Ball Turner

[Monk]

I completed this a while back because I needed a turner to make the half round washer I needed for a small machinist's vise I was making. I started by milling out the pockets for the bearing and turret to seat in on my mill/drill, and then turning the turret down on my lathe. The turret was supposed to sit inside the base, and rest on the bearing surfaces, allowing it to rotate on the bearing while being kept true by ID of the base.



Then I milled out the insert holder and drilled, countersunk, and tapped the holes for the tensioner screws in the turret. Finally, I turned the handle for it with the turner itself.



This is a less complicated version of the Hole's Creek version of the Steve Bedair Ball Turner. It didn't turn out to be as rigid as I would have liked (the turret was supposed to fit into the base with a lot closer tolerance. The result is that the flex in the motorcycle wheel bearing allows just a bit of vertical wobble at the cutting edge. Not much, but just enough to allow another line across the face of the sphere on the return cut. It's close enough that I can touch it up with sandpaper and jeweler's rouge, but I need to make another base to be satisfied. Thanks for having a look.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

Lovely piece of work! You'll probably get a more solid mount using a piece of bronze pressed in and bored to fit the spindle. You should be able to get to a tight sliding fit, even if you need to lightly lap it with a piece of wet and dry. It's not like you'll be doing lots of revolutions with it

 

[Fabrickator]

Very nice job! You'll use this over and over and over again....

 

[rmack898]

Nice job Monk.

Now about that machinist's vise you're building, is it done yet?
I'm planning on building a small vise too and I'd like to see what others have done.

 

[Monk]

Thanks everybody. Mack, here is a link to the post on the small machine vise:

http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/25822-And-another-small-vise?p=228316#post228316

I'm going to post something on the replica gun oilers I've been making for my dad's antique firearms, and then one on a straight tap handle I'm modeling on a Starrett 91B.

 

[Holescreek]

Did you put any brass or other metal between the set screws and the side of the tool holder?

 

[Monk]

Did you put any brass or other metal between the set screws and the side of the tool holder?

No. I saw that you did on yours, and it makes all kinds of sense with the aluminum, but I was in a hurry to get it done at the time, and I'd planned to make another from stainless that I never got around to. The next one will be from steel.

 

[Shopsweeper]

Off topic warning:

Steve Bedair (who's ball turner I have been inspired by too) has become very, very ill with cancer. More info is available on his site but it's serious and they are not giving him long on earth.

(I found this topic searching for his name to see if you all already knew.)

 

[wrmiller]

That is very sad. I've been following Steve's stuff for years.

 

[Monk]

That is truly sad. Thank you for letting us know.