# MLA A-11 Cross Slide



## akjeff (Dec 27, 2020)

In an effort to add a bit more rigidity to my 12" Craftsman, I ordered the A-11 casting kit from https://mlatoolbox.com/A-11.html. Quality looks to be very nice, and at a reasonable price. This will play out as time allows, so don't expect a fast moving thread!

After getting my Lagun FTV-1 up and running, I thought I'd put it to use on the A-11 kit. Today was just a roughing in operation. Crudely trued up the casting, removing as little material as possible. Not done to any dimension yet. Plan is to remove the skin from the casting and let it sit for while. Then will rough out the T-slots with a 3/8" end mill, followed by the T-slot cutter. Then rough out the channel on the bottom, along with some initial cuts with the 1-3/8" 60 degree dovetail cutter. Then let it sit some more, before beginning to fine tune the outer dimensions, and the dovetails. Should be a fun, and hopefully useful project.


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## brino (Dec 27, 2020)

Watching.
Thanks for sharing this!

-brino


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## akjeff (Dec 27, 2020)

You're welcome. Went ahead and cut the T-slots as well. Took a while to come up with a spacing that would completely clean out all of the slots that were rough cast. Came up with 1.640". The slots were first cleaned out with a 3/8" roughing end mill, and then a pass with the T-slot cutter. So far, it seems to be staying pretty darn flat. I fully expected to see some really noticeable distortion after removing that much metal. Happy to see that. Will post up, whenever I get time to pick at it some more.


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## kcoffield (Dec 27, 2020)

Out of curiosity, would you rather have had the t slots omitted from the castings? If I was casting that for myself, I doubt I'd bother with them in the casting. Actually sort surprised the casting was flat. Nice project.....tools making tools.

Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Dec 27, 2020)

I've pondered that myself, but have decided I do like them there. I plan to bolt my tool post to the slide, and eliminate the compound. Having multiple t-slots allows more mounting options. In addition, a backside tool post can be used, and when boring, the tool post can be shifted to the middle of the slide, rather than cranking the cross slide way over; which will maximize the dovetail contact area between the cross and the carriage. Should help beef things up a bit. Going try and fashion some sort of gib lock as well. The casting was surprisingly flat/straight. Took about .040" top and bottom to true it up. The sides took more, as they have "draft", which is to be expected. It's generously wide, and still close to a 1/4" wider than the factory slide. About as much thicker as well. Planning to preserve as much meat as possible, since the compound will be replaced with an adaptor plate of some sort.


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## akjeff (Dec 28, 2020)

Squared off the ends to the finished length of 11". In a holding pattern until a set of pin gages that are on order arrive. Will need them to measure the dovetails, and locate the hole for the cross feed nut. Hopefully they'll arrive in time for next weekend, and get back on it.


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## akjeff (Dec 28, 2020)

Started cleaning the shop, but lucked out and found some ground dowel pins perfectly sized to measure the dovetail spacing, and cross nut hole location. So much for shop cleanup! Made some good headway, and the tedious task of cutting the dovetails is complete. Fits really nicely with the factory gib, now I just need to fit a new full length version. Very pleased so far. Never cut dovetails before, so I proceeded very slowly.


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## akjeff (Dec 31, 2020)

Milled the height and width to final dimension, and counterbored the hole for the cross feed nut. Still no warpage/distortion following material removal, and have yet to encounter even a hint of a void or flaw. Really impressed with the casting quality.


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## Jim F (Dec 31, 2020)

Could you make the pics attachments, so that it does not take 5 min. to load 1 post ?


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## akjeff (Dec 31, 2020)

Jim F said:


> Could you make the pics attachments, so that it does not take 5 min. to load 1 post ?


Sure I'll see if I can figure that out. They load in a manner of seconds here. Are you on dial up?


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## Jim F (Dec 31, 2020)

Cable.


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## kcoffield (Dec 31, 2020)

They load fine for me in a few seconds. I prefer them imbedded so you don't have to click to view at each one.......opinions vary.

Best,
Kelly


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## mattthemuppet2 (Dec 31, 2020)

Looks great! I'd love to make something similar for my SB. While you're in there I'd add oiling grooves to the ways and GITs or ball oilers to oil them with. That'll make keeping it oiled alot simpler and easier. If you want to get fancy, you can even get a socket head hold and drill through the center to add a ball oiler and then oil your cross slide nut/ screw  I always found removing the bolt and oiling the screw on my 618 to be a chore (= didn't do it very often) so fixed that on my SB.


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## akjeff (Dec 31, 2020)

Thanks. Plans for oiling both the ways and the screw/nut are already in the works!


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jan 1, 2021)

nice! Looking forward to see what you come up with.


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## akjeff (Jan 1, 2021)

Waiting on some ball oil cups to arrive, so in the meantime decided to address the end play adjustment of the cross feed screw, which I've never been happy with. Added thrust bearing/washers on both ends of the screw support bushing/boss. Shortened the inside end by the .140" stackup of the bearing and two washers, and put them between the bushing and the drive gear. Screwed it back in the carriage, and went to work on the end facing the front. Rather than countersinking a relief in the screw support boss, I chose to shorten the  nut/bushing that the dial rotates around. Again,  shortening by .140". Then needed to deepen the relief on the face of the dial, so it would swallow the new thrust bearing/washers, and have just enough clearance that it still spins freely when the thumb screw is loosened. Put it all together and wow, what a difference! Smooth as silk, and no end play. Should have done this long ago. Also countersunk a locking screw for the cross feed nut mounting screw, as it's not farmer tight in the nut, and the lock will keep it in it's mostly tight state. I'll eventually counterbore both with a 1" end mill, and make a plug to fill the hole, and cover the screws. The 1/4-20 screw will be drilled through, as will the nut, so oil can be fed to the nut/screw.


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## akjeff (Jan 2, 2021)

Got the gib fitted to the new slide. First had to make a pair of beveled spreader bars to clamp the gib stock in the cross slide, and use it for a jig to cut the beveled edges. Don't recall where I saw the spreader bar idea, but I certainly thank whoever it was that posted it. Worked great! Beveled the first edge, and left it proud of the cross slide by .050" or so. Then using the factory gib on top of a "shim" of 3/32" TIG filler rod, set the depth stop on the quill, and then clamped the new gib in place for the other bevel. Viola, a new gib! Gave it some attention with stones to thoroughly de-burr and smooth it out. Fit is great, and the new cross slide in extremely solid. Need to drill and tap the gib adjustment screws and dimple the gib to accept the screw tips. Also intend to add a pair of gib locks. Then, it's just a matter of waiting for the oil cups to arrive, as well as a block of steel to make a tool post adapter to replace the compound.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jan 2, 2021)

nice, that's going to be a dream to use!


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## akjeff (Jan 2, 2021)

Drilled/tapped the gib adjust set screws. In a holding pattern for oil cups. Hoping a friend will have a steel drop at his fab shop on Monday, so I can get started on the tool post mount. If not, some is on order through ebay.


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## brino (Jan 2, 2021)

That looks great!
-brino


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## akjeff (Jan 2, 2021)

Thanks brino!


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## wa5cab (Jan 3, 2021)

On the subject of the compound, be sure that you hang onto it.  One of these days you may need to cut a thread or do something else which you can't do with the T-Slot cross slide.

On the subject of load times, the OP can opt to display the thumbnails instead of the full size photos.  Those are your only options from this end.


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## akjeff (Jan 3, 2021)

wa5cab said:


> On the subject of the compound, be sure that you hang onto it.  One of these days you may need to cut a thread or do something else which you can't do with the T-Slot cross slide.
> 
> On the subject of load times, the OP can opt to display the thumbnails instead of the full size photos.  Those are your only options from this end.


Definitely will be hanging on to the compound for cutting course threads and tapers. For fine threads( unless in something on the tough side ) I'll just plow straight it. My compound needs attention after I finish with this cross slide. It rocks terribly, and in addition to the sliding surfaces needing corrected, it would probably benefit from a gib lock.


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## akjeff (Jan 3, 2021)

Just found some good and bad info in the shop. The good is, I clamped a precision straight edge across the face of my chuck, and mounted an indicator on the new MLA-11 cross slide, and swept it the entire travel of the feed screw. Got less than .001" deviation, and even better the deviation ran progressively towards the chuck, as it should. Very happy with that. Also virtually zero play on the cross slide when I tried to move it left/right and fore/aft( I locked the carriage for this test).

Now the bad. Disassembled the compound for a quick inspection on the surface plate. Holy cow, no wonder this thing has given me fits! The lower casting 704-016 isn't bad. The top dovetail is parallel to the swivel base base to within .001"-.002", and the dovetails are parallel to each other to a worst case of .003". The top casting 704-017 is another matter. Must have been made on Friday afternoon or Monday morning. The parallelism of the dovetails to the top surface( tool post mount ) is out by .008". The parallelism of the dovetails to each otheris off by .030"! That's not a misprint. They both converge towards one another at one end. No wonder I could never tweak the gib adjustments to a satisfactory level. I'll start a separate thread when I begin it's rehab.

*Update:*

Well, there will be no compound rehab thread, as the top casting is pretty much shot. Both dovetails angled in toward each other pretty severely. Looked like something shifted when they were machining it. Anyway, by the time I got them parallel,  the gib would have to be damn near triple in thickness to snug it up. Thinking my best option is to simply make a new one out of Durabar, and mate it to the factory lower casting, which is dimensionally pretty good. Once I have my rigid tool post mount made, I can make this new compound of a thickness that will stack up to the exact height of the rigid mount, and will allow the Aloris toolholders to remain set.


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## akjeff (Jan 9, 2021)

Made a little more progress on the cross slide this morning. Cut in the oil grooves, and countersunk the ball oiler ports. The oil ports are a snug slip fit, and will be anchored with Lock-Tite of some sort at final assembly. Still debating whether I'll surface grind the outer surfaces. A friend who's a pro machinist offered to have me out to his shop, and he'd tutor me on grinding, so I'd hate to miss a great opportunity like that. If I do opt to grind it, I'll wait until the tool post mount is done, and grind it all in one session.

First cut the grooves in the Y axis, and through drilled the oil passages. Used a .125" ball end mill, to a depth of .065". Cut the counterbores for the ball oiler ports. Then moved to a toolmakers vice off to the side to cut the diagonal grooves, so I didn't have to move the mill vice out of tram. Then counterbored another pair of ball oilers that feed the top corner of the gib dovetails.

Hoping the steel for the tool post arrives this week, so that can get that knocked out, and be back in service. Once the lathe is functional, a plug will be made to both cover the nut screw/set screw, and will also have a ball oiler in it, to feed the nut. The left side of the slide will have a DRO scale on it, and that is why I chose to put all the oil ports on top.


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## wa5cab (Jan 10, 2021)

Too bad about your compound slide.  Hard to believe that it got past the QA.

The Atlas milling attachment uses the 10" and early 12" cross slide as a vertical slide.  And comes with a gib lock.  I bought one of the lock screws and installed in in place of as I recall the third gib screw.  Works fine.


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## akjeff (Jan 10, 2021)

wa5cab said:


> Too bad about your compound slide.  Hard to believe that it got past the QA.
> 
> The Atlas milling attachment uses the 10" and early 12" cross slide as a vertical slide.  And comes with a gib lock.  I bought one of the lock screws and installed in in place of as I recall the third gib screw.  Works fine.


Yep, that thing was grossly out of spec. You could see two distinct dovetails in the dovetail! Like something shifted in between passes. Ended up finding one on ebay, and it fits my lower casting great, which is awesome. Great idea using the milling attachment lock screw! I grabbed the one out of my milling attachment, but it's a screw size up from the 10-32's in the MLA slide. But, I'll simply get a couple 10-32 cap screws, and cross drill a pin in the head and that'll do the trick. Thanks for the idea!


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## cdhknives (Jan 11, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> Out of curiosity, would you rather have had the t slots omitted from the castings? If I was casting that for myself, I doubt I'd bother with them in the casting. Actually sort surprised the casting was flat. Nice project.....tools making tools.
> 
> Best,
> Kelly


The T-Slots come in handy at times.


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## kcoffield (Jan 11, 2021)

cdhknives said:


> The T-Slots come in handy at times.


I just meant omitted from the casting only not the finished part. It's not much more material to remove to just machine the entire tee slot feature.

Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Jan 11, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> I just meant omitted from the casting only not the finished part. It's not much more material to remove to just machine the entire tee slot feature.
> 
> Best,
> Kelly


Might not be a bad option, then you could put them where you want them.


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## akjeff (Jan 13, 2021)

The steel ( 1144 ) for the tool post mount came in todays mail. Got started squaring it up to rough dimensions.


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## wa5cab (Jan 13, 2021)

I agree with Kelly.


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## akjeff (Jan 14, 2021)

Decked the opposite side, and the top to bottom depth is at it's final dimension. Squared up the sides as well, but they're still oversize. Everything is flat, square, and parallel. Time to decide where the mounting holes will be, and what will get carved away. The 1144 cuts really nicely.


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## akjeff (Jan 16, 2021)

A little more progress this evening. Sunk the holes to mount the block to the slide, and drilled and tapped the mounting hole for the tool post. Took a while to figure out the hole location, as I wanted them either completely covered, or completely exposed. Also wanted to use the t-slots and not swiss cheese the cross slide with mounting holes. This way I can jump the tool post to the middle of the slide when using a boring bar, to keep as much dovetail engagement as possible. Next will be an anti-rotation plate on on the rear right corner of the tool post. Then slope the sides of the post to get rid of what doesn't need to be there.


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## akjeff (Jan 16, 2021)

Faced off the remaining mill scale on the corners, and put a bar across the back face of the tool post. Put a tool holder in the post and indicated it in square to the chuck, and then clamped the bar hard against the tool post, and tightened the screws. After finish work is done, will likely put dowel pins in it, and make it permanent. Next will be sloping the sides in towards to the tool post, to minimize the horizontal surfaces around the post collecting  swarf, and then sand the sides. The top and bottom will get surface ground when I do the top and sides of the cross slide. That'll depend on when a friend has some free time to give me some Grinding 101 instruction.


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## akjeff (Jan 16, 2021)

Finished the majority of the work after lunch today. Still have a lot of sanding to do, and grind the top and bottom. Test cuts showed a definite improvement in surface finish, and even better the parting tool actually works! That alone made it worth doing.

Also wanted to give a plug to the robrenz you tube channel 



. This is where I got the idea to make the solid tool post mount, and ditch the compound unless I'm doing something special that requires it. I think Robin has one of the most interesting machinist oriented you tube channels out there. He's a very bright, and skilled machinist IMHO.


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## TH484BBB (Jan 16, 2021)

VERY NICE! Man, I would love to have that setup on my 10" Atlas. Nicely done!


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## akjeff (Jan 16, 2021)

Thank you very much!


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## TH484BBB (Jan 16, 2021)

What a professional job!


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## gunsmither (Jan 19, 2021)

Very nice work akjeff, thanks for sharing this! 

I built one of those MLA castings made for a Southbend 9 to fit my Southbend so called Heavy Ten about 20 years ago I think it was. Works great, especially to have a Back Toolpost. Love it. I posted photo's of it on another machinist website about maybe 10 years ago if I recall. Very usefull accessory.


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## akjeff (Jan 19, 2021)

Thank you! Really happy with Andy's casting. A very worthwhile mod for the lathe.


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## gunsmither (Jan 19, 2021)

I spoke with him prior to purchasing the casting years ago. Super nice guy, very helpful!


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## kcoffield (Jan 20, 2021)

You've done a great job on the build and I can see how that combined with the tool post may provide some further rigidity. Now this is coming from a guy with a mill and similar lathe, but I don't think I could give up my compound. How do you accurately change positions along the bed length? External dial? Stops? I was looking at mine and it looks difficult to get a functioning compound on top such a cross slide and still have a viable tool post height. Now if the lathe was the only machine I had in the shop it would add a great deal of utility at some sacrifice of it's function as a lathe....which of course can be restored in pretty short order.

Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Jan 20, 2021)

Thanks Kelly, good questions. I'll be using the DRO to monitor accurate moves in both X and Z. The DRO is another reason I decided to ditch the compound. With the fixed tool post, once tool position is stored in memory, its position is known in an instant and very repeatable. Tough to do, with a compound in the mix. The height of the tool post with this setup, is essentially the same height as the factory cross slide/compound combo. I made a nub that screws to the T-slot, that allows me to put the compound on the MLA cross slide if need be. For my needs there just aren't any downsides that I can see.


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## akjeff (Jan 28, 2021)

A friend graciously surface ground the critical surfaces of the cross slide and tool post mount over the weekend, coupled with some pointers, which are always welcome and appreciated. Lucky to have friends who are very skilled, professional machinists. I then draw filed and sanded away the tool marks from the  non critical surfaces. Cross slide operation is very smooth now. Also installed a 2-axis DRO. Scales are 5um Acu-Rite ebay scores, as is the Jenix display, which works great. All that's left to do is make a plug disc to cover the cross feed nut mounting/lock screws, and start storing tools in the DRO memory. Very pleased with the results, and performance of the MLA kit.


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## gunsmither (Jan 28, 2021)

That ground finish is the frosting on the cake. Beautiful!


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## brino (Jan 28, 2021)

Fantastic project and very well done!

Thanks for bringing all of us along.

-brino


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## akjeff (Jan 28, 2021)

Thanks guys!


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## kcoffield (Jan 28, 2021)

Nicely finished. Nice score on the DRO too. I took a spin back through the thread which prompted a few questions for you.

What are the T-Slot dimensions?
I notice one gib screw backed off in the picture. Is there going to be a lock?
Would there be a way to install the oilers somewhere other than the machine surface? With cross drilled passages maybe? I presume they were installed low enough they were non-issues for the surface grind.
Curious about the mounting provisions for the lead screw nut. Full travel dictates location so not many (good) choices about mounting through the machine surface there but can you elaborate on this feature.




Sorry for all the Qs......must sound like a guy that wants one  

Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Jan 28, 2021)

Great questions, I’ll address them when I get home from work, or possibly at lunch if there’s time.


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## akjeff (Jan 28, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> Nicely finished. Nice score on the DRO too. I took a spin back through the thread which prompted a few questions for you.


Thanks!


kcoffield said:


> What are the T-Slot dimensions?


The slots are 5/8" wide in the "T" and 3/8" in the slot, and take standard size T-nuts for 5/16"-18 fasteners.


kcoffield said:


> I notice one gib screw backed off in the picture. Is there going to be a lock?


Yes exactly. Still need to make a lever for it, or just run a pin through the head of it, so it can be used without tools.


kcoffield said:


> Would there be a way to install the oilers somewhere other than the machine surface? With cross drilled passages maybe? I presume they were installed low enough they were non-issues for the surface grind.


Yes you could do it from the side, but I was tool blocked by the DRO scale, and decided to do it from above. I didn't permanently install them until after the grind. They are just a snug slip fit, and held in with some sleeve retaining compound.


kcoffield said:


> Curious about the mounting provisions for the lead screw nut. Full travel dictates location so not many (good) choices about mounting through the machine surface there but can you elaborate on this feature.


Didn't have much choice on it. Basically located exactly where the factory nut was, relative to the screw support bushing in the carriage. The screw is then drilled through(as is the nut), and when I make the cover/plug, it will have a ball oiler in it as well, so the nut can be oiled easily.


kcoffield said:


> View attachment 353004
> 
> 
> Sorry for all the Qs......must sound like a guy that wants one


Good questions!


kcoffield said:


> Best,
> Kelly


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## kcoffield (Mar 16, 2021)

Having used my lathe for a while now, I think I'd really benefit from a little more rigidity; operations like parting, knurling, threading, profiles, etc. So Jeff, you inspired me and, and given the general limitations of the machine, the lowest hanging fruit seemed to be the content of this thread. I was going to cast my own A-11-like cross slide, but after speaking to Andy, he was such a nice guy and the price so reasonable, I just bought the A-11 kit. I still plan to cast some other iron accessories for the lathe, but I'll immediately incorporate a solid/rigid tool post for both front and rear mount, and suspect I'll be making some mods to my compound too. Two questions Jeff:


Do you recall what overall height you finished the A-11?
...and corollary question, the depth to the bottom of the t-slot?

I'll post up on the project in the future.

Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Mar 17, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> Having used my lathe for a while now, I think I'd really benefit from a little more rigidity; operations like parting, knurling, threading, profiles, etc. So Jeff, you inspired me and, and given the general limitations of the machine, the lowest hanging fruit seemed to be the content of this thread. I was going to cast my own A-11-like cross slide, but after speaking to Andy, he was such a nice guy and the price so reasonable, I just bought the A-11 kit. I still plan to cast some other iron accessories for the lathe, but I'll immediately incorporate a solid/rigid tool post for both front and rear mount, and suspect I'll be making some mods to my compound too. Two questions Jeff:
> 
> 
> Do you recall what overall height you finished the A-11?
> ...


Hi Kelly,

I think you'll really like what the A-11( and solid tool post ) does for your lathe. And yes, Andy is a super nice guy. Great quality product, at a very reasonable price. 

Unfortunately, I won't be able to measure my A-11, for a week or so, due to work. Will post it up, as soon as I can. I want to say I finished mine at 1.10", as I wanted it to be as thick as possible. I think an even 1" is the norm. I'll have to measure the T-slots, as I don't even have a guess.

Look forward to seeing how it turns out!

Regards,

Jeff


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## kcoffield (Mar 17, 2021)

akjeff said:


> Unfortunately, I won't be able to measure my A-11, for a week or so, due to work. Will post it up, as soon as I can. I want to say I finished mine at 1.10", as I wanted it to be as thick as possible. I think an even 1" is the norm. I'll have to measure the T-slots, as I don't even have a guess.


No worries. I'll know soon enough when I receive it from Andy. The raw casting is supposed to be 1.25" thick and I can see ~1/8" can come off the bottom. Then it's just a matter what it takes to clean up the top. I'd like to be able to continue to use the original compound with up to 1/2" cutter, but I have an AXA tool post and there is only about 1/4" under the tool holder when centered on the turning axis. It doesn't make any sense to add the A-11 cross slide for rigidity and then skinny it up to accommodate compound height, so I won't be doing that.

If you just make the wedge disc, secure it to the t-slot, and allow the compound to land on the cross slide surface, there is room, but you lose the degree graduations and you'd be limited to at most a single 3/8" bolt to mount it. I could make a protractor disc out of thin gauge sheet to sit under the compound but I rarely set it at anything other than 30 degrees and that could be set with a hand held protractor so probably not worth the hassle.

I saw this post from another forum member here (sorry forgot who). I had an acquaintance with a broken cross slide, and he offered to give it to me, and I grabbed it thinking of this.




Problem is it speaks for another 1/4" of height. I'm thinking I could easily remake the top slide of the compound, eliminate the slot for the tool post nut, thread the tool post stud directly into the top slide, and just mount AXA directly on the stud and pick up the required height difference. Maybe the member who did the deed above can comment.

The rigid tool posts are no problem since they can be made any height to suit. In time, I have a few other accessories in mind.

Best,
Kelly


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## Rob (Mar 17, 2021)

A option if you have a 12" lathe is a 10" lathe compound.


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## wa5cab (Mar 17, 2021)

> kcoffield said:
> 
> 
> 
> I notice one gib screw backed off in the picture. Is there going to be a lock?


Yes exactly. Still need to make a lever for it, or just run a pin through the head of it, so it can be used without tools.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I will add (although some may think it too pricey) that both the Atlas 6" and the 10"/12" milling attachments come with some gib screws ahd lock nuts and with a lock that already has the cross-drilled hole with groove pin installed for tightening/loosening.  Part #'s are M6-508 for 6" and 9-508 for all of the other sizes.


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## kcoffield (Mar 17, 2021)

Rob said:


> A option if you have a 12" lathe is a 10" lathe compound


Great suggestion. I hadn't even thought about the 10" compound.

I was also eyeing up Ray's/iron man's work here.









						Atlas upper compound slide modification
					

I have been wanting to do this for a long time and the right part come up for grabs and I thought now would be a good time. As you can see in the photo I have two compounds the lower one is a stock 10 inch Atlas that broke in half as they frequently do. The other is a Atlas 12 inch commercial...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




Best,
Kelly


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## akjeff (Mar 17, 2021)

kcoffield said:


> No worries. I'll know soon enough when I receive it from Andy. The raw casting is supposed to be 1.25" thick and I can see ~1/8" can come off the bottom. Then it's just a matter what it takes to clean up the top. I'd like to be able to continue to use the original compound with up to 1/2" cutter, but I have an AXA tool post and there is only about 1/4" under the tool holder when centered on the turning axis. It doesn't make any sense to add the A-11 cross slide for rigidity and then skinny it up to accommodate compound height, so I won't be doing that.
> 
> If you just make the wedge disc, secure it to the t-slot, and allow the compound to land on the cross slide surface, there is room, but you lose the degree graduations and you'd be limited to at most a single 3/8" bolt to mount it. I could make a protractor disc out of thin gauge sheet to sit under the compound but I rarely set it at anything other than 30 degrees and that could be set with a hand held protractor so probably not worth the hassle.
> 
> ...


I use an Aloris AXA w/1/2" tools as well. For using the compound, I'm presently using the small nub held down with just one bolt. I don't mind the degree graduations being gone, as I generally set mine with an angle block, but I do mind the single screw mount. I like the idea of using a 10" compound to allow for a more substantial base. Thanks for posting that Rob! Also, great idea on the gib lock wa5cab!


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