# Unknown Quick Change Tool Post



## dave d (Apr 24, 2017)

I came into a a 10" Logan lathe with a quick change tool post.  I would like to order another tool holder, but I don't know what I have.  The main body is marked 250-100 and is marked simply China.  It is about 2 1/4 inches square, not counting the dovetail.
The knurl holder is marked 250-110, the cutoff tool is marked  250-107 and the toll holder is marked 250-101. 

I have been looking at Ebay and other sellers and I think this is the BXA version.  If so, are they pretty much all compatible between sellers?  I don't know enough about these to even tell if it is a wedge type or piston type or if it even matters!  This is a lot larger than the Sherline I am used to.

Does the 250 refer to the size?
Thanks!
Dave D


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## Tozguy (Apr 24, 2017)

Mine is marked 250-201, 250-204, etc and it is the BXA size. It is 2 5/8'' wide and 2 3/4'' high.
Yours looks like an AXA piston style QCTP.


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## hman (Apr 24, 2017)

Wedge-piston (general info):  Look at the dovetail area.  Piston type tool holders have a round-cornered rectangular piston between the dovetails, which moves in and out as the locking handle is turned.  Wedge type will move one of the dovetails up and down on a shallow ramp.

Looking closely at the photos, I'd agree with Tozguy that yours is a piston type.  If it were a wedge, we'd be able to see the end of it in the second photo.

More general info - I'm not sure what the 250- prefix means - maybe just QCTP?  The size/series is indicated by the first digit after the dash.  -1xx indicated AXA, -2xx indicates BXA, etc.  The final two digits indicate what the holder is meant for.  -x01 has a plain rectangular slot; -x02 has a rectangular slot with a small groove on the bottom, so it can be used with boring bars, etc.; -x04 is a holder for larger boring bars; -x07 is for cutoff/parting blades; -x10 is a knurling tool.

All AXA/250-1xx tool holders will work with either style.  I've gone to several vendors (Shars, Enco, CDCO) for AXA size over more than 10 years, and have only had one tool holder that was problematical - gap too narrow, so it wouldn't go over the dovetails of my piston-type holder.  It would probably have been OK with a wedge type.

PS - nice looking lathe!


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## dave d (Apr 24, 2017)

Thanks, guys!  I know what to order now.  I was reading up on these and it seems like most people prefer the wedge type.  This came on the lathe and that is what I will use for now.  I need to get a feel for this thing first.  It is a giant compared to the Sherline., but I am looking forward to doing bigger projects.
Dave


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## Bob Korves (Apr 28, 2017)

dave d said:


> Thanks, guys!  I know what to order now.  I was reading up on these and it seems like most people prefer the wedge type.  This came on the lathe and that is what I will use for now.  I need to get a feel for this thing first.  It is a giant compared to the Sherline., but I am looking forward to doing bigger projects.
> Dave


The piston style works just fine.  The tool holders will (usually) work on both wedge and piston types.


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## Dave Paine (Apr 28, 2017)

Yours is AXA size, same as I have.  The 1xx in the last 3 digits is AXA. 

Take a look at MSC site to compare wedge and piston designs to confirm your design.

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...+4294940547&searchterm=quick+change+tool+post


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## Nogoingback (Apr 28, 2017)

Those part numbers are the same as the AXA piston type holder from Phase II.


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## kd4gij (Apr 28, 2017)

Bob Korves said:


> The piston style works just fine.  The tool holders will (usually) work on both wedge and piston types.




I have a true Aloris  AXA piston QCTP


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## darkzero (Apr 28, 2017)

kd4gij said:


> I have a true Aloris  AXA piston QCTP



Curious, does it actually say model AXA on it or does it say model AX?


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## kd4gij (Apr 28, 2017)

It says model AX on the tag


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## darkzero (Apr 28, 2017)

Thanks for confirming, that's what it should say.


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## Charles Spencer (Apr 29, 2017)

hman said:


> All AXA/250-1xx tool holders will work with either style. I've gone to several vendors (Shars, Enco, CDCO) for AXA size over more than 10 years, and have only had one tool holder that was problematical - gap too narrow, so it wouldn't go over the dovetails of my piston-type holder. It would probably have been OK with a wedge type.



I had the same problem with two of them.  They were close though so it was easily fixed with a little hand filing.

I prefer buying the tool holders from Shars because they say "Shars" instead of "China".  I know it doesn't really make any difference but at least I don't have "China" right in my face on the tool post.


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## Bob Korves (Apr 29, 2017)

Charles Spencer said:


> I had the same problem with two of them.  They were close though so it was easily fixed with a little hand filing.
> 
> I prefer buying the tool holders from Shars because they say "Shars" instead of "China".  I know it doesn't really make any difference but at least I don't have "China" right in my face on the tool post.


Living in denial...


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## Nogoingback (Apr 29, 2017)

In the Chinese province where they're made, the word for "China" is spoken, phonetically, as "Shars"...


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## hman (Apr 29, 2017)

While we're on the subject ... Does anybody know what that threaded hole on the non-dovetail side of the tool holder base is for?  You can see it in dave d's upper photo.  

I've kinda assumed it was so you could screw in a handle, either to help adjust the angle or perhaps to hold the body of the QCTP when tightening the locking nut.  But shucks ... if you put a washer between the nut and the top of the QCTP, there's little or no torque transmitted.

Or maybe it's so you can use the QCTP as an odd sort of ball turner????

Enquiring minds want to know.


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## hman (Apr 29, 2017)

O M G!!!!  I just received the May/June issue of The Home Shop Machinist.  And right there in "Chips & Sparks" on Page 69 is at least one answer to my question!  Steve Jasik of Menlo Park, CA, sent in  photo and a short paragraph describing how he mounts a depth stop to the back of the QCTP body, using the very hole I was asking about.

Talk about a timely response .... 
Thanks, Steve!


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## darkzero (Apr 29, 2017)

I believe that threaded hole is an Aloris thing, it's not found on QCTPs by other makes. IIRC I believe old Aloris catalogs showed different attachments for that hole. I vaguely remember seeing it somewhere but I can't remember.


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## Terrywerm (Apr 29, 2017)

On my Phase II wedge type, the hole on the back side of the tool post contains a set screw that retains the actuating shaft. The actuating shaft being the rotating shaft that the handle is inserted into. On a piston type the actuating shaft is simply a cam that pushes the piston out to tighten the tool holder against the dovetails. On a wedge type, the actuating shaft has a helical slot cut into it that engages the wedge, moving it up and down as the shaft is rotated.

If your QCTP ever starts to bind up on you, disassemble it and remove the chips from the internals then relube it with some light grease and life will be good again. Disassembly starts with the set screw in that hole.


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## darkzero (Apr 29, 2017)

Terry, it's a different hole that is in question, as Steve pointed out, with the QCTP in the common orientation, there's a large blind threaded hole on the right side.

I've only seen it on Aloris QCTPs & on some Chinese clones. In fact I think the newer Aloris QCTPs no longer have that hole.


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## Terrywerm (Apr 29, 2017)

Yup, we're talking about the same hole, Will. It's been a while since I had my Phase II apart, and if my memory serves me correctly there was a set screw in that hole. Now you've got me wondering!! I suppose I have no choice but to go out and look.

ON EDIT: Open mouth, insert foot and wiggle the toes!! Yes, it is just a blind hole. It dawned on me after I looked at it that the actuating shaft is retained by a nut located under the top locking nut that requires a spanner wrench to remove it.

They say that you lose 3 things as you get older:
1. Your memory
2. Can't remember what it is
3. Can't remember what this one is either.


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## darkzero (Apr 30, 2017)

Found it. The threaded hole is for an attachment that Aloris called their Guide Stop.

Skip to 6:37 if the video doesn't automatically start there for you.


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## kd4gij (Apr 30, 2017)

A member here made a small follow rest and mounted it using that threaded hole 


Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk


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## Uglydog (Apr 30, 2017)

The attached 1987 digital catalogue shows many of the items in the video.
Including the Guide Stop above.
Possibly enough detail that the HM member might be able to build many of these accessories.

Daryl
MN


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## hman (Apr 30, 2017)

darkzero said:


> I believe that threaded hole is an Aloris thing, it's not found on QCTPs by other makes. IIRC I believe old Aloris catalogs showed different attachments for that hole. I vaguely remember seeing it somewhere but I can't remember.





darkzero said:


> Terry, it's a different hole that is in question, as Steve pointed out, with the QCTP in the common orientation, there's a large blind threaded hole on the right side.
> I've only seen it on Aloris QCTPs & on some Chinese clones. In fact I think the newer Aloris QCTPs no longer have that hole.


Sounds like the hole is a "sometime" thing.  I have a Phase II piston-type AXA and wedge-type BXA.  Both of them have the hole in question.



Anyway, it does appear that my question has been thoroughly answered!  Many thanks to all.
PS - Neat Aloris catalog, Daryl.  Thanks for posting it.  As you said, it looks like some of those accessories are indeed do-able ... fun projects!


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## Charles Spencer (Apr 30, 2017)

Nice catalog indeed.  First, there's the guide stop:




I like this knurling tool and it looks like it would be fun to make:




This combination drill and boring bar might be handy:




If I were to make something like this multi tool holder, I believe that I'd make it more balanced on both sides of the dovetail:


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