Buying a new lathe

[tripletap3]

I have always kept a piece of wood on the ways whenever I do any chuck changes or repairs to protect them incase of a mishap. Good thing too. I think I am going to make a wood cradle before I do much more lifting of the 4 jaw.

 

[Ray C]

Yeah, that 4J is a little unforgiving. I had the same idea of making a v-shaped cradle with roller or brass surface bearings that ride on the ways. -And for extra credit, build in a hand crank to raise the chuck to proper spindle height. I've busted/damaged each wrist more than once and on some days, the 4J stirs-up aches & pains. I'm also half tempted to make a light-duty gantry above the lathe to lower pieces into position until the steady rest is positioned. I do a lot of turning between centers. Probably seems excessive but not when your joints are screaming at you.

I have always kept a piece of wood on the ways whenever I do any chuck changes or repairs to protect them incase of a mishap. Good thing too. I think I am going to make a wood cradle before I do much more lifting of the 4 jaw.

 

[7HC]

I'm also half tempted to make a light-duty gantry above the lathe to lower pieces into position until the steady rest is positioned. I do a lot of turning between centers. Probably seems excessive but not when your joints are screaming at you.

Doesn't sound excessive to me, it's how the big boys do it.

Nothing to be ashamed of in working smart!


M

 

[GaryK]

Here's what I made to support the big 4 jaw chuck. There's hardly any clearance under it which allows me to slide the pins right in.



Also while we're on the subject of always mounting things on the spindle using the same holes, this is what I do. I just use a center punch to make a little dimple
in the spindle and the chuck so I always mount it back the same way. I just match up the two center punch marks.




They also make a "Sky Hook" for mounting heavy things on your lathe. It mounts to you QCTP. In this case a KDK.

 

[darkzero]

That center punch looks exactly my spindle. Not sure if yours is like this too but my spindle came marked with a red paint line on the nose taper for one of the cam holes. This hole gave me the lowest run out for the stock chuck. Would be a good idea to choose that one for reference but I didn't as I didn't need too.

You probably already know this but the stock 3-jaw chuck does not come with the pinions marked (at least mine didn't). Best to pick one & always use that one for tightening. Doesn't matter which one as long as you stick to the one you choose.

 

[GaryK]

For anyone interested the thread in the spindle bore is 1 5/8-16.

For those using thread wires the dimension to shoot for is 1.650 with .045" wires.

Gary

 

[GaryK]

I got my base today that I had made. 2"x2" square with .187" wall.

It's just primed right now. Deciding if I will paint it blue or white to match part of the lathe.

It's the same length as the machine and will fit flush to the front with the legs extending out the back.
Right now the footprint of the lathe is a little over 8" (200mm). This base will will double that to 16".

The two cross members are centered on the existing holes in the lathe stand so there will be 8 bolts attaching
it to the base.

Having just one leveling pad in each corner will make it a lot easier to level.

All in all I think it will add a lot of rigidity and stability. I have added a drawing for those that might be interested.

 

[darkzero]

Looking good, nice job on the chuck support & base riser. One think to keep in mind that some others were talking about, if your riser is too stiff you might not have enough flex to level out the bed twist enough so be sure to check that be finalizing. I think one person ended up having to cut the cross sections off. I vote for just painting the base semi flat black. Thanks for the spindle thread size, I've been meaning to make a spider for mine. Keep the pics coming!

 

[GaryK]

Looking good, nice job on the chuck support & base riser. One think to keep in mind that some others were talking about, if your riser is too stiff you might not have enough flex to level out the bed twist enough so be sure to check that be finalizing. I think one person ended up having to cut the cross sections off. I vote for just painting the base semi flat black. Thanks for the spindle thread size, I've been meaning to make a spider for mine. Keep the pics coming!

You know, I've thought about it maybe being too stiff to level. I was just going add shims in between the base and stand to level it.

There has to be some flex in the base, so shims will allow it to get close enough to use the leveling feet for the final level.

I just put a sample of both colors on it and they both look bad. I'll just go with a dark gray.

 

[Ray C]

I bet those long pieces will twist and it will level fine as long as your floor isn't off-the-charts crooked.

Looks good!

Color wise... You're on your own there...

You know, I've thought about it maybe being too stiff to level. I was just going add shims in between the base and stand to level it.

There has to be some flex in the base, so shims will allow it to get close enough to use the leveling feet for the final level.

I just put a sample of both colors on it and they both look bad. I'll just go with a dark gray.