# Slotting attachment for lathe



## dgehricke (Nov 1, 2013)

Here are some photos of the stock used to make it. any questions get back to me here.


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## DMS (Nov 1, 2013)

Nice work. I made one a couple years ago for my 7x14. The main issue I had was centering the cutter. Other than that, worked pretty well. Have you tried it out yet?


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## dgehricke (Nov 2, 2013)

Hi DSM,
 Yea I tried it on my pulleys that I made for my MiniMill belt conversion, I ground up an old broken HSS tap in to a cutting tool that matched the preposed key stock.
It work great, My arm still got tired but was better then running the carriage back and forth.


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## Uncle Buck (Nov 2, 2013)

I hate to sound stupid, but I do not totally see how this would be used. Clearly it mounts to the compound and it looks like the lever allows the cutter to be pushed forward and back. Beyond that I cannot envision how the slot would be created. I am also assuming this is an operation that is not done with the chuck turning and the lathe under power.

Some video of this thing in operation would benefit clarity greatly for some of the thicker headed guys like me though I can say that. :think1:


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## dgehricke (Nov 2, 2013)

The slotting is used WITHOUT the lathe under power, It is set in the compound in place of your tool post then it is brought up to the work mounted in your lathe check, faceplate
then the carriage is locked down and the cross is used to cut internal keyways or splines and could probably be used on some external cuts as well. It is hand operated with the attached
lever. As stated in the post I did cut the key way for my pulleys for a belt drive upgrade for my mini mill.
Hope this clarifies things for you.


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## Rick Leslie (Nov 2, 2013)

That's nice work on the 'slotter'. Some refer to that design as a hand operated shaper. It can be adapted to cut much more than just slots. 

Uncle Buck, the slots are actually internal keyways for pulleys. I hope that gives you a better mental picture of it's use. A video of it in action would be cool.


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## DMS (Nov 2, 2013)

Here is a video of one in operation [video=youtube_share;NpcKTtYPNKM]http://youtu.be/NpcKTtYPNKM[/video]


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## xalky (Nov 2, 2013)

I saw a video of a guy on you tube cutting gear teeth on his lathe the same way. He used one of the gears in the headstock to index it with a sort of ratchet stop. I thought it was pretty ingenious!


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## core-oil (Nov 2, 2013)

Hi Guys,

  This ingenious device is not really a new idea, some of the old bench mounted plain precision tool makers lathes built by the American firms in the early 1900/s had a key slotting/internal slotting fitment supplied also,  Something upon which the more recent folks have based their ideas on  Remember of course only light cuts can be taken, & the headstock spindle should be steadied from moving as well as the saddle, By swivelling the attachment round a little, a taper keyway can be cut
  This idea opens doors for the home shop hobby craftsman


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## Uncle Buck (Nov 2, 2013)

Ok, thank you guys. So I had a semi understanding of it, just not total though. Very nice attachment for the lathe. I also like the ability to index the part with the headstock too!




dgehricke said:


> The slotting is used WITHOUT the lathe under power, It is set in the compound in place of your tool post then it is brought up to the work mounted in your lathe check, faceplate
> then the carriage is locked down and the cross is used to cut internal keyways or splines and could probably be used on some external cuts as well. It is hand operated with the attached
> lever. As stated in the post I did cut the key way for my pulleys for a belt drive upgrade for my mini mill.
> Hope this clarifies things for you.





Rick Leslie said:


> That's nice work on the 'slotter'. Some refer to that design as a hand operated shaper. It can be adapted to cut much more than just slots.
> 
> Uncle Buck, the slots are actually internal keyways for pulleys. I hope that gives you a better mental picture of it's use. A video of it in action would be cool.


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