DIY ball turner

[churchjw]

That is a great design. Where is the delrin disk at? This may be the design I have been looking for. thank you

I made mine similar to one I saw somewhere on the internet. I have no bearing but a Delrin disk on the bottom that aligns it with the cross slide and rotates with the turner. Works great on my CM 12X 36.
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Jerry

 

[goboughner]

The Delran is the black disk on the bottom in the picture that shows the cross slide on the carriage. It acts as the pivot for the ball turner. It's bolted to the upper section that holds the cutting tool. I hope this description is clear.:holdphone:

 

[goboughner]

Here is a picture of the components of my ball turner.

 

[NEL957]

The only thing I would do differently is rotate the insert CCW about 30°. That way the cutter will be in front of the cut and not putting hands so close to the chuck on that side.
Just my 2 cents
Nelson Collar

 

[Fabrickator]

A very nice ball turner, but there again, why complicate it. If your using your lathe you've already got a micrometer on the cross slide.

 

[rrdstarr]

This is another item on my "to build" list. Nice job.

Same here! I think it will be my first project!

 

[george wilson]

Having a micrometer adjustment on advancing the ball turning tool's cutter will enable the user to more accurately control the diameter of the ball. The cross slide alone cannot do this.

 

[Fabrickator]

Very true George, just never been a problem for me because I control the size of the ball by the size of the blank to be turned. When it comes together, your on size.

 

[darkzero]

Very nice examples here!

This reminds me that I want to make another one. Here's the one I have now that I semi-made before I had a mill. Since I did not have a mill at the time I started off with a unit made for a Myford. I did not use bearings either, just a tight smooth fit is all that's needed, & it cuts without any chatter at all. More on the making of it posted here (post #9).

The knob handle for it is the very first thing I made on it. Sadly the only other major project I have used it for was to make a few runs of Titanium Tippe Tops (posts #2 & 5)

 

[churchjw]

I have my ball turner mostly done. The problem I have is that my lathe (whole sale tools WT 13" x 40" Gap Bed Geared Head Lathe) has a stub sticking up when you take off the compound rest. All of the designs I have seen the lathe has a hole in the cross slide and the stub is on the compound rest. Everything I had come up with made the thing to tall. After I saw goboughner's design "I was wrong on how it worked" I came up with this design. It uses the existing stud on the lathe as the pivot point and the compound rest hold down bolts to keep it in place. I still need to take some of the height off the front area so that it can get closer to the chuck without hitting the jaws. Also need to add a scale so I know the size. George is right a micrometer adjustment would be so much better. I need to add a handle. I did this first test just holding the base. Not the safest way but it was just a test. I also meant to offset the insert 30 degrees like NEL957 suggested but forgot. I will redo the tool holder after I get the rest of it done. After seeing it cut I think the tool offset would be worth it.