# Atlas 12" Tailstock needs a Tang



## yukon_rose (Jan 31, 2020)

My Atlas lathe tailstock along with every other one made has no tang slot. So tools routinely slip (rotate unexpectedly) in the #2 morse taper hole.

I would like to modify the quill to add a tang slot in it.

Suggestions please.

Gary


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## pontiac428 (Jan 31, 2020)

A kiss with a MT2 reamer solved my slipping issues for good.


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## T Bredehoft (Jan 31, 2020)

You should know that the tang is NOT to drive the device, but to assist in removing it from the taper.


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## benmychree (Jan 31, 2020)

American Pacemaker lathes had tang slots in the tailstock, it could be done with parallel pins installed crosswise in the tailstock quill, but it may make removal of such as centers difficult.


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## cjtoombs (Jan 31, 2020)

The likely reason lathes don't come with tang provisions is because it wasn't expected to be needed.  Either the taper was expected to hold or an external device would be used to ensure the tool didn't slip.


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## NortonDommi (Jan 31, 2020)

Just cut the tang off the arbours or buy arbours with a screw thread in them an screw an appropriate sized button head screw in.  On lathes arbours are removed by winding the tailstock quill in or wacking on the end with a punch though the end of the quill.  If you use the same tool in a drill press then you will just have to wind the quill out.


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## Shootymacshootface (Jan 31, 2020)

Make sure that both tapers are clean and relatively free of oil.


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## darkzero (Jan 31, 2020)

The tang also prevents major damage to the quill taper if it the abror comes loose & spins in the taper. Smaller lathes usually don't have the slot for the tang. Coming up with a way to add the tang slot will most likely cause you to loose quite a bit of quill travel.

Blue & check to see if your arbors seat in the taper well. Ream if needed. Like Pontiac I touched mine up with a finish reamer. My 12x import doesn't have the tang feature either. On my drill chuck arbors I cut the tangs off & shortened the arbors to get maximum travel of the quill but still able to eject when the quill is retracted.

Also with my drill chucks I use a mallet to seat them, one light wack or two will seat them well & they have never slipped on me.


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## Tozguy (Jan 31, 2020)

Many MT tools don't have a tang. A good clean MT2 or MT3 taper that is properly set will be reliable. Any MT taper that is not in good condition should be fixed. There is no alternative. 
If insurance is ever needed with good tapers then a collar clamp around the nose of the quill will do it. A two piece collar needs to be bored to fit the quill. An MT tool, once set in the quill with a couple of taps of a mallet and then the collar tightened around the quill, is NOT going to slip. This approach works whether the tool has a tang or not.

This is a collar clamp on a quill nose when running an offset center.


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## yukon_rose (Feb 1, 2020)

Thanks for the various ideas. I've (lightly) reamed the quill and that did help but didn't completely eliminate the slipping. I have a Buffalo 14" drill press with a tang slot (#2 taper) and I have used a 14" LeBlond Lathe with a tang slot (#4 taper). I found both to have superior holding abilities than the Atlas quill.

So I'm still interested in adding some sort of tang slot to the Atlas. Maybe a couple of spring pins drilled into the side of the quill???

Gary


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