# TAPER ATTACHMENT BUILD???.



## Silverbullet (Jan 21, 2018)

I've been thinking of building a taper attachment for my 11" Logan lathe. The stand offs are no problem , even setting the taper I think is figured out with a slot for adjustments and a micrometer to fine tune . Now I'm thinking a linear slide or a ball slide for the cross slide to ride on. Now I'm pretty sure either will work ?? Anyone worked with either , also I think 24" should do well on my lathe. 
Another part of this I may add a copy tracer like I saw made on YouTube with a pneumatic cylinder replacing the screw slide , but I'd like to be able to add it to the taper build. Seems complicated but really it's simple to do. It should only need a 6" festo single or double max.


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## Robert LaLonde (Jan 21, 2018)

Square profile rail tends to be "better" than round rail, but quality blurrs the line.  Automation Overstock has their own line of square profile rail at a decent price.  On the other hand round rail is a little more forgiving.  In either case I'd figure 1 plus inch or 25mm or larger for that application.  I have CNC  machines with both.


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## 4GSR (Jan 21, 2018)

I designed one for my 9" SBL several years ago, have not built it yet.  Have the material on hand.  I designed it using ball/roller bearings for the slides.  Also will have a telescopic cross feed screw.  I made the screw many years ago, at least have one part done.


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## Silverbullet (Jan 21, 2018)

Bob La Londe said:


> Square profile rail tends to be "better" than round rail, but quality blurrs the line.  Automation Overstock has their own line of square profile rail at a decent price.  On the other hand round rail is a little more forgiving.  In either case I'd figure 1 plus inch or 25mm or larger for that application.  I have CNC  machines with both.


Yes I had figured on 1" or the 25 mm with a 3/8 or 1/2" base mount.


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## 4GSR (Jan 21, 2018)

Silverbullet, I'm moving your thread over to the machine accessories forum.  Not really part of the Metrology forum.


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## MikeInOr (Jan 22, 2018)

Sounds like a cool project.  I just bought my South Bend  13" lathe yesterday and a taper attachment is high on my list... but quite expensive.

Do you have any rough plans sketched out?

I would consider 30"... long enough to taper pretty much any rifle barrel I might come across.  I wonder if that would be too long to make the taper attachment useful for more obtuse tapers?


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## mzayd3 (Jan 22, 2018)

When I built mine, I just used a piece of 1/2 x 1-1/2” cold rolled and machined a slotted piece to fit. It works quite well. I just couldn’t justify the expense of precision rails.


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## Robert LaLonde (Jan 22, 2018)

MikeInOr said:


> Sounds like a cool project.  I just bought my South Bend  13" lathe yesterday and a taper attachment is high on my list... but quite expensive.
> 
> Do you have any rough plans sketched out?
> 
> I would consider 30"... long enough to taper pretty much any rifle barrel I might come across.  I wonder if that would be too long to make the taper attachment useful for more obtuse tapers?



You make one, and it should be pretty easy to drill a second set of holes to move the outboard support closer to the spindle and use a short rail when absolutely necessary.  If you have a DRO be aware that the bracket from the carriage to the Z axis (Y on some setups) may have a bracket that could interfere.

An alternative that might give enough flexibility would be two or three mounting points for the head end of the linear rail.  FYI:  Steep is relative.


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## Silverbullet (Jan 22, 2018)

4gsr said:


> Silverbullet, I'm moving your thread over to the machine accessories forum.  Not really part of the Metrology forum.


I thought it was general machining , not metrology thanks


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## Moderatemixed (Jan 22, 2018)

I have the Atlas Toolroom taper Attachment. It’s designed for the 10 and 12 inch lathes. I could snap some pics and take some measurements if you’d like. 


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## Silverbullet (Jan 22, 2018)

Moderatemixed said:


> I have the Atlas Toolroom taper Attachment. It’s designed for the 10 and 12 inch lathes. I could snap some pics and take some measurements if you’d like.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


That may help I've seen some on eBay but a good picture is great. I'm going on what I've found on YouTube and other photos of different machines. I'm not going for exact copy by no means. I've seen the linear slides and ball slides and figure it would help with much less friction on the tracking part.


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## Moderatemixed (Jan 22, 2018)

Alright. I’ll get some pics and send them along. Give me a few days. I’ll try to upload them but if I can’t get that to work I’ll PM you. Cheers. 


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## Silverbullet (Jan 22, 2018)

Moderatemixed said:


> Alright. I’ll get some pics and send them along. Give me a few days. I’ll try to upload them but if I can’t get that to work I’ll PM you. Cheers.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Trapshot_100@yahoo.com direct if it helps.


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## Silverbullet (Jan 22, 2018)

mzayd3 said:


> When I built mine, I just used a piece of 1/2 x 1-1/2” cold rolled and machined a slotted piece to fit. It works quite well. I just couldn’t justify the expense of precision rails.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I'm looking at China ball slides on a 30 mms rod or a pair of 20mms rods those in 600 mms run about $30 -$40 , not out of line of buying steel to make one. The bearings will really help with cuts I think.


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