Bought a few QCTPs to compare quality in inexpensive brands.

[pontiac428]

I can't find a ---> Phase II tool post thats made in Taiwan, can you please post a link where I can buy one, I have a Chinese version and would like to get the Taiwanese Version to compare.

Thanks Mike.

It seems Phase II is using entirely mainland manufacturing now. Their overseas HQ is in Beijing. I guess it's in the past, but Phase II was always a slightly better asian import. There's still Dorian and Aloris if it doesn't work out.

 

[mickri]

I haven't read through this entire thread because I will probably never ever buy one of the commercially made QCTP. My norman style QCTP seems to meet all of my needs. When I do my part I can consistently turn to .001 and on a good day to around .0005 with my norman on my craftsman 12x36.

What would be interesting to me and people new to this hobby is a test of the different styles of QCTPs, a 4 way and the good old lantern in actual use on a lathe by one of our members who actually knows what they are doing. Do the test on a typical light weight hobby lathe and on a rigid high quality lathe. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter how pretty or fancy the QCTP is. All that matters is how well it performs. If I had to guess which would be the winner I would bet on the 4 way as being the most ridged. Add ease of use into the mix and all of the QCTPs including the norman would be equal followed by the 4 way with the lantern way behind in last place.

Maybe this has already been done.

 

[Larry$]

If I had to guess which would be the winner I would bet on the 4 way as being the most ridged. Add ease of use into the mix and all of the QCTPs including the norman would be equal followed by the 4 way with the lantern way behind in last place.

Yes, but, a 4 way seems like a pain if you don't have a way of quickly centering each tool. Given how many times I change tools, the ease of use of the QCTP is a winner. Money not a problem? The multi-fix looks like a winner. Is their bulk ever a problem? Lantern?? never used one but they look like a lot of stick-out and setup time.

Before spending a lot on tool posts, I'd personally be getting some chucks. The 4 jaw that came with my lathe is fine. I replaced the 6" 3 jaw with a nice Taiwan 8", much better. A "set-tru" 5C chuck has been a winner but takes a lot of collets. I bought an ER40 set-tru type collet that is from China? but it has not been as good as hoped. In some cases ER collets work better than 5C and it takes fewer of them. For small, fine work the 5C chuck is a winner (collets by 64ths!!!).

 

[Ultradog MN]

I just read this whole thread.
It's an interesting conversation.
Of all the brands mentioned I did not see any kind of a hardness test.
I have 15 tool holders. About half are Dorian and the other half Aloris - and one Yuasa.
I took a good sharp mill file and tried to file the edges of several of them.
File would not touch them.
I wonder what a guy would discover if he tried that on some of the other brands.

 

[Mr Mike]

Thanks for the heads up on that... I will be ( eventually ) making a thread that will be more detailed about all these different QCTP down the road a bit... first I have to get the new lathe I ordered here, rebuild the stand to make it mobile and get everything up and running. I may add other TP brands into the mix as well and post them here.

 

[Dabbler]

What would be interesting to me and people new to this hobby is a test of the different styles of QCTPs, a 4 way and the good old lantern in actual use on a lathe by one of our members who actually knows what they are doing. Do the test on a typical light weight hobby lathe and on a rigid high quality lathe. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter how pretty or fancy the QCTP is. All that matters is how well it performs. If I had to guess which would be the winner I would bet on the 4 way as being the most ridged. Add ease of use into the mix and all of the QCTPs including the norman would be equal followed by the 4 way with the lantern way behind in last place.

I've been setting up a project to do just that. Life has been getting in the way, but I hope *Real Soon Now*...

Yes, but, a 4 way seems like a pain if you don't have a way of quickly centering each tool. Given how many times I change tools, the ease of use of the QCTP is a winner. Money not a problem? The multi-fix looks like a winner. Is their bulk ever a problem? Lantern?? never used one but they look like a lot of stick-out and setup time.

I really need to make a video about this an upload it to youtube. All of my insert holders are milled and lapped so whenever I changed inserts they are within 1/10 of a thou on centre. It isn't hard to do, takes about 30 minutes for a holder, and then it is just as fast to use a 4-way as any Quick change tool post. in some restricted cases even faster than a QCTP.

Of all the brands mentioned I did not see any kind of a hardness test.

What matters in a tool post is rigidity - hardening steel does not change its strain curve enough to be the primary factor. Fitting the post properly to your lathe matters a *lot* more. After that, design and bulk matter way more than hardness.

Hardness can affect service life, but in a hobby context, this won't be much of a factor either.

 

[Gnpenning]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Been trying to gleam everything I can. When I made my tp purchase I was surprised to see I needed to mill the the base to fit my compound. That should tell you how green I am. Anyway I didn't do a good job and need to start over. After reading Dabblers post I need advice on what is the best material to use??

Sorry, I hope this isn't a hijack.

 

[Dabbler]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Been trying to gleam everything I can. When I made my tp purchase I was surprised to see I needed to mill the the base to fit my compound.

Oh oh... really? you milled your toolpost? best material??

In 43 years, over 5 lathes, installing 6 or 7 tool posts (currently I have 8 tool posts for my 3 lathes), I've never milled a tool post. Perhaps an offline discussion??

Feel free to PM me an time.

 

[Gnpenning]

Oh oh... really? you milled your toolpost? best material??

In 43 years, over 5 lathes, installing 6 or 7 tool posts (currently I have 8 tool posts for my 3 lathes), I've never milled a tool post. Perhaps an offline discussion??

Feel free to PM me an time.

Clearly I didn't do a good job describing what I did. I was referring to the T nut. I removed to much material and need to start over with new material. I just don't know if I should use anything special for the new T nut.

Sorry for the confusion and thanks for the offer to help.

 

[matthewsx]

I suspect cutting tool selection, geometry and sharpness has more impact on actual performance than the tool holder. As long as it's as rigid as possible and on center I'm not clear what difference it actually makes. Yes, better quality may increase repeatability but it's up to us to get the right tool into the right place at the right speed/feed, isn't it?

John