Good quick change tool holder for Craftsman 6in 101 lathe?

[francist]

OP should also be aware that switching to a quick change style may also result in limited rotation of the toolpost on the compound. It has to with the peculiarities of the compound casting on both the Atlas 618 and also the Craftsman version of the same machine. The machined flats where the toolpost sits are actually lower by about an eighth of an inch or so than the rest of the compound casting, so you can’t rotate full 360 degrees without banging one of the square toolpost corners into that 1/8” ledge.

There are workarounds — raising the toolpost on a shim (essentially a large washer) so it clears the rest of the casting; milling/grinding/or filing two of the four corners off the bottom of the toolpost so it clears the ledge; or the most drastic of all, milling the top of the rest of the compound to be flush with the flats. It’s not a situation that renders the toolpost useless without a modification, it’s just in some positions those corners are going to get in the way and not allow for an ideal angle to the work. Threading with the standard 30 degrees on the compound may be one of them, I can’t remember right now, but there were enough times that it annoyed me enough to knock the corners off the toolpost and be done with it.

Just something to think about if the compound is of this style.

 

[cross thread]

That's exactly right @francist , I had to do the same thing on my Craftsman 6" 101. 07301 lathe . Just a small touch on the grind wheel , that reminds me I need to touch it up with some Oxpho blue . Also should be noted , the "T" nut supplied with a 0XA is not milled to a "T" . They are available (milled) on the bay .
Mark .

 

[Aaron_W]

I have a couple tool posts from Little Machine Shop, and OXA and an AXA. The ones I have were good quality. They offer an OXA set for the Atlas 618 / Craftsman that includes an appropriate adaptor to fit the lathe.

 

[mickri]

If money is no object then buy whatever commercial ones you like. If your are on a tight budget then make a norman style QCTP. I made the norman. For under a $100 I bought enough material to make the tool post and 20 tool holders. They are not hard to make, All you need is a lathe and a drill. A mill can help but is not necessary. Great learning experience if you are new to machining. Lots of forum members have made them.

Search norman and mickri. You will find my threads documenting how to make one.

 

[wazzabie]

I acquired several boxes full of misc tooling for a 6in Craftsman lathe. To my surprise buried at the bottom of the box is a OXA quick change tool post. The quick change tool post is missing the handle and the collar I marked in red. I need to take a closer look at the parts as maybe in some of the other boxes. The handle should be easy to make. I'm not sure about the collar.