I finally finished my tail stock die holder including a 3MT tapered "spindle". Its been a good project to learn new things. Boring and turning a taper.
I'm happy with the die holder even though the finish is a bit ordinary. The tapered handle on the bar is very rough, I've no idea what the material was but it didn't turn nicely at all.
The first 3MT taper was a bit sloppy as I didn't get the compound angle close enough. I did another one and was really careful setting up the angle this time. (With the lathe power turned off) I set up a 3MT live centre "the wrong way round" with the screw in button on the small end lightly chucked up and stuck the live centre end in the hole in the tailstock. Then I kept adjusting the compound angle until it was running parallel to the taper on the live centre.
The next taper turned out to be a really snug fit and a very nice finish that I was happy with. However I turned it down a tad too far, the large end is undersize. As I made this one with a tang on the end it doesn't engage properly as it slides too far into the 3MT socket. So anyway, tomorrow I'll make another one.
The other thing I'm learning about is the order of work and how to hold work, particularly once you produce a tapered object. I milled the flats for the tang last of all, I should have done them earlier, holding the piece in a collet block was less than optimal, I didn't get a good enough grip, it must have spun a wee bit and the two sides aren't quite parallel. Anyway, I'll cut the tang off, it isn't needed, I just wanted to make one like the "real thing".
My approach is a bit "monkey see, monkey do" and this monkey is getting a little bit smarter every time I try something.
So, all in all, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at for now.
pete
