any words of wisdom on cutting splines on a shaft? grind a single point tool?
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cut splines
- Thread starter maineshops
- Start date
That is exactly what I have done for the limited amount of times I have needed to cut splines. It works well, but it can get rough on your arm rolling the carriage back and forth so many times. If you have a lining tool that bolts on in place of your crosslide that will make the job a little less painfull. The other thing you will need to sort out is a method on how you will index your work. Some lathes it is possible to use the tooth counts in the end gear train. Depending on the spline count your looking for, will either be possible or, you may need to attach a dividing plate to the LH end of the spindle. I use two methods for indexing on the lathe. The chuck adapter on mine has 60 holes, and a spring loaded lock. The LH end of the spindle has a expandable arbour to bolt on dividing plates to do divisions the other 60 holes wont do. Just remember you will need a way to lock that spindle too.
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actually i was thinking of using the mill with a spin index and with a single point tool in a boreing bar ground to shape.
What flavor is this spline? Straight? Tapered wall? Involute?
taper sides otherwise it would be a bit easier so i need to grind the cutter
If it's flat on the bottom, maybe you could think of milling straight sides, then moving off center and rotating to give the proper angle. The Z value will change also.