Can I Get Away With A Cxa Toolpost On A Heavy 11

John_Dennis

John_Dennis

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My Harrison 11 inch lathe uses 1" tools in the 4 place rotating toolholder. I am wondering if I can use a QCTP that will hold 1 inch. I have a bunch of 1 inch tooling. It seems that CXA is the smallest size that will hold a 1 inch tool. This is a massive machine for an 11 much larger than my Logan 14.

The compound to center dimension is 1 7/16

Thanks

John
 
my 11 in rockwell uses a axa a bxa may work so I can only quess the cxa is way to big. we are using a cxa on my boys 16 in. lathe. but if you can make it work go for it.
 
you can also make a 1" holder for a BXA (or modify the largest available bxa holder to hold a 1" tool)

If you decide to do this, you can send me the CXA for my 1440 lathe...
 
Make sure your tool can be adjusted low enough. The bottom of the tool blocks are probably a lot thicker than the AXA size, which is probably recommended on your size lathe.

I understand this forum wishes to not be mentioned here, but it's a very popular one with a blue theme. I'm sure someone over there would love to trade you an AXA or BXA for your CXA. A lot of people have large lathes over there.

You can always make a new tool block/holder to fit a 1" tool for any size Aloris toolpost. Or if it's an insert tool holder mill down the bottom to fit.
 
Right off the bat I would say no the CXA QCTP is too large for the 1 7/16 clearance you have. My BXA on a 12'' swing lathe is sometimes adjusted at the lower limit to get on centre. BUT to be sure, check out the dimensions of a CXA and see if it will work for you. I don't know how much 'a bunch of 1'' tools' is but it might be false economy to buy more of a QCTP than would be ideal for your lathe just to save on tools. For best results get the size of QCTP based on the size of lathe.
 
I spoke with Aloris today and they said that CXA was the right size for 1 7/16. looking at comparison photos there is a huge difference between BXA and CXA which seems strange because there is only a small apparent difference between AXA and BXA.

I have limited experience with QCTP tool post. If it will go low enough for a 1 inch tool to be on center, under what circumstance would it be too large? I have a full set of 1 inch indexable tool holders and a couple of cutoff tools
 
John,

Just to add to my previous post, the compound to spindle centre dimension on my 12'' lathe is 1.20''. My BXA sized TP gets used over its full range of adjustment with tools shanks from 1/4 to 5/8. As I recall, parting blades required the lowest settings.

Your lathe having more room between compound and spindle centre (roughly 0.23'' more) gives you some options. So I can understand now why your lathe might require a CXA. Aloris certainly knows better than I do about that!

But my point is don't take anybody's word for it. It would be a most reassuring exercise for you to get the critical dimensions of the CXA and calculate for yourself whether the range of adjustment available will meet your requirements or whether it holds any surprises for you.

We don't buy a QCTP everyday and I applaud the questions you are asking.
Mike
 
I have all four sizes of Aloris tool post from AXA to CA in my shop. I've tried to use my CXA on my 13" R series Sheldon lathe, slightly too big. Tried it on my 14" Rockwell lathe, the CXA fully engulfs the compound. The CXA fits fine on my 15" Sheldon lathe. To put it on a 11" heavy lathe of any kind I wouldn't. BXA is going to be slightly big for it, too but probably will work fine.

Do what I do, take those 1" sq. tool holders and cut them down to at least 3/4". At least you can get oversize tool holders for the BXA tool post that will handle 3/4" shank tools.

Ken
 
The confusing part for me is that while this is only an 11 inch lathe, the factory tool post uses 1" tooling. I just found my box of large tool holders and discovered they are 3/4 not 1". I was never able to use them on my Logan 10 so I havent looked at them in years. I have a lot of 1 inch cemented carbide tooling but I don't really need to use them. I guess BXA is the best bet.
 
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