Lathe Dog Questions

[RVJimD]

Morning All,

I plan to order an assortment of lathe dogs but how does the straight tail version work? I was planning on ordering the bent tail versions.

and, are face plates all slotted the same width? This photo is from the Enco site shows the two types but I don't see a spec of the tail.



jim

 

[Billh50]

I always made my own lathe dogs. Just drill a hole larger that the part at one end of some flat stock. Drill and tap the end for a setscrew through to hole. Drill and tap for a bolt to stick out to grap for turning. Cut the head off the bolt and good to go.

Usually enough 3/8 - 1/2" flat stock cut off pieces laying around for this.

 

[Dinosaur Engineer]

I doubt whether ALL face plates/drive plates have same slot width. If the lathe dog won't fit slot then normal practice is to fit drive pin in the slot ( & secure from rear of plate) or use tapped hole in drive plate. Using a separate drive pin in a drive plate gives more flexibility. It's a lot easier to fix the drive pin to the lathe dog to prevent any undesired movement.

 

[T Bredehoft]

For those with little experience with Lathe Dogs, once you are set up to turn, with the dog on the piece and it's tail (whether forged or home made) in the slot ,or whatever, use a piece of rawhide shoelace to lash the dog in place on the driving member. Otherwise it's liable to bounce around, causing all sorts of chatter.

 

[Bill C.]

For those with little experience with Lathe Dogs, once you are set up to turn, with the dog on the piece and it's tail (whether forged or home made) in the slot ,or whatever, use a piece of rawhide shoelace to lash the dog in place on the driving member. Otherwise it's liable to bounce around, causing all sorts of chatter.

Definitely old school, also stops the dog from rattling in between cuts. Good for threading between centers since there will not be any gap when the threading bit and the work piece meet.

 

[cathead]

Personally I would save my money and make one to fit the job.
Then you have the satisfaction of making it yourself, it would be
made to your needs, and you could have it immediately.
It would be a fun welding, heating and bending and tapping project.

The straight tail version would require a bolt mounted in the slot and
sticking out far enough to catch the dog.

Morning All,

I plan to order an assortment of lathe dogs but how does the straight tail version work? I was planning on ordering the bent tail versions.

and, are face plates all slotted the same width? This photo is from the Enco site shows the two types but I don't see a spec of the tail.



jim

 

[chips&more]

I have a few lathe dogs somewhere in the shop but can’t recall where I left them about 40 years ago. Don’t get me wrong. I use my metal lathe all the time but not the lathe dogs. A steady rest would be a good thing to have. And I have a following rest, but have not used it yet. Now, if I had a cylindrical grinder that would be a different story, you will need lathe dogs for that…Good Luck, Dave.

 

[RVJimD]

I hadn't even thought about making my own, why not. You can tell I'm still in low gear and coming up to speed.

thanks for the tips!

jim

 

[Bill Gruby]

I made this one for gear cutting. It's overkill to some . It has interchangeable Brass inserts to change stock size. The range is 1/8 to 1 1/8 diameters. The drive bolt can also be moved to accommodate different tooling.

"Billy G"

 

[Smithdoor]

Most time straight tail is use for grinder
Most time bent is use for turning
Now some of the new lathe face plate is set to use a straight tail
My self I use bend type only, for both turning and grinding there a lot more bend type than straight tail. Also if you need for heavy turn the bend type will work with 3 & 4 jaw chucks.

Dave

Morning All,

I plan to order an assortment of lathe dogs but how does the straight tail version work? I was planning on ordering the bent tail versions.

and, are face plates all slotted the same width? This photo is from the Enco site shows the two types but I don't see a spec of the tail.



jim