldn't go past the nut so that wasn't the cause of the failure. That "T" nut was too long to fit inside the new modified slide. I didn't want to change it because I may want to use it in a stock slide later. I had a slightly smaller one that wasn't metric that I used instead but I need a new stud for it. I already have it turned and I just need to thread it.
 
I also would like to see some pics. I can't see where you would be using a tee nut with that mod.
HWF
 
The QCTP stud just goes through a hole in the slide top and the "T" nut is underneath in a pocket in the back side of the casting. The nut can't turn as its fit into the rectangular pocket. The QCTP can not be moved sideways but it can still be rotated.
 
Good idea!
 
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