# Craftsman 101.21200 toolpost rocker



## Vox (Sep 29, 2020)

I recently bought this lathe and I'm getting it cleaned up right now.  It came with a decent amount of tooling and accessories but one thing it is missing is the tool post rocker, I imagine it's sitting lost on one of the previous owners' shop floor right now.

Does anyone know where I might buy one of these relatively cheaply?  All I can find online is around $30 shipped and that seems high to me.  The plan is to eventually get a QCTP but I wanted to get a few hours on this machine at least before I commit to spending more money.

Alternately, my plan is to mill one out but I only have aluminum and bronze on hand right now.  Am I wasting my time by not making this out of steel?

Thanks,
Greg


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## pontiac428 (Sep 29, 2020)

Greg, if you use the bronze you won't have to make it again (it should be known as the deluxe model).  Bronze would perform as well as steel, but would be more expensive.  Aluminum would wear out eventually, and would be okay until you replaced it with steel.

Do your best to keep the edges square.  You have wiggle room with the lantern post design, but the "rocker" is the pedestal that your tool holder rests on, so try to keep the edges parallel.  These holders do work, but 99% of us favor a QCTP design.


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## Vox (Sep 29, 2020)

Thanks for that.  I have a stack of odd shaped bronze scrap and nothing better to do with it, so I'll make one out of that.  Easy enough cnc project.
I absolutely see the benefit of the QCTP, but buying the lathe blew my tool budget for the next little while.  I'll probably be getting one soon but I'd like to use the lathe in the meantime.


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## mickri (Sep 29, 2020)

Welcome to the forum.  This is a great friendly place.  Lots of really knowledgeable people on here who will help you out.  Don't be afraid to ask any question not matter how simple you might think that it is.  You will get the help you need. 

Winky's Workshop has a two part video where he made a lantern style tool post.  In part 2 he made an adjustable spacer.  



   The adjustable spacer makes it a lot easier to use a lantern tool post.  I have thought about making one of these for my lantern style tool post.  I don't use my lantern tool post very often.  But it still gets used.  Usually to get into a tight space.

If money is tight you should consider making a Norman style QCTP.  You can make one for a fraction of the cost of a commercial OCTP.  That's what I did.  Lots of other members on the forum have also made them.  My total cost for the material to make the post and 20 tool holders was just under $100.  I have made 12 tool holders so far.  Two to hold boring bars, a parting blade holder and 9 generic holders that can hold a variety of tool bits.  The whole point of having a QCTP is to have a holder for each of your tool bits.  If you have to change tool bits you defeat the purpose of a QCTP.  You can never have too many tool holders.

Speaking of tool bits Mikey's very long thread on grinding tool bits is a must read.  I have read it start to finish several times and still consult it if I have a question about a particular type of tool bit.


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## Vox (Sep 30, 2020)

Thanks for the welcome!

I just subscribed to his channel, I like the adjustable spacer idea a lot.  I'll have to keep that in mind for upgrades later on, looks like that would be handy to have if I ever needed the lantern style post for something.

I'll have to think about the norman style, that looks promising.  



mickri said:


> You can never have too many tool holders.


My primary justification for buying the lathe other than - you know, *HAVING* a lathe - was actually to make tool holders for my cnc mill.  The QC set it came with only has 10 holders, I'd like more and in more sizes.  It's some kind of proprietary holder or else I just can't find it anywhere, and other R8 quick change sets I've seen are ridiculously expensive.

Also I've seen his tool bit grinding thread, looks like a good resource and I'm sure I'll be referencing that a lot.


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## mickri (Sep 30, 2020)

The tool post you reference in your first post is a lantern style tool post.

What type of CNC mill do you have?  I have a round column RF 30 clone mill/drill.  It has an R8 quill.  I bought an R8 to ER32 adapter and use ER32 collets for tool holding. 

Here is a link to my summary thread on making a norman style QCTP.  https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/norman-style-qctp.79705/


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## Vox (Sep 30, 2020)

mickri said:


> The tool post you reference in your first post is a lantern style tool post.


Right, I worded that poorly.  I meant that I would make a replacement for the original part and if/when I had a QCTP I would still make the upgraded spacer for my lantern post to have if needed.

I have a Light Machines (now Intelitek) ProLight PLM2000.  The tool holders I have are stamped with the name "Light Machines" and a patent number, which is why I assume they were proprietary.  It is very similar to the Royal R8 Quick-Change Tool System but not compatible, although it appears from the manual I found online that the Royal system was an option when new.

Thanks for the link, I will give that a read.


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## NortonDommi (Sep 30, 2020)

If there is a industrial transmission shop nearby you could look at a woodruff key and trim to fit.  Bearing factors often have them as do heavy equipment dealers. Probably just as easy to make one.


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## ericc (Sep 30, 2020)

I'd just make one.  Even if you didn't get it right the first time, it would get you a long way toward making chips.  I made my whole toolpost, ring, Armstrong tool holders and rocker with hammer and anvil.  One of the fellow smiths thought I was making a repousee hammer.  The toolpost with it's slot does kind of look like a funny hammer head.  The rocker was a little off, but it put the tool in the right place and chips abounded!


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## JPMacG (Sep 30, 2020)

I'll second the recommendation for a QCTP.   The quality of my work improved and my frustration level decreased the day I put aside the lantern and started using a QCTP.   The inexpensive import QCTPs are decent enough quality.


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## Vox (Oct 1, 2020)

ericc said:


> The rocker was a little off, but it put the tool in the right place and chips abounded!


That's encouraging.  I 3D printed the part I modeled as a test and it looks like an OK fit but maybe not perfect, that said it's not like I have the original in front of me to compare.



JPMacG said:


> The inexpensive import QCTPs are decent enough quality.


Yeah, I figure this lathe is small enough I'm not going to be seeing the kinds of forces a commercial lathe would.  I'm positive I don't need the name brand.  I've been looking at what Shars has, they're local-ish to me and I've bought some of their house brand stuff for my mill and it's been good enough for my purposes.


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## Vox (Oct 12, 2020)

Finally got out to the garage to make my missing part.  Broke an end-mill before the final depth and the pass to clean up the contour and I didn't feel like starting over so I cut it off with a sawzall and back to the mill to face the cut side.  Slightly oversized from my model seems to fit pretty good though, so I'm not mad.

Of course playing with the tool post I noticed the threads on that are all messed up.  The excuses to buy a qctp are stacking up rapidly.


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## Vox (Oct 14, 2020)

Last update on my tool post fun.  Picked up a couple replacement hex screws and ran a tap through the holder to clean up the threads.
Made my very first cut on this lathe to put a bit of a blunt end on another screw that I'll use for the time being.  Pretty happy with how it works, and my lathe is officially functional.


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