During my most recent house move the rest of my crossfeed handle broke off. The counterweight had been knocked off for at least 10 years before.
Now and then I'll see one on eBay for some princely figure. I thought "Why not make one?" Well, I don't have a ball turner or a broach to make one in the same style. But I could make a round one out of some 2" 6061 aluminum round stock. "But I need my lathe to make a lathe part!" So I was able to turn down the rest of the broken hub as seen above. But first, I had to make a tool to get the spanner nut off. That was a quick job for the mill and rotary table.
The stop gap handle turned out to be a stop collar and 1/4-20 bolt. Why are you laughing? It worked!
Now I could actually use the lathe. I went for the maximum size that would fit under the top slide which is just under 2" in diameter. This also allows the knob placement to be out on the periphery as far as possible.
I then added some rather basic knurls as my knurling tool is kinda lame. I also wanted the knob to be free wheeling so I had to make a shoulder bolt from an off the shelf larger grade 3 bolt. The 1/4 hex head was done on the mill. The knob was turned from 1/2" 6061 stock. I used the top slide at about 85 degrees or so to make the taper. Threads for bolt and hex screw are 10-32.
The new handle works but suffers from a slight design flaw. It created 'thumbage' issues with the carriage handle. That is I now receive nice knurl marks on the top of my thumb when moving the carriage unless held from the very tip!
Well, so much for v1.0. Next up, v1.1 will attempt to remedy the situation. I could make a new carriage handle and knob in similar style with a longer knob. Or perhaps a 1.75" diameter crossfeed handle might clear the thumb. I ordered a broach set today so at least v1.1 will be a single piece not reliant on the old cut down hub. Of course the original ball style handle has that classic look, and by design will allow for thumb clearance. Decisions, decisions.
Now and then I'll see one on eBay for some princely figure. I thought "Why not make one?" Well, I don't have a ball turner or a broach to make one in the same style. But I could make a round one out of some 2" 6061 aluminum round stock. "But I need my lathe to make a lathe part!" So I was able to turn down the rest of the broken hub as seen above. But first, I had to make a tool to get the spanner nut off. That was a quick job for the mill and rotary table.
The stop gap handle turned out to be a stop collar and 1/4-20 bolt. Why are you laughing? It worked!
Now I could actually use the lathe. I went for the maximum size that would fit under the top slide which is just under 2" in diameter. This also allows the knob placement to be out on the periphery as far as possible.
I then added some rather basic knurls as my knurling tool is kinda lame. I also wanted the knob to be free wheeling so I had to make a shoulder bolt from an off the shelf larger grade 3 bolt. The 1/4 hex head was done on the mill. The knob was turned from 1/2" 6061 stock. I used the top slide at about 85 degrees or so to make the taper. Threads for bolt and hex screw are 10-32.
The new handle works but suffers from a slight design flaw. It created 'thumbage' issues with the carriage handle. That is I now receive nice knurl marks on the top of my thumb when moving the carriage unless held from the very tip!
Well, so much for v1.0. Next up, v1.1 will attempt to remedy the situation. I could make a new carriage handle and knob in similar style with a longer knob. Or perhaps a 1.75" diameter crossfeed handle might clear the thumb. I ordered a broach set today so at least v1.1 will be a single piece not reliant on the old cut down hub. Of course the original ball style handle has that classic look, and by design will allow for thumb clearance. Decisions, decisions.
