That newly sharpened .125 drill bit was done on that fancy sharpener of yours, right?
Nice work as always Mark.
Why, of course it was .
Thank you for the kind words.
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A Dividing Head Anyone Can Build
- Thread starter Mark_f
- Start date
Why, of course it was .
Thank you for the kind words.
Sure..... here you go. My mill table is only 4 x 16 inches so the head had to be able to fit with enough room for a part too. I think it weighs about 30 pounds so one person can move it, unlike a big Cinci or L&W that takes two guys to carry.
The dividing head is basically done. I made a temporary handle for the plunger pin. I have brass and will be making the final handle a little later. I am glad I made a temporary first as I discovered a couple of features I want to add and change it some.
These are the parts to the handle (except for the knob). I will be making the new one from brass at a later time.
In this photo, you can see the direct index pin assembly. By sliding the knob forward in the slot, the pin goes into the index plate and it is simply retracted if not needed. This part was probably one of the most difficult to make in the whole project. aligning the block, drilling and reaming the holes in alignment and mounting it all in alignment was very difficult because the tolerances on everything is just a few thousandths and a couple thousandths off here and a couple there and the pin won't slide into the holes. The head is easy to build but the close alignment of various parts makes it difficult. I kept all tolerances within a few thousandths and it all has to line up.
Essentially the dividing head is ready to use and finished. I will be making sector arms a little later. they will be brass and I won't have the material for a while. I will also be replacing the plunger handle with a brass one soon. One other item I should make is a thread protector for the spindle when using collets. For now , I will use the one from my lathe. I will post additions and changes later as they are done. But I can use it just fine right now.
Here are some photos of the completed dividing head.
It weighs in at 26 pounds. Easy to carry and lift. The final cash layout for this project was just a little over $50. ( I utilized scrap pieces and material found for free. The gears were donated by good friend, Nelson Collar). I am very pleased with the success of this project and it will be very useful in the future.
Thank you all who followed the adventure and commented.
Mark
These are the parts to the handle (except for the knob). I will be making the new one from brass at a later time. In this photo, you can see the direct index pin assembly. By sliding the knob forward in the slot, the pin goes into the index plate and it is simply retracted if not needed. This part was probably one of the most difficult to make in the whole project. aligning the block, drilling and reaming the holes in alignment and mounting it all in alignment was very difficult because the tolerances on everything is just a few thousandths and a couple thousandths off here and a couple there and the pin won't slide into the holes. The head is easy to build but the close alignment of various parts makes it difficult. I kept all tolerances within a few thousandths and it all has to line up.Essentially the dividing head is ready to use and finished. I will be making sector arms a little later. they will be brass and I won't have the material for a while. I will also be replacing the plunger handle with a brass one soon. One other item I should make is a thread protector for the spindle when using collets. For now , I will use the one from my lathe. I will post additions and changes later as they are done. But I can use it just fine right now.
Here are some photos of the completed dividing head.
It weighs in at 26 pounds. Easy to carry and lift. The final cash layout for this project was just a little over $50. ( I utilized scrap pieces and material found for free. The gears were donated by good friend, Nelson Collar). I am very pleased with the success of this project and it will be very useful in the future.
Thank you all who followed the adventure and commented.
Mark
Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome.
I think this has been my favorite piece to make. I always wanted one and it is a necessity almost to cut gears. It was fairly easy and a fun build. I am very happy with the results. I think it needs a nice wooden box to get stored in. Guess I should make one.
My dividing head came out excellent and I got all the features I wanted built into it. I can see me getting a good bit of use from it. The only thing I don't have made yet is the sector arms and they will have to wait till next month when I get paid ( if I can get the brass then). I may make a set from aluminum to do until the brass ones are made. None the less, I am really happy with the dividing head. I will post more photos when I get some accessories made that I plan to make. I still want to make a tail stock, sector arms, spindle thread protector, cover for the gears, and locating keys on the bottom to fit the mill table slot. This stuff will get made as I get time. The head will do what I needed it for, for now.
I have already started the next needed project. It won't take long to build. It is a pancake boring head 3 inches in diameter. The Burke mill only has a 4 inch saddle travel which means you only have 3 inches of usable travel. All the boring heads are so long, they leave no room to use them on a small horizontal mill. The boring head I am making will hopefully be less than half the length of the ones available, which will make it easier to use on a small mill.
I have already started the next needed project. It won't take long to build. It is a pancake boring head 3 inches in diameter. The Burke mill only has a 4 inch saddle travel which means you only have 3 inches of usable travel. All the boring heads are so long, they leave no room to use them on a small horizontal mill. The boring head I am making will hopefully be less than half the length of the ones available, which will make it easier to use on a small mill.
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- Jul 9, 2014
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If you make a fine external thread on an insertable brass or phosphor bronze thrust bush , also with a lock nut you don't need any shims you simply adjust the thrust nut & lock the nut .
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I just read from start to finish....WOW! You are a fine machinist, your set-ups are absolutely impressive to me.
Thank you for a great tutorial.
Thank you for a great tutorial.
