AXA, BXA What the HEXA!!!

ScrapMetal said:
I have an older set of "imports" that are marked with 250-xxx and they are AXA size so while that may hold for some I don't think it's universal by any means.

JMHO

-Ron
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That is really what I meant when I said that I was pretty sure that not all holders would be marked with either an AXA, BXA, 100, 200 etc., but when you go looking at their website or catalog, most of them reference either the AXA or 100 series in their catalog descriptions - either by adding "style" or "equivalent" or some other terminology. PhaseII uses the term "series". Actually, the Enco website has that same sort of table in the PhaseII toolpost description. Hope that clears up my earlier comment. CDCO uses the letter designation and on ebay, I usually find most auctions using the 100, 200, etc. designation.
 
Don't forget the 0XA. It is like 60% the size of the AXA. They are the right size for the little 7X lathes.
 
A friend just got a 6” Craftsman...pretty cute, sits on a bench top, but is big enough to do a lot of things. He needs a QCTP. Would you recommend 0XA or AXA?
 
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Winegrower said:
A friend just got a 6” Craftsman...pretty cute, sits on a bench top, but is big enough to do a lot of things. He needs a QCTP. Would you recommend 0XA or AXA?
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AXA is too big for a 6" Craftsman. OXA should do it. Having said that, the way to figure this stuff out is to measure the vertical distance between
the tool post mounting surface of the compound and the center of the spindle, and compare with the specs from the tool post manufacturer.
 
Moderator: This might oughta be pinned somewhere?
Good straight forward info.
 
It is important to get an appropriate sized holder for your lathe: the recommendations are a good guide. I know a guy that put a BXA on a 7" lathe, and thought he was winning something. the 2.5" wide compound slide was the weak link in all this, and he gained nothing but extra expense for the tool holders.

What you need to consider is that the holder that holds the tool will mostly be adjusted roughly in the middle of the range - for the tools you have or plan to buy. You can get XL holders in AXA and BXA that allows you to use larger tool shanks in the same system, if that is a consideration.

Shars has drawings for its holders and tool posts, and that should help in choosing a system that will work best for your lathe.

Why you have to be careful is that for the same lathe swing, the room from the top of the compound to the center line of the lathe varies a lot - on 12" lathes, I've seen 4.5" to 2" - on bigger lathes, the difference can be bigger, depending on construction...
 
Here's helpful explanation from Shars on Sizing QCTP's

The important dimension is the distance from the Mounting Surface of the Compound to the Center Line of the Lathe. If you choose a QCTP that is too large, you may not be able to properly center the cutter with the axis of the lathe.

axatoolpost_dimension.jpg


Here's LMS's explanation for sizing a QCTP: https://littlemachineshop.com/info/qctp.php
 
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